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Visible Learning™
Visible Learning MetaX™
Version 1.4 – Updated February 2026

Reading programs for specific groups

Overview

  • Influence: Reading programs for specific groups
  • Domain: Curricula
  • Sub-Domain: Reading, writing and the arts
  • Potential to Accelerate Student Achievement: Potential to accelerate
  • Influence Definition: Reading programs for targeted groups in need of additional scaffolding in literacy such as students who are; ELL, behaviorally challenged, children from developing countries, or struggling in a variety of ways.

Evidence

  • Number of meta-analyses: 14
  • Number of studies: 475
  • Number of students: 14,905
  • Number of effects: 1,131
  • Weighted mean effect size: 0.72
  • Robustness index: 4

Meta-Analyses

Meta-Analyses
Journal Title Author Article Name Year Published Variable Number of Studies Number of Students Number of Effects Effect Size
Behavioral Disorders Benner, Nelson, Ralston & Mooney A meta-analysis of the effects of reading instruction on the reading skills of students with or at risk of behavioral disorders 2010 Reading instruction for LD students 24 187 35 1.13
Educational Psychology Review Hall, Roberts, Cho, McCulley, Carroll, & Vaughn Reading instruction for English learners in the middle grades: A meta-analysis 2017 Reading for English learners 11 NA 11 0.35
Dissertation Jones Meta-analysis of reading interventions for students with learning and emotional disabilities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of North Texas 2005 Interventions with emotional disturbed students 74 NA 74 2.59
Journal of Learning Disabilities Scammacca, Roberts, Vaughn, & Stuebing A meta-analysis of interventions for struggling readers in grades 4–12: 1980–2011 2015 Interventions with struggling readers on comprehension 12 NA 82 0.21
Review of Educational Research McEwan Improving learning in primary schools of developing countries: A meta-analysis of randomized experiments 2015 Interventions in developing countries 77 NA 466 0.07
Learning Disability Quarterly O'Shaughnessy & Swanson Do immediate memory deficits in students with learning disabilities in reading reflect a developmental lag or deficit?: A selective meta-analysis of the literature 1998 Normal vs. LD on memory processing of information 41 1,783 161 0.61
Journal of Learning Disabilities Ludwig, Guo, & Georgiou Are reading interventions for English Language Learners Effective? A meta-analysis. 2019 Reading programs on ELL students 26 NA 26 0.90
Journal of Research in Reading Melby-Lervåg & Lervåg Cross-linguistic transfer of oral language, decoding, phonological awareness and reading comprehension: A meta-analysis of the correlational evidence 2011 Cross-linguistic transfer on reading skills 26 2,755 26 0.32
Reading Research Quarterly Neitzel, Lake, Pellegrini, & Slavin NA synthesis of quantitative research on programs for struggling readers in elementary schools. 2021 Programs for struggling readers 51 NA 65 0.23
Reading and Writing Swanson The impact of tier 1 reading instruction on reading outcomes for students in grades 4–12: A meta-analysis. 2017 Tier 1 Reading instruction 25 NA 70 0.09
Reading Research Quarterly Hall, Dahl-Leonard, Cho, Solari, Capin, Conner, Henry, Cook, Hayes, Vargas, Richmond, & Kehoe Forty Years of Reading Intervention Research for Elementary Students with or at Risk for Dyslexia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2022 Programs for dyslexic students 52 6,053 53 0.33
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry Strong, Torgerson, Torgerson, & Hulme A systematic meta-analytic review of evidence for the effectiveness of the ‘Fast ForWord' language intervention program.  2011 Fast ForWard language intervention 6 NA 6 0.05
Reading and Writing Graham, Silva, & Restrepo Reading intervention research with emergent bilingual students: a meta-analysis.  2023 Reading with emergent bilingual students 32 3,563 38 0.17
Journal of Attention Disorders Chan, Shero, Hand, Cole, Gaye, Spiegel, & Kofler Are reading interventions effective for at-risk readers with ADHD? A meta-analysis 2022 Programs for at-risk ADHD students 18 564 18 0.96
TOTAL/AVERAGE 475 14,905 1,131 0.57
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