Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS-UK) Increases Reading Attainment, Oral Fluency and Comprehension: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose: This study evaluates the impact of Peer Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS-UK) in developing pupils’ reading attainment, reading skills (comprehension and fluency) and affective factors (reading self-efficacy and motivation).

Method: All Year 5 pupils (9-10 years old, N = 4840, 49% female and 51% male) in 114 schools in England, took part in a two-armed, randomised controlled efficacy trial randomising schools. The final analysed sample included 53 treatment schools (N = 1907, 51% female and 49% male) and 50 business-as-usual control schools (N = 1721, 49% female and 51% male). In treatment schools, class-teachers were asked to deliver PALS-UK three times per week for 20 weeks.

Results: Pupils in treatment schools demonstrated higher curriculum-aligned reading attainment than pupils in business-as-usual control schools. A moderate effect size was found for this primary outcome. Exploratory subgroup analyses suggested that no groups were disadvantaged by treatment. In addition, analyses of secondary outcomes showed significant positive treatment effects for reading comprehension and reading fluency/rate - a measure based on speed/accuracy of reading connected text. The treatment effect was not significant for multidimensional fluency (measuring qualitative differences in expressive reading), reading self-efficacy or motivation to read.

Conclusion: This study is the most rigorous evidence to date that PALS-UK is effective in improving reading outcomes. It provides strong evidence in support of the use of this structured approach to paired reading. We conclude that the approach works, when implemented with fidelity, because it supports pupils to practice reading aloud and scaffolds use of reading comprehension strategies, which improve reading outcomes.