Literacy Tutoring That Works —
Abstract of

Chapter 3
The Academic Booster Shot: In-School Tutoring to Prevent Grade-Level Retention

Nancy Frey

Diane Lapp

Douglas Fisher

A tension in intervention for young readers is finding a way to balance the time needed to minimize time spent away from classroom instruction. In this study, first-grade students at risk for retention due to a mandatory policy enacted by the district were provided with daily 30-minute, one-to-one instruction at the end of the school year. Tutors, under the guidance of the authors and the school's reading specialist, assessed and instructed students in lessons that emphasized word knowledge, fluency, reading comprehension, and writing. The intervention itself was conceived as a “booster shot” coming near the end of the school year and as a supplement to the instruction they were already receiving in the classroom. The study compares the effectiveness to a similar elementary school and found fewer students were retained and the gains made during the intervention endured through second grade.

Frey, N., Lapp, D., & Fisher, D. (2009). The Academic Booster Shot: In-School Tutoring to Prevent Grade-Level Retention. In J.C. Richards, & C.A. Lassonde (Eds.), Literacy Tutoring That Works (pp. 34-45). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.