Effectiveness of a Remedial Program for Reading and Spelling Deficits

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of J. P. Das's PASS Reading Enhancement Program (PREP) in reading and spelling deficits and among PASS processes of children with reading disabilities. A sample of 140 students (9-12 years), 70 in control group and 70 in experimental group were tested on Wide Range Achievement Test 4 (WRAT 4) and Das Battery of Cognitive Assessment System in pre and post test conditions. Reading disabled children were diagnosed as scoring below 16th percentile on particular WRAT 4 and CAS subtest. The experimental group received PREP remedial intervention for 4 months and was retested on a parallel form of WRAT 4 and CAS. Results revealed that control group did not differ in pre- and post-test conditions in any of the areas of reading, spelling, and PASS processes. However, the experimental group recorded remarkable improvement in reading, spelling and simultaneous and successive synthesis (p<.001). The findings provide an evidence for the validity of PREP in improving upon these areas of deficit among reading disabled children.