WILSON READING SYSTEM
Saint Francis of Assisi School on Jefferson Blvd. is pleased to announce its implementation of the Wilson Reading System as an important part of its regular curriculum.
The Wilson Reading System (WRS) is a research-based reading program designed for students who struggle with decoding and spelling. Developed at a Massachusetts’ Center for Students with Language/Learning Disabilities in the late 1980’s, WRS is now used in school districts throughout the country. The Wilson Reading System teaches students word structure and language through a carefully sequenced, 12-step program.
Originally designed for older individuals with dyslexia, the program has expanded to target the needs of a variety of students at all levels: specifically, students who have been unsuccessful with other reading programs; or those who still have gaps in their decoding and/or spelling abilities. The program also works with students who are able to speak and understand, but not read or write English. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Wilson Reading System is that it was developed for students beyond grade 3. It is used widely with middle school students, adolescents and adults.
WRS instruction is multi-sensory, systematic (sequential and cumulative), direct and diagnostic where the teaching plan is based on continuous assessment of the students’ needs. Wilson students learn English-language sounds (the foundation for reading and spelling) and word structure through a 12-step process. This system helps them master decoding and spelling in a structured, integrated process and learn cumulatively and systematically. It has been used successfully with students who have been unable to learn spelling and/or decoding through traditional basal methods, whole-language or phonics programs.
WRS uses a unique “sound tapping” system early in the program to help the student learn to differentiate the phonemes (speech sounds) in a word. This technique is used for both segmenting and blending sounds. Throughout the program, there is less emphasis on overwhelming students with the language of rules and more emphasis on the understanding and fluent application of the rules. Wilson includes extensive controlled text (wordlists, sentences and stories) for application practice of skills. Fluency and comprehension are emphasized from the beginning. The program is comprehensive; thus it can follow students from one grade to the next, as needed. Criterion-based assessment, built into the program, tracks measurements of student progress and success.
WRS addresses the areas of phonemic segmentation, alphabetic principle – sound/symbol relationships, decoding, encoding (spelling), advanced word analysis, vocabulary development, sight word instruction, fluency, comprehension with visualization and meta-cognition.
Wilson Language Training (WLT) was established in 1992 to provide teacher training and to support the implementation of the Wilson Reading System in school districts and literacy programs. The WRS has been implemented in a number of education settings nationwide, such as public school special education and reading classes, private schools geared toward students with dyslexia, clinics offering reading remediation and adult literacy programs. The system currently serves approximately 850 school districts and there are currently 3,550 teachers certified in the Wilson Reading System throughout the country. Some of these teachers have pursued this certification process independently rather than with a school district.
Philosophy
and Goals: An underlying philosophy
of WRS is to teach English as an organized system so students trust that they
can learn the system and then deal with the irregularities. The mission of the
Wilson Reading System is to address deficits created by dyslexia or other
language-based learning difficulties, a late introduction to English or limited
phonological processing abilities. The mission of WLT is to provide quality
professional development and ongoing support so that teachers have the skills to
succeed with challenged readers.
Program
Components: The system can be used
for one-to-one tutoring or in small groups. Materials feature two separate
vocabulary levels: Level A is suitable for elementary,
English-as-a-Second-Language and older students with limited vocabularies; and
Level B is appropriate for students beyond elementary grades with more advanced
vocabularies. The program incorporates five elements for teaching at-risk
populations:
direct teaching of
alphabetic code, direct instruction in language analysis, coordination of
reading and spelling instruction, intensive instruction, teaching for
mastery.
Evidence of Effectiveness
A Study in Massachusetts, Maine and New Jersey
A recent report from the Wilson Learning Training Center describes a study involving 220 language learning-disabled students and teacher pairs from Massachusetts, Maine and New Jersey (Clark and Uhry, 1995; Wilson and O'Connor, 1995). The aim of this study was to determine whether special education pullout programs with teachers trained in the Wilson Reading System yield significant growth in students' reading and spelling skills. Data from pretests and post-tests were analyzed to determine student gains in word attack, reading comprehension, total reading and spelling.
Of the 220 students, 92 were in grades 3 and 4, and 128 were in grades 5-12. These students had a total reading score on the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised (Forms G and H) or the Woodcock Reading Master Test (WRMT, Forms A and B) at least two years below their grade placement. Students selected for this study had not shown progress in other reading programs using a small-group or one-to-one approach. Thirty-five percent had been retained at least one grade. Students were pre-tested in September and reevaluated in May or June using the Woodcock tests. Results from the study include the following:
■ ■ After an average of 62 Wilson reading lessons, the average gain for all students in word attack was 4.6 grade levels, from a pretest average score of 2.85 to a post-test score of 7.44.
■ ■ In the area of passage comprehension, the average gain was 1.6 grade levels, from a pretest average score of 3.46 to a post-test average of 5.05.
■ ■ The total average reading gain was 1.9 grade levels, from a pretest average score of 3.38 to a post-test average of 5.24.
1997-98 School-Year Results, Compiled by Wilson Reading
During the 1997-98 school year, teachers from 55 locations across the country participated in Level 1 Wilson training. These teachers completed WRMT pre- and post-testing with selected students. Students were chosen for participation if they had poor word-attack and spelling skills and obtained a total reading score at least one full grade level below their grade placement.
Some 168 students selected were in grades 2-5. These students made an average grade-level gain of 3.8 in the word-attack subtest and an average grade-level gain of 1.6 in total reading on the WRMT after an average of 64 sessions. The gain in word attack is of particular note because that was the skill area targeted.
Targeted school districts implementing the Wilson program during the 1998-99 school year independently assessed the results of the program with students. Combined, a total number of 419 students with significant reading deficits spanning grades 3-12 were evaluated following 60 sessions of instruction. The Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised yielded an average gain of 3.5 grade levels in Word Attack and 2.0 grade levels in Comprehension.
Check www.wilsonlanguage.com for more information!