Interventions for students with reading difficulties in Grades 4-12: A systematic review and meta-analysis

This systematic review aimed to capture the most recent evidence on interventions for students with reading difficulties in Grades 4-12 and to assess moderating effects of study, intervention, and sample characteristics. Peer-reviewed articles and reports published between 2011-2023 (in English) were eligible if they described a school-based intervention addressing and assessing one or more reading skill(s), targeted Grade 4-12 students with or at risk of reading difficulties, and included a control or comparison group ( k =106; n =156,981). Correlated and Hierarchical Effects meta-analyses with robust variance estimation yielded an aggregate effect of g = 0.212 on reading outcomes, with a Moderate to High level in quality of evidence. Subgroup and moderator analyses indicated that the impact of intervention varied by reading outcome, with the strongest effects shown for vocabulary. These analyses showed the effectiveness of interventions focused on comprehension, vocabulary, word study, or multiple components for older students who experience reading difficulties, across all grade levels and classroom settings, and when delivered by classroom teachers or researchers. Such interventions are particularly potent for students with learning disabilities and those from a language background other than English, and results hold true regardless of students’ socioeconomic status. Results published more recently and in academic journals tended to show stronger effects overall, as did briefer interventions (<15 hours), and interventions assessed using bespoke researcher-developed measures. Findings offer an up-to-date source of evidence on reading interventions for older students and provide impetus for further research in this critical area. • Reading interventions for students in Grades 4-12 yield a positive aggregate effect • Interventions focused on comprehension or vocabulary produced larger effects • Teacher-delivered interventions yielded stronger effects for vocabulary outcomes • GRADE assessment indicated a Moderate to High level of evidence