Segregated school effects on first grade reading gains: Using propensity score matching to disentangle effects for African-American,Latino, and European-American students

Increasing evidence from observational studies indicates that students attending minority segregated schools are at risk for constrained performance in reading. However, analyses of data gathered under observational conditions may yield biased results. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 1998–1999 Kindergarten Cohort, this study used propensity score matching to address selection bias due to students’ observed socio-economic, literacy, and social-emotional background characteristics, allowing for a less biased estimate of minority segregated schooling on African-American, Latino, and European-American students’ reading gains in first grade. We found that African-American students attending segregated schools made less gain in reading across the first grade year than African-American students in non-segregated schools. There was no evidence for significant negative effects of segregation on reading gains for Latino and European-American students.     

Using response to kindergarten and first grade intervention to identify children at-risk for long-term reading difficulties

Entry-level kindergartners in classrooms from five middle class school districts were given a test of letter identification and children who scored at or below the 30th percentile on the test were classified as “at risk” for early reading difficulties. Half of these children were randomly assigned to a project-based intervention condition where they received supplementary intervention in small groups until the end of their kindergarten year. The other half received whatever remedial services were available at their home schools and literacy skills development in both groups was tracked throughout kindergarten. All available at-risk children were again assessed at the beginning of first grade and dichotomized into a “continued-risk” group and a “no-longer-at-risk” group using a composite measure of basic word level skills. Normal reader controls were also identified using the same measure. Children in the continued-risk group received either project-based intervention (one-to-one tutoring 30 min daily) or school-based intervention throughout first grade. Intervention for project treatment children was discontinued at the end of first grade and literacy development in all groups was tracked until the end of third grade. The present study focused on literacy development in children who received only project-based kindergarten intervention or both (project-based) kindergarten and first grade intervention, relative to the normal reader controls. Of special interest was the question of whether measures of response to intervention would more effectively distinguish between continued-risk and no-longer-at-risk children than would kindergarten screening measures, measures of intelligence, or measures of reading-related cognitive abilities. Results indicated that the RTI measures more effectively and more consistently distinguished between these two groups than did the psychometric measures.

Blending versus whole word approaches in first grade remedial reading: Short-term and delayed effects on reading and spelling words

Twelve very poor readers in May of first grade, including four withdisabilities, were randomly assigned to one of two daily tutoring conditions designed to teach children to read regularly spelled short words by one of two methods: blending sounds to form words, or cumulative introduction of whole words. Both treatments included letter/sound correspondences and spelling words in the reading set. At the end of ten sessions, no differences were found between the treatment outcomes; however, delayed posttests one week later found differences favoring the blending treatment on reading and spelling instructional words, and on transfer to words composed of known letter sounds.     

Differences in reading development among Danish beginning-readers with high versus low phonemic awareness on entering grade one

This longitudinal study explored the relation betweenpreschool phoneme awareness and initial reading development. Distinctions were made between formal and functional letter knowledge and between foundation and subsequent phases of reading development. 44 children with at least average language comprehension were followed from the beginning of grade 1(7 years) until the end of grade 2. They were divided intotwo groups: one group of 21 children with high phonemic awareness (HPA) and 23 children with low phonemic awareness (LPA) on entering grade 1. The results showed persistent group differences in favour of the HPA children regarding letter-knowledge and word reading. The results confirmed a significant impact of functional letter knowledge on the length of the foundation period and on later reading development. Length of foundation period was shown to have a significant impact on reading development at the end of grades 1 and 2. It is argued that phonemic awareness is an indispensable catalystin the development of initial word processing ability.     

Code-oriented instruction for kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties: a replication and comparison of instructional groupings

The purposes of this study were to replicate previous research on phonics-based tutoring in kindergarten and to compare treatment effects for students who received individual instruction compared to instruction in dyads. Thirty classroom teachers from 13 urban elementary schools referred at-risk students for participation. Students who met screening criteria were quasi-randomly assigned, within classroom, to one of three conditions: individual tutoring (n = 22), tutoring in dyads (n = 32), or no tutoring (n = 22, classroom instruction only). Twenty-one paraeducators provided 18 weeks of explicit instruction in phonemic skills and the alphabetic code to students during the latter half of kindergarten. Multilevel model results showed that tutored students outperformed non-tutored controls on posttest measures of phonological awareness, word reading accuracy, oral reading fluency, spelling, and comprehension. However, no significant differences were found between the two tutored groups on any measure, suggesting that code-oriented tutoring for pairs of students is a viable alternative to the gold standard of individual instruction.     

