The Effectiveness of Reading Interventions for Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities are often unable to master reading comprehension and often fail to acquire reading comprehension skills at basic levels as measured on reading achievement assessments. Reading intervention programs Compass Learning and SRA Corrective Reading teach students how to apply strategies to their reading to improve their understanding of written text. The purpose of this quantitative ex-post facto research design was to determine the extent to which the reading intervention programs implemented at the research school improved reading achievement scores for seventh grade students with learning disabilities in reading, and to determine how much scores changed from the pretests to the posttests for two intervention groups. The theoretical framework for this study was the cognitive load theory. Data included Scholastic Reading Inventory scores from a convenience sample of 46 seventh grade students with learning disabilities in reading. The data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA pretest-posttest design. Data analyses indicated statistically significant differences in the reading achievement scores of the student participants, indicating they had higher reading achievement scores after participating in targeted reading interventions. This research contributes to positive social change by motivating students to be actively engaged in their reading and apply the skills they have learned as a result of participating in targeted reading interventions. This research also prepares students for the competitive job market through identifying viable interventions to help improve their reading comprehension skills