Early Literacy Instruction for First-Grade Students At-Risk for Antisocial Behavior

Author(s): Kathleen Lynne Lane, Joseph H. Wehby, Holly M. Menzies, Rebecca M.

Gregg, Georgia L. Doukas and Sarah M. Munton
Source: Education and Treatment of Children , NOVEMBER 2002, Vol. 25, No. 4
(NOVEMBER 2002), pp. 438-458
Published by: West Virginia University Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/42899721

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 EDUCATION AND TREATMENT OF CHILDREN Vol. 25, No. 4, 2002

Early Literacy Instruction for First-Grade

Students At-Risk for Antisocial Behavior

Kathleen L. Lane
Joseph H.Wehby
Peabody College of Vanderbilt University

Holly M. Menzies
California State University, Los Angeles

Rebecca M. Gregg
Georgia L. Doukas
Sarah M. Munton
University of California, Riverside

Abstract
The intent of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a supplemental early literacy
program for first-grade students identified by their teachers as at-risk for antisocial behavior
who were unresponsive to a comprehensive school-wide intervention. Previous investiga-
tions have also attempted to prevent the development of antisocial behavior by improving
early literacy skills. However, this study was unique in that district personnel implemented
the intervention in the general education classroom over the course of the traditional school
day. Results suggest that despite initial variability in decoding skills and problem behaviors,
all students made growth in word attack skills and demonstrated lower levels of disruptive
behavior in the classroom. These findings parallel the outcomes of previous investigations;
namely, improved early literacy skills are associated with lasting decreases in disruptive class-
room behavior. Limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.

★ ★ ★

Children with or at-risk for antisocial behavior tend to have deficient

academic skills-particularly in reading, low rates of academic engaged time,
and subaverage achievement (Coie & Jacobs, 1993; Hinshaw, 1992; Kolko,
1994). It is also well established that this population of students seem in-
creasingly resistant to interventions over time (Kazdin, 1987; 1993; Walker
& Severson, 2002). While these students' ongoing antisocial behaviors are

Address: Kathleen L. Lane, Department of Special Education, George Peabody Col-

lege, Box 328, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37203-5701.

Pages 438-458

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 EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 439

problematic, the reported poor rea

some because reading is an essent
the school setting (O'Shaughnessy,
2002). There is a strong relationsh
ment and externalizing behavior p
izing behaviors experience difficu
hension (Hinshaw 1992), which are
tive reader. However, the casual n
cial behavior and reading achievem
that poor early literacy skills lea
McGee, 1994), whereas others pro
may lead to reading deficits (C
DeBaryshe, & Ramsey, 1989). Rega
that emotional and behavior prob
difficulties (Sampson, 1966). As a r
tionship (reading) may have some
behavior).
Treatment-outcome studies conducted in the 1970's (Ayllon, Layman, &
Kandel, 1975; Ayllon & Roberts, 1974) suggest that when a keystone be-
havior, academic performance, is targeted, collateral effects on other be-
haviors will occur. Coie and Krehbiel's (1984) conducted a study with 40
socially rejected, African American, fourth-grade students that explored
the relation between academic achievement and antisocial behavior. The
participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: academic
skill training, social skills training, academic and social skills training com-
bined, or control. Findings revealed that the academic skill intervention
condition resulted in increased and maintained academic achievement in
reading in addition to increased time on task, decreased disruptive behav-
ior, and improved sociometric status. Lane (1999), in addition to academic
growth, found modest improvement in the social behavior of first-grade
students who received phonological awareness training. In a more recent
study, Lane, O'Shaughnessey, Lambros, Gresham, and Beebe-Frankenberger
(2001) used single case methodology to explore the impact of improved
phonological awareness skills on seven first-grade students with hyperac-
tive, externalizing problem behaviors coupled with low reading skills. All
students who participated in 15 hours of Phonological Awareness Training
for Reading (PATR, Torgesen & Bryant, 1994) showed substantial increases
in word attack skills and oral reading fluency. Although results were more
varied, all students also experienced decreases in disruptive behavior in
the classroom and six of the seven students also showed decreases in nega-
tive social interactions on the playground. Results indicate that for some
first-grade children, secondary interventions targeting academic deficits
are associated with positive collateral effects on behavior. Inspection of
effect sizes and mean changes by phase revealed a reciprocal relationship

