An Evaluation of a Summer Reading Clinic and its Impact on Improving Reading Academic Achievement

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether there were differences in the pre-assessment level and Post-assessment level reading scores for children who participated in The Church of Jesus Christ’s Summer Reading Clinic in grades PreK-8th. Researchers have been concerned about literacy and the impact summer has on readers. Studies had been conducted on the importance of interventions being implemented to help children reading behind grade level. Furthermore, research showed how interventions, such as summer programs, would benefit struggling readers. The research design employed for this study was a quasi-experimental design consisting of quantitative data of ratio/interval levels of measurement. Specifically, the one-group pretest-posttest design was utilized for this study. The summer reading clinic was tested and compared amongst PreK-4 elementary school students and 5th - 8th middle school students. The target population consisted of PreK-8th students who attended the summer reading clinic. The participants were pretested and identified as being at least one grade level behind, in order to attend the summer reading clinic. Based on the study’s findings, it is recommended that more studies be done on summer reading clinics and its impact on improving reading achievement. Examining the conceptual framework that this dissertation is based on will help to strengthen this study. Having a larger population, a control group, and a treatment group will help to evaluate if the reading achievement level was really improved by implementing a summer reading clinic. The overall purpose of this study addressed if participating in the C.O.J.C. Summer Reading Clinic impacted overall reading achievement in PreK-4 elementary school students and 5th - 8th middle school students. There was a significant improvement in the overall reading scores for PreK-8th grade students who participated in C.O.J.C.’s Summer Reading Clinic. There was not a significant difference in the PreK-8th grades when evaluating gender. The data showed specifically which grades benefited the most based on the assessment’s fluency or comprehension portion. The objective of this study was not to get all participant’s reading on their current grade level. The purpose was to increase the participant’s reading level. As a result, the purpose of the study was achieved