Program evaluation: Fast ForWord as an intervention to improve reading achievement in an Appalachian Ohio elementary school
Date of Award
2013
Degree Name
Ed.S. in School Psychology
Department
Department of Counselor Education & Human Services
Advisor/Chair
Advisor: Susan Davies
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fast ForWord program on the reading achievement of at-risk students attending a Title I elementary school in an Appalachian region of southern Ohio. The design of the study was a single-school program evaluation using the results of the reading portion of the state-mandated Ohio Achievement Assessment (OAA) to determine the program's effectiveness. A pre-test/post-test comparative analysis and an independent samples t-test were used to assess changes in student performance. The results indicated that students did not make significant improvements in their reading achievement after participating in the Fast ForWord intervention program. Implications for future research, including the collection of additional student data to expand the participant sample as well as assessing treatment acceptability and treatment fidelity of program implementation in order to make a better determination of the effectiveness of the program, are discussed.
Keywords
Educational technology Evaluation, Reading (Elementary) Appalachian Region Case studies, Problem youth Education, Education; educational evaluation; educational software; educational technology; reading instruction; program evaluation; Fast ForWord; reading intervention; computerized intervention
Rights Statement
Copyright © 2013, author
Recommended Citation
Malone, Talitha C., "Program evaluation: Fast ForWord as an intervention to improve reading achievement in an Appalachian Ohio elementary school" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 612.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/graduate_theses/612