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 440 LANE et al.

between readin
creased, proble
Similar results
first-grade stu
(Falk & Wehby,
For instance, W
eral phonolog
crease in probl
based reading p
version of the
ness and explic
strategies and s
sisted Learning
Mathes, Grek,
designed to pr
showed that p
sound naming,
academic enga
behavior decrea
One limitation of the above studies conducted with children with or at-
risk for antisocial behavior was the use of research assistants as the pri-
mary interventionists for the reading programs. Although the use of re-
search staff to conduct the intervention lead to impressive treatment integ-
rity scores, the utility of academically based interventions to treat children
at-risk for behavior problems that are implemented by classroom person-
nel is not known. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the
effectiveness of a supplemental early literacy program for first-grade stu-
dents identified by their teachers as at-risk for antisocial behavior who were
unresponsive to a school-wide literacy and behavior intervention. Unique
features of this study that extend previous literacy-based interventions
aimed at preventing the development of antisocial behavior included (a)
implementation of the intervention by district personnel and (b) conduct-
ing the intervention during the course of the traditional school day.

Methods

Student Participants

Participants included 7 first-grade students (4 males, 3 females) who

were nonresponsive to a school-wide literacy and behavior intervention
(see Lane & Menzies, 2001, for a detailed discussion of the school-wide
intervention outcomes). Specifically, these students continued to demon-
strate elevated levels of risk as evidenced by Student Risk Screening Scale
(SRSS; Drummond, 1994) scores of 4 or more (specific inclusion criteria to

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 EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 441

follow). Two children were Afri

and 4 were EuroAmerican. At th
age from 6.15 to 8.63 years (M= 6
the students were receiving spec
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
Psychiatric Association, 1994) di
records. Two students, Jimmy an

Inclusion Criteria

First grade students who were nonresponsive to a universal, school-

wide intervention program with literacy and behavioral components were
invited to participate in this investigation (see Lane & Menzies, 2001). The
Student Risk Screening Scale (SRSS; Drummond, 1994) was used to iden-
tify students who were nonresponsive. The SRSS is a seven-item universal
screening tool designed to detect elementary students who are at risk for
antisocial behavior. Teachers evaluate their students on seven items: (a)
steals, (b) lies, cheats, sneaks, (c) behavior problems, (d) peer rejection, (e)
low achievement, (f) negative attitude, and (g) aggressive behavior using a
four point Likert type scale [never (0), occasionally (1), sometimes (2), fre-
quently (3)]. SRSS total scores range from 0 to 21 and are then assigned to
one of three risk categories: low risk (total scores: 0 to 3), moderate risk
(total scores: 4 to 8), and high risk (total scores: 9 or more). The SRSS is a
cost -effective, psychometrically sound method for discriminating between
students who do and do not exhibit early indicators of antisocial behavior
tendencies (Drummond, Eddy, & Reid, 1998a, 1998b).
Students in first-grade who were rated by their teachers as highly at-
risk for antisocial behavior according to the SRSS at the end of the first
three months of the universal intervention and who were also reportedly
functioning in the bottom third of their class in terms of early literacy skills
were invited to participate in the investigation. Parental consent and child
assent were secured for 8 students who met the above criteria. However,
the third author removed one student from the study prior to the onset of
the intervention phase because the student demonstrated adequate decod-
ing and oral reading fluency and accuracy skills. Inspection of baseline
data supported this decision as evidenced by an oral reading fluency accu-
racy rate above 90%.

Intervention and Assessment Procedures

The 7 participants were randomly assigned to one of two intervention

groups (Group 1: n = 4; Group 2: n = 3) to participate in a multiple baseline
across intervention groups study. The school literacy leader, who was a
candidate for a doctoral degree in the area of special education and highly

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 442 LANE et al.

