Effects of Fact Retrieval Tutoring for Third-Grade Students with Math Difficulties With and Without Reading Difficulties
Powell, S. R., Fuchs, L. S., Fuchs, D., Cirino, P. T., & Fletcher, J. M. · 2009
grade Crctdeveloper-ledunreplicated
Sample
139 third graders (4 arms, ~33-35/arm)
Population
Third graders with math difficulties (MD-only vs comorbid MD+reading).
Design
Small cells; outcomes are the developers' timed fact-retrieval subtests.
Key findings
Defines the boundary of fluency training: fact fluency is a teachable but NARROW skill — huge gains on trained retrieval for MD-only students, zero transfer to adjacent computation, and zero response from the lowest-ability comorbid subgroup.
Genetic confound
Treatment response tracks broader cognitive profile: the lowest-general-ability (comorbid) subgroup gained nothing.
Replication notes
Fits the Fuchs-lab program; the comorbid-null and non-transfer findings not independently replicated.
DOI / URL
10.1111/j.1540-5826.2008.01272.x
Effects
| Outcome | Metric | Value | Measure | Timing | Vs | Horizon | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fact retrieval, MD-only students | ES | 1.19-1.50 vs control | researcher-designed | end of treatment | business-as-usual | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| Fact retrieval, comorbid MD+RD students | ES | 0.13-0.17 (ns) — no response | researcher-designed | end of treatment | business-as-usual | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| Transfer to double-digit computation | ES | null — no spread even to adjacent computation | researcher-designed | end of treatment | business-as-usual | end-of-treatment | near-transfer |
Cited by
- Math-fact fluency and timed practice (and the anti-timed-test claims)strong supportconf: highgc: low