Classification of Double Deficit Groups Across Time: An Analysis of Group Stability From Kindergarten to Second Grade

The Double Deficit Hypothesis of dyslexia is one approach to classifying students with reading disabilities. The theory offers four distinct groups of readers: (a) average readers, (b) students with phonological deficits, (c) students with naming speed deficits, and (d) students with double deficits: those having both (b) and (c). This study examines the stability of these groups from kindergarten to second grade. An initial sample of 214 students were tested at four time points on measures of rapid automatized naming, phonological awareness, and reading. Latent transition analyses were used to examine the stability of these groups over time. These analyses indicated moderate stability from kindergarten to second grade with the probability of movement between groups being higher in kindergarten and early first grade. The groups differed in reading achievement at each testing time, with the double deficit group obtaining the lowest scores. Implications for early assessment and intervention are discussed.     

Latent profile analysis of students’ reading development and the relation of cognitive variables to reading profiles

Previous studies have showed that early problems with word decoding can lead to poor performance in text reading and comprehension and suggest that poor readers often struggle with reading deficits throughout their school years. Therefore, early detection of those children who are at risk for slow reading development and/or who belong to the lowest reading profiles is essential in order to organize proper support. The present study explores the heterogeneity and prevalence of latent reading profiles among 769 Finnish- and German-reading students during their first and second school years in three countries (Finland, Germany, and Italy) using latent profile analysis. The results identified three latent profiles among Finnish readers, one of which (sentence-level reading) was identified as developing slowly. Among German-reading students, four latent profiles were discovered, two of which were identified as developing slowly. The results of ordinal logistic regression modeling show that rapid automatic naming (RAN) was significantly related to poorer reading profiles among Finnish- and German-reading students, and that the poorer results in letter-sound connection testing among the German-reading group was also significantly related to poorer reading profiles. Although the educational systems have some differences between Germany and German-speaking areas of Italy, no significant country effect was detected. In addition, a child’s age and spoken language did not significantly affect the student’s reading profile.     

Using portfolios: a way to improve performance and self-esteem with poor readers?

The main questions answered by the intervention of using portfolios during reading and spelling lessons were: do poor readers in the intervention condition perform better and do they show a higher self-esteem than poor readers in the control condition? A post-hoc design was used to compare an intervention group with a control group. The independent variable was using portfolios as part of reading and spelling instruction. The dependent variables were literacy skills, conceptual knowledge on reading and writing, and self-esteem. Intelligence score was used as a covariable. The study included 92 students from grade 3 (six to seven-year-olds) from two schools providing regular education. The results on the quantitative measurements indicated that using portfolios did not improve performance with reading and spelling and self-esteem. The qualitative findings with respect to the 14 poor readers of the participating subjects revealed that their reading performance and self-esteem decreased further in both conditions. It is argued that teachers should explicitly use portfolios as a way to evaluate and discuss performance with poor readers so as to better understand the student's level of instruction and feelings of competence, and actually apply that knowledge during instruction.     

Children engaging in storybook reading: The influence of access to print resources, opportunity, and parental interaction

Economic and social class differences in literacy-specific experiences and access to print resources have been widely documented. This study examined an intervention strategy designed to provide access to literacy materials and opportunities for parent-child storybook reading in three Head Start Centers. There were three specific objectives: (1) to examine the influence of text type (highly predictable, episodic predictable, and narrative) on patterns of interaction between parents and children; (2) to examine whether there were differences in these patterns of interaction between low proficiency and proficient parent readers; and (3) to examine gains in receptive language and concepts of print scores for children of low proficiency and proficient parent readers. Forty-one parents and their children participated in the study; 18 low proficiency parent readers and 23 proficient parent readers were involved in a 12-week book club. Results indicated that text type affected patterns of interaction and that parents' reading proficiency influenced conversational interactions, with different text types serving as a scaffold for parent-child interaction. Regardless of parental reading proficiency, however, children's receptive language and concepts of print improved significantly, providing further evidence for the importance of parental storybook reading on children's emerging literacy.     