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EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 443

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 444 LANE et al.

trained in the a
for both group
Lessons were t
over a nine wee
took place in a
day.
The program used for the intervention was the John Shefelbine's Phon-
ics Chapter Books (Shefelbine, 1998). This program provides a collection of
6 books that afford students an opportunity to practice their developing
phonics skills via "independent, sound controlled reading materials and
systematic phonics instruction" (p.3). The teacher's guide provides explicit,
user- friendly phonics lessons that contain the following four components:
(a) phonemic awareness, (b) connect sound-symbol and introduce high
frequency words; (c) read the chapter, and (d) dictate and write.
Treatment integrity. For purposes of this study, each lesson followed an
outlined format which consisted of re-reading the previous chapter, activi-
ties in oral blending, introducing new sounds, reviewing sounds, blend-
ing words, introducing high frequency words, reviewing high frequency
words, reading the new chapter, and dictation and writing. Behavioral
scripts containing each of these intervention components were used to
monitor treatment integrity of the intervention procedures for each group.
Treatment integrity data was collected by the intervention leader for 100%
of the intervention sessions as well as other project staff for 10% of the
intervention sessions. Session integrity ratings obtained from the interven-
tion leader and the research assistants were quite high. More specifically,
the mean session integrity, as rated by the intervention leader, was 98%
and the mean session integrity, as rated by the research assistants, was
100%.
Assessment training . Each of the three research assistants who were school
psychology doctoral students received approximately 2 hours of training
in direct observation and curriculum- based assessment procedures. Spe-
cifically, the research assistants were trained in how to administer and score
curriculum-based measures of oral reading fluency (correct words per
minute, CWPM; Shinn, 1989) and the nonsense word fluency (NWF) subtest
of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS; Kaminski &
Good, 1996). Oral reading fluency probes, which were highly decodable, 1
- minute, grade level passages, were scored for the number of words read
correctly. Errors were classified as substitutions, hesitations, mispronun-
ciations, or omissions. Nonsense word fluency was assessed using 20, 1 -
minute probes containing nonwords (e.g., "wuf," "Zim").
The research assistants worked with video-taped segments of students
(Walker & Severson, 1992) to learn how to observe and score total disrup-
tive behavior (TDB) in the classroom setting and negative social interac-
tions (NSI) occurring in the playground setting. Duration recording proce-

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 EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 445

dures were employed for both TD

For both literacy and direct observ
interobserver agreement scores re
racy over three consecutive trials
hour in length, were held to rete
drift, reliability).

Standardized Measures

A variety of assessment tools were used at the onset of the study to

obtain a comprehensive description of the students' academic and socio-
behavioral performance.
Namely, students were evaluated from multiple perspectives (i.e., teacher
reports, student measures, and school records) using the following techni-
cally sound instruments.
Test of Phonological Awareness (TOPA; Torgesen & Bryant, 1994). The TOPA
is a 20-item, individually administered, standardized test that assesses
phonemic awareness. Students are asked to identify the ending sounds in
words which are represented by pictures. In the first subtest (items 1 - 10)
students are asked to identify which of three words ends in the same sound
as a stimulus word. In the second subtest (items 11 - 20), students are asked
to identify which of four words ends in a different last sound from the
other three. The test provides raw scores, percentiles, and standard scores
with test-retest reliability coefficients of .69 -.77 over an 8-week interval.
Student Risk Screening Scale ( SRSS ; Drummond, 1994). As previously men-
tioned, the SRSS is a seven-item, universal screening procedure used to
identify elementary students who are at-risk for antisocial behavior pat-
terns. Teachers rate each of their students on seven items: (a) steals, (b) lies,
cheats, sneaks, (c) behavior problems, (d) peer rejection, (e) low achieve-
ment, (f) negative attitude, and (g) aggressive behavior using a four point
Likert type scale (never = 0; occasionally = 1; sometimes = 2; and frequently
3). Total scores, which range from 0 to 21, are used determine level of risk:
Low Risk (scores: 0 to 3), Moderate Risk (scores: 4 to 8), and High Risk
(scores: 9 or more).
Social Skills Rating System - Teacher ( SSRS-T ; Gresham & Elliott , 1990). The
SSRS-T (elementary version) consists of teacher ratings of 30 Social Skills
constituting three domains (Cooperation, Assertion, and Self-Control), 18
Problem Behaviors also constituting three domains (Externalizing, Inter-
nalizing, and Hyperactivity), and 9 items addressing Academic Compe-
tence. Teachers rate each social skill and problem behavior item on a 3-
point Likert-type scale ranging from never ( 0 ), sometimes ( 1 ), or very often
(2). Each of the 9 items comprising the academic competence subtest scale
is rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Each point on the Likert type scale corre-
sponds to various clusters of students in the classroom ranging from 1 =low-

