Content area
The purpose of this study was to determine which of three methods of teaching reading was most effective by comparing the reading achievement of 300 pupils randomly selected from six elementary schools in the Port Arthur Independent School District who were exposed to computer-assisted reading instruction, prescriptive reading instruction, and traditional reading instruction. The pupils were composed of 70% black, 20% white, 5% Hispanic, and 5% Vietnamese, whose reading achievement was determined by administering the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills as pretest (spring 1979) and posttest (spring 1980).
The research design used in the study was a pretest/posttest, control group design. A one-way analysis of covariance was utilized to statistically test the null hypotheses. The dependent variables were reading achievement scores (vocabulary, comprehension, and total reading), and the independent variable was methods of teaching reading. In those cases where significant F-ratios were found, post hoc Scheffe tests were used to determine the source of the significance. The .05 level of confidence was set as the criterion for rejecting or not rejecting the null hypotheses.
Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that: (1) The traditional reading method was more efficient than the prescriptive method and the computer-assisted method for increasing both the total reading and reading vocabulary scores of fourth- and fifth-grade pupils. (2) The traditional reading method was more efficient than the prescriptive method for increasing the reading comprehension scores of fourth- and fifth-grade pupils. (3) There was no difference in the efficiency of the traditional reading method and the computer-assisted method for increasing the reading comprehension scores of fourth- and fifth-grade pupils. (4) There was no difference in the efficiency of the prescriptive reading method and the computer-assisted method in increasing either the total reading, vocabulary, or comprehension scores of fourth- and fifth-grade pupils.