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Running Head: CSR

Collaborative Strategic Reading for Students with Autism

Tyler Clouse-Bass

Greg Miller

University of Colorado- Denver

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Collaborative Strategic Reading for Students with Autism

I. Research Summary

The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk performed a study of an adapted

and piloted Collaborative Strategic Reading-High School (CSR-HS) with three high school

students with autism spectrum disorder from a rural Texas high school (Reutebuch et al. 2015).

The study focused on the effects of the intervention on the students’ reading comprehension. The

study defines that the specific adaptations to CSR-HS that were made were designed to

specifically target students designated as high functioning. Selection for participants in this study

were based primarily on convenience, in that participants met the minimum eligibility

requirements (enrolled in high school, aged between 13 and 22, receiving special education

support under a diagnosis of ASD, reading on at least a second-grade level, and receiving

instruction throughout the school day in inclusive settings) and were willing to participate in the

study. Two participants were male, one female, ages 15, 16, and 17 respectively. The study

found that, two of the three participants showed increased accuracy on reading comprehension

tasks and showed increases in social interactions while challenging behaviors decreased.

However, the study notes that one participant became so overwhelmed by peer interaction that

the peer was removed during intervention. Additional adaptations to the intervention were made

to meet student accommodation needs. Many limitations to the study’s efficacy were identified,

limiting the study’s applications beyond the targeted population.

A study conducted by Klingner et al. (2004) was performed in 10 classrooms across five

different elementary schools in the south-eastern United States. The student populations of all

schools were predominantly Hispanic, with between 25.6% to 51% identified as limited in

English proficiency. Five teachers were established as the control group, conducting reading
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instruction as they normally would, while five others were given the CSR intervention for

implementation. The study found that students in CSR classrooms showed greater improvement

in reading comprehension than the control groups. Additionally, on the Gates-MacGinitie

standardized assessment, posttest differences were statistically significant in favor of the CSR

classes. The study notes that, when comparing achievement level, only students in the

high/average-achieving group were different at a statistically significant level. Classrooms with

the highest levels of CSR implementation showed the greatest gains in reading comprehension.

The study suggests that the effectiveness of CSR towards student reading comprehension is

correlated to the effectiveness of CSR implementation.

A study conducted by Boardman et al. (2016) was performed on sixty fourth- and fifth-

grade classrooms in 14 urban/near urban school districts in two states.. The study implemented a

randomized control trial (RCT) in which teachers were randomly assigned to the control group or

the CSR group. A total of 1,372 students participated in the initial sample (686 in treatment and

686 in control). The majority of the students were Hispanic and about half were ELLs.

Approximately 10% of the students in the treatment group received special education services,

compared to about 12% in the control group. The results of the study indicate that, while students

with learning disabilities (LD) scored lower at pretest and posttest on the GMRT assessment than

their peers without LD, the average gains were positive. Additionally, students with LD in the

CSR group outperformed their peers in the control group. The results of the study indicate that

CSR was an effective intervention for students with LD when implemented approximately two

times per week each week for 14 weeks.

A study conducted by Riswanto (2023) was performed on 25 eighth-grade students from

one public secondary school in Bengkulu Tengah. Researchers conducted a pre- and post-test of
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student reading comprehension in a time series design. The methodology of this study focuses on

the use of CSR as an instructional intervention for students learning English as a foreign

language (EFL). The study concluded that CSR is statistically significant in its positive effect on

student reading comprehension. The study notes, however, that numerous barriers still exist and

that cultural context for the students may provide a basis for future research. The study validates

that CSR is effective in a variety of contexts and for various purposes, proposing future research

on how CSR can be leveraged instructionally in other areas of instruction for students designated

as EFL. Due to the small sample size and lack of a control group, it is unclear if this study can be

effectively expanded beyond the study.

A study conducted by Amjadi and Hassan Talebi (2021) was conducted on 44 upper

secondary level male students in rural areas from working-class communities in Iran. Participant

ages ranged between 16 and 18. Students were separated into a control and experimental group

to study the effectiveness of extended collaborative strategic reading (ECSR) as compared to

CSR for EFL students. The study found that students who participated in ECSR showed

statistically significant increases in reading comprehension over students in the CSR group. The

unique aspect of this study is that CSR and ECSR instruction incorporated multiple levels of

scaffolding for students both instructionally and in their social emotional learning (SEL). The

implications of this study suggest that individualized instruction with a focus on SEL can be

implemented effectively, while ECSR, which has a greater social interaction focus over time, is

more effective than CSR alone. However, due to the small sample size and lack of existing

research, it is unclear if this study can be expanded beyond its sample.

