Improving reading comprehension through language comprehension and early word reading: A multisite randomized trial.

This randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of the UiT-ReadWell program, a reading and language intervention for children aged 7-9 (second and third grades) identified as at risk for reading disorders through national reading assessments. The intervention aimed to improve reading comprehension by targeting both language comprehension and decoding (word reading) skills. A total of 415 students were randomly assigned to either the experimental group, which received four weekly 45-min sessions over 24 weeks (92 sessions in total), or the control group, which continued with standard classroom instruction. Primary outcomes included language comprehension and word reading, whereas reading comprehension was assessed as a secondary outcome. Postintervention results demonstrated that students in the UiT-ReadWell program achieved significantly greater improvements than the control group in decoding (standardized mean difference SMD 5 0. 26), language comprehension (SMD 5 0. 20), and reading comprehension (SMD 5 0. 26). These gains were sustained at a 6-month follow-up (decoding: SMD 5 0. 22; language comprehension: SMD 5 0. 16; reading comprehension: SMD 5 0. 24). Mediation analyses revealed that improvements in reading comprehension were facilitated by improved word reading and language comprehension, accounting for 27% and 34% of the total effect, respectively. This study highlights the efficacy of a comprehensive intervention that simultaneously addresses word reading and language comprehension, leading to lasting improvements in reading comprehension. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications, offering valuable insights for future research and educational practices to support children at risk for reading difficulties. Trude Nergrd-Nilssen https: //orcid. org/0000-0002-1183-8613We thank all the schools, teachers, and children who took part in this program. We are particularly grateful to the teachers who carried out the program and adhered to the planned structure. We also value the school administrators for facilitating the data collection process and ensuring everything proceeded smoothly. Furthermore, we thank Slvi Grnning Riise for organizing the data collection and managing the datasets, as well as the other research assistants who contributed to the data collection. We would also like to thank Anita Simonsen for her work in adapting the texts and tasks for the program. We also thank Kelly S. Andersen for providing illustrations for the texts and tasks. Lastly,