At a glance
- Program: Read 180®
- Subjects: Literacy Curriculum, Intervention Curriculum
- Report Type: Efficacy Study
- Grade Level: Elementary, Middle, High
- Region: Southwest
- Population: Students with Disabilities, Students with Specific Learning Disabilities
- District Urbanicity: Urban, Suburban
- District Size: Large
- Implementation Model: 0-39 Minutes, 40-59 Minutes, A/B Model
Students with disabilities demonstrate significant improvement on taks after one year of READ 180.
San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) is the 13th largest district in Texas, with an enrollment of 55,400 students in Grades Pre-K through 12. SAISD began using READ 180 with its high school students in the fall of 2006 and with its elementary and middle school students in the fall of 2009. During the 2010–2011 school year, SAISD implemented READ 180 in 32 elementary, middle, and high schools across the district as an intervention for struggling readers. Selection criteria for participation in the READ 180 program included disability status, Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS®) proficiency level, dyslexia diagnosis, and Response to Intervention (RTI) referral for a Tier 2 or Tier 3 intervention.
Although a wider sample of students was selected for READ 180 in the district, this report focuses on outcomes only for READ 180 students with disabilities. Of these students, 67% were male, 96% received free or reduced-price lunch, and 26% were classified as English Learners (ELs). READ 180 was implemented as a supplemental intervention in addition to the core English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum for these students.
A total of 663 students with disabilities were included in the analytic sample: 473 (71%) with specific learning disability; 75 (11%) with other health impairment; 60 (9%) with emotional disturbance; and 55 (9%) with different disability subcategories. Data from TAKS and Reading Inventory® were used to measure student achievement for the group.
Data indicated that, on average, students with disabilities enrolled in READ 180 demonstrated improvements in their reading performance (Graph 1). Overall, the READ 180 students with disabilities made a significant gain in their TAKS Reading test passing rate, from 56% meeting or exceeding the standard in 2010 to nearly three-quarters of students (70%) in 2011. When TAKS results were analyzed for individual disability classifications, students in each major category also demonstrated significant improvements. Students classified as having a specific learning disability or other health impairment achieved average gains of 12 percentage points and 18 percentage points, respectively. Students classified as having an emotional disturbance demonstrated a particularly large average improvement of 23 percentage points. Analyses revealed that READ 180 students with disabilities also demonstrated significant improvements in performance on Reading Inventory (Graph 2). Overall, students with disabilities in SAISD gained an average of 92 Lexile® (L) measures. These results were replicated within each disability subcategory that was analyzed. The significant gains in achievement on Reading Inventory were also evident across grade levels. In the sample of READ 180 students with disabilities, elementary students gained an average of 119L, middle school students gained an average of 92L, and high school students gained an average of 87L.
GRAPH 1. San Antonio Independent School District READ 180 Students with Disabilities, Grades 4–11 (N=663)
Performance by Disability Type, 2010–2011
Note. Prior to READ 180, nearly all (99%) of ninth-grade students were performing at Basic or below. After one year of intervention, the percentage of students performing at Basic or below decreased to 70%. All students with disabilities includes students with disability subcategories other than specific learning disability, other health impairment, and emotional disturbances.
GRAPH 2. San Antonio Independent School District READ 180 Students with Disabilities, Grades 4–11 (N=663)
Performance by Disability Type, 2010–2011
Note. All students with disabilities includes students with disability subcategories other than specific learning disability, other health impairment, and emotional disturbances.