Ashley, G. S. (2021). The Effects of Great Leaps Reading on the Reading Fluency of Elementary Students with Reading and Behavioral Deficits (Doctoral dissertation, University of Louisville).

I recently conducted a multiple baseline across subjects’ study, using the Great Leaps for Reading Digital software with elementary students that had both behavioral and literacy deficits. An excerpt from the study can be found below.

Link to the complete research paper

Figure 6. Words per Minute on Daily Grade-Level Reads.

Overall Analysis 

Visual analysis of data in single case design does have weaknesses. Studies by Normand & Bailey (2006) showed interrater reliability to be only 72%, even with the raters being Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Oddly, the rating without trend lines, 78%, was higher than the interrater reliability for the data with trend lines (67%). Campbell & Herzinger (2010) concede that visual analysis is prone to Type I errors, because there is no standardized formula of observance. Because it is difficult to ascertain and compare degree of trend visually, it is appropriate to establish slope for the trend in each phase, for each student (Huitema, 1986b). Allyn & Bacon (2007) suggest two ways of doing this: Using OLS (McCain & Mccleary, 1979; Parsonson & Baer, 1978; Campbell & Herzinger, 2010; Cooper, et al., 2007), and computing slope by hand. As there is one phase for two students with an N below the required eight data points (Jenkins & Quintana-Ascencio, 2020), I have chosen to compute slope for each phase by hand. In this way, visual analyzation can be supplemented by slope numbers to facilitate more accurate comparisons of the data. The slope of the trend for each phase, for each child, with online and face to face differentiated, can be found in Table 23 below. Slope was determined by using the formula (y²-y¹)/(x²-x¹). 

Even with the Lexile level increasing frequently, each child did have an increase in reading level. Table 23 shows that each child did have an increase in rate and slope of their trend during the intervention stage. The slope of the trend line for each child increased in intervention, although much greater for M.J. and T.S. than K.J. The mean words per minute increased from baseline to intervention as well. This does show a replicated effect, although not a functional relation.   

The Great Leaps graph, Figure 7, shows that although the level of the reading passage increased every few sessions, as students made “leaps”, progress was continual. Visual analyzation of the Great Leaps graph, Figure 7 shows the progress of each individual student. M.J. had slow, steady, upward progress. K.J. had progress that was quicker and steeper than that of M.J., while T.S. had rapid, steep progress through the levels.  

When visually interpreting the graphs of both the Great Leaps words per minute and the quick read words per minute, it is important to note the similarities and differences.  M.J. had data that was wildly divergent in the beginning of the intervention, then scores began to follow a similar pattern as the intervention progressed. K.J. had intervention graphs that followed the same peaks and valleys between the two data sets. Although the numbers are not the same, the acceleration and deceleration are nearly the same each day. T.S. did not have these similarities in data sets.  His data sets show nearly an inverse relationship at several points during intervention (Shultz-Ashley, 2021).  

            Yet another piece of evidence shows that this intervention, although facing the challenge of multiple modalities, was indeed effective for these students at this time. In order to verify reading levels and insure that my subjects were two or more grade levels behind, I conducted a Test of Word Reading Efficiency-2 (TOWRE-2) assessment with every participant. In the table below, the gains of each student are evident.

Test of Word Reading Efficiency-2

As the reader can determine from the table, the data shows that these students had significant gains with the use of this intervention, which only lasted six weeks. Although all families continued the intervention, I do not include that data here, as I cannot verify fidelity of intervention, and certain components, such as time of day, incentives, and instructor changed.

            A major downfall of my study was the increase in Lexile level of the independent measure during almost every session. I was advised to include the independent measure, but I did not realize until four weeks into the six week study, the Lexile levels were increasing rapidly, in some cases, over four hundred points. In future studies, I will have passages available that are at a mid-grade level Lexile for all independent measures.

            Through this study, I have renewed belief in the efficacy of the Great Leaps for Reading intervention for children that are twice exceptional. I plan to conduct additional research in the future to determine how and for whom it works best.