Targeted school-based interventions for improving reading and mathematics for students with or at risk of academic difficulties in Grades K-6: A systematic review

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cl2.1152

Objectives The main objective was to assess the effectiveness of interventions targeting students with or at risk of academic difficulties in kindergarten to Grade 6.

1.3 What studies are included? In total, 607 studies are included in this review. However, only 205 of these were of sufficiently high methodological quality to be included in the analysis. Of these, 175 are from the United States, 10 from Sweden, 7 from the United Kingdom, 3 from the Netherlands, 2 from Australia, 2 from Germany, 2 from New Zealand, and 1 each from Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and Israel.

1.5 What type of intervention is the most effective? Two instructional methods stand out as being particularly and consistently effective. Both peer‐assisted instruction and small‐group instruction by adults showed the largest (short‐term) improvements in reading and mathematics. Other instructional methods showed smaller improvements however, there is substantial variation in the magnitude of these effects.

1.6 Are positive effects sustained in the longer term? Follow‐up outcomes measured more than three months after the end of the intervention pertain almost exclusively to studies examining small‐group instruction and reading. There is evidence of fadeout but positive effects are still reported up to 2 years after the end of intervention. Only five studies measured intervention effects after more than 2 years.