Helping Children Achieve Literacy Proficiency: A Case Study

ABSTRACT

A single embedded case study was conducted to examine the benefits students experience from participating in the Augustine Literacy Project – Charlotte (ALP) Tutoring Program, specifically regarding the positive outcomes in students’ reading proficiency development. A survey was administered to 135 tutors, followed by person-to-person semi-structured interviews with 12 tutors. Additionally, scores on pre- and post-assessments were analyzed to determine students’ progress in their literacy skills. A comparison of mean scores at the beginning and end of the school year showed a statistically significant difference for all the reading components assessed in the DIBELS and the ALP assessments. Findings from this study suggest that ALP-Charlotte administrators and tutors have worked effectively to help struggling readers achieve higher levels of literacy proficiency. The strengths identified in the ALP program are the tutoring approach, the tutor training program, the relationship between tutors and students, student access to individualized instruction, and the program’s general structure. Likewise, recommendations for program improvement were also identified, which included offering ongoing training throughout the school year, diversifying the tutor population, strengthening the relationship between tutors and other tutors, parents, and teachers, and dealing with distracting factors and student behavior issues.

KEYWORDS:

• Tutoring program
• tutor training
• reading proficiency
• literacy skills

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).