Summary of Findings:

This research evaluated the impact of scaffolded silent reading practice (SSRP) in comparison to “business as usual” instruction.

The results suggest that SSRP may be more effective than typical practices in helping students become more proficient and efficient readers. Students who engaged in SSRP achieved larger reading efficiency gains as measured by greater increases in reading rate and larger decreases in fixations and regressions over the course of a school year. In addition, larger reading proficiency gains were achieved on the Group Reading Assessment Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE) by students who engaged in SSRP. The results are encouraging in that they suggest that SSRP can, at the very least, be an efficacious addition to educators’ instructional toolboxes.

“Students who completed at least 60 Reading Plus lessons achieved significantly larger gains than their peers in the matched control group.”