Higgs Phonics 1

Draft # 1, July 12, 2013

A Reading Recovery Program for Adolescents

Principal Investigator: Elihu Harris, Eq.

Developer: Rosa L. Higgs

Researchers: Christina McClain and Cyndi Zyong, DePaul University;

Dr. Derrick Johnson
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Table of Contents

Page

I. Abstract

II. Introduction

III. Background 7

IV. Objectives

V. Participants

11

VI. Intervention

13

VII. Methodology 15

VIII. Standardized Test (TABE) 18

IX. Sample Size

20

X. Results

20

References 33

Attachments:
Higgs Phonics 1

A. Summary of the Maywood Study

34

B. Data Output - 11th grade control

C. Data Output - 11th grade experimental

D. Data Output - 12th grade control

E. Data Output - 12th grade experimental

I. Abstract '

Objectives:
To learn whether alternative high school students who are struggling readers improve
their math skills beyond two years growth within 40 hours or less after completing this
intensive phonics instruction program? We hypothesized that:
(1) As a direct result of the Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery Intervention, students
would transfer their decoding and vocabulary development skills to expository texts
as evidenced in the TABE assessments in basic reading, comprehension, mathematics,
and language skills.
(2) That the intervention of educational strategies and intensive phonics instructional
materials would remedy reading maladies and therefore significantly increase math
and reading scores beyond two years growth within 40 hours.
Design:
Four randomized groups of high students with grade equivalency from 4.0 to 7.0. Used a
computerized randomizer program to select two experimental groups and two controls.
This was a single study.
Setting:
Two alternative charter high schools in a large mid western city.
Participants:
The sample size included 200 African-American 11th and 12th grade students seeking
credit recovery towards a high school diploma and participated in the free or reduced
lunch program. School A had two 11th grade classes in the regular English course with
25 students each. School A also had two 12th grade classes in the regular English course
with 25 students each. School B had an identical arraignment.
Higgs Phonics 2

Intervention:
The Higgs Phonics reading recovery supplementary workbooks. Students received 40
hours of intensive phonics.
Main outcome measures:
Reading and math scores on standardized tests.
Results:
Grade 11 improvement rates: Read 82%; Math 81%. Grade 12 improvement rates:
Read 66%; Math 59%.

Conclusions:
Students who are taught from the Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery Workbooks
intervention program, substantially improve their standardized test scores in math and
reading as a direct result of 40 hour intervention.
Funding
Higgs Phonics Corp.

II. Introduction

This single study and randomized control experiment suggests a promising future for

remediated adolescent students using Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery Workbooks. The

students were African Americans attending an alternative high school. Results show a

high correlation between improved literacy and numeracy after 40 hours of intensive

phonics instruction. It can easily be replicated across rural, urban and suburban school

districts and every region of North America. It can be difficult to repair student failures

in numeracy without their being aware of explicit decoding skills. By knowing intensive

phonics rules, adolescents reconstruct reading and comprehension skills across subjects.

This randomized control experiment suggests a promising future for remediated

adolescent students using Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery Workbooks. The students

were African Americans attending an alternative high school. Results show a high

correlation between improved literacy and numeracy after 40 hours of intensive phonics
Higgs Phonics 1

instruction. It can easily be replicated across rural, urban and suburban school districts

and every region of North America. It can be difficult to repair student failures in

numeracy without their being aware of explicit decoding skills. By knowing intensive

phonics rules, adolescents reconstruct reading and comprehension skills across subjects.

If education hinges on the ability to read well, then the basic function of schools

would be to produce a literate citizenry. Educators often lament that poor academic

performance in many subjects is the result of an inability to read, comprehend what was

read, as well as to speak and write Standard Academic English well. The purpose of this

segmented randomized pre-test post-test experiment was to measure the impact of a new

reading intervention on mathematics standardized test scores in two alternative high

schools in a large urban city.

Many alternative high school students and educators are dissatisfied with student

academic achievement in both public and private schools. In many large urban schools,

the curriculum, instructional effectiveness and public school environment (often violent)

apparently are not highly conducive to learning and emotional growth.

Upon enrolling in an alternative high school, the majority of students lack

substantial literacy and numeracy development consequently function far below grade

level. According to the National Reading Panel (2002), the components of literacy

include: phonemic awareness, decoding and encoding skills, systematic vocabulary

development, writing skills, word analysis, reading comprehension, and a positive

attitude towards reading. Also, numeracy deficits are very prolific within this population

of alternative high students. However, research has not looked carefully at the impact of

reading fluency on mathematical abilities (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2002), and content literacy.
Higgs Phonics 2

Loss of time is a grave factor in the remediation of adolescent. These students

need a fast, intensive reading recovery program, because they have spent years in

programs that failed them..A grave factor in the remediation of adolescent students is

timeliness. They have lost precious time and need a fast, intensive reading recovery

program and intensive phonics instructional materials. Our objective is to learn whether

the standard average yearly gain measure in reading skills gained can be substantially

quickened for this population? The need for an intensive, timely recovery program is

obvious. The future of the American workforce is at stake. It is critical that these new

entrants into the workforce be enabled to succeed in the new knowledge-based global

economy.

This one study reports on the impact of an intervention in two alternative charter

high schools in a large Midwestern urban city. The materials used as the intervention in

this experiment was the Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery Program. The teachers used

Volumes One and Two consistently and Volumes Three and Four sporadically. The

participants in this empirical study were in grades 11-12 with grade equivalent reading

levels as low as 4.0 and as high as 7.0. Scores were a result of a standardized test taken

in the Fall, 2006 semester prior to the intervention. All participants were assessed using

the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) pre and post tests. The participants in this

study were students with both diagnosed and undiagnosed learning difficulties.

