Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

Publication Date

7-27-1971

Abstract

This study was designed to develop a criteria testing instrument for the Miami Linguistic Reading Program. The children involved in the study were two groups of second grade students taught to read by means of a reading program based on linguistic principles and two groups of similar students taught to read through a conventional basal program. The children were tested at the end of second grade, using a reading performance test prepared by the investigator. The study was designed to answer the following questions:

1. Is there a difference in reading test performance of second grade children who have had a linguistic approach to reading and tested by a linguistically based instrument and similar children who have been instructed through a conventional program but tested by the linguistically based instrument?

2. Is there a difference in reading test performance of second grade boys who have had a linguistic approach to reading and tested by a linguistically based instrument and similar second grade boys who have been instructed by means of a conventional program but tested by the linguistically based instrument?

3. Is there a difference in reading test performance of second grade girls who have had a linguistic approach to reading and tested by a linguistically based instrument and similar second grade girls who have been instructed by means of a conventional program but tested by the linguistically based instrument?

The children were from River View Elementary School and Atrisco Elementary School in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The experimental group consisted of two classes of second grade children at River View School who had received two years of reading instruction using the Miami Linguistic Reading Program. These two classrooms enrolled thirty-six children and thirty were tested. The control group consisted of two classrooms of similar second grade children who had received two years of instruction using the conventional basal reading program. These two classrooms enrolled fifty-six children and fifty-three were tested. The test was administered to the River View Elementary School group on April 27, 1971. The investigator and Mrs. Mary J. Quintana administered the tests. The same procedures were followed on May 4, 1971, at the Atrisco Elementary School. All tests were scored by the investigator and Mrs. Quintana. Comparisons of raw scores made by means of a "t" test indicated a significant difference in favor of the experimental group at River View Elementary School. Scores based on total group performance and in favor of the experimental group were significant at the .01 level of confidence. In the comparison between Atrisco boys and River View boys there was a significant difference between the scores. The results were significant at the .01 level of confidence. The comparison between the Atrisco girls and the River View girls yielded results that were not statistically significant. The results yield two general conclusions:

1) Based on this test performance, all the children in this study did significantly better if they were taught beginning reading with the Miami Linguistic Reading Program.

2) Boys, who are known to constitute a large majority of the reading disabilities in school, profited greatly from learning to read using Miami Linguistic Readers. This finding is indeed worthy of much further study.

Document Type

Thesis

Language

English

Degree Name

Elementary Education

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy

First Committee Member (Chair)

Miles Vernon Zintz

Second Committee Member

Mari-Luci Ulibarrí

Third Committee Member

LeRoy Condie

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