Paired reading with adult volunteer tutors as a reading intervention for students with reading difficulties

A study examined the effectiveness of using volunteer reading tutors to work with students who have reading difficulties. Changes in academic engaged time, active responding time, achievement, and student attitude were assessed, along with information from tutor evaluations. Subjects, nine intervention and eight control students with mild handicaps, in grades three-five, participated in the study over an 11-week period, with intervention subjects receiving at least 36 20-minute sessions with reading tutors during that time. The CISSAR (Code for Instructional Structure and Student Academic Response) observation system was used to obtain data on quantity of student responding time. Observations indicated significantly greater active academic responding (particularly reading aloud) and academic engaged time when students were with tutors, as well as significantly less inappropriate off-task behavior. During the intervention period, higher inappropriate off-task behavior was observed when the student was not with the tutor during reading time. Follow-up observations of intervention students without tutors revealed that changes in responses were not maintained. Changes over time were not found in achievement or in student attitude measures. Tutor evaluations suggested the possibility of gains in aspects of reading not measured by standardized tests (e.g., expression), as well as several improvements for students in social-emotional areas. (Five tables of data are included, and 19 references are attached.)