In this empirical experimental design we measured results on two experimental

groups and two control groups. The control groups were in attendance at School A,

while the experimental groups attended School B. One primary concern was to control

the number of relevant variables in such a way that any effects of the intervention can be
Higgs Phonics 1

attributed to the variables under investigation (Dressman & McCarthy, 2004, pp. 324-

325), hence separating the experimental groups from the control groups was deemed

appropriate. Consequently, we were able to study the cause-and-effect relationships to:

(a) ensure that the intervention deliberately manipulated and precedes the observed

effect; (b) use procedures that determine whether the cause is related to the effect; and (c)

minimize the influence of extraneous factors that could produce the effect presumed to be

attributed to the cause.

III. Background

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate the impact of the Higgs Phonics

Reading Recovery Workbooks on adolescent students’ standardized reading and

mathematics test scores. Historically, the workbooks were originally used over 12 years

ago in a middle school as a comparative intervention study done in the developer’s

classroom. Next a quasi experiment was conducted in a small suburban school district

during summer break with four through six grade boy and girl volunteers. The Woodcock

Johnson Revised Edition was used for the pre and post tests in oral reading fluency, letter

word identification subtest, word attack subtest and reading vocabulary subtest. Results

from the Maywood Study showed significant improvement in general literacy in less than

40 hours of instruction. See Attachment A for a summary of the Maywood Study.

Eventually, by comparison with several other phonics programs, all were

eliminated based on the criteria of timeliness and absence of The National Reading Panel

recommendations.

IV. Objectives
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To learn whether alternative high school students who are struggling readers

improve their math skills beyond two years growth within 40 hours or less after

completing this intensive phonics instruction program?

(1) We hypothesized that students would transfer their decoding and vocabulary

development skills to expository texts as evidenced in the TABE assessments in basic

reading, comprehension, mathematics, and language skills.

(2) Would reading scores for students with an IEP advance one year or more within

40 hours of instruction after exposure to the treatment?

(4) Would the intervention of educational strategies and intensive phonics

instructional materials remedy reading maladies and therefore significantly increase

math scores? Word math problems are a cornerstone of school mathematics: Unless

students can read the problems, understand the facts and concepts, logarithms are of

little use (Bates & Weist, 2004).

(5) We hypothesized that a significant number of students would improve reading

achievement scores beyond two years growth within 40 hours.

We hypothesized that students enrolled in the experimental groups would increase

their standardized posttest scores greater than two years in reading and math within 40

hours of instruction with the Higgs Phonics reading recovery workbooks. Also, students

with a learning disability or an Individualized Educational Plan, will substantially

increase their scores.

The stand-alone whole language approach to reading instruction no longer meets

the pragmatic rule of being widely applicable and fluid. Whole language instruction,

exclusive of intensive phonics instruction, appears not to provide adequate means to

Higgs Phonics 1

differentiate instruction for students who are having difficulty. In contrast, explicit

phonics instruction shows the teacher and the student howto focus on problem areas,

hence instructional effectiveness is greatly enhanced. This study proves that students

taught in this manner showed greater success in learning to read expository texts as

compared to the more traditional whole language method taught in the control groups.

Our literature review revealed that over the last 20 years, reading methods which

exclude intensive phonics across grade levels have had detrimental consequences on the

academic gains for millions of adolescents. The review led to lists of over 15,000 books

and journal articles on reading instruction. Many of the studies are verbose, overly

complicated and lack insight into usability. However, even a poorly conducted study of

an important subject is better than an elegant study on a picayune issue. Venezky (1984,

pp. 17-29) laments that to sort the preponderance of literature on reading instruction is

like a fishing expedition. Venezky also continues with the observation that researchers

use almost random searches for relationships that are not anchored in any theoretical

framework, and too many studies ignore the limitations of the choice of quantitative

analysis. Currently, much of the literature is on primary and pre-primary literacy

preventions with far too little on adolescent literacy interventions. However, there are

only two main reading theories that dominate the research. They are phonics and whole

language. Much of the former whole language research claims of old have proven

unreliable when applied contextually. Reading research is also shaped by the

environment and context in which it is conducted (Kamil, 1989). The stand-alone whole

language approach to reading instruction has proven to no longer meet the pragmatic rule

of being widely applicable and fluid.

Higgs Phonics 2

Cocking & Chipman (1988) looked at the achievement differences between

language minority and language majority students. Their findings show that SES, not

linguistic ability, is the major predictable variable for high reading and math scores.

Fuchs & Fuchs found that students with reading disabilities impact other types of

academic achievement as well, and math problem solving in particular. Goldstein (1997)

asked, “ What impact does English reading ability have on the ability to understand math

terminology?” His study examined the impact of LEP and non LEP students’

background variables on their performance in mathematics. He selected this subject area

because, he claims, that typically math has not been linked with students’ language

capabilities.

Similarly, Mestre (1998), concluded that language deficiencies can lead to a

misinterpretation of word problems and the ability to understand text is of paramount

importance in solving math word problems.

There appears to be an observable disconnect between

practitioner/teacher/researcher and theorists; all of which has resulted in a mass

production of studies, reading programs, instructional materials, interventions, and a

threat to trees with no tangible improvement for millions of students. Reading research

begs for pragmatism, not dogmatism (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie, 2004, p. 18). For

example, an article in the Chicago Tribune, (1985), entitled: “Why Chicago kids don’t

read”, then School Superintendent, Manford Byrd, criticized the Mastery Learning

Program, a whole language reading program, as a dismal failure despite all the empirical

data that predicted its effectiveness. Simply put, we need to focus on methods that work

in the classroom.
Higgs Phonics 1

V. Participants

The sample size included 200 African-American 11th and 12th grade students

enrolled in two charter alternative high schools in a large midwestern metropolitan city.

The charter school network had 22 schools with a total population of 4,013 in grades 10-

12. The 11th and 12th grade total population was 1,677. Each campus had an enrollment

of 180-200 students. Historically, mobility has been highest for the 10th grade. Hence,

we opted for the more stable 11th and 12th grade students at both campuses. School

Principals agreed that the 11th and 12th grade students, had better attendance, were more

highly motivated toward credit recovery leading to a high school diploma.