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446 LANE et al.

est 10% to 5 =h
(see SSRS techn
Critical Events
tematic Screen
is a teacher ch
behaviors (i.e.,
check each beha
year. Raw score
tifying childre
School Archiva
Todis, & Sever
variables: demo
failure, discipli
cial education,
services, out-o
ables examined
negative narra
tive Comments
student's cumu
cerns exhibited
ber of days th
period. Retenti
given grade. N
ementary scho
instruction. In
100% with a rel

Dependent Mea

Dependent m
early literacy
the classroom
sense words fl
to monitor gro
lected on total
social interacti
that closely pa
as specified in
Nonsense Wor
tors of Basic E
is an instrume
eracy skills (e.g
contains four s
ency, nonsense

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 EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 447

is comprised of 20, individually a

assessment has adequate psychome
high-risk students, monitor indiv
tervention outcomes. In this stud
word attack skills. The NWF subt
three letter nonsense words (e.g.,
correct phonemes per minute wa
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF). Ora
using highly decodable, first-gra
(1998). Specifically, thirty-five pr
were created from the level readers. Each student was asked to read the
passage aloud while the research assistants recorded errors of substitu-
tion, omission, hesitations, and mispronunciations. Oral reading fluency
was defined as the number of words read correctly per minute (Shinn, 1989).
Total Disruptive Behavior (TDB) refers to a class of behavior that disturbs
the classroom environment and negatively impacts instructional activities.
Specific examples of disruptive behavior include: being out -of -seat with-
out permission; touching others' property, hitting, or slapping others; any
audible noise other than vocalizations related to instruction, (e.g., caustic
comments, cursing); and/or noncompliance with teacher directives. Data
were collected during 10-minute observation sessions during academic in-
struction using duration recording. TDB was measured by starting a stop-
watch whenever the target participant was engaged in the above specified
behaviors and stopping the watch when the behaviors ceased. TDB was
then converted to a percentage by recording the elapsed time by the total
time observed and multiplying by 100 (Range: 0% to 100%) (see Lane et al.,
2001).
Negative Social Interaction (NSI) refers to a class of behavior that impedes
ongoing play activities and includes any incidence of physical or verbal
aggression. Negative verbal behavior includes a variety of behaviors in-
cluding: name-calling, bossy statements, punitive statements, possessive
statements, accusations, aggressive threats, taunts, or quarrelsome behav-
ior. Negative physical behavior includes rough bodily contact; rough or
painful contact with objects or materials; or physical pestering. This defi-
nition is adapted from the social engagement category as specified in the
SSBD (Walker & Severson, 1992). Data recording procedures for NSI paral-
leled TDB recording procedures. The NSI observation sessions occurred
during morning and lunch recess times.
Interobserver agreement (IO A). IOA was collected for approximately 25%
of the probes and at least once during each data collection point for each
student. IOA was computed for NWF and ORF by dividing the number of
agreements by the total number of agreements plus disagreements and
then multiplying by 100. IOA was computed for TDB and NSI by dividing
the shorter interval by the longer interval and then multiplying by 100.

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 448 LANE et al.

Mean IOA scor

100%); ORF 96
6.61; range, 75%

Social Validity

Social validity
at the conclusi
15; Martens, W
Children's Inte
2001; Witt & E
interview to f
item question
ability of inter
each of 15 stat
strongly agree
The CIRP is 7-
ceptability. The
"J agree - ( Elli
reflecting the
acceptability.

Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis

The experimental design consisted of a multiple baseline across inter-

vention groups (Johnston & Pennypacker, 1993). Participants in each group
were assessed on NWF, ORF, TDB, and NSI during each of four phases
(baseline, during intervention, post intervention, and follow up). After the
first group demonstrated stability on the early literacy variables during
baseline, the intervention phase was introduced. Due to the situational
specificity of behavior (Kazdin, 1979), we did not wait to achieve stability
on TDB and NSI measures prior to implementing the intervention. Once
the intervention began, each of the four dependent variables was assessed
weekly to monitor change.
Data were analyzed using the traditional method of visual inspection as
well as mean score comparisons across phases and effect size calculations
to evaluate treatment outcomes (see Lane et., 2001 for a detailed discus-
sion of the above analyses). In brief, mean score comparisons is a method
of analysis used to detect rather low changes in the magnitude of behavior.
Changes in mean scores between phases are indicative of a change in be-
havioral perfomance. In contrast, changes in slope represent within and
between phase changes in behavior (Fisch, 1998; Gresham, 1998). Effect
sizes provide another method of detecting intervention outcomes. In this
study, effect sizes were calculated by subtracting the mean of the baseline

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 EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 449

phase from the mean of the interv

pooled standard deviation (Busk & S
- two students in the second grou
adjustments in the intended analy
inspection consisted of examining t
each group who exhibited similar
onset of the intervention. Further
individual level and not at the gro

Results

Literacy Outcomes

Inspection of effect sizes indicated that all participants made strong

progress in decoding skills with NWF effect sizes ranging from 0. 59 to 3.61
(M = 1.77, SD = 1.11) (see Table 2) despite the initial variability in phono-
logical awareness skills (see TOPA standard scores and percentiles in Table
1). With one exception, all students who completed the intervention con-
tinued to make growth in decoding skills through the follow up phases as
evidenced by increased mean scores (see Table 3). Three participants ex-
hibited increases in oral reading fluency. The magnitude of growth varied
dramatically with effect sizes ranging from 0.01 to 0.69. In contrast, 4 par-
ticipants actually experienced moderate decreases in ORF (effect size range:
-0.28 to -0.44). One possible interpretation of the decrease in ORF is that
students reading rate slowed as they attempted to apply their newly ac-
quired decoding skills. However, mean score comparisons between baseline
and intervention phases reveal an increase in ORF for every child who com-
pleted the intervention.

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 450 LANE et al.

Table 2
Individual Effect Sizes

Students Measure

NWF ORF TDB NSI

Group 1

Missy 2.44 -0.28 -1.07 -0.11

Emily 1.05 0.01 -.90 0.67
Tessa 1.46 -0.44 -0.58 -1.61
Mark 0.74 0.69 -1.23 -0.30

Group 2

Jimmy 2.48 -0.40 -1.17 -0.88

a Dennis 0.59 0.39 -1.58 -0.51
bTed 3.61 -0.37 -0.77 -1.66

Note. aDennis moved during the third week of interve

from the project during the third week of intervention

Table 3
Mean Changes by Phase

Student Phase Measure

NWF ORF TOB ÑÍÍ

M(SD) M(SD) M(SD) M(SD)

Group 1

Missy Baseline 42.40 28.80 12.60 0.40

(6.35) (15.71) (9.69) (0.55)
Intervention 69.11 25.44 3.56 0.33
(15.54) (8.44) (7.14) (0.71)
Post 84.33 47.67 0.00 0.00
(17.50) (8.50) (0.00) (0.00)
Follow Up 86.33 46.67 0.00 0.00
(5.77) (4.16) (0.00) (0.00)
Emily Baseline 25.80 11.80 14.60 0.00
(2.49) (5.26) (21.73) (0.00)
Intervention 29.89 11.89 3.22 0.67
(5.33) (7.11) (3.67) (2.00)
Post 33.67 21.00 0.00 0.00
(4.04) (5.00) (0.00) (0.00)
Follow Up 37.33 22.33 0.00 0.00
(1.15) (10.69) (0.00) (0.00)
Tessa Baseline 21.60 14.20 8.00 2.60

