Effects of a Supplemental Program in Structural Analysis upon Reading Scores of Children Deficient in Grammatic Closure.

This study focused on whether a supplemental program in structural analysis would improve the reading proficiency of children identified as deficient in the syntax and inflections of their language. Sixty-nine second-grade children, whose psycholinguistic ages were determined by scores on a grammatic closure test, to be six months or more below their chronological ages, were randomly assigned to three groups of 23 subjects each. During the study, one group received 60 minutes of basal instruction per day; one group received 45 minutes of basal instruction plus 15 minutes of free reading; and the third group received 45 minutes of basal instruction plus 15 minutes of a supplemental program in structural analysis. Analysis of the results indicated that 60 minutes of basal instruction per day is as effective, in terms of oral reading achievement, as is 45 minutes of basal reading instruction plus 15 minutes of structural analysis; but 45 minutes of basal instruction plus 15 minutes of free reading is inferior to both the other procedures. There was no significant difference in the silent reading scores of the three groups. (Author/GW)