Date of Award

8-22-2025

Date Published

September 2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Advisor(s)

Tanya Eckert

Keywords

Cover-Copy-Compare;intervention complexity;intervention outcomes;spelling;student adherence

Subject Categories

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Cover-Copy-Compare is a self-management intervention strategy developed to improve students’ academic performance, particularly in spelling. In academic intervention research, it is often assumed that students are completing the intervention as intended, yet this is seldom examined during intervention implementation or subsequent data analysis. The purpose of the present study was to extend the empirical literature on students’ intervention adherence by examining Cover-Copy-Compare permanent products to assess whether the complexity of the intervention (i.e., targeting six versus nine spelling words) contributed to a student’s ability to adhere to core intervention components. For the purposes of the present study, data from one randomized controlled trial that sought to examine the effects of targeting six versus nine spelling words was retrospectively examined, resulting in a total sample size of 58 third-grade students. Results suggested that regardless of intervention complexity, students were likely to adhere to the Cover-Copy-Compare intervention, and students in both conditions were relatively similar with respect to the percentage of COVER 2 trials completed over the course of the intervention. Further, pre-intervention spelling performance emerged as a significant predictor of students’ intervention adherence and students’ intervention adherence emerged as a significant predictor of students’ post-intervention spelling performance. Limitations of the study and implications for assessing students’ intervention adherence are discussed.

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Open Access

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