The Quantitative Effects of Read Alouds for Primary Students

Abstract

This researcher wanted to know the quantitative effects that reading aloud to students for 30 minutes; five days per week in a whole classroom setting would have on the Terra Nova Spring Testing scores of the class. The students tested were from a kindergarten through twelfth grade private school in Southeast Wisconsin. Reading comprehension skills and vocabulary were incidentally taught during this 30-minute reading aloud period. Many discussions between the teacher and students also took place during this time. This researcher was curious about the quantitative effects of this interaction over an eight-month period, using the already existing Terra Nova Reading Test Scores to measure the effects. Another second grade class in the school served as the control group. The Terra Nova Composite Reading Scores of the two groups were compared. The male composite reading scores from each class were also compared and the female composite reading scores from each class were compared. The researcher found that reading to students thirty minutes per day, five days per week did not significantly increase student-reading scores on the spring Terra Nova Test. However the research data analyses revealed a trend, toward significance. No gender differences were found in the data analysis.