A Suggested “Package” to Remediate Reading Difficulties through Paraprofessionals

An alternative to professional intervention is the administration of remedial reading programs by non-professional volunteers. The present study compared two remedial reading programs, both administered by paraprofessionals. The first program used the Sullivan Programmed Reading Series ( 1 ) and star charts; parents of the children subsequently exchanged these stars earned for accurate reading for rewards. The paraprofessionals were college students enrolled in a seminar on reading behavior. Ss who received this program were referred for reading problems; there were 6 males and 1 female, who ranged in age from 5 to 15 yr., grades kindergarten to tenth. Ss were tutored in their own homes or at the university. The second program was less structured; volunteer women who were high school graduates were given a variety of reading materials and were to use their best judgment as to an appropriate tutoring procedure for seven secondand thirdgrade students who had been identified as having reading difficulties ( 3 boys and 4 girls). Ss were tutored at their own elementary school. All Ss were preand posttested with the Spache Diagnostic Reading Scales ( 2 ) . Ss were tutored individually three times per week (30to 45-min. sessions) for 3 mo. The results favored the first program, based on the Sullivan series and star charts. The mean scores for the two groups on the eight subtests of the Spache test, prior to and after tutoring, are reported in the table. An analysis of variance, performed on data transformed to percentages of correct subtest responses, showed a significant main effect for method. with the mean favoring the Sullivan-star-chart method ( F = 7.73, dJ = 1/12, p < .O5), and a significant interaction between the type of tutoring procedure and particular Spache subtest ( F = 3.04, df = 7/84, p < .01). A Newman-Keuls test for multiple comparisons among means showed that Ss exposed to the Sullivan-star-chart performed significantly better than the less structured group on four Spache subtests: Vowel Sounds, Consonant Blends, Common Syllables, and Blending. all of which are phonics subtests.