Matching Learner Aptitude to Two Commercial Reading Programs

Abstract

This study evaluated two commercially available curricula, the Sullivan Programmed Reading Series and the DISTAR Reading I Program. The major question was, can a curriculum material which is presented primarily through a specific perceptual modality increase academic achievement skills of children when matched to their strongest perceptual modality. An aptitude by treatment design with 77 educable mentally retarded children, grouped according to visual and auditory perceptual strength, failed to yield any significant interactions.