The Effects of Bookworms Literacy Curriculum on Student Achievement in Grades 2-5.

Henry May, John Z. Strong, Sharon Walpole
December 3, 2023

The Effects of Bookworms Literacy Curriculum on Student Achievement in Grades 2-5

Purpose

In this study, we investigated the effects of a schoolwide program, Bookworms K-5 Reading and Writing, on student achievement.

Method

The study included seven cohorts of students (N = 8,806) in grades 2–5 in 17 elementary schools across three school years. We used a comparative interrupted time-series design, conducting multilevel growth curve models of Measures of Academic Progress reading scores with up to 10 data points per student. By modeling each student’s growth curve, including a time by treatment interaction term, we were able to estimate the change in students’ achievement trajectories corresponding to the implementation of Bookworms.

Results

Results confirm a significant positive impact of Bookworms on
achievement, with gains compounding over time and producing an overall
standardized effect size of .26 by the end of 5th grade. Students who began
third grade with relatively weaker achievement experienced more growth
than those with average achievement, and those with average achievement
experienced more growth than those with the highest achievement.

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