Educator Resources - University of Utah Reading Clinic - College of Education

A robust set of evidence-based studies undergirds UURC basic intervention models: Early Steps℠, Next Steps℠, and Higher Steps℠, as well as assessment instruments.

Study results include:

U Steps models
- Effect sizes between 0.5 and 1.2.
Early Steps℠
- At risk Grade 1 intervention students finished the school year averaging between G1-mid and G1-end reading level.
  - 95 sessions
- Non-intervention (control) Grade 1 students averaging G1-early reading level.
  - 135 standard Tier1 sessions.
Next Steps℠
- Intervention students finished the school year averaging a year's growth in reading level.
  - 45 sessions
- Non-intervention (control) students averaging half-year's growth in reading level.
  - 100 Tier1 sessions.
Small group
- no significant advantage for 1:1 over 1:3.

Peer-Reviewed Journals

Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., Sandora, C., Kucan, L., & Worthy, J. (1996). Questioning the Author: A Yearlong Classroom Implementation to Engage Students with Text. Elementary School Journal, 96 (4), 385-414. https://doi.org/10.1086/461835

Component of Tier 1 Text

Boyer, N. & Ehri, L.C. (2011). Contribution of phonemic segmentation instruction with letters and articulation pictures to word reading and spelling in beginners. Scientific Studies of Reading, 15 (5), 440-470. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2010.520778

Brown, K.J. (1999/2000). What kind of text for whom, and when? Textual scaffolding for beginning readers. The Reading Teacher, 53 (4), 292-307. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20204794

Brown, K.J. (2003). What do I say when they get stuck on a word? Aligning prompts with students’ development during guided reading. The Reading Teacher, 56 (8), 720-733. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20205283

Brown, K.J., Morris, D., & Fields, M.K. (2005). Intervention after grade one: Serving increased numbers of struggling readers effectively. Journal of Literacy Research, 37 (1), 61-94. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3701_3

Direct study of Next Steps℠
Notice effect sizes ranging from .51-1.18

Brown, K.J., Patrick, K.C., Fields, M.K., & Craig, G.T. (2021). Phonological awareness materials in Utah kindergartens: A case study in the science of reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 56 (51). https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.386

Crosson, A.C., McKeown, M.G., Robbins, K.P., & Brown, K.J. (2020). Morphological analysis skill and academic vocabulary knowledge are malleable through intervention and may contribute to reading comprehension for multilingual adolescents. Journal of Research in Reading, 44 (1). https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12323

Component of Tier 1 Word Study

Crosson, A.C., McKeown, M.G., Robbins, K.P., & Brown, K.J. (2019). Key elements of robust vocabulary instruction for emergent bilingual adolescents. Language, Speech, and Hearing in Schools, 50 (4), 493-505. https://doi.org/10.1044/2019_lshss-voia-18-0127

Component of Tier 1 Word Study

Frye, E. & Gosky, R. (2012). Rapid word recognition as a measure of word-level automaticity and its relation to other measures of reading. Reading Psychology, 33 (4), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702711.2010.521670

Hillocks, G., Jr. (1987, May). Synthesis of Research on Teaching Writing. Educational Leadership, 44 (8), 71-82. http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198705_hillocks.pdf

Support for Tier 1 Text & Writing About Tier 1 Text

Invernizzi, M., Rosemary, C., Juel, C., & Richards, H.C. (1997). At-risk readers and community volunteers: A 3-year perspective. Scientific Studies in Reading, 1 (3), 277-300. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532799xssr0103_6

Direct study of early version of Early Steps℠ (Book Buddies)
Notice effect size of .1.29

Kuhn, M.R. & Schwanenflugel, P.J. (2009). Time, Engagement, and Support: Lessons from a Four-Year Fluency Intervention. In E.H. Hiebert (ed.), Reading More, Reading Better 141-160. New York: Guilford. http://www.guilford.com/books/Reading-More-Reading-Better/Elfrieda-Hiebert/9781606232859/contents

[Annotated Copy]

Support for Tier 1 Text

Kuhn, M.R., Schwanenflugel, P.J., Morris, R.D., Morrow, L.M., Woo, D.G., Meisinger, E.B., Sevcik, R.A., Bradley, B.A., & Stahl, S.A. (2006). Teaching Children to Become Fluent and Automatic Readers. Journal of Literacy Research, 38 (4), 357-387. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15548430jlr3804_1

[Annotated Abstract]

Component of Tier 1 Text

Kuhn, M.R. & Woo, D.G. (2008). Fluency-Oriented Reading: Two Whole-Class Approaches. In M.R. Kuhn & Schwanenflugel (eds.), Fluency in the Classroom 17-35. New York: Guilford. https://books.google.com/books?id=Dp9zBjdFJp4C&pg=PA17

Support for Tier 1 Text

Mathes, P.G., Denton, C.A., Fletcher, J.M., Anthony, J.L., Francis, D.J., & Schatschneider, C. (2005). The effects of theoretically different instruction and student characteristics on the skills of struggling readers. Reading Research Quarterly, 40 (2), 148-182. https://doi.org/10.1598/rrq.40.2.2

Direct study of early version of Early Steps℠ (Responsive Reading)
Notice effect sizes ranging from .39-.60

McKeown, M.G., Beck, I.L., & Blake, R.G. (2009). Rethinking reading comprehension instruction: A comparison of instruction for strategies and content approaches. Reading Research Quarterly, 44 (3), 218-255. https://doi.org/10.1598/rrq.44.3.1

Component of Tier 1 Text

Morris, D. (2006). Using noncertified tutors to work with at-risk readers: An evidence-based model. Elementary School Journal, 106 (4), 351-362. https://doi.org/10.1086/503636

Direct study of early version of Early Steps℠ & Next Steps℠ (Howard Street)
Notice effect sizes ranging from .30-1.12

Morris, D., Bloodgood, J.W., Lomax, R.G., & Perney, J. (2003). Developmental steps in learning to read: A longitudinal study in kindergarten and first grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 38 (3), 302-328. https://doi.org/10.1598/rrq.38.3.1

Direct study of early version of Early Steps℠ & Next Steps℠ (Howard Street)

Morris, D., Bloodgood, J., Perney, J., Frye, E.M., Kucan, L., Trathen, W., Ward, D., & Schlagal, R. (2011). Validating craft knowledge: An empirical examination of elementary-grade students’ performance on an informal reading assessment. Elementary School Journal, 112 (2), 205-233. https://doi.org/10.1086/661522