Participants in these experimental groups were chosen randomly from students in

11th and 12th grades each. The control groups also were also randomly selected from

students each in 11th and 12th grades. Student selection for all groups was done with the

computer program R randomizer (insert citation).The experimental groups of students

were in attendance at School B. The control groups attended School A, several miles

south of School B. Neither group knew of the other and the control teacher did not know

of the experimental teachers’ duties. Only the control school Principal knew of the

experimental group at School B. Before randomization, all participants had been

segmented by reading scores of 4.0 GE up to 7.0. Then randomization was done.

School A had two 11th grade classes in the regular English course with 25

students each. School A also had two 12th grade classes in the regular English course

with 25 students each.

School B had two classes in the 11th grade with 25 students each and two classes

in the 12th grade with 25 students each. All 100 students were assigned to receive the
Higgs Phonics 2

treatment. All the students in the eight classrooms had the same SES status, were

African American adolescent men and women and all participated in the free or reduced

lunch program. In all grades 68% were male. Few had IEPs and other non-diagnosed

learning disabilities. The alternative school from which the control groups were selected

met the same criteria as the experimental campus. All teachers were licensed to teach

high school English. Their teaching experience ranged from two to four years. Both

campuses had similar characteristics and identical demographics, as did the students.

Most of the faculty and staff did not know of the experiment at School B.

The control groups were selected from a school wide population of 180 students.

There was a total enrollment of 70 in the 11th grade and 54 in the 12th grade; 50

students were randomly selected from each grade. In four classrooms of 25 each, they

received the school’s regular reading curriculum for the entire 40 hours.

The experimental group at School B had a school wide population of 180

students. There was a total enrollment of 70 in the 11th grade and 65 in the 12 grade; 50

students were randomly selected from each grade. In four classrooms of 25 each,

students received the intervention for 40 hours. School A received the same core math

instruction as School B participants. Both the four control groups and the four

experimental groups took the TABE pre-test before the start of the Fall Semester, 2006,

to measure their basic reading and math competency. Stable students from both groups

took the TABE post test in January, 2007

The pre-post tests administered were four standardized subtests from The Test of

Adult Basic Education # 7, 1994 edition (TABE). The Principals chose the complete

battery of subtests for both norm and curriculum referenced information. The complete
Higgs Phonics 1

battery consisted of reading, math computation, applied mathematics, and language.

These students achieved scores below the TABE 7th grade level and/or fell below the

national mean and were identified as having reading and math discrepancies. Scores

were reported as raw scores and then converted into percentile scaled scores and grade

equivalents.

The experimental groups, N = 100 received the treatment three class periods per

week, 45 minutes each day for 10 weeks. After 10 weeks the experimental groups were

reassigned to the regular curriculum, identical to the control groups. The control groups,

N=100, received regular instruction in English for the entirety of the 40 hours.

VI. The Intervention

Below is a description of the Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery Workbooks for

Adolescent interventions. Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery is a supplementary

curriculum for 4th grade through high school students who are more than two years

behind grade level expectancy. It is for all ability levels. According to its developer,

Higgs Phonics emphasizes the five strands of literacy development and processes

recommended by the National Reading Council. The program focuses on adolescent

literacy interventions in the reading and general literacy domain. The program

incorporates on going assessments after every lesson to quickly meet the diverse needs of

every student.

The two primary interventions taught were (1) intensive phonics skills and (2)

encoding and decoding multi syllable words (NRP, 2000). Students practiced daily in

workbooks and at the blackboard for a total of 40 hours. After 40 hours of intensive

phonics reading recovery lessons during whole class instruction, students transposed their
Higgs Phonics 2

newly acquired decoding and encoding literacy skills to vocabulary development, reading

comprehension, and fluency across core subjects. Generally, students were taught the

short, long and silent vowel phonetic rules followed by encoding and decoding skills. At

the teacher’s discretion, students practiced decoding grade and college level vocabulary

words from Volumes Three and Four.

The supplemental workbooks are a set of four. Volume One is a very detailed and

elaborate introduction to letter sounds, shapes, pronunciation keys, beginning and ending

consonant sounds as well as the short and long vowel sounds. Dictionary skills and

diacritical marks were introduced. There were over 100 exercises completed.

Volume Two, a consumable, taught explicit phonics rules and decoding skills.

There were 500 graduated skill building exercises completed. Week two, day four, the

experimental groups received Volume Two. By the end of the experiment the students

had decoded over 1,000 12th grade and college level words.

By day 15 several students reported to their other core subject teachers an ability

to transfer their decoding skills to vocabulary lists and to various expository texts in

math, science, and history. By instructional hour 40 all stable participants had

successfully completed both volumes within 80-95% accuracy.

The Test of Adult Basic Skills was the test of choice by school administrators.

The TABE batteries of post-tests were given after 40 hours of intervention and during the

Spring semester, four months later. The post tests were administered at the same time,

Spring, 2006 semester for all 22 alternative high schools. According to School B

administrators, their school showed record high achievement levels above all the other

campuses as well as previous years.

Higgs Phonics 1

VII. Methodology

In this 40 hour experiment, the definition of a low reading score is 4.0 - 7.0 grade

equivalency scores by standardized assessments on the Test of Adult Basic Education

(TABE). The design called for a maximum of 40 hours of instructional time in which

students were on-task. At school B two teachers were trained to teach the Higgs Phonics

Reading Recovery Workbooks to 11th and 12th grade students. One teacher was given

permanent assignments in the four experimental classrooms. The other trained teacher

was the substitute experimental teacher. The four control groups at School A, like School

B had 25 students per class, three days a week for 45 minutes. All teacher training was

at the experimental site which lasted eight hours over two consecutive days. On training

day one, the two teachers were taught the five phonetic rules and the two decoding skills

along with short vowel sounds and arbitrary assessments from Volumes Three and Four.

They were trained how to implement explicit instruction in the five phonetic rules for

vowels, beginning and ending constant sounds, and the short vowel rule from Volume

One.

