Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

Often, no.

With enthusiasm, dedication, and genuine tears of gratitude, many parents advocate for particular reading programs, programs they claim cured their child’s dyslexia. They’re joined by many teachers and private reading consultants. These proponents—genuine in their beliefs and unbridled enthusiasm for particular programs—ignore these possibilities:

• Good teaching, rather than the particular program, was responsible.
• The placebo effect was operating, as it often does. A sugar pill can sometimes be as effective as a brand name pill costing $100.
• The program works for some children, but only for a few.
• Other programs would have worked as well, or better.

Before parents argue with schools to adopt a particular reading program, they ought to look at the research evaluating its effectiveness. The same goes for schools. Fortunately, it’s easy to do. All parents and schools have to do is visit Johns Hopkins University’s Best Evidence Encyclopedia at www.bestevidence.org or the federal government’s What Works Clearinghouse at www.whatworks.ed.gov. They list and evaluate many reading (and mathematics) programs.

As an example, let’s look at the Wilson Reading program, one that some parents and private consultants argue for incessantly. After all, it works. The Evening Star (a mythical newspaper) said so; it cured Alice of dyslexia. And so parents fight for Wilson Reading, the program that will cure their children of dyslexia.

But does it work? Here’s what the Best Evidence Encyclopedia (BEE) found: No qualifying studies or insufficient evidence of effectiveness. Here’s what the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reported: “The WWC considers the extent of evidence for Wilson Reading System® to be small for alphabetics, fluency, and comprehension. No studies that met WWC evidence standards with or without reservations addressed general reading achievement.” In other words, there’s no compelling evidence that the Wilson Program can help most children with reading disabilities.

Our recommendations are straightforward. If your child’s progress is poor, ask his school to:

• Use a program well supported by evidence. Check with the BEE and the WWC.
• Train his teachers to use the program; give them whatever support they need.
• Monitor his progress frequently and carefully, no matter his program.
• Analyze the monitoring data to determine if his program needs modification.
• Make sure his teachers—the key to his success—know a lot about teaching reading, are skilled in doing so, and are committed to making him a successful reader.

For information about understanding the qualities of excellent teachers, read chapters 2 and 3 in Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds. For information on monitoring, read chapter 7.

References

Best Evidence Encyclopedia, www.bestevidence.org

What Works Clearinghouse, www.whatworks.ed.gov

Margolis, H., & Brannigan, G. G. (2009). Reading Disabilities: Beating the Odds. Voorhees, NJ: Reading2008 & Beyond (www.reading2008.com).

HM © Reading2008 & Beyond.