The Effects of Group Size on Reading Outcomes of Identified Nonresponders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to involve second-graders unresponsive to research-validated classroom instruction (i.e., Peer Assisted Learning Strategies; PALS) in four treatments: one to one standardized, one to one individualized, one to three standardized, and continuation in large-class PALS. The two central research questions were: (a) Does individualizing tutoring promote greater reading growth than a standardized approach? (b) Do students in standard 1:1 instruction show greater improvement than those in small group standard instruction? Results were unexpected. Those who remained classroom PALS instruction outperformed the other study groups on many of the reading measures. Those in the 1:3 standard group made similar gains to those in the 1:1 group. Prior reading ability and English Language Learner status were significant predictors of reading progress. That is, students with higher pretreatment scores made more progress. Students whose first language was not English made less progress than those whose first language was English.