A Study to Determine the Effect of the Arkansas Comprehensive School Reform Model on First-Grade Students\u27 Self-Regulation Skills During Writing

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of the Arkansas Comprehensive School Reform (ACSR) model on first-grade students’ self-regulation skills during writing. This study involved two first-grade classrooms: one classroom received instruction from the ACSR model on a daily basis; the other classroom did not. The Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) was administered at the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year to determine the students’ overall reading abilities in order to ensure that the academic level of each class was equal. Paired-samples t-test results from the DRA showed no significant differences between the two classes. Writing prompts were administered in September, December, and March to determine whether or not students self-regulate during writing. Test results from the Independent sample t-test showed a statistically significant difference between the two classrooms. The research therefore concluded ACSR model was an effective method for students to learn how to self-regulate during writing