Teach Effectively!

Southern Methodist University and the Forth Worth (TX, USA) schools are planning to provide early, intensive reading instruction to students with mental retardation. According to a story (free subscription) by Paul Bourgeois, Dallas-Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the multi-year study will focus on a sample of 150 children who have IQs in the 45-60 range. The intervention is not described in detail, but it is bound to have a reasonable pedigree, given that Patricia Mathes is involved.

“Most educators believe children with mental retardation cannot learn to read, but that idea has never been empirically tested,” said Patricia Mathes, director of SMU’s department of reading research. “We heard that about children with dyslexia, too, and now we’ve disproved it.

“Nothing is unique to any population. Everything is about pacing. Struggling readers need more time, attention and the right methods,” Mathes said.

I like the idea of pacing, methods, and such. However, although it may not have been done at this scale and with the level of students whom Mathes’ project will serve, I have to disagree about the absence of empircal testing.

• I remember a report by Bill Fink and Susan Sandall in the 1976 (Mental Retardation 16, 236-240) showing that students with mental retardation could progress at a rate of one DISTAR lesson per day.
• Also, Wes Becker and colleagues disaggregated data about students with IQ < 80 from the Direct Instruction model in Follow Through and had some pretty good looking results. Here's a an image of the reading outcomes from one of the reports they submitted to the sponsors.

Nevertheless, we’ll need to watch this one for its results. I’m optimistic. It should provide another demonstration that teaching matters a lot!