Phonological processes as predictors of specific reading skills in children at risk for reading failure

Children at risk for reading disability were evaluated as kindergartners and again as first graders to determine (1) intercorrelations among phonological processing tasks and (2) the relationship of such tasks to word identification and word attack. With IQ controlled, there were no intercorrelations among measures of phonological awareness, phonetic recoding in working memory, and phonological recoding in lexical access. Thus, these results failed to substantiate the concept of a general phonological processing ability. Partial correlations controlling for IQ revealed no relationship between reading and phonological awareness or phonetic recoding in working memory. In contrast, lexical access measures were significantly, albeit moderately, correlated with word identification but not word attack. Word attack and word identification were predicted by different combinations of variables. These results suggest that lexical access ability is an important factor in reading acquisition and that different combinations of phonological processes may be related to different aspects of reading.This research was supported by PHS grant HD 21887 to Bowman Gray School of Medicine and by PHS Grant NS 19413 to UNC-Greensboro Subcontract to Bowman Gray School of Medicine.     

Links among segmenting,spelling, and reading words in first and second Grades

Twenty first graders and twenty second graders were examined on skills in segmenting, reading, and spelling 50 words with regular and exceptional spelling patterns. By using the same words for each task, it was possible to assess the interrelationships among these skills on a word by word, child by child basis. A multivariate analysis of variance was conducted on difference scores among segmentation, reading, and spelling. Generally, differences favored segmentation and were maximized when final sounds were deleted and minimized when medial sounds were deleted. In addition, graphical analyses showed a greater probability of correct reading and spelling given correct segmentation than incorrect segmentation. Results were interpreted to support a computational notion of phonology as a prerequisite to reading and spelling, with a more reflective notion explaining the reciprocal relation between reading and segmentation of consonant blends and medial sounds.     

Measurement invariance and validity of a brief questionnaire on reading motivation in elementary students

In order to initiate more research on the role of reading motivation during the initial stages of learning to comprehend texts, we developed the Reading Motivation Questionnaire for Elementary Students (RMQ‐E). The sample comprised 1497 elementary students in Grades 1–3. By means of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, three factors were determined: Curiosity, involvement and competition. The three‐factor structure of the RMQ‐E was found to be invariant across grade levels (scalar invariance) and across female and male students (strict invariance). As was anticipated, students in higher grades and male students were lower in curiosity and involvement than students in lower grades and female students. Whereas competitive reading motivation did not differ across grade levels, it was higher for boys than for girls. Moreover, the contributions of involvement and competition to reading amount and reading competence were in accordance with the hypotheses. The predictive validity of curiosity, however, was not confirmed.     

基于F-AHP的物流企业财务风险评价和防控策略研究

通过对现代物流企业财务风险因素进行识别,分析影响现代物流企业财务风险的四大关键因素（投资风险、筹资风险、现金流量风险和内部控制风险）;提炼出关键评价指标体系,构建基于FAHP的物流企业财务风险综合评价模型。结合现代物流企业的经营和财务风险特征,从投资风险、筹资风险、现金流量风险和内部控制风险四个维度提出现代物流企业财务风险防控策略。     

听读训练模式对大学生英语快速阅读能力影响的研究

听和读是英语学习中两种最主要的输入方式,它们在英语学习中起着至关重要的作用。本文依据笔者的教学实践和近期的相关研究提出听读结合的英语阅读教学方案,阐述了两者相结合进行英语快速阅读教学的优点,指出了听读结合式教学中要注意的问题,以期提高大学英语快速阅读教学的效果。     

Preschool behavior problems in classroom learning situations and literacy outcomes in kindergarten and first grade

Relations between classroom behavior problems early in the preschool year and elementary school literacy and language outcomes were examined for an entire cohort of four-year-old Head Start children (N = 2682). A cross-classified random effects model was used that controlled for the variance in literacy outcomes attributed to: (a) child-level demographics (age, gender, ethnicity), and end of the preschool year cognitive skills; (b) Head Start, kindergarten and first grade classrooms; and (c) kindergarten and first grade schools. Preschool behavior problems were assessed across structured learning situations, and during peer and teacher interactions at the beginning of Head Start. Preschool behavior problems in structured learning situations differentially predicted lower literacy outcomes across all time points. Findings extend previous research and underscore the importance of early identification of problem behavior using developmentally and ecologically valid tools within early childhood classrooms intentionally designed to foster literacy skills.     

