Cost-Effectiveness of a Grade 8 Intensive Reading and Content Learning Intervention

Abstract

When recommending a program to achieve objectives such as improving learning outcomes for middle school students, school psychologists need information about cost-effectiveness to identify the best fit for student needs and school budgets. However, few cost studies of evidence-based instructional programs exist. We compared the cost-effectiveness of one such program, an intensified form of Promoting Adolescents’ Comprehension of Text (PACT), to typical instruction in eighth-grade social studies. The results indicated that, implemented in small classes of below-average readers, PACT is costlier and more effective than typical instruction. In typical-size classes, PACT would be more cost-effective than typical instruction. Cost studies should be routine in efficacy research to better inform school leaders seeking to help learners raise their achievement within the confines of school budgetary considerations.

Keywords:

• cost studies
• reading interventions
• struggling readers

Disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

Author Biographical Statements

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through grant R305F100013 to The University of Texas at Austin as part of the Reading for Understanding Research Initiative and through grant R305A160026. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Institute of Education Sciences or the U.S. Department of Education.

Notes on contributors

Nancy Scammacca

Nancy Scammacca, PhD, is a researcher at The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include meta-analysis, psychometrics, research methods, cost-effectiveness analysis, and reading disabilities.

Elizabeth Swanson

Elizabeth Swanson, PhD, is a research associate professor at The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include effective instructional methods for struggling readers and students with disabilities.

Sharon Vaughn

Sharon Vaughn, PhD, is the Manuel J. Justiz Endowed Chair in Education and the executive director of The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research addresses academically related interventions, primarily in reading, for students with reading and learning difficulties.

Greg Roberts

Greg Roberts, PhD, is associate director of The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include statistical modeling, program evaluation, and reading disabilities.