Take Aim at Vocabulary Studies

Take Aim Study 2: Minneapolis, MN

Control Group Study

During the fall of the 2007–2008 school year, students from two fourth-grade classrooms participated in a study of the Take Aim curriculum.

Prior to the study, the Gates MacGinitie test of reading was administered to both classrooms to obtain a baseline measure of vocabulary development. Ten students scoring at the 63rd percentile or below on the Gates MacGinitie vocabulary subtest were selected for participation in the study. Of these ten students, five served as the study group, while the other five served as the control group. The study group worked in six units of the Take Aim curriculum. The control group did not work in Take Aim curriculum.

At the beginning of the study, all ten participants were administered a study pretest. The pretest consisted of 24 words randomly selected from the 144 words taught in the six units of Take Aim curriculum.

After completing the pretest, the five students in the study group worked in the Take Aim curriculum for a period of 12 weeks. They worked in the program four times per week for approximately 30 minutes per day. They completed, on average, five of the six units of Take Aim available to them. The students in the control group worked in their core reading curriculum and also participated in some vocabulary development activities during their literature block.

At the end of the 12 weeks, all ten students were administered a study posttest. The posttest consisted of the same randomly selected words used in the study pretest.

Results show that students in the study group made significant gains in learning the words taught in the Take Aim curriculum. Students in the control group made less significant gains. Eight weeks later, all ten students were administered a delayed posttest consisting of the same words used in the study pre- and posttests. Results show that students in both groups experienced an increase in knowledge of the vocabulary.

Results for School H-W

Group	Number of Students	Grade	Take Aim Units Completed	Gates MacGinitie Score	Study Pretest % Correct	Study Posttest % Correct	Delayed Posttest % Correct
Study	5	4	5	20th–63rd percentile	24%	69%	72%
Control	5	4	0	42nd–63rd percentile	31%	41%	52%

Results Graph for School H-W

​