高职院校英语学困生的成因分析及对策研究

本文详细分析了高职院校英语学困生形成的原因,提出了实施以情感教育为核心的转化策略。     

Telephone Testing and Teacher Assessment of Reading Skills in 7-year-olds: I. Substantial Correspondence for a Sample of 5544 Children and for Extremes

Many research questions require the assessment of reading in large samples of children. We compared two nonconventional procedures for early reading assessment: test administration by telephone, and teacher assessment. Five thousand five hundred and forty four children participating in a longitudinal twin study were assessed by telephone using the Test of Early Word Reading Efficiency, and by their teachers using the UK National Curriculum criteria. A correlation of 0.69 was obtained between the TOWRE and Teacher Assessment for Reading. There was also good agreement between the two procedures for identification of children at the lower extreme. Both appear to be practical and valid for research studies.     

英语学困生阅读障碍的认知分析及教学对策

阅读是英语学习者需要掌握的基本技能之一,也是影响英语学困生提高英语学习成绩的重要方面之一。从认知的角度来讲,造成学困生英语阅读障碍的原因主要有：词汇量不够;语篇策略欠缺;没有掌握有效的阅读技巧,阅读方式单一;缺乏背景知识参与阅读理解的意识。针对这样的学习现状,教师应该在教学中采取以下策略：激活背景知识,培养学生的阅读动机;加强词汇的有意义学习;加强阅读策略的训练等。     

如何培养高考中现代文阅读的应试能力

在近几年的语文高考中,对阅读能力中的根据文章内容进行推断和想像能力的考查频繁出现,因此,了解推断和想像是逻辑思维与形象思维的综合,把握考查时的出题角度,掌握一定的解题方法对于高考备考具有非常重要的作用.     

如何培养高考中现代文阅读的应试能力

在近几年的语文高考中,对阅读能力中的“根据文章内容进行推断和想像”能力的考查频繁出现,因此,了解推断和想像是逻辑思维与形象思维的综合,把握考查时的出题角度,掌握一定的解题方法对于高考备考具有非常重要的作用。     

Aggressor/victim subtypes and teacher factors in first grade as risk factors for later mental health symptoms and school functioning

In a sample of 244 first graders, we identified four subtypes of children based on multi-informant measures of victimization by peers and aggression toward peers: aggressive victims (AV), non-victimized aggressors, non-aggressive victims, and non-aggressive, non-victimized (i.e., normative) children. We examined the differences between the aggressor/victim groups concurrently and two years later in third grade in terms of both mental health symptoms (severity and directionality) and school functioning (academic competence and school engagement). AV showed the worst results for mental health, academic competence, and school engagement concurrently and two years later. The role of first-grade teacher experience and education in predicting third-grade outcomes was also the subject of examination. Significant interactional effects were found between both AV and teacher experience and education. Most notably, the education level of first-grade teachers interacted with AV status to predict school engagement, such that the least engaged students at third grade were AV whose first-grade teachers had no schooling beyond a bachelor’s degree.     

关于完善高校领导干部政绩考核中几个问题的思考

高校领导干部政绩考核是干部管理工作中的一项重要工作,考核指标、考核目的、考核方法、考核主体、考核结果的运用等问题联系非常密切,系统研究,大胆实践,意义重大。     

运用手语故事引导聋学生自主阅读的研究与实践

阅读是聋学生形成和发展汉语言能力的一个重要途径,但阅读的持久进行必须依靠阅读时产生的愉悦。手语故事形象生动,容易理解,受到聋学生的喜爱,是引导和帮助聋学生找到阅读乐趣的有效方法。在教育教学中,通过手语故事引导和帮助聋学生自主阅读,又通过自主阅读引导他们讲好手语故事,形成良性循环。这一方法使学生的阅读始终伴随着丰富生动的故事情节,有效地改变了聋学生阅读低效或无效的状态,帮助他们获得了阅读的快乐,使他们逐步形成了自主阅读的习惯和能力。     

借阅藏一体化管理模式下读者违规现象及对策

针对借阅藏一体化管理模式下,存在于高校图书馆中常见的违规现象,提出了新的对策,尤其是提出了建立学生诚信档案的建议。