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 EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 451
(8.44) (6.98) (6.56) (3.21)
Intervention 33.33 11.00 4.00 0.00
(7.66) (7.05) (7.14) (0.00)
Post 39.67 27.00 0.00 0.00
(2.52) (10.00) (0.00) (0.00)
Follow Up 46.00 22.33 0.00 0.00
(2.00) (6.51) (0.00) (0.00)
Mark Baseline 42.00 36.60 22.00 5.60
(9.67) (7.89) (21.59) (7.73)
Intervention 51.29 45.71 6.00 3.43
(15.43) (18.43) (4.51) (6.53)
Post 65.67 69.67 0.00 5.00
(14.84) (21.73) (0.00) (8.66)
Follow Up 89.00 77.33 0.00 0.33
(10.44) (2.89) (0.00) (0.58)
Group 2

Jimmy Baseline 32.80 10.40 17.60 1.30

(6.63) (5.23) (24.88) (2.36)
Intervention 48.44 7.75 1.78 0.11
(5.98) (2.82) (2.05) (0.33)
Post 44.00 14.33 0.00 0.00
(5.00) (2.52) (0.00) (0.00)
Follow Up Absent Absent Absent Absent

Dennis Baseline 27.50 2.00 11.00 1.20

(10.97) (1.85) (11.26) (2.04)
Intervention 32.00 2.50 1.00 0.50
(4.24) (0.71) (1.41) (0.71)
Post • • • •

Follow Up • • • •

Ted Baseline 42.80 14.60 14.60 7.30

(7.76) (5.82) (15.92) (8.77)
Intervention 67.00 13.00 6.00 0.00
(5.66) (2.83) (6.56) (0.00)
Post • • • •

Follow Up • • • •

Note. (.)denotes missing data

Behavioral Outcomes

Effect sizes also reveal strong decreases in disruptive behavior exhib-

ited in the classroom (range: -0.58 to -1.58; M = -1.04, SD = 0.33). For TDB
and NSI negative effect sizes indicated decreases in problem behaviors. TDB
scores decreased to a post intervention mean of zero for all 5 children who
completed the intervention. This is particularly interesting given that (a)
initial rates of behavior exhibited by these 5 children varied between 8.00
and 22.60 percent and (b) that children also varied in terms of problem

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 452 LANE et al.

behaviors with
ior standard sc
severity of pro
ing abilities inc
ior in the classroom.
In order to illustrate this inverse relationship, NWF and TDB data points
were graphed for Missy (Group 1) and Jimmy (Group 2) (see Figure 1).
Notice how both children exhibited increases in NWF and decreases in TDB
during the intervention phases. The behavioral changes were sustained
into the post intervention phase for both children and into the follow-up
phase for Missy (recall that Jimmy was absent during the follow-up phase).
Jimmy's initial post test score appeared, however, to dip into the baseline
level but then increased on probes 21 and 22. Further, there were dramatic
decreases in TDB variability between baseline and intervention phases for
both children.
In an effort to (a) be sensitive to journal space considerations and (b)
present data as clearly as possible (e.g., avoid displaying data for multiple
children in one graph) in light of attrition issues for the second group, graphs
are presented for only two of the participants. Data were graphed, how-
ever, for each student prior to conducting visual analysis and this inverse
relationship between NWF and TDB was largely consistent across the stu-
dents.
Although the NSI scores were very low during baseline, negative social
interactions decreased for all but one student as evidenced by effect sizes
ranging from -1.66 to 0.67 (M = -0.63; SD = 0.83). Inspection of mean scores
by phase indicated that the one child with a positive effect size (Emily,
0.67) initially displayed a total absence of negative social interactions. The
percentage of time spent engaged in negative interactions, although in-
creased during the intervention phase, was quite nominal (M = 0.67; SD =
2.00). Observational notes recorded by the RAs suggests that prior to be-
ginning the intervention, Emily, whose social skills were fewer than aver-
age (SS = 79) according to the SSRS, spent the majority of her recess and
lunch time alone, thereby limiting the opportunity for social interactions.
The notes also indicated that Emily appeared to spend an increased amount
of time with her classmates during the intervention phase. Thus, it is pos-
sible, that she was attempting more interactions with her peers; however,
the interactions may have been less than positive.

