The Reading Outcomes of Adults in Literacy Programs

Purpose

Reading instructional software is a potential weapon in the global war against adult illiteracy.  Will the current and future monetary investments by states and educational institutions receive recognition for significant gains in participant’s reading scores?  The purpose of the quantitative, ex post facto study was to compare the reading scores of adults in literacy programs using Instruction Targeted for Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) Success (ITTS) instructional software to the reading scores of adults in literacy programs not using educational technology by analyzing pre-test and post-test TABE scores.

Design

The ex post facto approach was useful in comparing existing scale scores for pre-test and post-test information for the two types of ABE literacy programs in evaluating the influence of instructional software on improved reading outcomes.  TABE assessment scores produced quantitative data.  The pre-test score controlled for initial group reading differences.

Findings

Hypothesis testing revealed that no statistically significant differences (p<.05) existed in the means of the students reading scores who participated in ABE literacy programs or between genders.  The conclusions indicate the need to examine the effect technology had on reading outcomes used in ABE literacy programs.  A need exists to assess appropriate interventions, instructional strategies for reading, and the specific components of ABE literacy programs addressing reading achievement on the TABE