On training day two they were taught direct instructional methods to be

implemented while teaching from Volume Two. In Volume Two the teachers learned

how to teach the five phonetic rules, blends, r-controlled vowels, diphthongs, digraphs,

the two decoding skills and more. Mandatory end of chapter assessments were explained,

as well as how to transition students from remediation to implementation of new

knowledge in decoding skills in all academic courses and expository texts. The two

teachers were given the Higgs Phonics Teacher Manual. Each student was given Volume
Higgs Phonics 2

Two only. The developer deemed Volume One too juvenile for adolescents. Volume

One was taught with pencil and paper as well as with blackboard work.

The intervention group received no other reading instruction during the 40

experiment. Only at the end of the 40 hour intervention teachers and students reverted to

the core instructional materials identical to the comparison group. All three teachers

remained compliant, cooperative and professional in the execution of their instructional

duties. The two experimental teachers used Volumes Three and Four intermittently at

their discretion. To ensure program standards were met, teachers were observed once

weekly, for three weeks then once every two weeks thereafter by the developer.

from the Maywood Study showed significant improvement in general literacy in less than

40 hours of instruction. See Attachment A for a summary of the Maywood Study.

Eventually, by comparison with several other phonics programs, all were

eliminated based on t School B had two classes in the 11th grade with 25 students each

and two classes in the 12th grade with 25 students each. All 100 students were assigned

to receive the treatment. All the students in the eight classrooms had the same SES

status, were African American adolescent men and women and all participated in the free

or reduced lunch program. In all grades 68% were male. Few had IEPs and other non-

diagnosed learning disabilities. The alternative school from which the control groups

were selected met the same criteria as the experimental campus. All teachers were

licensed to teach high school English. Their teaching experience ranged from two to four

years. Both campuses had similar characteristics and identical demographics, as did the

students. Most of the faculty and staff did not know of the experiment at School B.

The control groups were selected from a school wide population of 180 students.
Higgs Phonics 1

There was a total enrollment of 70 in the 11th grade and 54 in the 12th grade; 50

students were randomly selected from each grade. In four classrooms of 25 each, they

received the school’s regular reading curriculum for the entire 40 hours.

The experimental group at School B had a school wide population of 180

students. There was a total enrollment of 70 in the 11th grade and 65 in the 12 grade; 50

students were randomly selected from each grade. In four classrooms of 25 each,

students received the intervention for 40 hours. School A received the same core math

instruction as School B participants. Both the four control groups and the four

experimental groups took the TABE pre-test before the start of the Fall Semester, 2006,

to measure their basic reading and math competency. Stable students from both groups

took the TABE post test in January, 2007

VIII. Relevance of The Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE)

This study is relevant in timeframe, intervention, sample and outcome measures

according to WWC screening standards. All the groups had been equated on a pre test of

the outcome measures of reading and math. The TABE was the standardized test in

current use at both schools. It was relevant to the outcomes measured. At the time, The

Test of Adult Basic Education was widely used in alternative schools and community

colleges in this urban area. It is a versatile system of diagnostic tests and instructional

support materials in the adult basic education environment. TABE® 9&10 accurately

predicted how adolescent students may perform and measured the skills needed to

succeed on the job and in life.

Higgs Phonics 2

TABE 9&10 aligns with national standards and is based on current national

standards, including the National Council of Teachers of Math (NCTM), the National

Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), and the International Reading Association

(IRA). TABE was developed to keep pace with changes in adult education curricula

nationwide and has been successfully applied to adolescent learners in high school.

TABE 9&10 reflects national norms. The test was nationally piloted on more than 34,000

students to ensure test items that are true indicators of a student’s abilities. Developers

chose subject matter for test content that is engaging and that assesses skills in contexts

important to adults: life skills, work, and education. Like the goals of instruction in the

most successful adult education programs, TABE’s objectives are fully integrated,

providing a complete picture of what adolescent students know. TABE provides both

norm-referenced and competency-based information to evaluate student abilities and

customize a plan for individual educational training needs.

TABE 9&10 uses statistically sound and reliable information. An Item Response

Theory (IRT) model was employed in the selection and scaling of TABE 9&10 test items

to provide the greatest statistical accuracy of test results. The test items were carefully

reviewed by CTB editors and educational community professionals to minimize bias and

ensure content appropriateness.

The schools in this study used the TABE 9&10 Complete Battery. The Complete

Battery consists of five test levels. All students were given Form A - 10 for the pre test.

They were given Form A - 9 for the post test. TABE’s two parallel forms (9 and 10) to

ensure valid results when retesting the same students.

Higgs Phonics 1

Available tests included Reading, Mathematics Computation, Applied

Mathematics, and Language. All of which were administered to our students in

September for the pre test and January, 2007 for the post test. Optional tests were

available but not administered.

The TABE batteries of post-tests were given after 40 hours of intervention and

during the Spring semester, four months later. The experimental school showed record

high achievement levels.

Numbers analyzed:

The pre-post tests administered were four standardized subtests from The Test of Adult

Basic Education # 7, 1994 edition (TABE). The Principals chose the complete battery of

subtests for both norm and curriculum referenced information. The complete battery

consisted of reading, math computation, applied mathematics, and language. These

students achieved scores below the TABE 7th grade level and/or fell below the national

mean and were identified as having reading and math discrepancies. Scores were

reported as raw scores and then converted into percentile scaled scores and grade

equivalents.

The experimental groups, N = 100 received the treatment three class periods per

week, 45 minutes each day for 10 weeks. After 10 weeks the experimental groups were

reassigned to the regular curriculum, identical to the control groups.

IX. Sample Size and Attrition Rate

Higgs Phonics 2

School A, the comparison group, had an attrition rate of 8% for 11th grade, and

6% for the 12th grade. Of the 50 who took the pre test, 46 took the post test in the 11th

grade. The 12th grade post test participants were 48 out of the 50 who took the pre test.

