Single-Case Experimental Design for Evaluating Basic Reading Interventions for Students With Learning Disabilities: An Illustrative Case

Abstract

Many students with learning disabilities (LD) do not master basic reading skills, which affects later reading fluency and reading comprehension development. Single-case experimental design (SCED) research yields unique opportunities to better understand which aspects of a basic reading intervention are effective with a particular student, including the individual’s rate of growth, stability, or maintenance of acquired skills, and whether or not modifications need to be made to the intervention under study. In this article, we use a case study illustration to highlight unique considerations for using SCED research to investigate basic reading interventions for students with LD. Finally, we provide a discussion of future directions and a potential shift in SCED methodology that is responsive to the comprehensive and multiple skill nature of reading instruction.

Monitoring Reading Component Skills during a Word‐Level Intervention for Adolescents with Limited Reading Proficiency

“…Lessons learned from this study's limitations may serve as recommendations for future reading researchers and cautions for practitioners. First, a challenge for reading researchers is to figure out which variables are best for examination within single‐case experimental design—objective, reading behaviors that change in brief increments, especially for adolescents who have varied background knowledge and reader profiles of component skills (Berkeley et al., 2022). For instance, based on the high frequency of overlapping scores, word identification of researcher‐predicted unknown multisyllabic words read in isolation may not have been the best proximal data point to determine phase change and examine effects.…”

“…The research questions were retained; however, rather than investigating functional relations among dependent variables, only correlational conclusions were attainable. Thus, the present study was reframed as a feasibility study for the potential future use of single‐case experimental design to evaluate reading interventions (Berkeley et al., 2022).…”

Reporting Quality of Single–Case Research Published in Learning Disabilities Journals

“…SCRD studies are increasingly used to evaluate reading (Berkeley et al, 2023), mathematics (Peltier et al, 2023), and behavioral interventions (Contesse et al, 2021) for individuals who have learning disabilities. Accurately reporting results of studies supports intervention implementation and study replication.…”