The Effects of a Mobile Book Lab on the Summer Reading Regression of Elementary At-risk Students at a Select School District in Upper East Tennessee

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the effects of a mobile book lab on summer reading regression for at-risk elementary students in a select school district in Upper East Tennessee. The sample consisted of 200 at-risk elementary students who were randomly selected for the study. Fifty males and 50 females who participated in the mobile book lab, and 50 males and 50 females who did not participate in the mobile book lab were randomly assigned to each group. Data were collected from AIMSweb universal screeners for second through fifth-grade at-risk students at three elementary schools. The names of the second through fifth-grade students who participated in the mobile book lab during the summer of 2018 were acquired from the director of the mobile book lab. These lists were then used to separate the students into two groups, at-risk students who participated in the mobile book lab program and those who did not participate. Oral reading and comprehension activity questionnaires were also completed weekly by all mobile book lab attendees. This study suggests at-risk students who participated in the mobile book lab experienced a lesser amount of summer reading regression in reading comprehension and fluency than those who did not participate. Gender was not a factor in the amount of summer reading regression experienced in reading comprehension and fluency for at-risk students who participated or did not participate in the mobile book lab.