"Picture Me Reading!" Results With Classes And Groups
Pre and Post-Test Data from “Picture Me Reading!”
Regular Education Interventions
Curriculum directors and special education directors will be very interested in the results when PMR! is used with groups and whole classes, during the regular school year and during summer school, as well in after school settings. Some settings for which we have data are included in this section.
The data from these and from other sources in which “Picture Me Reading!” was used in group settings lead us to make the following recommendations:
1. Introduce the Dolch Sight Words early, preferably in kindergarten during the regular academic year, but certainly no later than first grade. Systematic daily practice and reinforcement provided throughout kindergarten and first grade, will lead to early reading success and preclude much of the need for remediation in later grades.
2. Summer school intervention in sight word knowledge can be tightly targeted. Children with reading delays could each be tested for Dolch Word knowledge prior to class assignment. Those with delays in this important reading skill might all be placed into a single summer school class at each level, to provide extra instruction and intensive daily drill in acquiring the sight words.
3. Cross-age tutoring could be a useful means of helping children acquire sight word knowledge during the regular school year. After school programs (AM/PM; ESS) provide an excellent opportunity to teach Dolch Sight Words with games and activities which both older and younger children enjoy.
4. All children who are scheduled for Student Study Team intervention (which oten leads to referrals for psycho-educational evaluation, Special Education placement, or informal assistance) should probably receive intensive help to acquire this critical vocabulary before being evaluated for the need for special help. Often children who seem as though they are “learning disabled” quickly gain confidence and reading skills with "Picture Me Reading!" and no longer require any special attention at all once a core of basic reading vocabulary has been mastered.
Nearly all of the groups for which data are provided here were composed of children from regular classrooms who weren't keeping up in reading. If you have collected data for your class or group, we would greatly appreciate it if you would share it with us.
For testimonies from successful users of “Picture Me Reading!” with individuals, see the testimonials on our User Comments page.
Interpreting The Data
Pre- and post–testing for the group results was accomplished by use of the Dolch Sight Word List (220 words) and the Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT). SORT results are reported in grade level equivalents, beginning with the kindergarten entry level, 0.0. A grade consists of 10 months; therefore a grade level equivalent of 1.4 would translate to first grade, fourth month; 2.3 equals second grade, third month; 0.1 is equivalent to the first month in kindergarten.
The grade equivalence rating scale for the Dolch Sight Word List was obtained from Diagnosing and Correcting Reading Disabilities, Second Edition, by George D. Spache. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1981, p. 159. The rating scale was devised by Elton G. Stetson. "The Reading Equivalence Table" is shown below. Please note that the lowest level on this scale is beginning first grade, rather than kindergarten, thus figures on the SORT do not equate to scores on the test of Dolch Word Knowledge.
Interpreting these data requires some care. It is important to note that the intervals between grade levels on this scale are not equal! A child must master 170 words during first grade; the second grade ratings fall between 170 and 210 words – only 40 words. Thus, the more words that are acquired in the later stages of learning the Dolch Words, the faster the apparent progress through grade levels. A child can learn 100 words and gain only five months of credit in the earliest stage, while a similar number of words acquired after the first hundred have already been learned yields twice that much academic “growth.” This is because the first year of instruction in reading often focuses on teaching the sight words necessary for fluent reading and good comprehension.
Note: If you do not have a computer with a high resolution display, columns 2 and 3 might be distorted. If you would like an easily readable Word Document of the results, let us know and we'll send it to you as an e-mail attachment.
Trinity Christian School “Picture Me Reading!” Riddles Club, Summer, 2011
Name and Grade)
Kayla K
(16 days)
Sophie 1
(15 days)
Sunah 1
(13 days)
Sam 1
(14 days)
Bart 1
(13 days)
Jasmine 2
(14 days)
Elyse 1
(15 days)
Larissa 2
(16 days)
Averages*
Pre-test Words
& Grade Equiv.
0 (1.0)
27 (1.2)
39 (1.2)
46 (1.3)
53 (1.3)
80 (1.4)
120 (1.6)
150 (1.6)
64 (1.3)
Post Test Words & Grade Equiv.
85 (1.5)
90 (1.5)
140 (1.7)
124 (1.7)
163 (1.9)
130 (1.7)
202 (2.7)
203 (2.8)
142 (1.9)
Number Of Words Gained
+85
+63
+101
+78
+110
+44
+82
+50
+77
Months Gained
+5
+3
+5
+4
+6
+3
+11
+10
+6
Slosson Pre- test
Gr. Equiv
0.0
0.4
0.3
0.4
0.6
0.6
1.6
1.7
0.7
Slosson Post Test
Gr. Equiv.
