The criterion group was comprised of 23 general education first-grade students who were members of the same general education classes as the experimental subjects at two sites. The students in the criterion group did not use the prototype or take part in the instruction it offered. These tests were designed and administered by a special research team that did not include the teachers at any of the research sites. The phonemic awareness sub-tests were given orally. PowerPoint was used to give the word measures tests.
Onsets are consonants and consonant clusters found at the beginning of single-syllable words.
The onset is most clearly defined as all of the consonants that are found before the first vowel in a single-syllable word. Sixteen onsets were introduced in the first four units of the prototype of the reading program. The experimental group's medial pretest score was zero. At the post-test, both groups showed marked improvement. While not all single-syllable words have an onset, they all have a rime.