Supplemental Computerized Reading Instruction in Oral Reading Fluency and Its Generalizable Effects on At-Risk Urban Second Graders

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a supplemental repeated reading intervention delivered through a computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program on the oral reading fluency (ORF) and generalization of second-grade students who were at risk for reading failure. Four African American students and one multiracial student in second grade in an urban charter school engaged in the Read Live (RL) intervention for 6 to 14 lessons. A multiple baseline across participants design with embedded changing criteria tactics revealed medium to strong effectiveness of the CAI program for all five participants across intervention and generalization probes. The results support the use of CAI for supplemental instruction in ORF. Implications for urban schools, generalization, limitations, and future research are discussed.