DuBard School for Language Disorders
Research - Language Enhancement and Achievement Program (LEAP)
Page Content
Name of Project: Statistical Analysis of Pre- and Post-test Raw Scores for Reading Phonetically Regular Words on a Criterion-Referenced Test of Reading Skills
Population: Students aged five years, seven months (5-7) to twelve years, seven months (12-7), with an average age of seven years, eleven months (7-11), with the primary diagnosis of dyslexia/specific learning disability in reading. Data presented were collected between 2009 and 2016, and continue to be updated annually.
Service Delivery Model: After-school program (LEAP - Language Enhancement and Achievement Program) that used a modified version of the DuBard Association Method® delivered by para-professionals and supervised by certified speech-language pathologists in a resource schedule of service delivery for 48 contact hours over the course of a semester.
Assessment Instrument: Decoding Skills Test (DST), Subtest II
-
Raw score values range from 0-120.
-
Phonic Transfer Index (PTI) scores range from 0.00-1.00.
Length of time between pre- and post-test: 48 contact hours of intervention; four months during spring and fall, two months during summer
Statistical Analyses: Paired sample t-test
Results:
Students (n=84) diagnosed with a reading disability made significant improvement in reading phonetically regular words after 48 hours of multisensory, structured language intervention, t(83)=-9.353, p<0.001.
| DST Subtest II Raw Scores | |
| Pre-test raw score mean | 33.18 |
| Post-test raw score mean | 55.45 |
Students diagnosed with a reading disability made significant improvement in the application of phonic skills when decoding after 48 hours of multisensory, structured language intervention, t(48)=-5.348, p<0.01.
| DST Subtest II PTIms Scores | |
| Pre-test raw score mean | 0.55 |
| Post-test raw score mean | 0.75 |
Interpretation:
For students with dyslexia/SLD in reading enrolled for 48 hours in an after-school program using a modified version of the DuBard Association Method®, significant increases were found in raw scores and PTIms scores on a test of decoding skills.
Reference:
Richardson, E., and DiBenedetto, B. (1985). Decoding Skills Test. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services