Targeted school‐based interventions improve achievement in reading and maths for at‐risk students in Grades K‐6

Complete study 

School‐based interventions that target students with, or at risk of, academic difficulties in kindergarten to Grade 6 have positive effects on reading and mathematics. The most effective interventions include peer‐assisted instruction and small‐group instruction by adults. These have substantial potential to decrease the achievement gap.These have substantial potential to decrease the achievement gap. 

This Campbell systematic review examines the effects of targeted school‐based interventions on standardised tests in reading and mathematics. The review analyses evidence from 205 studies, 186 of which are randomised controlled trials.

Low levels of mathematics and reading skills are associated with a range of negative outcomes in life, including reduced employment and earnings, and poor health. This review examines the impact of a broad range of school‐based interventions that specifically target students with or at risk of academic difficulties in Grades K‐6. The students in this review either have academic difficulties or are at risk of such difficulties because of their background. 

Examples of interventions that are included in this review are peer‐assisted instruction, using financial and non‐financial incentives, instruction by adults to small or medium‐sized groups of students, monitoring progress, using computer‐assisted instruction, and providing coaching to teachers. Some interventions target specific domains in reading and mathematics such as reading comprehension, fluency, number sense, and operations, while others also focus on building different skills, for example, meta‐cognition and social‐emotional learning. 

]The review looks at whether these interventions are effective in improving students’ performance on standardised tests of reading and/or mathematics.  In total, 607 studies are included in this review. However, only 205 of these were of sufficiently high methodological quality to be included in the analysis. Of these, 175 are from the United States, 10 from Sweden, 7 from the United Kingdom, 3 from the Netherlands, 2 from Australia, 2 from Germany, 2 from New Zealand, and 1 each from Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and Israel.  

Do targeted school‐based interventions improve reading and mathematics outcomes? Yes. High‐quality evidence shows that, on average, school‐based interventions aimed at students who are experiencing, or at risk of, academic difficulties, do improve reading and mathematics outcomes in the short term.