Research & Evidence Based
Independent studies from public and private schools across the nation that prove the effectiveness of the...
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Barton Reading & Spelling System
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Florida 3 Month Pilot Program
In 2013, a Duval County public school did a pilot program with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students who had a record of significant reading deficiency. They provided an hour of small group intervention (3 students) every day using the Barton Reading & Spelling System.
On the Word Attack subtest of the Woodcock Reading Mastery 3 test, students showed an average grade-level gain of over 1 year – after just 3 months of small-group intervention.
On the easyCBM, a nationally normed test of reading fluency and comprehension which is aligned with the Common Core State Standards, on a grade-level passage, Barton students increased their score by 61.9 percentile points in just 3 months.
To view the results, click here.
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Pennsylvania 3 Year Study
Penn Christian Academy, a private Christian School in Butler, Pennsylvania, started a Reading Assistance program using the Barton Reading & Spelling System for students identified as dyslexic.
Data from the years 2010 to 2013 included a range of students from first graders to sixth graders. They received three 40-minute sessions each week, for a total of 2 hours of one-on-one tutoring a week, which is the absolute minimum amount of time required to use the Barton System with fidelity. No intervention occurred during the 3 month summer breaks.
These students showed outstanding growth – far more growth than students without dyslexia typically make – no matter which reading test was used.
To view the results, click here.
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Florida Center for Reading Research
The mission of the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR) is:
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To conduct basic research on reading, reading growth, reading assessment, and reading instruction that will contribute to the scientific knowledge of reading and benefit students in Florida and throughout the nation to disseminate information about research-based practices related to literacy instruction and assessment for children in pre-school through 12th grade.
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To conduct applied research that will have an immediate impact on policy and practices related to literacy instruction in Florida.
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To provide technical assistance to Florida’s schools and to the State Department of Education for the improvement of literacy outcomes in students from pre-K through 12th grade.
Florida Center for Reading Research published a glowing report on the Barton Reading & Spelling System on their website.
To read their report, click here.
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Arkansas RTI Study
The Benton School District in Arkansas implemented an early intervention, Response To Intervention (RTI) program in all four of their elementary schools. They screened their kindergarten and first grade students using Dibels to identify students at risk of reading failure — and used Dibels to monitor the success of each type of intervention. The Barton Reading & Spelling System was used as Tier 3 Intervention for students in the highest risk category. Groups of no more than 3 students received Barton tutoring at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes per session.
To view the spectacular results of this study, click here.
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Florida Dyslexia Study – more than 2 years gain in 40 weeks
Independent research conducted in Florida at two different Speech-Language clinics showed more than 2 years of gain in decoding and reading comprehension, and more than 1.5 years of gain in fluency, after 40 weeks of one-on-one Barton tutoring. All of the participants had documented reading deficits due to dyslexia. They ranged from first graders to sixth graders. 52% of the children came from households below the poverty level.37% attended public school, 31.5% attended private school, and 31.5% were homeschooled. Students were pre and post tested using the Phonetic Reading Test (PRT).
To read the study, and their impressive results, click here.
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Spelling Improvement Study
The Barton System teaches spelling as strongly as it teaches reading, and the improvement in spelling shows up quickly on Florida’s new FAIR spelling assessment, as this teacher reported.
I have been using your program for 3 years and I love it! I have seen results that are amazing! When my principal asked our staff to reflect on one practice that has made a difference, I told her it was my working for 30 minutes each day in small groups using the Barton System — and the data proves the impact it has on spelling.
In August, according to the FAIR spelling assessment:
7 students < 20th percentile
9 students 21st percentile to 49th percentile
5 students > 80th percentile
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In December, every single student made significant gains except the two who were already at the 91st and 98th percentile.
1 student < 20th percentile
2 students 21st to 49th percentile
6 student 50th to 79th percentile
12 students > 80th percentile
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The most significant gains were made by my lowest 2 reader/spellers. One went from 19th percentile to 49th percentile. The other went from 19th percentile to 69th percentile. And two of my good readers who had been poor spellers went up 68 percentile points each.
Debbie Sanders
Thunderbolt Elementary
Fleming Island, FL
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Texas TAKS Study
Three years ago, we started using the Barton Reading & Spelling System in a small way in our district. We had 7 students who had not been able to pass the TAKS end-of-year statewide standards test.
They flunked it all 3 times they were allowed to take it.After only 9 months of one-on-one Barton tutoring for 45 minutes a day, all 7 students passed the TAKS test — 2 with commendations, and 2 with perfect scores.
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Last year, we expanded our use of the Barton System to the 55 students identified with dyslexia in grades 3, 4, 5, and 6. At the end of those grades, 53 of the 55 passed the TAKS test the first time they took it. (The 2 students who did not pass started Barton tutoring very late in the school year.)
That’s why this year, we will be using the Barton Reading & Spelling System with struggling students in every school in our district.
Ernie Maldanado, Dyslexia Specialist
Weslaco School District
Weslaco, TX
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Alaska Dyslexia Study – 2 years gain in 6 months
As part of a multi-year grant, four school districts in Alaska are testing students for dyslexia, then providing those students with one-on-one tutoring using the Barton Reading & Spelling System.
In early October, 45 of those students from grades 2 through 11 were given Form A of the GORT to establish “before” scores. Students in the elementary grades were then given 2 to 3 hours of one-on-one Barton tutoring per week. Middle and high school students received 5 hours per week. Those same 45 students were given form B of the GORT 6 months later, in April, to measure their progress.Their average growth rate was 2 years — in just 6 months of Barton tutoring. To view their before-and-after data, click here. Camille Booth, the director of the STRIVE Dyslexia Program shared that her program is now serving 140 students in four public school districts in or near Craig, Alaska.
To view the data from the study and details of the STRIVE Dyslexia Program, click here.
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Florida Early Intervention Study
Discovery Elementary School in Palm Beach, Florida, screened all first graders in January using DIBELS. They took the 20 lowest-scoring at-highest-risk students and provided 3 months of small-group instruction using the Barton Reading & Spelling System. In April, after just 3 months of intervention, 17 of the 20 students scores were above the DIBELS benchmark in Nonsense Word Fluency, which tests the ability to read by sounding out. Now that I have data to show such incredible improvement, my principal has agreed to allow K-2 intervention using the Barton Reading & Spelling System to take place all year long this coming school year.
Sue Hoyt
Discover Elementary School
Palm Beach, FL
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California Early Intervention Study
This study was written up as an independent scientific journal article, which has been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. It shows statistically significant gains in phonemic awareness, rapid naming, and phonological memory after only 5 months of twice-a-week tutoring using the Barton System. To read this article, click here.
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Pleasanton (CA) USD Volunteer Tutors Study
To view the gains made by volunteer tutors using the Barton System in the Pleasanton Unified School District, watch the presentation they recently made to the California School Board Association, click here.
Watch a 3-minute You-Tube video of Christina Clark, their Barton Facilitator, explaining their program and sharing their before-and-after research data.
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