Fort Smith Public Schools – Dyslexia Summary

Arkansas, Dyslexia Intervention, Elementary School Results, Reading, RtI, Seeing Stars, State Dyslexia Mandate, Tier 3

Fort Smith Public Schools in Fort Smith, Arkansas, serves a large percentage of students at risk of reading failure. During the 2017-18 school year, Fort Smith Public Schools implemented Lindamood-Bell® instruction to address this student population’s specific needs in response to a state Dyslexia initiative. To develop symbol imagery for reading, 131 students identified as having Dyslexia characteristics received an average of 63 hours of Seeing Stars® small-group, intensive instruction. The instruction was delivered by Fort Smith Public Schools teachers who received professional development in the program authored by Lindamood-Bell’s founders. A battery of nationally normed reading assessments measured student gains.

RESULTS
Seeing Stars® students achieved statistically significant improvements in all component parts of reading, including large standard score changes in Symbol Imagery, Word Attack, Word Recognition, Reading Accuracy, and Reading Comprehension. The results of this study illustrate that Lindamood-Bell® instruction in the Seeing Stars® program leads to improved reading, which is essential to achieving success with school curricula.

PROFILE: State Dyslexia Initiative

Number of Students: 131
Average Age: 9.6
Average Hours of Instruction: 63.5
Programs Implemented: Seeing Stars

Outcome Measures:
• Symbol Imagery Test
• Woodcock-Johnson Word Attack
• Wide-Range Achievement Test – Reading
• Gray Oral Reading Test-4 – Accuracy, & Comprehension
• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4