The GREAT Reading Project (Gifted Readers Enhance Academic Talent): a gifted-on-gifted, cross-age tutoring and mentoring intervention
type: CreativeWork
description: The GREAT (Gifted Readers Enhance Academic Talent) Reading Project is a quasi-experimental, between-group study that evaluated a 13-week before-school student tutoring/mentoring reading and literacy program. The study examined the effects of the intervention on reading achievement for each group involved, including high-ability gifted fifth grade mentors, high-ability gifted first grade protégés, and above-average first grade “Scholastic Academy” protégés. Its primary goal was to improve academic achievement for above-average students in order to help them formally qualify for gifted services. The secondary goal was to promote and assess academic growth for high-ability students already in the gifted program. Mentor/protégé pairs met 3-4 times per week under the monitoring and supervision of certified elementary school teachers. Student pairs interacted as necessary to accomplish learning tasks such as decoding, fluency, and critical reading skills that promote reading comprehension. Pairs read and discussed picture books, chapter books, children’s magazines, and/or assigned books or stories. Some flexibility existed in the program, based on student interest and materials available. Control groups received traditional reading instruction instead of tutoring. The subjects included above-average and high-ability first and fifth grade students. The treatment group consisted of approximately 20 first graders and 20 fifth graders. First graders and fifth graders were paired for compatibility. A similar sized control group was chosen from other gifted sites. Criterion sampling (qualification to participate in the gifted/talented program in the local public school system) was used to select the treatment and control groups. The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Fourth Edition, a standardized, norm-referenced instrument used to assess reading achievement, was used as a pre- and posttest to assess growth in reading. One-way (for the fifth graders) and Two-way ANOVA (for the 1s…
abstract: The GREAT (Gifted Readers Enhance Academic Talent) Reading Project is a quasi-experimental, between-group study that evaluated a 13-week before-school student tutoring/mentoring reading and literacy program. The study examined the effects of the intervention on reading achievement for each group involved, including high-ability gifted fifth grade mentors, high-ability gifted first grade protégés, and above-average first grade “Scholastic Academy” protégés. Its primary goal was to improve academic achievement for above-average students in order to help them formally qualify for gifted services. The secondary goal was to promote and assess academic growth for high-ability students already in the gifted program. Mentor/protégé pairs met 3-4 times per week under the monitoring and supervision of certified elementary school teachers. Student pairs interacted as necessary to accomplish learning tasks such as decoding, fluency, and critical reading skills that promote reading comprehension. Pairs read and discussed picture books, chapter books, children’s magazines, and/or assigned books or stories. Some flexibility existed in the program, based on student interest and materials available. Control groups received traditional reading instruction instead of tutoring. The subjects included above-average and high-ability first and fifth grade students. The treatment group consisted of approximately 20 first graders and 20 fifth graders. First graders and fifth graders were paired for compatibility. A similar sized control group was chosen from other gifted sites. Criterion sampling (qualification to participate in the gifted/talented program in the local public school system) was used to select the treatment and control groups. The Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, Fourth Edition, a standardized, norm-referenced instrument used to assess reading achievement, was used as a pre- and posttest to assess growth in reading. One-way (for the fifth graders) and Two-way ANOVA (for the 1s…
author: Samson, Douglas Scott
keywords: tutor, mentor, reading, gifted, talented, underrepresentation, gifted identification
date published: 2008-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:58:50Z
provider: Lousiana State University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1068