II. Methods Description

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Collaborative Strategic Reading is a peer-engagement styled reading comprehension

intervention. This strategy can be used from elementary to secondary educational levels to assess

reading comprehension skills for students. The intervention is implemented by first previewing a

text with students, peer-grouping them into “click-clunk” teams to dissect the text and determine

points of confusion and collaborate in clarifying the text to “get the gist”, and finally in

answering comprehension questions about the text. The intervention follows an “I do, we do, you

do” instructional model, where the teacher takes instructional “point” during text preview to

connect to classroom topics and prior knowledge, students collaborate to work together to review

the text, and then independently answer questions about the text. As students read and review the

text, students take on one of several different roles to best facilitate individual responsibility and

task-oriented focus during the text review.

III. Alignment

This intervention aligns with Colorado Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, and

Communicating at all levels under Standard 2. Reading for All Purposes, sub standards 1 and 2

for 1st through 8th grade and sub standards 1, 2, and 3 for the 9/10th grade band and 11/12th

grade band. (RWC1-12.2.1, RWC1-12.2.2, RWC9-12.2.3)

IV. Implications

One of the biggest instructional implications of CSR is the availability of research on the

intervention. There is substantial research available on the effectiveness of CSR at all grade

levels and with a variety of populations, all which support that CSR can be effective in

supporting student reading comprehension. However, there are exceedingly few studies

conducted on this intervention’s effectiveness for students that receive special education

instruction, and far fewer for students with ASD. Among the available research, there have been
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repeated findings that CSR is only as effective as its implementation, which is supported by the

What Works Clearinghouse report on CSR, which indicates that CSR meets WWC standards

with reservations (2015). Multiple studies support that this intervention is culturally and

linguistically responsive and can positively impact student reading comprehension in English, as

well as supporting students with special education support needs. With consideration to the

correlations found with instructional efficacy, CSR is likely better used as a differentiated

support for student reading comprehension than as a dedicated intervention designed to close

instructional gaps. This is especially evident when considering the amount of instructional

training required for teachers to become effective implementers of CSR. Additionally, students

with ASD may not be responsive to this intervention due to the high level of peer interaction

required in its base form, so adapted versions of CSR that require minimized or removed peer

interaction may be necessary for effective implementation. The studies also seem to indicate that

CSR is more effective when it is used as the only intervention, as opposed to use in conjunction

with other available strategies. To ensure students continue to receive balanced approaches to

literacy, it is important to consider using CSR with rotational intentionality, perhaps only for

introductory texts to a unit or as a way to change instructional pace if review or reteaching is

required for students.

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References

Amjadi, A., & Talebi, S. H. (2024). Extending the efficacy of Collaborative Strategic

Reading (CSR) in teaching reading strategies: A socio-cultural emotional perspective.

Language Teaching Research, 28(2), 714-748. https://doi-

org.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/13621688211011501

Boardman, A. G., Vaughn, S., Buckley, P., Reutebuch, C., Roberts, G., & Klingner, J. (2016).

Collaborative strategic reading for students with learning disabilities in upper elementary

classrooms. Exceptional Children, 82(4), 409-427.

Klinger, J. K., Vaughn, S., Arguelles, M. E., Hughes, M. T., & Leftwich, S. A. (2004).

Collaborative Strategic Reading: “Real world” lessons from classroom teachers.

Remedial and Special Education, 25(5), 291-302. https://doi-

org.aurarialibrary.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/07419325040250050301

Reutebuch, C. K., El Zein, F., Kim, M. K., Weinberg, A. N., & Vaughn, S. (2015).

Investigating a reading comprehension intervention for high school students with autism

spectrum disorder: A pilot study. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 9, 96-111.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2014.10.002

Riswanto, R. (2023). THE IMPACT OF COLLABORATIVE STRATEGIC READING

(CSR) STRATEGY ON READING SKILL AMONG SECONDARY STUDENTS.

English Review: Journal of English Education, 11(1).

https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v11i1.7549

U.S. Department of Education. (2015). U.S. Department of Education Grant Performance

Report (ED-524B): CSR Colorado. WWC. https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/WWC/Study/84090

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