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Abstract

The purpose of this quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study was to determine if a significant difference existed in the comprehension scores of secondary English Language Learners with learning disabilities after treatment. The problem addressed is that a significant correlation exists between English language learners and learning-disabled students’ low reading proficiency scores and student achievement, leading to decreased graduation rates. Schema theory served as the theoretical foundation of this research because when the appropriate schema is activated, it helps increase comprehension. The research question guiding this study was: Is there a significant difference between the reading comprehension scores of high school English language learners with learning disabilities as measured by Achieve3000 after treatment? This study used archival reading comprehension scores of 59 secondary English language learners with learning disabilities. The independent variable was the Achieve3000 program, and the dependent variables were the test scores. A two-tailed t-test was used to analyze the students’Achieve3000 pre and posttest scores. The results indicated a statistically significant difference between the mean scores of the pre and posttest (M = 524.2, SD = 340.3). An implication of this study is that participation in the Achieve3000 program could have a positive impact on students’ academic achievement. Also, school districts will be more likely to invest in similar reading interventions to decrease the achievement gap and graduation rates between English language learners and their peers. The study adds to existing research surrounding a multicomponent intervention’s effectiveness in improving reading comprehension in English language learners. Therefore, some recommendations for future research include extending the research to increase the sample size, collecting data to assess its impact on students’ scores, and the study should be replicated to determine if a significant difference exists between the test results of English language learners with learning disabilities and English language learners without learning disabilities, and/or native speakers with and without disabilities.

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