Program Evaluation for Augustine Literacy Project-Charlotte. CEME Technical Report. CEMETR-2025-02
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| Title: | Program Evaluation for Augustine Literacy Project-Charlotte. CEME Technical Report. CEMETR-2025-02 |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Qiao Liu, Carl D. Westine, Richard Lambert, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Center for Educational Measurement and Evaluation (CEME) |
| Source: | Center for Educational Measurement and Evaluation. 2025. |
| Availability: | Center for Educational Measurement and Evaluation. Department of Educational Leadership, UNC Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223. Tel: 704-687-8867; Fax: 704-687-1629; e-mail: ceme-coed@uncc.edu; Web site: https://ceme.charlotte.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 32 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Early Childhood Education Grade 1 Primary Education Grade 2 |
| Descriptors: | Emergent Literacy, Tutoring, Elementary School Students, Program Effectiveness, Grade 1, Grade 2, Literacy Education, Academic Achievement, Risk, Program Implementation |
| Geographic Terms: | North Carolina (Charlotte) |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) |
| Abstract: | The evaluation examined the effectiveness of the Augustine Literacy Project-Charlotte (ALP) tutoring in improving early literacy skills among students in early elementary grades. This tutoring program is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach and utilizes volunteer tutors meeting twice per week for 45 minutes with students from under resourced schools in Charlotte, NC. Specific attention was placed upon assessing effects associated with cumulative technology and data-driven program enhancement efforts to improve training and promote standardization during tutor sessions, which were realized in year three. Administrative datasets were obtained from 19 Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary schools over three academic years (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24). At baseline, students who received ALP tutoring (treatment group) differed from non-participating peers (untreated group) in both demographic characteristics and initial literacy (i.e., DIBELS) scores. To address these pre-existing differences, propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to create statistically comparable groups for outcome analysis. Overall, students who received ALP tutoring demonstrated greater gains in literacy skills as measured by DIBELS composite scores than their matched peers. Positive effects, though not always statistically significant, were consistently observed among first-grade students across all three years. For second graders, positive treatment effects were evident in two of the three years. Furthermore, during the 2023-2024 academic year when ALP operated with enhanced tutor training, implementation guidelines, and progress monitoring, participation in ALP was associated with enhanced outcomes for students: both first and second graders in the ALP group showed statistically significant literacy gains compared to their matched counterparts, and there were substantial increases in the percentage of students who were performing at or above grade level in reading skills by the end of the academic year. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED679449 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | The evaluation examined the effectiveness of the Augustine Literacy Project-Charlotte (ALP) tutoring in improving early literacy skills among students in early elementary grades. This tutoring program is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach and utilizes volunteer tutors meeting twice per week for 45 minutes with students from under resourced schools in Charlotte, NC. Specific attention was placed upon assessing effects associated with cumulative technology and data-driven program enhancement efforts to improve training and promote standardization during tutor sessions, which were realized in year three. Administrative datasets were obtained from 19 Charlotte-Mecklenburg elementary schools over three academic years (2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24). At baseline, students who received ALP tutoring (treatment group) differed from non-participating peers (untreated group) in both demographic characteristics and initial literacy (i.e., DIBELS) scores. To address these pre-existing differences, propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to create statistically comparable groups for outcome analysis. Overall, students who received ALP tutoring demonstrated greater gains in literacy skills as measured by DIBELS composite scores than their matched peers. Positive effects, though not always statistically significant, were consistently observed among first-grade students across all three years. For second graders, positive treatment effects were evident in two of the three years. Furthermore, during the 2023-2024 academic year when ALP operated with enhanced tutor training, implementation guidelines, and progress monitoring, participation in ALP was associated with enhanced outcomes for students: both first and second graders in the ALP group showed statistically significant literacy gains compared to their matched counterparts, and there were substantial increases in the percentage of students who were performing at or above grade level in reading skills by the end of the academic year. |
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