Take Aim at Vocabulary Studies

Take Aim Study 4: Hazen, ND

Case Study

During the winter/spring of the 2007–2008 school year, a group of four fifth-grade Title I students participated in a study of the Take Aim curriculum.

Prior to the study, the Gates MacGinitie test of reading was administered to the students to obtain a baseline measure of vocabulary development. The students' scores ranged between the 15th and 48th percentiles on the Gates MacGinitie vocabulary subtest.

At the beginning of the study, the 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 in which they would be working.

After completing the pretest, the students worked in the Take Aim curriculum for a period of 10 weeks. They worked in the program four times per week for approximately 30 minutes per day. They completed four to six units of Take Aim.

At the end of the 10 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 the students made significant gains in learning the words taught in the Take Aim curriculum. A delayed posttest was not administered, as students were still working in the materials at the end of the school year.

Results for School HZ

Group	Number of Students	Grade	Take Aim Units Completed	Gates MacGinitie Score	Study Pretest % Correct	Study Posttest % Correct
Study	4	5	4	15th–48th percentile	27%	79%

Results Graph for School HZ

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