California Students Receiving Visualizing and Verbalizing Instruction Make a Significant Improvement in Comprehension

California, Comprehension, Elementary School Results, Visualizing and Verbalizing

Ascend Charter School in Oakland, California, serves a large percentage of students who are at-risk of reading failure. During the 2007-08 school year, Ascend implemented Lindamood-Bell^® instruction to address the specific needs of this student population. Eleven students received an average of 36 hours of primarily Visualizing and Verbalizing instruction to develop concept imagery for comprehension. Instruction was delivered by Ascend teachers who received professional development in the Lindamood-Bell programs. Student gains were measured with a comprehension assessment.

Results
On average, Visualizing and Verbalizing students made a large standard score change in comprehension. Additionally, the 35-point percentile increase put these students within the normal range (25th-75th percentile). Their pre- to posttest results were statistically significant. 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
School Years: 2007-08
Number of Students: 11
Grade Levels: 2nd
Lindamood-Bell Programs Implemented: Visualizing and Verbalizing®
Outcome Measures: Gray Oral Reading Tests-4th (comprehension)