Empirical Education conducts one-year study of Non-Readers who used PCI Reading Program – Level One and finds 21 percentile point improvement over control group
SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 28, 2009 — PCI Education and Empirical Education today announced the results of a one-year randomized control trial on the efficacy of the PCI Reading Program – Level One. This program is designed for students with severe disabilities who have not learned to read through traditional or multisensory phonics-based programs. The purpose of the study was to research whether students whose teachers used the PCI Reading Program achieved higher sight-word assessment scores in reading than students of teachers not using the program.
Empirical Education determined that students in the PCI Reading Program group had substantial success, equivalent to a 21 percentile point difference, in learning sight words in comparison to students in the control group.
Empirical Education obtained qualitative data from surveys, observations and informal interviews showing very high levels of teacher satisfaction, as well as student engagement and enjoyment with the PCI Reading Program. Teachers were excited to see their students retaining words they learned through the program, and reading books.
"My students made more progress with the PCI Reading Program than with any other approach I have tried," says Bart Barlin, an autism teacher with Saint Paul Public Schools in Minnesota. "Most of my students, who had been with me for more than one year, went from a sight-word vocabulary of less than 10 words to over 50 words. They were able to read four-to-five word sentences."
Empirical Education plans to present the report at the 2009 American Educational Research Association Annual Conference in San Diego, April 13-19, 2009. The complete report is available online at .
About Empirical Education
Empirical Education partners with and provides research services to school districts, research organizations, publishers and state and federal agencies, including Regional Education Laboratories and the U.S. Department of Education, to determine the effectiveness of programs. The mission of the company is to help school districts make cost-effective decisions about adopting new instructional and professional development programs. For more information, please visit http://www.empiricaleducation.com.
About PCI Education
PCI Education is a leading publisher of supplemental educational products for students with special needs and learning differences. The San Antonio, Texas-based company develops, publishes and distributes more than 5000 supplemental instructional materials for students in adult, struggling learner, ELL and special education classes. PCI has been focused on helping educators lead students to success in school, at home and in the community since 1991. For more information, visit http://www.pcieducation.com.
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Nicole Horne
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(800) 594-4263 ext. 126
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