0.7
1.0
1.2
1.0
1.1
0.9
2.2
2.2
1.3
Months Gained
+7
+6
+9
+6
+5
+3
+6
+5
+5
DESCRIPTION OF THE CLASS:
Nine students joined the class at Trinity Christian School in June and eight of them completed the course six weeks later. Two will enter kindergarten in the fall, five will begin grade 1, and two will enter grade two. The average Dolch Word knowledge at entry was 51 words, with the range being from zero words known for the kindergartner who completed the class to 150, achieved by one of the children going to grade 2. The classes were held three times a week (1.5 hours each) for six weeks, June 14 – July 22, 2011. The classes were taught by sisters, 14 year old Cassie Isaacson, and 10 year old Christina Isaacson. Parents were encouraged to remain and observe the lessons, and to follow through with games to reinforce word learning and practice reading with their children at home, but most parents did not stay for the majority of the lessons.
No child was present at all 18 of the sessions. The average attendance for the children was just 14.5 sessions, as their parents worked around vacations previously planned, doctor visits, and other events. The parents were given the material that was to be covered in the class during their children’s absences, so they could continue to work on the words being taught, and practice reading them in the riddles for those days.
Pre- and post-test scores are given for THE DOLCH SIGHT WORD TEST.Note: the higher a child’s reading score at the beginning, the easier it is to make months of growth on this test. This is not an equal interval scale. A table giving estimates of reading achievement level based on sight word knowledge is given in Spache, George D., Diagnosing and Correcting Reading Disabilities, Second Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1981, p. 159. This rating scale for the Dolch Sight Word list was offered by Elton G. Stetson. Data for this class came from this rating scale.
AVERAGE GROWTH ON THE DOLCH SIGHT WORDS TEST -- new sight words learned; and months of achievement achieved during the 18 sessions held during the 6 weeks of the class. Virtually every time the Riddles Club is run and the data is analyzed, the average growth achieved is about six months of growth for six weeks of class sessions (18 meetings). This class is no exception. The average growth of reading achievement for our Riddles Club, Summer, 2011, is 5.8 months!
Bart was the child who learned the largest number of new words – 110. His initial score was 53, and at the final testing, he recognized 163 Dolch Words, equivalent to an ending first grade level (1.9).
The second place for number of words learned was Sunah, who mastered 101 new words, although attending only 13 of the classes! Her performance was especially remarkable because she is a recent arrival from Viet-Nam in January, and she knew no English at all upon coming to America just six months ago! She will enter first grade in September with a reading level of first grade, seventh month!
Another remarkable achievement was attained by Kayla, a pre-kindergarten student who entered the class reading no words at all, and was tested on the 21st of July, six weeks later with a total of 85 words read successfully! (First grade, fifth month equivalence!)
Elyse and Larissa were in a virtual tie for the most months of growth on the Dolch Words Test (11 months and 10 months, respectively). The word totals for the two girls were 202 and 203 of the 220 word list. Elyse is going into first grade, and Larrissa will be a second grader. Their grade equivalence scores were 2.7 and 2.8.
Sophie learned more than three times the number of words she could read when she entered the class, and Sam learned nearly twice as many words as he knew when he began the Riddles Club! Both children will enter first grade with reading equivalence scores of mid first grade.
AVERAGE GROWTH ON THE SLOSSON ORAL READING TEST – months of grade achievement on this standardized test of Word Recognition. Tests of pre-primer, primer, 1st and 2nd grade levels were used.
Average performance on the pretest of the Slosson was 0.7 (kindergarten level) and 1.3 on the post test. This represents growth of 6 months on this test.
* Denotes averaging of the individual growth scores, NOT a comparison of the averaged group scores.
Trinity Christian School “Picture Me Reading!” Riddles Club, Summer, 2010
Name (All in First Grade)
Madeline
(14 days)
Jacob
(13 days)
Mackenzie
(12 days)
Connor
(13 days)
Sasha !8 days)
Avgs
Pre-test Words
& Grade Equiv.
33 (1.2)
38 (1.2)
52 (1.3)
58 (1.3)
64 (1.3)
49.2 (1.2)
Post Test Words & Grade Equiv.
135 (1.7)
144 (1.8)
139 (1.7)
150 (1.8)
187 (2.3)
151 (1.8)*
Number Of Words Gained
+102
+106
+87
+92
+123
+102*
Months Gained
+5
+6
+4
+5
+11
+6
Slosson Pre- test
Gr. Equiv
0.8
0.5
0.8
0.5
0.7
0.7
Slosson Post Test
Gr. Equiv.
1.2
1.1
1.4
0.9
1.3
1.2
Months Gained
+4
+6
+6
+4
+6
+5
DESCRIPTION OF THE CLASS:
Five students joined the class at Trinity Christian School in June and completed the course. All of them will begin first grade in the fall. The average Dolch Word knowledge at entry was 49 words, with the range being from 33 words known to 64. The classes were held three times a week (1.5 hours each) for six weeks, June 21 – July 30, 2010. The classes were taught by cousins, 16-year-old Audrey and 13-year-old Cassie. Parents were encouraged to remain and observe the lessons, and to follow through with games to reinforce word learning and practice reading with their children at home.