Evaluation of the double-deficit hypothesis subtype classification of readers in Spanish

The double-deficit hypothesis acknowledges both phonological processing deficits and serial naming speed deficits as two dimensions associated with reading disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine these two dimensions of reading as they were related to the reading skills of 29 Spanish average readers and poor readers (mean age 9 years 7 months) who met the criteria for either single phonological deficit (PD), double deficit (DD), or no deficit. DD children were the slowest readers and had the weakest orthography processing skills. No significant differences were found between PD and DD groups on word and pseudoword reading. Word reading and reading comprehension skills were average or above average in the three studied groups. As in previous studies in transparent orthographies, word reading was not a salient problem for Spanish poor readers, whereas for the DD group, reading speed and orthographic recognition skills were significantly affected.     

Predicting reading progress in children receiving special help

The main aim of the study was to determine whether performance on reading-related cognitive processing tasks would help predict reading progress in children receiving special help. The 86 subjects were initially aged six to eight years and most were followed up after two years. When variance due to IQ and age was accounted for, an orthographic processing task, phonological awareness (phoneme deletion), and digit- naming speed were significant predictors of later reading skills. A strength in phonological awareness differentiated initial poor readers who later made excellent gains in reading from poor readers who did not improve. Children whose reading deteriorated had serious weaknesses on tasks of naming speed and confrontation naming. Their poor lexical retrieval skills had a more deleterious effect on later reading than on initial. Indications were that for children diagnosed as poor readers at age six or seven years, prognosis is better for boys, and for garden- variety poor readers, than for dyslexics. Caution was urged in applying the term dyslexic to children in the first two school grades because many of them will be slow starters who do not have a persistent reading problem.     

The Effects of a Fluency Intervention Program on the Fluency and Comprehension Outcomes of Middle‐School Students with Severe Reading Deficits

Despite advances in the science of teaching reading, there still exists a small percentage of students who fail to make the expected progress in reading‐related skills, notwithstanding attempts at intervention. Even if these struggling readers learn to decode adequately, fluency remains a problem for many, and little is known about the effectiveness of fluency interventions for older students with severe reading deficits. This study used a randomized experimental design to test the efficacy of a fluency intervention program on the word‐identification and reading‐comprehension outcomes of 60 middle‐school students with severe reading delays. Results showed that students in the experimental group made more progress on standardized tests of reading fluency than students in the control group. No gains were seen in reading comprehension.     

The effects of dyad reading and text difficulty on third-graders’ reading achievement

This study replicated, with modifications, previous research of dyad reading using texts at various levels of difficulty (Morgan, 1997). The current project measured the effects of using above–grade-level texts on reading achievement and sought to determine the influences of dyad reading on both lead and assisted readers. Results indicate that weaker readers, using texts at two, three, and four grade levels above their instructional levels with the assistance of lead readers, outscored both proficient and less proficient students in the control group across multiple measures of reading achievement. However, the gains made by assisted readers were not significantly different relative to the various text levels. When all assessments were considered, assisted readers reading texts two grade levels above their instructional levels showed the most robust gains in oral reading fluency and comprehension. Lead readers also benefited from dyad reading and continued their respective reading developmental trajectories across measures.     

Preventative Reading Interventions Teaching Direct Mapping of Graphemes in Texts and Set-for-Variability Aid At-Risk Learners

We evaluated two experimenter-delivered, small-group word reading programs among at-risk poor readers in Grade 1 classes of regular elementary schools using a two-arm, dual-site-matched control trial intervention. At-risk poor word readers (n = 201) were allocated to either (a) Direct Mapping and Set-for-Variability (DMSfV) or (b) Current or Best-Practices small-group reading programs, typically for 10–11 hr over 10 weeks. Students were matched on baseline reading and language abilities, parent demographic measures, and observed regular classroom teaching quality. Results of hierarchical data modeling showed advantages for the DMSfV program (p < .05 for word reading and spelling at posttest and word reading and sentence comprehension at 5-month delayed posttest), with discernible valued added for the DMSfV condition across all follow-up measures. Results support the use of small-group preventative literacy intervention models that teach both direct mapping of grapheme–phoneme correspondences in text and set-for-variability.     

Is there a common linkage among reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing?

