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

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