Take Aim at Vocabulary Studies

Take Aim Study 3: Cumming, GA

Case Study

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

Prior to the study, the Gates MacGinitie test of reading was administered to the classroom to obtain a baseline measure of vocabulary development. Nine students scoring between the 26th and 52nd percentiles on the Gates MacGinitie vocabulary subtest were selected for participation in the study. These nine students worked in six units of the Take Aim curriculum.

At the beginning of the study, all nine 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 students 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 six units of Take Aim.

At the end of the 12 weeks, the 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 made significant gains in learning the words taught in the Take Aim curriculum. Eight weeks later, the students in the study were administered a delayed posttest consisting of the same words used in the study pretests and posttests. Results show that they maintained their knowledge of the vocabulary.

Results for School C

Group	Number of Students	Grade	Take Aim Units Completed	Gates MacGinitie Score	Study Pretest % Correct	Study Posttest % Correct	Delayed Posttest % Correct
Study	9	4	6	26th–52nd percentile	23%	54%	54%

Results Graph for School C