The authors examined the relationships between reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing in 42 Grade 7 students. The goal was to quantify the sensitivity of visual attention and magnocellular visual processing as concomitants of poor reading comprehension in the absence of either vision therapy or cognitive intervention. Nineteen good readers (M = grade equivalent of 11.2) and 23 poor readers (M = grade equivalent of 3.5) were identified. Participants were tested for visual attention skills (Cognitive Assessment System: CAS) and magnocellular integrity (Coherent Motion Threshold: CM). Individual and combined correlations of dependent variables with reading were significant at the 0.01 level. When combined, the two tests (CAS + CM) accounted for 61% of the variance in reading comprehension. Logistic regression analysis measured sensitivity of the two diagnostic tests. Attention tests correctly classified 95.7% of poor readers, and coherent motion correctly classified 78.3% of poor readers. When the data were combined, 91.3% of poor readers were correctly classified. The research reinforces the notion that a common linkage exists between reading comprehension, visual attention, and magnocellular processing. Diagnostic test batteries for students who have been identified as reading disabled should include magnocellular and visual attention tests. Procedures to diagnose and ameliorate these disabilities are discussed.     

Reading skill components and impairments in middle school struggling readers

This study investigated how measures of decoding, fluency, and comprehension in middle school students overlap with one another, whether the pattern of overlap differs between struggling and typical readers, and the relative frequency of different types of reading difficulties. The 1,748 sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students were oversampled for struggling readers (n = 1,025) on the basis of the state reading comprehension proficiency measure. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses showed partial invariance among struggling and typical readers (with differential loadings for fluency and for comprehension), and strict invariance for decoding and a combined fluency/comprehension factor. Among these struggling readers, most (85 %) also had weaknesses on nationally standardized measures, particularly in comprehension; however, most of these also had difficulties in decoding or fluency. These results show that the number of students with a specific comprehension problem is lower than recent consensus reports estimate and that the relation of different reading components varies according to struggling versus proficient readers.     

Is the phab really fab? the utility of the phonological assessment battery in predicting gains made by older low-progress readers following two terms of intensive literacy instruction

Dyslexic readers are typically regarded as being treatment resistant when exposed to reading intervention. The aim of this study was to determine the practical utility of employing an instrument such as the phonological assessment battery (PhAB) as a means of identifying dyslexic (with poor phonological processing skills) from non-dyslexic older low-progress readers. A sample of 22 older low-progress readers was assessed on the PhAB and also on a variety of reading and spelling measures prior to receiving and following an intensive, systematic, skills-based literacy intervention program for two terms. The group as a whole made substantial and significant mean gains on all reading and spelling measures but there were no appreciable differences in gain between those students identified as dyslexic and those who were not. Moreover, none of the PhAB subtest scores predicted size of gains. The intensive literacy instruction, however, appeared to improve performance on several subscales of the PhAB. These results provide evidence of the need for intensive literacy remediation for all low-progress readers, regardless of their categorisation, and lend support to those who advocate a non-categorical approach to addressing reading disability. Identifying dyslexic readers may not be helpful and teaching phonological awareness as a separate component may not be necessary to meet the needs of older low-progress readers.     

Subgrouping of readers based on performance measures: a latent profile analysis

By using latent profile analysis eight stable and interpretable subgroups of readers were identified. The basis for subgrouping was different performance measures with four aspects of reading in focus: reading of continuous texts, reading of document texts, word reading and reading speed. Participants were 9-year-old Swedish students included in the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Reading Literacy Study in 1991 (n = 4,184) and in 2001 (n = 5,099). The eight subgroups were compared on different background variables, such as gender, language at home, and cultural and socioeconomic factors. It was concluded that latent profile analysis proved to be a feasible methodology. The even performance profiles of good and average readers imply that reading is a skill with a high degree of transfer and generality. Several subgroups of poor readers with more heterogeneous performance patterns could be identified. The three most stable subgroups proved to be comprised of high performers, poor comprehenders and dyslexic students.     

Using a Computer-Based Error Analysis Approach to Improve Basic Subtraction Skills in the Third Grade

Abstract

With the national move toward competency testing, publishers and educators have become increasingly concerned about test validity, item construction, and item readability. While a major effort is usually made by test developers to control the readability level of the test items, there is currently no validated measure of individual item readability.

It is commonly assumed that oral reading of test items by the teacher would ameliorate the readability problem for poor readers. Over 4,000 fifth-grade students were involved in this study aimed at determining the effect of teacher oral reading of test items to good and poor readers. The findings suggested that having teachers read test items aloud during the administration of standardized examinations yielded, overall, higher scores than having students read the items for themselves. However, this intervention did not benefit poor readers more than good readers. Both of these groups reflected similar gains under the influence of this intervention.     

