OrtonGillingham Project: 1997-1998
Summary Report

Program Evaluation 
by
Susan F. Axelrad-Lentz, Ph.D.

August 1998, Greentree Research and Development Services

Following a comprehensive Professional Development program, groups of interested teachers in both Special and General Education Classrooms began implementation of the techniques of the Orton-Gillingham program. To assess student outcomes, students were tested on both phonetic sounds in isolation and words. The word test was comprised of both nonsense words and real English words, termed "red words."

Assessments were given at the beginning of the year (pre-test), in the middle of the year (midterm), and at the end of the year (post-test). Pre-tests were administered in September, midterms during the period from January through March, and post-tests were given during May and June.

Participating students were enrolled in kindergarten through fifth grades. The results of this study showed:

1. Students gained phonics reading skills over the school years at every level.
2. The post-test scores were higher than the pre-test scores of the succeeding grade level. For example, kindergarten students ended the year with a mean Phoneme Test score more than double the mean pre-test scores of first graders. This implies that Orton-Gillingham procedures prepare students for the next grade level better than did procedures used previously.
3. Student performance, based on percent mastery, on "red words" is higher than that on the nonsense words. This verifies the importance of teaching meaningful language; however, the improvement demonstrated in reading nonsense words suggests the importance of teaching phonics for helping students decipher unfamiliar words.
4. Special education students in grades three, four, and five ended the year with mean test scores equivalent to their peers in general education, despite having begun the year with lower test scores.

The results of this initial year using Orton-Gillingham practices demonstrates the value of these practices with both Special and General Education Students. As a part of a comprehensive reading program, these practices have potential for improving district elementary school student's reading skills.