Struggling Canadian readers achieved a year and a half of literacy growth in just five months, according to preliminary findings from a landmark multi-province project that shows short, frequent intervention sessions can radically accelerate reading skills in young kids.
Faculty of Education Dean Robert Savage
More than 600 grade two students identified as struggling readers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Quebec took part in the study. Over a 16-week period, these students received small-group intervention sessions four times a week for 30 minutes, with a focus on phonological awareness, phonics, irregular word reading and decodable text reading.
The results showed significant gains in record time: in just five months, children improved their word reading skills by approximately one and a half years, over and above what would be expected from their maturation.
The project, called Turning the aspiration of universal literacy into a reality in Canadian schools, demonstrates that with targeted, evidence-based intervention, struggling readers can achieve literary success in a short period of time. This work was led by George Georgiou at the University of Alberta and Robert Savage at York University. Additional results from the project involving students from Ontario are expected at a later date.
The success of this intervention provides a clear roadmap for the future of Canadian education and the project team is now looking to scale this work nationwide.
"By training school personnel in evidence-based practices, we can ensure high-quality primary instruction that prevents reading gaps before they widen, thus significantly decreasing the number of children who require intensive literacy support," say the co-researchers.
The research was supported by a coalition of funders, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Max Bell Foundation, and Alberta Education.
A study with the full findings will be published at a later date.