Cognitive Attributes,Attention, and Self‐Efficacy of Adequate and Inadequate Responders in a Fourth Grade Reading Intervention

We examined cognitive attributes, attention, and self‐efficacy of fourth grade struggling readers who were identified as adequate responders (n = 27), inadequate responders with comprehension only deficits (n = 46), and inadequate responders with comprehension and word reading deficits (n = 52) after receiving a multicomponent reading intervention. We also included typical readers (n = 40). These four groups were compared on measures of nonverbal reasoning, working memory, verbal knowledge, listening comprehension, phonological awareness, and rapid naming as well as on teacher ratings of attention problems and self‐reported self‐efficacy. The two inadequate responder groups demonstrated difficulties primarily with verbal knowledge and listening comprehension compared to typical readers and adequate responders. Phonological awareness and rapid naming differentiated the two inadequate responder groups. In addition, both inadequate responder groups showed more attention problems and low self‐efficacy compared to typical readers.     

An Examination of a Small‐Group Decoding Intervention for Struggling Readers: Comparing Accuracy and Automaticity Criteria

In this study, we compared methods to improve the decoding and reading fluency of struggling readers. Second‐grade poor readers were randomly assigned to one of the two practice conditions within a repeated reading intervention. Both interventions were in small groups, were 20–28 min long, took place 2–4 days per week, and consisted of phonemic awareness training, letter sound practice, and practice in word families. Students in the accuracy condition (n= 27) practiced each page until they reached 98 percent accuracy while students in the accuracy + automaticity condition (n= 29) practiced until they reached rate (30–90 cwpm) and accuracy criteria. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed no differences between practice conditions in decoding accuracy, reading comprehension, and grade‐level text reading fluency. Significant differences favoring the accuracy + automaticity group were found in measures of decoding automaticity.     

A school-based phonological awareness intervention for struggling readers in early French immersion

The current intervention study investigated the sustained effectiveness of phonological awareness training on the reading development of 16 children in French immersion who were identified as at-risk readers based on grade 1 English measures. The intervention program provided children from three cohorts with supplemental reading in small groups on a withdrawal basis. Children in the experimental group (n = 5) received English phonological awareness training in combination with letter-sound correspondence instruction twice per week for 18 consecutive weeks, while those in the control condition (n = 7) engaged in English vocabulary-building activities. Significant gains were made after the training and maintained for 2 years on both French phonological awareness and French word reading skills for the experimental group. Results suggest that a phonologically based intervention in English can effectively address phonological awareness deficits and facilitate reading acquisition for French immersion children who may be at-risk for later reading difficulties.     

Phonological processing deficits in specific reading disability and specific language impairment: same or different?

The aim of this study was to determine if phonological processing deficits in specific reading disability (SRD) and specific language impairment (SLI) are the same or different. In four separate analyses, a different combination of reading and spoken language measures was used to divide 73 children into three subgroups: poor readers with average spoken language (SRD), poor readers with poor spoken language (SRD + SLI) and average readers with poor spoken language (SLI). These groups were compared on five phonological processing measures. The SRD group had deficits in neural representations of phonemes, phoneme discrimination, phoneme awareness and rapid naming. The SRD + SLI group had more severe deficits than the SRD group on half of these measures, as well as phonological short‐term memory. Children with SLI were free from phonological processing deficits. Thus, phonological processing deficits were the same or different in SRD and SLI, depending on how SRD and SLI were defined, and how phonological processing was measured.     

元认知与图式理论对英语阅读教学的启示

传统的图式理论将图式分为语言图式、内容图式和形式图式三大类。随着元认知概念的提出,众多实验证明对阅读策略元认知程度的不同是阅读能力强和弱的学生之间的主要区别,也成为了有效运用图式理论帮助阅读理解的重要因素。因此,图式理论应将对阅读策略的元认知这一维度纳入其分类之中。基于此,阅读教学中,教师应在阅读前帮助学生激活图式;在阅读过程中,帮助学生将图式具体化、形象化;在阅读后,对阅读进行拓展,帮助学生对已有图式进行完善,提高学生对包括阅读策略元认知在内的四大类图式的理解和运用,全面提高阅读能力。