School B, the experimental group, had an attrition rate of 4% for the 11th grade

and 4% for the 12th grade. Of the 50, 11th graders who took the pre test, 47 took the post

test. The 12th grade post test participants were 48 out of 50.

In the Grade 11 control classes, three students moved out of the area and one was

hospitalized. In the Grade 11 experimental class, one student dropped out of school to

accept employment; one was incarcerated and a third passed the GED and subsequently

dropped out of school.

The 12th grade control classes lost two students who moved out of the area. The

experimental classes also lost two students; one transferred to an out of state school and

the second one died as a victim of a violent crime.

X. Results

Graph 1 Participant flows in Control and Experimental Group

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Treatment Dates: September, 2006 - November, 2006

Table 1 Baseline data for Each Group With Attrition Rate

Control Group(School A) Experimental Group(School B)

Higgs Phonics 2

　 11th grade 12th grade 　 11th grade 12th grade

Pre Test 50 50Pre Test 50 50
Post Test 46 47Post Test 48 48
Attrition rate 8% 6%Attrition rate 4% 4%

Numbers analyzed:

There is no significant difference in the mean scores between the control and

experimental group pre tests in reading and math (Table 2 & 3). However, in the post

tests, there is a significant difference between the control and experimental group. In this

case, the mean score of the experimental groups is statistically higher than those of the

control groups, regardless of reading test or math test. We conclude that the mean score

of the experimental group is greatly improved after 40 hours of the intervention.

Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for Grade 11

Group Mean Std. Deviation

Pre Read Test Control Group 5.630 0.8478665
Experimental 5.780 0.8822272
Post Read Test Control Group 6.478 0.9198824
Experimental 10.323 1.5589467
Pre Math Test Control Group 5.342 0.9021720
Experimental 5.416 0.8510648
Post Math Test Control Group 6.176 0.8524956
Experimental 9.642 1.8799992

Table 3 Descriptive Statistics for Grade 12

Higgs Phonics 1

Group Mean Std. Deviation

Pre Read Test Control Group 5.670 0.8054027
Experimental 5.916 0.8374792
Post Read Test Control Group 6.500 0.8123567
Experimental 9.865 1.5875164
Pre Math Test Control Group 5.390 0.8643152
Experimental 5.318 0.7823799
Post Math Test Control Group 6.149 0.8026317
Experimental 8.421 1.4875309

For the 11th grade, the mean scores of pre reading test and math test in the

experimental group, 5.780 and 5.416, respectively, seems a little bit higher than that in

the control group, 5.630 and 5.342, respectively, but more widely spread out (Table 2).

While in the 12th grade, the mean scores of pre reading test and math test in the

experimental group, 5.916 and 5.318, respectively, are also close to that in the control

group, 5.670 and 5.390, respectively, in consideration of the dispersement of the scores

(Table 3).

Outcomes and results:

Objective 1: Check the significant differences in Pre and Post scores

The performance in the reading and math tests improved in the experimental

group after the 40-hour reading intervention in the spring semester. In order to

investigate the significant difference in the performance between the pre and post tests, t-

tests were performed.

Table 4 Welch Two Sample T-test For Grade 11

Welch Two Sample t-test for Grade 11

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Critical
　 Group P-Value
Value
Reading Control Group -4.6857<0.0001
　 Experimental -17.6162<0.0001
Math Control Group -4.6571<0.0001
　 Experimental -14.2101<0.0001

Table 5 Welch Two Sample T-test For Grade 12

Welch Two Sample t-test for Grade 12

Critical
　 Group P-Value
Value
Reading Control Group -4.7278<0.0001
　 Experimental -15.3083<0.0001
Math Control Group -4.5287<0.0001
　 Experimental -12.8461<0.0001

For Grade 11, the p-value (<0.0001) indicates that the differences in pre and post

reading mean scores are significant in both groups (Table 4). In this case, the

performance in the post reading test is statistically significantly better than that in the pre

reading test. In addition, the p-value for the t-test in pre and post math test scores is close

to 0 for both groups. In other words, there is a significant difference in pre and post math

test scores, no matter which group it comes from (Table 4). In this study, the performance

in the post math test has been statistically significantly improved from the performance in

the pre math test.

Higgs Phonics 1

For Grade 12, the p-values (<0.0001) illustrated that it is highly unlikely that the

pre and post reading mean scores are not equal, regardless of the group (Table 5). In this

case, the average score in the post reading test is significantly greater than that in the pre

reading test. Furthermore, the p-value (0.0001) discovered it is very likely that the pre

and post math mean scores are the same in both groups (Table 5). In this condition, the

average score in the post math test is significantly higher than that in the pre math test.

Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that significant differences exist in the pre

and post tests, no matter in which group, grade or subject. In other words, after the spring

semester, the performance in reading and math tests for both grades are significantly

improved after the treatment.

Objective 2: Check the association between the Pre and Post scores

Graph 1 Grade 11 Math and Reading Control and Experimental Group

Higgs Phonics 2

In grade 11 (Graph 1), the graphs shows a roughly positive linear relationship

between the pre and post math/reading scores in the control group. It indicates that those

students with a lower score in the pre test would have a lower score in the post test, while

those students with a higher score in the pre test would have a higher score in the post

test. While in the experimental group, the story would be a little bit different. The graphs

for the experimental groups present a spread-out dot plot, illustrating that there seems no

significant relationship between the pre and post math/reading scores in the experimental

group. In other words, after the 40-hour intervention, those students with a lower score in

the pre test would have a chance to get a higher score in the post test. In this case, the

initial performance might not be able to explain the post performance.