Only one child was present at all 18 of the sessions. The average attendance for the other four children was just 13 sessions, as their parents worked around vacations previously planned, doctor visits, and other events. The parents were given the material that was to be covered in the class during their children’s absences, so they could continue to work on the words being taught, and practice reading them in the riddles for those days.
Pre- and post-test scores are given for THE DOLCH SIGHT WORD TEST. Note: the higher a child’s reading score at the beginning, the easier it is to make months of growth on this test. This is not an equal interval scale. A table giving estimates of reading achievement level based on sight word knowledge is given in Spache, George D., Diagnosing and Correcting Reading Disabilities, Second Edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1981, p. 159. This rating scale for the Dolch Sight Word list was offered by Elton G. Stetson.
AVERAGE GROWTH ON THE DOLCH SIGHT WORDS TEST -- +102 new sight words learned; and + 6 months of achievement achieved during the 18 sessions held during the 6 weeks of the class.
AVERAGE GROWTH ON THE SLOSSON ORAL READING TEST – 5 months of growth on this standardized test of Word Recognition. Tests of pre-primer, primer, 1st and 2nd grade levels were used.
* Denotes averaging of the individual growth scores, NOT a comparison of the averaged group scores.
Kroc Center San Diego “After School Reading Club”
Bible Stories Reading Class
January 22 – March 1, 2007
The students in this six week (1 ˝ hours, 3 times per week) class showed an average gain of 7 months in Dolch Sight Word recognition and an average gain of 6 months in Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT) scores!
Most Dolch Words Memorized: Two children each learned over 100 Dolch Words beyond the number or Dolch Words they knew when they began.
Most Months Of Growth On The Dolch Word Test: Two children made more tha a year's growth in Dolch Word knowledge (Note: the higher a child's reading schore at the beginning, the easier to make months of growth on this test. It is not an equal interval scale).
Attendance: The average attendance for the class was just 14 of the 18 sessions due to illnesses and family issues. Nevertheless, all these remarkable children, with the help of their very dedicated mothers, attained excellent results in reading during the six weeks of the class.
Kroc Center San Diego After School "Picture Me Reading Riddles Club"
October – November, 2006
The results of this six week class are amazing, with an average gain of 9 months in Dolch Sight Word recognition and an average gain of 8 months in Slosson Oral Reading Test (SORT) scores! Five children made gains in grade equivalence on one or both tests of word recognition of one year or more after attending just eighteen sessions.
Total words learned in six weeks = 125 average. It should be remembered that most of the children in the class were there because they had been identified as being behind in reading skills. It appears that, until the Riddles Club, the teaching styles provided to them in beginning reading had not matched well with their learning styles.
Sweetwater Springs Elementary School
"Picture Me Reading!" After School Reading Club
NOV 2005 - MAY 2006
First graders gained two years in sight word knowledge during just six months of fun activities with “Picture Me Reading!” in their after-school day care setting! Kinders will enter first grade already reading!
Fifteen children in kindergarten and first grade participated in the Picture Me Reading Riddle Club activities during the time they spent in after school day care from late November until the first week of June. Pre-and post-testing with the Dolch Word Test and the Slosson Oral Reading Test revealed remarkable gains in word knowledge.
Two kindergartners mastered nearly all the 220 Dolch Words, gaining more than two years in word reading, while the rest made average gains in Dolch Word equivalents from beginning to mid-first grade. The six first graders averaged gains of 1.5 years on the Dolch Word Test with an average increase of +140 Dolch Words, and a corresponding increase of over 2 years on the Slosson Oral Reading Test. They began with an average grade level on the SORT of 0.8 (eighth month in kindergarten), and ended with an average grade level of 3.0 (beginning 3rd grade).
Spring Valley Community Center
"Picture Me Reading!" After School Reading Club
April - May, 2006
This “Picture Me Reading!” community service project is an after school reading rescue effort for beginning and struggling readers in grades K, 1 and 2. Our "Picture Me Reading Dolch Sight Words!" cards and our “Picture Me Reading Dolch Sight Word Riddles!” booklet are used to help these struggling students catch up with their peers. The fact that these are struggling students needs to be kept in mind when reviewing the results. Parents are encouraged to attend to see how instruction is accomplished and then to review the words with the children at home with fun games and activities found in our “All Your Students Can Read!” booklet.
The classes were held from 3:30-5:30 three days a week, for six weeks (In 2005, the classes ran for 8 weeks). This class consisted of seven kindergartners and five first graders.
