At a glance
- Program: Read 180®
- Subjects: Literacy Curriculum, Intervention Curriculum
- Report Type: Efficacy Study
- Grade Level: Post-Secondary
- Region: Southwest
- District Urbanicity: Urban, Suburban
- Implementation Model: 80+ Minutes, Summer School
Community college READ 180 students demonstrated greater reading growth on CPRT and higher college retention rates than control group students.
During the spring and summer of 2006, Phoenix Community College in Arizona began implementation of READ 180 with students in developmental reading and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to determine if READ 180 could be a viable alternative to traditional developmental reading courses in community colleges. READ 180 was implemented in two five-week summer sessions, for 120 minutes a day, four days per week. The district implemented READ 180 as part of a controlled research study (Scholastic Research, 2007), with a total of 27 students participating in READ 180 and 28 control group students receiving the traditional developmental reading curriculum.
READ 180 was assigned to 307 students (or 25.6% of the total sample). Approximately 26% of READ 180 students were classified as High Risk students, and 26% of READ 180 students were classified as Moderate Risk students.
In order to measure the impact of READ 180 on college reading readiness, pretest and posttest data from the College Preparatory Reading Test (CPRT) were collected. Results indicate that READ 180 students evidenced statistically greater growth on the CPRT than students in the control group. While READ 180 students showed a statistically significant gain of 6.3 points on the CPRT, the control group demonstrated a gain of only one point (Graph 1). Further, the effect size for READ 180 was 0.95 (compared with 0.19 for the control group).
GRAPH 1. Phoenix Community College Students (N=55)
Performance on CPRT, 2006
Note. The gain was statistically significant for READ 180 students. The effect size was 0.95.
During the 2006–2007 school year, college enrollment data was also collected. Findings showed that the percentage of READ 180 participants still enrolled in college at the end of the academic year was substantially higher than that of the control group students. Overall, 70% of the READ 180 participants were still enrolled in the college at the end of the academic year. By contrast, only 50% of the control group was still enrolled.
In addition, READ 180 students were asked to assess their own reading skills and the READ 180 program at three points during each summer session. Survey data revealed that students felt READ 180 had positively impacted their reading skills. Well over 80% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that READ 180 had helped them to read faster and to understand better what they read. In addition, 93% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that what they learned in READ 180 will help them in their other college courses (Graph 2).
GRAPH 2. Phoenix Community College Students (N=40)
Student Satisfaction with READ 180 Program Survey Results, 2006
Note. Survey results include 13 READ 180 participants who were not included in the matched group analysis.