Graph 2 Grade 12 Math and Reading Control and Experimental Group

Higgs Phonics 1

In grade 12 (Graph 2), the graphs are similar to those in grade 11. The graphs for

the control group suggest a roughly positive relationship between the pre and post

math/reading scores in the control group. That is, those students in the lower tail in the

pre test would be very likely to be still in the lower tail in the post test, while those in the

upper tail in the pre test would likely to be in the upper tail. On the other hand, the graphs

for the experimental group discovered as a spread-out dot plots, meaning that there is no

significant correlation between the pre and post math/reading scores in the experimental

group. In other words, after the 40-hour reading intervention, those students with a lower
Higgs Phonics 2

score in the pre test would have a chance to achieve a higher score in the post test. In this

case, the initial performance might not be able to explain the post performance. As a

result, regardless of the subjects or grades, the pre and post performance are significantly

correlated to each other in the control group, while there is no significant relationship

between the pre and post performance in the experimental group.

Objective 3: Fitted by linear regression model

Furthermore, a linear regression model was built for the pre and post scores, and

one-way ANOVA was preformed.

Table 6 Summary of ANOVA test

The summary table for One-way ANOVA tests (Table 6) proved that there is a

linear relationship between the pre and post math and reading scores in the control

groups, where all multiple r-squares are greater than 0.80, meaning that over 80% of the

improvement in post scores can be attributed to the intervention. The linear regression

model would be acceptable in the control groups. In this case, the pre scores can be a

good predictor to the post scores in both math and reading test. In this case, the models

can be constructed as following:

Post Math Grade 11=1.7443+0.8264*Pre Math Grade 11

Higgs Phonics 1

Post Reading Grade 11=1.0497+0.9623*Pre Reading Grade 11

Post Math Grade 12=1.529+0.854*Pre Math Grade 12

Post Reading Grade 12=1.1677+0.9257*Pre Reading Grade 12

However, in the experimental, the linear regression model is not significant in

math and reading scores with multiple r-squares less than 0.5, suggesting that less than

50% of the improvement in post scores can be explained by the pre scores in the

experimental groups. Thus, it agreed with the graphs that the linear regression model

would be poor and not acceptable in the experimental groups.

Objective 4: Check the differences in groups.

The performance for both experimental groups has been significantly improved

after the reading intervention. Also, there is a significant difference between the

experimental group and the control group after 40 hours of intervention.

Table 7 Performance Gain in Grade 11

Performance Gain in Grade 11

Percent Change
　 　 Mean(std)
Gain(std)
Gain in Read Control 0.837(0.3561) 15%(0.0776)
　 Experimental 4.572(1.5510) 82%(0.3442)
Gain in Math Control 0.813(0.3976) 16%(0.0996)
　 Experimental 4.272(1.7038) 81%(0.3516)

Table 8 Performance Gain in Grade 12

Performance Gain in Grade 12

Higgs Phonics 2

Percent Change
　 　 Mean(std)
Gain(std)
Gain in Read Control 0.7449(0.3476) 13.5%(0.0700)
　 Experimental 3.906(1.1829) 66%(0.2079)
Gain in Math Control 0.7388(0.3451) 14%(0.0812)
　 Experimental 3.077(1.2388) 59%(0.2735)

Specifically, we concluded that the average gain in the experimental group is

much higher than in the control group, regardless of the subject.

For the Grade 11 (Table 7), math gains 16% and reading gains 15% in control

group. At the same time, math gains 81% and reading gains 82% in the experimental

group. Taking the standard deviation of the percent change gain into account, the gains in

the experimental group are significantly higher than that in the control group. In the

meanwhile, for the Grade 12 (Table 8), math gains 14% and reading gains 13.5% in the

control group. And in the experimental group, math gains 59% and reading gains 66%.

Even though the gain in the experimental group grade 12 is not as great as that in 11th

grade, they were still significantly higher than that in the control group with the standard

deviation in percent change in gain. Therefore, we can conclude that the gains in both

groups are distinct, and the gains in the experimental group are significantly higher than

those in the control group. That is, the Higgs Phonics reading intervention played an

active and positive role in math and reading improved performance.

XI. Discussion

This experiment suggests a promising future for remediated adolescent students

using Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery Workbooks. The Higgs Phonics reading
Higgs Phonics 1

recovery interventions are highly effective for adolescent students who lag behind in

literacy skills. Exponential growth in scores hopefully will lead this population of

students to significant scholastic parity. This study can easily be replicated across rural,

urban and suburban school districts and every region of North America. It is suitable for

adolescents in alternative schools, jr. high schools and continuation high schools.

There were no adverse effects for the stable students who took the pre and post

tests. It is difficult to repair student failures in numeracy without their being aware of

explicit decoding skills. To know intensive phonics rules, adolescents reconstruct

reading and comprehension skills across subjects. A great deal has been written about

the unique features of readers and non-readers of all ages. Very little research has been

done on the impact that reading has on mathematics and solving math word problems, as

stated in the literature review. The time has come for a more eclectic approach to

instruction in math and reading. This research confirms that improved reading scores can

lead to improved mathematics scores on standardized tests. Intensive phonics can be

taught quickly and efficiently and has a positive impact on math and reading scores (p = .

001), in less than 40 hours of instruction. Timeliness is a grave factor in the remediation

of adolescent students. These participants needed a fast, intensive reading recovery

program that improved math scores because they have spent too many years in failed

programs. The need for math excellence is obvious. The future of the American

workforce is at stake. It is critical that these new entrants into the world-wide workforce

be enabled to succeed in a knowledge-based global economy.

Intensive phonics must not be confused with general phonetic instruction which

typically omit three or more of the five components of intensive phonics instruction as
Higgs Phonics 2

outlined by the National Reading Panel (2000). These intervention materials teach the

entirety of the American English Phonetic structure, skills and rules within 40 hours.

Also, absenteeism was not interpreted as a negative. It did not seem to adversely

affect student outcomes for either group. The experimental Teachers reported that

students were capable of “keeping up” in spite of cancelled classes and absenteeism.

Students with an IEP worked as diligently as those without.

Further research can be done with special needs students and English language

learners. Another area of future research lies in the domain of homework. As an option,

some participants were given a complete set of Workbooks which when taken home

reportedly increased their out-of-school study time. However, the control group had no

assigned reading textbooks and neither group had assigned math textbooks which they

could take home.

