Fort Smith Public Schools – Reading Comprehension

Arkansas, Elementary School Results, Reading, Visualizing and Verbalizing

Fort Smith Public Schools in Fort Smith, Arkansas serves a large percentage of students who are at-risk of reading failure. During the 2020-21 school year, Fort Smith Public Schools implemented Lindamood-Bell® instruction to address the specific needs of this student population. 97 students received an average of 52 hours of Visualizing and Verbalizing instruction to develop concept imagery for comprehension. Instruction was delivered by Fort Smith Public Schools’ teachers who received professional development in the programs developed by Lindamood-Bell’s founders. Student gains were measured with a battery of assessments.

RESULTS: On average, Visualizing and Verbalizing students achieved statistically significant, large standard score gains in Reading Comprehension. The percentile growth shows these students moved from below the normal range into the normal range (25th-75th percentile). The results of this study illustrate that Lindamood-Bell instruction in the Visualizing and Verbalizing program leads to improved comprehension, which is essential to achieving success with school curricula.

PROFILE: Reading Comprehension

Number of Students: 97
Average Age: 12.1
Average Hours of Instruction: 52
Lindamood-Bell Programs Implemented: Visualizing and Verbalizing®

Outcome Measures:
• Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT)-4th/5th (vocabulary)
• Gray Oral Reading Tests (GORT)-4th (accuracy, fluency, comprehension)

Note: PPVT-4 scores were later compared to PPVT-5 scores