People or Machines? Measured Reading Comprehension from Different Reader Types.

Differences in reading comprehension were examined in students with disabilities after use of three reader modification types. Participants (n=10) conveniently selected from two school districts were students grades three through eight reading on a third grade level that received a reader as a modification in their Individualized Education Programs. Passages from the Pearson Group Reading Assessment and Diagnositic Evaluation (GRADE) normed for third grade were read to students using three reader types: human, tape-recorded voice or computerized text reading program. Reading comprehension questions were orally administered by the researchers. Results indicated that there was no significant difference between reader types as related to passage comprehension. Authors call for the individualization of reader types based on student need and the continued collaboration between university researchers and decision makers in P-12 schools. People or Machines 3 People or Machines? Measured Reading Comprehension from Different Reader Types American Educational Concerns The adult success of the students in America’s public schools depends greatly upon the ability of the schools to equip students with the knowledge needed to be productive members of society. Although one would hope that the schools in the United States were sufficiently able to prepare individuals for adult life, research has demonstrated mixed messages in this regard. One report released by the Center on Education Policy and the American Youth Policy Forum stated that even though improvements still need to be made, U.S. schools are making progress in reducing dropout rates, increasing student achievement (as measured through test scores), promoting safer school environments and employing teachers with higher levels of education (as cited in “Public Education Improving,” 2000). Furthermore, long-term trends in reading and mathematics compiled by the National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP) indicate that in recent years, U.S. students have demonstrated overall improvements in reading and mathematics (Rampey, Dion, & Donahue, 2009). Although some of the reported findings seem promising for U.S. students, other findings are far less optimistic. A report released by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation asserted that even though U.S. schools spend more than many countries around the world to fund education, student achievement in academic subjects is among the lowest in comparison to schools abroad (Walberg, 1998). More recent reports from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) indicated that although U.S. fourth and eighth graders performed above average in mathematics and science measures in 2003 (as compared to other countries in the study), U.S. students still lagged in comparison to several other countries, many of which were Asian (Gonzales et al., 2004). Further, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) data People or Machines 4 revealed that in 2006, U.S. students performed below average in science and mathematics measures as compared to twenty-nine other countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (Baldi, Jin, Skemer, Green, & Herget, 2007). When analyzing data from the reading measures, researchers concluded that U.S. students only performed around average with respect to reading literacy (Lemke et al., 2004). Finally, a study compiled of household opinions regarding public school satisfaction in American cities concluded that although a majority of the residents in homes with children approved of their neighborhood elementary schools, many expressed disdain over the education provided in their local public schools (Carnevale & Desrochers, 1999). It appears that even though some progress has been made in American schools, problems still exist in both the ability and perceptions of the ability of U.S. schools to prepare students for success beyond school. Reading Instruction in America Although the research identifies deficits in the success of American schools at preparing students in several academic areas, problems with reading programs in the United States deserve special attention as reading is arguably the most important skill learned in formalized education. An article regarding the importance of reading skills stated that “reading is a foundational skill in all children’s academic careers; whether they become strong or weak readers has considerable bearing on their success in school and beyond” (Snow, Burns, & Griffin as cited in Fuchs et al., 2002, p. 295). Another source highlighted the importance of reading above other academic subjects by discussing the impact that reading skills have on student ability to excel in listening, writing, and speaking as well as the importance of reading in learning the knowledge associated with other school subjects (Walberg, 1998). People or Machines 5 Problems associated with the effectiveness of reading programs in American public schools tend to first appear at the elementary school level, as early elementary grades are responsible for presenting primary skills related to pre-reading and initial reading strategies (Denton, West, & Walston, 2003). Suggestions for improving the presentation of such skills in elementary classrooms included student centered reading selections, connecting reading to other experiences had by students, and integrating the use of multiple intelligences to promote more diverse selections of books from which different learners may choose (Ediger, 2003). Other researchers of early reading instruction favor the study and use of phonics-based instructional approaches including letter-sound instruction, phonemic segmenting blending, and activities such as scaffolded spelling and word mapping, (Manyak, 2008) with the hope that regular practice of these skills will lead to improvements in early reading ability. Still yet, the most recent Reading First initiatives funded by the U.S. government call for reading instructional approaches that specifically address the “five essential components of reading instruction promoted by the program (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension)” together, seeking to measure the effects of such systematic reading approaches on reading achievement in some of the nation’s poorest performing schools (Gamse, Jacob, Horst, Boulay, & Unlus, 2008, p. 16). Interestingly, the impact report for the Reading First program revealed a statistically significant and positive effect for early decoding skills for first grade students, but no significant effect on the measured reading comprehension of the students studied in grades one, two, or three (Gamse et al., 2008). Although integrating various combinations of these reading instructional suggestions into the elementary reading program may aid (to various degrees) in the improved ability of schools to adequately deliver effective People or Machines 6 reading instruction, more research is obviously needed to yield consistent findings to support improvements in reading for students in America. Reading Instruction and Students with Disabilities As the literature suggests, schools that are not being successful in their attempts to provide meaningful reading instruction to their students have ways in which they may attempt to improve their reading programs. Although many of these methods improve the success of the overall student population with regard to reading to some degree, teachers still have to consider the special needs population in order to determine what methods of instruction will work best for the struggling readers represented in that subset (Ehens & Gates, 2003). Examining students with special needs in the reading classroom has become increasingly important as legislation such as IDEA ’97 [and subsequent reauthorizations of IDEA] compels school districts to understand that students should participate in the regular education classroom as much as they are able (Fuchs et al., 2002). Along with this concept of inclusion, researchers have started to include the special needs population in their research (Lutkus & Mazzeo, 2003), attempting to discover findings that may be beneficial for regular classroom teachers in terms of understanding the current state of reading knowledge in students with special needs as well as solutions that will be of the most benefit to these students with regard to learning how to read (Fuchs et al.). Use of Technology for Teaching Students with Disabilities Because some attention has been given to the topic of teaching reading to the special needs population in P-12 schools, programs that are designed to enhance the reading curriculum have been generated. Although many accommodations and modifications are implemented for improving reading instruction with the special needs population, applications of technology have been one of the most quickly developed and widely used as adaptive tools for students with People or Machines 7 special needs in recent years (Ehens & Gates, 2003). Some examples of the technology used for improving the reading success of students with special needs include computer programs for promoting literacy (Forgrave, 2002), as well as electronic text reading software (Forgrave; MacArthur, Ferretti, Okolo, & Cavalier, 2001). Although one might assume that using text reading software would be beneficial as an accommodation to students with special needs in reading, consider the following statement from MacArthur et al.: Research on technology and reading comprehension has focused on the use of electronic texts to promote comprehension by compensating for poor component skills (such as word identification and vocabulary knowledge). Electronic text has been designed with a variety of enhancements, including speech synthesis, definitions, graphics, and supplementary text. The addition of speech synthesis to electronic texts seems like a straightforw