In future studies, researchers, while planning, should be cognizant that this

population has adult responsibilities and concerns that are contextually relevant. Finally,

further research on high absenteeism in this demographic, as to whether attendance

should be conceptualized as a pathway to failure for the motivated adolescent learner.

Higgs Phonics 1

References:

Bates, E. & Wiest, L. (2004). Impact of personalization of mathematical word problems

on student performance. The Mathematics Educator, 24, 2, 17-28.

BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. (2010). CONSORT 2010 checklist for randomized trial.
www.consort-statement.org.

Chicago Tribune. (1985). Why Chicago kids don’t read. The Chicago Tribune p. 18.

Cocking, R. R. & Chipman, S. (1998). Conceptual issues related to mathematics

achievement of language minority children. In R. R. Cocking & J. P. Mestre
(Eds.), Linguistic and cultural influences on learning mathematics ( pp. 17-46).
Hillsdale, NJ: Eribaum Associates.

Cook,. J. L., & Cook, G. (2009). Child development principals and perspectives. pp 246-
250. NY: Pearson Education Inc.

Dressman, M., & McCarthy, S. (2004). Toward a pragmatics of epistemology,

methodology, and other people’s theories in literacy research. In N. Duke, & M.
Mallette (Eds.) Literacy research methodologies. (pp.322-342). New York: The
Guiford Press.

Fuchs, L. S., & Fuchs, D. (2002). Mathematical problem solving profiles of students
with mathematics disabilities with or without comorbid reading disabilities.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 35, 6.

Goldstein,A. A. (1997). Design for increasing participation of students with disabilities

and limited English proficient students in the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP). Retrieved on June 1, 2010 from
www.readingrockets.org/article/6326.

Gutek, G. (2004). Philosophical & ideological voices in education. Boston: Pearson.

Higgs, R. L. (2005). Higgs Phonics. Chicago: Higgs Inc. Publishing.

Higgs Phonics 2

Johnson, B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm
whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33, 7, 14-26.

Kachigan, S. K. (1991). Multivariate statistical analysis. pp. 3-5.

Kamil, M. (1989). Current traditions of reading research. In P. Pearson (Ed.),

Handbook of reading research (pp. 39-61). New York: Longman.

National Reading Panel. (2002). Teaching children to read summary report. US

Department of Education, Retrieved on March 1, 2007 from www.national
readingpanel.org/Publications.

r-project (2013). Used for statistical computing and graphics. www.r-project.org

Test of Adult Basic Education Manual Form 7. (1994). Test of Adult Basic
EducationForm 7. Monterey, CA: CTB/McGraw-Hill.

Venezky, R. (1984). The history of reading research. In handbook of reading. pp. 3-38.
New York: Longman.

Attachment A
Summary of The Maywood Study, 2005

Pilot Program To Study the Effectiveness of Higgs Phonics-a

Phonologically Based Reading Program-T. Smith, Educational
Consultant

Introduction
According to the ISAT results for Maywood youths attending school in Maywood ,

Illinois, there has been a slight increase in reading for the last 3 years , however ,,

students are reading far below the state average in grades 3, 5, and 8. In an effort to

assist Maywood in addressing the need to improve reading proficiency in Maywood' s

youths , Higgs Phonics teamed with the Boys and Girls Club of Maywood , the
Higgs Phonics 1

summer of 2005 , to complete a pilot study on the effectiveness of Higgs Phonics-a 4

volume supplemental reading program.

Methods

Participants
Participants started as 30 youths who attended the summer program at the Boys and

Girls Club in Maywood , Illinois. The students ranged in ages from 7 to 11 years old.

100% of the students were minorities. Students were selected based on participation in

the Boys and Girls Club program that received parental consent to participate in the

Higgs Phonics Program. Due to attrition , 17 out of 30 completed the program. Of the

17 youths that completed the program , 13 were girls and 4 were boys.

Implementation
All youths who participated in the Higgs Phonics program were administered a pre-

test prior to receiving instructions in Higgs Phonics. An independent , certified

person who administered the Woodcock Johnson Revised tested participants in the

following

categories- Word Attack , Word Identification , and Passage Comprehension. The

author of Higgs Phonics implemented the 4 volume-reading program. Due to the

time constraints of a summer program , the implementation period was 4 weeks,

from July 151,

5
2005 to August 1 \ 2005. The sessions were held 4 days a week , Monday through

Thursday , 60 minutes a day . At the completion of the program the youths were
Higgs Phonics 2

. administered a post-test using the Woodcock Johnson Revised in the same

categories- Word Attack , Word Identification, and Passage Comprehension .

Materials

Higgs Phonics 4 Volume Reading Program

Higgs Phonics Program is based on the assumption that reading is a multisensory

process that is only superficially visual. In order for students to become efficient in

reading and spelling, they must master the sound system of their language and

establish strong phonological and auditory skills. Mastery of these skills enables the

student to move on to reading fluently with comprehension , and to write efficiently.

To accomplish the goals ofreading and vocabulary , Higgs Phonics integrates

essential elements of instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics rules, decoding

rules, encoding skills, and vocabulary. A total of 49 carefully defined but unscripted

lessons are presented in four teaching units:

• Unit One begins with consonant sounds and ends with the easiest phonetic rule.

Regardless of grade, all students start the program at the beginning of the

first unit; however , pacing through the units varies with the student 's

progress.

• Unit Two and Three progress to the more difficult vowel sounds, blends ,

and combinations. A unit follows, teaching the five phonetic rules on two

decoding skills. Unit Three ends with a lesson on exceptions to phonetic

rules.

• Unit Four has 23 lessons covering the breadth of language arts including
Higgs Phonics 1

writing and spelling traps and an exhaustive vocabulary list of 2500 words

to decode.

Because of the summer time constraints most of the participants were limited to

working only on Units One, Two, and Three.

Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery Revised (WJ-R)

Assessment Material
Woodcock Johnson Pre-test-
6/30/2005 Woodcock Johnson
Post-test-8/1/2005
Assessment material administered before and after the Higgs Phonics Program .

The Woodcock Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery Revised is a wide range

comprehensive set of individually administered test for measuring cognitive

abilities, scholastic aptitudes , and achievement. Normative data are based on a

single sample that was administered both cognitive ·and achievement test. These

test were nationally standardized on 6,359 subjects, aged 24 months to 95 years of

age, and include norms for colleges and university students (Woodcock & Mather

1990).

The categories tested for this study are as followed:

Letter-Word Identification-
This subtest measures the subject 's reading identification skills in identifying

isolated letters and words. The items become more difficult as they present words

that appear less and less frequently in written language.

Passage Comprehension -
Higgs Phonics 2

This subtest measures the subject 's skill in reading short passages and identifying a

missing keyword. The task requires the subject to state a word that would be

appropriate in the context of the passage. In this modified cloze procedure the subject

must exercise a variety of comprehension and vocabulary skills.

Word Attack-
This subtest measures the subject's skill in applying phonic and structural analysis

skills to the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words. The subject reads aloud letter

combinations that are linguistically logical in English , but that do not form actual

words (nonsense words) , or words that constitute low-frequency words in the

English language .

Analysis
Data was analyzed by averaging the standard score and percentile ranking for

all participates in each category. In addition, the median standard score and the

median percentile ranking were computed for each category . Further , this study

looked at the scores by gender.

Results
Higgs Phonics 4 volume Reading Program was used at varying levels as students moved
· through the program based on individual student progress . 30 youths started the
program and 17 completed it. The following data only include scores for those 17 who
completed the program.

Assessment Results for Pre-Test administered 613012005

Higgs Phonics 3
9

Letter-Word
Identification
• Mean Standard 109
Score:

• Median Standard 105

Score:
Higgs Phonics 4
0

• Mean Percentile
Rank: 65.7
•
• Median 64
Percentile Rank:
Higgs Phonics 4
1

Passage Comprehension
• Mean Standard Score:
104
• Median Standard
Score: 103
Higgs Phonics 4
2

• Mean Percentile Rank: 58

• Median Percentile Rank: 59

Word Attack
• Mean Standard Score: 111
• Median Standard Score: 108
Higgs Phonics 4
3

• Mean Percentile Rank: 64

• Median Percentile Rank: 65

Assessment Results for the Post-test Administered 81112005

Letter-Word Identification

Mean Standard Score: 117

Median Standard Score: 116

Mean Percentile Rank: 78

Median Percentile Rank: 86

Passage Comprehension

Mean Standard Score: 107

Median Standard Score: 106

Word Attack

Mean Standard Score: 116

Median Standard Score: 111

Mean Percentile Rank: 71

Median Percentile Rank: 77

The average increased standard score in Letter Word Identification was 8; in

Passage comprehension it was 4; and in Word Attack it was 5. See Appendix
A, for a visual comparison of the pre-and post-test.
Higgs Phonics 4
4

Comparison of Boys and Girls

Boys

Pre-test Mean StandardMean Percentile

Score Rank
Letter Word 102 55
Identification
Passage 97 43
Comprehension
Word Attack 101 53

Post-test xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx

Letter Word 116 83

Identification
Passage 99 44
Comprehension
Word Attack 107 63
Higgs Phonics 4
5

The Mean difference, which represents an increase in Standard

Score for Letter Word identification is 14; Passage Comprehension
1; and Word Attack is 6. The Mean difference in Percentile
Ranking in Letter Word Identification is 28; Passage
Comprehension is 1; and Word Attack is 10.

Girls
Pre Test Mean Standard Mean Percentile
Score Rank
Letter Word 112 69
Identification
Passage 106 60
Comprehension
Word Attack 114 71

Post Test
Letter Word 117 76
Identification
Passage
Comprehension 110 71
Word Attack 119 75
Higgs Phonics

The Mean difference in Standard Score that represents an increase

in Letter Word Identification is 5; Passage Comprehension is 4;

and Word Attack is 5. The Mean difference in Percentile Ranking

that represents an increase in Letter Word Identification is 7;

Passage Comprehension is 9; and Word Attack is 3

Results of the comparison

While it appears that in some categories the Boys had more

increase as a result of Higgs Phonics further research would have

to be completed to make a more accurate comparison that

controlled for selection of participants , reading level of participants

, and a more even distribution of gender selection, as the number

of female participants were significantly higher than the male

participants .

Conclusion
In a 4 week period, that included at least one holiday, it is inferred

from the data analysis that on the average , youths at the Maywood

Boys and Girls Club who participated in the Higgs Phonics Program

demonstrated a noticeable increase in skills in the three areas tested-

Letter Word Identification , Passage Comprehension, and Word

Attack. As a result , one could assume that if the Higgs Phonics

Program had been utilized for a 40 week school year versus 4 weeks,

at the rate the participants progressed , it is likely that they could have

made at least a one year gain or better. Recommendations for further

studies- Higgs Phonics Program should be implemented in an

46
Higgs Phonics

urban school district on a larger scale, using an experimental design

for at least one school year.

47
Higgs Phonics

I. Abstract '

The objective of this randomized study is to learn whether

alternative high school students who are struggling readers improve their
math skills beyond two years growth within 40 hours or less after
completing this intensive phonics instruction program? We hypothesized
that:
As a direct result of the Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery
Intervention, students would transfer their decoding and vocabulary
development skills to expository texts as evidenced in the TABE
assessments in basic reading, comprehension, mathematics, and language
skills. Also that the intervention of educational strategies and intensive
phonics instructional materials would remedy reading maladies and
therefore significantly increase math and reading scores beyond two years
growth within 40 hours.
Conclusions:
Students who are taught from the Higgs Phonics Reading Recovery
Workbooks intervention program, substantially improved their
standardized test scores in math and reading as a direct result of the Higgs
Phonics 40 hour intervention.

48