The average class attendance was 14 days or 85% attendance for the group. Average growth in new word knowledge of critical high frequency Dolch Word vocabulary was 75! Average gain in achievement was about 5.5 months on two separate tests of word knowledge. The kindergartners' average word gain was +89. They gained 5.6 months of grade equivalence on the Slosson Oral Reading Test. One remarkable bilingual kindergartner mastered 126 new words with just fourteen days of attendance, and his achievement level leaped from beginning first to beginning second grade! The first graders' average number of critical vocabulary words gained was +76. On the Slosson Oral Reading Test, the average gain for both kindergartners and first graders was 5.6 months.
Post testing was accomplished in the final 4 days of the class. The scores of some of the children undoubtedly would have been even higher if post testing could have been delayed until after the full 18 days of instruction and practice.
Spring Valley Community Center
"Picture Me Reading!" After School Reading Club
April 5 - May 26, 2005
The classes for these struggling readers were held from 3:30 to 5:30 three days a week, for eight weeks. Testing was done prior to the last day of the classes. Perfect attendance was achieved by only two students. Most children missed from 1 to 3 days. Two missed 7 days and 1 missed 8 days, or one third of the sessions. The average attendance figure was 21 days.
Five children in this group made gains of OVER ONE YEAR on the Dolch Word measure, and three children made gains of ONE YEAR or more on the Slosson Oral Reading Test
After accounting for absences, the children in this group were present an average of 21 instructional periods, equivalent to about four weeks of reading instruction in full time school attendance. In that time, the average amount of growth in sight word acquisition for the group was EIGHT+ MONTHS (Only one child attained fewer than 5 months gain. This child has a serious learning disability in visual memory).
Spring Valley Community Center
"Picture Me Reading!" After School Reading Club
April - May, 2004
This six-week class consisted of five kindergartners, three first graders, and one second grader. One of the kindergartners was present only 7 of the 18 days of the class. The average class attendance was 80%.
The kindergartners averaged nearly four months’ gain in Dolch Word knowledge, with average of 71 words gained. Their average Dolch Word knowledge at the end equated to a grade equivalence of 1.7, or first grade, seventh month! They gained 4+ months of grade equivalence on the Slosson Oral Reading Test.
The first graders averaged 6.7 months of gain in Dolch Word knowledge. The average number of words gained for this group was 72. On the Slosson Oral Reading Test, their average gain was 5 months in reading achievement level in less than 18 days of instruction.
The second grader learned 49 Dolch Words and gained four months grade equivalence on the Slosson.
Three children more than doubled the number of words they knew upon entry. Three children made nearly a year’s growth (9 months for one, 8 months for two others) on the test of Dolch Word knowledge. The child who had perfect attendance is a kindergartner who also learned the most new words – 89 new Dolch Words in less than six weeks of instruction!
Northmont Riddle Club Spring, 2001
The Northmont Elementary School Riddle Club was an intervention with ten struggling first graders, already reading a half year below expectancy at the end of the first semester in 2000. Two groups were formed, one with five pupils earning the lowest scores on the test of Dolch Word knowledge given in February before instruction began, the other with the five scoring highest.
The parents were contacted to describe the plan, gain their approval, and secure a pledge to help at home by reinforcing the vocabulary words taught each week. Each child was loaned a set of the 220 “Picture Me Reading!” Dolch Sight Words flash cards, laminated, and placed on two 3" rings. A Dolch Word folder was made for each child, with known words marked. The child's progress was recorded on this list half way through the semester and at the end. The flash cards were returned to the school library at the end of the school year.
The booklet, "Picture Me Reading Dolch Sight Word Riddles!" (which consists of ONLY the 220 Dolch Words) gave a reason for learning the words, and provided a few new words to learn in each riddle, while repeating and reinforcing others. Importantly, it encouraged reading for meaning, rather than simple recognition of a list of words. Each child was given his own riddle booklet, with riddles photo-copied from the PMR! book, one to a page. When a riddle had been read and solved, the child drew a picture on the back of the page to illustrate it.
Each group met just three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes, from late February until early June. A copy of the Dolch Word List was sent home each week, with the words taught that week marked so parents could continue to reinforce them. Midway through the sessions, and at the end, a test of Dolch Word knowledge was given individually to each child. Final results were compared to pre-test Dolch word knowledge, and to the reading stages on the local district assessment instruments used by teachers in September, January, and at the end of the school year. "First Grade Levels” in this district are 1, 2, 3, and 4. The average district reading level in the group in mid-year was 1. These levels are not the same as the more familiar "Reading Grade Equivalents."
Reading Grade Equivalence as measured by Dolch Word Knowledge (pre- and post-test, shown in brackets) was found by use of the Spache table (shown above in the introduction section of this page). By June, all of the students had achieved ending second grade equivalence (District Levels Average for the group was ending 1st grade), while five of them (50%) knew over 200 words (three had mastered all 220!) at the end of the school year.
