A study that found significant, positive effects for the Promoting Adolescents’ Comprehension of Text (PACT) intervention has received the backing of the prestigious What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). In a Single Study Review, the WWC found that the study “meets WWC evidence standards without reservation,” adding that it is a “well-implemented randomized controlled trial.” The study was originally reported in the Reading Research Quarterly article “Improving Reading Comprehension and Social Studies Knowledge in Middle School,” written by PACT Principal Investigators Sharon Vaughn and Elizabeth Swanson; and researchers Greg Roberts, Stephanie Stillman-Spisak, and Michael Solis of MCPER; Jeanne Wanzek of Florida State University; and Deborah Simmons of Texas A&M University.
In its Single Study Reviews, the WWC—an initiative of the Institute for Education Sciences—assesses an individual study’s quality of research design and reports on technical details about the study’s design and findings.