Social Validity

The CIRP data were collected from the 5 children who completed the
intervention. Four children rated the intervention as very favorable with
total CIRP scores ranging from 12 to 17. However, Jimmy, rated the inter-
vention very unfavorably (score = 32). During the semi-structured inter-

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EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 453

Figure 1. NWF and TDB Data for M

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 454 LANE et al.

view, Jimmy s
only participan
ficulty of the
attrition to lead
children in gro
they used beyo
Although the
to complete th
the general ed
1.42). Although
the interventio
and behavior p
she view the in
think the inte
from this. How
the interventi
served when c
the general ed
general educat
during the thi

Discussion

The intent of this investigation was to explore the academic and soc
behavioral outcomes associated with a supplemental early literacy
gram for first-grade students identified by their teachers as at-risk for an
social behavior who did not respond to a comprehensive school-wide
tervention. This study extended previous investigations aimed at addr
ing antisocial behavior by improving early literacy skills by having dis
personnel implement the intervention in the classroom setting over
course of the traditional school day.
The results of this study are consistent with the findings of prev
investigations; namely, improved early literacy skills are associated w
lasting decreases in disruptive classroom behavior (Lane et al., 2001).
spite initial variability in decoding skills and problem behaviors, all
dents made growth in word attack (NWF) skills and demonstrated lo
levels of disruptive behavior in the classroom (TDB). For the 5 childr
who completed the intervention, the growth in NWF continued into
follow-up phase and TDB levels dropped to zero. Three children also m
progress in oral reading fluency. All but one child experienced impr
social interactions on the playground.
As with all school-based interventions, this study had limitations w
attrition being the most serious concern. Of the 7 participants who sta
this intervention, 2 students did not complete the intervention. As pr

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 EARLY LITERACY INSTRUCTION 455

ously stated, Ted's teacher removed

week of intervention and Dennis m
nately, both students had been ran
one participant from group 2 compl
students in the classroom were invi
group size consistent; however, data
Nonetheless, Jimmy's outcomes, with
paralleled the outcomes of the 4 stu
A second limitation concerns the amount of direct observation data col-
lected during post and follow-up phases. Due to limited personnel re-
sources, the final two phases represents only 30 minutes (3, 10-minute
probes) of observational data. Although the data collection was spread out
over the course of a week, additional observation time would have strength-
ened these findings.
A third limitation pertains to the generalization of the newly acquired
literacy skills. Although the students made clear progress in the behav-
ioral and social domains as evidenced by reduced rates of disruptive be-
havior in the classroom and fewer negative social interactions on the play-
ground, we are less clear about the extent to which the early literacy skills
generalized to the classroom. Future studies could be improved with the
inclusion of generalization probes for early literacy skills to determine the
extent to which the intervention influenced daily performance academic
instruction.

Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see that a relatively brief academic in-

tervention aimed at improving early literacy skills resulted in improve-
ments in academic, behavioral, and social domains for children at-risk for
antisocial behavior. The fact that the intervention was implemented by the
school-site literacy coordinator will hopefully provide other schools with
a model of how to address specific skill deficits without disrupting the
ongoing classroom ecology.
One of the next steps in this line of inquiry is to move towards involving
school site personnel in the assessment component as well as the interven-
tion component. With the proper university support, it is our hope that
schools will become more efficient at identifying, assessing, and interven-
ing with children who are at risk for antisocial behavior.
If schools become more self-sufficient in providing empirically sound
secondary interventions of sufficient magnitude during the window of
opportunity (Kazdin, 1987, 1993) when children are more amenable to treat-
ment, the prognosis for these youngsters will be more favorable, ultimately
resulting in more positive outcomes for the children themselves and for
society as a whole (Severson & Walker, 2002; Walker, Colvin, & Ramsey,
1995; Walker & Severson, 2002).

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 456 LANE et al.

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Child Psychology a
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Paper presented a
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