The Effects of the Functional Use of Certain Skills in Seventh-Grade Social Studies

Abstract

This study examined the causal relationships between three measures of reading achievement: phonics, reading comprehension, and vocabulary. Measures were obtained from 504 second-grade students at the beginning and end of the school year. A causal relationship was indicated if change in one of the three variables measured at the beginning of the year tended to precede change in the other variables measured at the end of the year. A cross-lagged panel analysis was used to test for such a pattern between the three variables. The findings indicate that phonics knowledge has a causal impact on both reading comprehension and vocabulary gains; reading comprehension has a causal effect on vocabulary gains. Further analysis of the data, using a path analysis model, verified these causal relationships. A second set of data obtained from 1,585 second-grade students at the beginning and end of another school year were used to examine these causal relationships once more. Path analysis findings again verified the relationships found in the first set of data. We concluded that phonics instruction designed to help students recognize the consistent graphophonic patterns in the English language should be emphasized in early elementary-grade reading instruction. We also determined that children’s early reading experiences should be “comprehension focused”; that is, children should be encouraged to make sense out of what they read. Additional research is suggested on the causal relationship between these variables using other assessment instruments, on the causal relationship between other reading variables, and on the relationship of these variables at higher grade levels.     

Teacher Professional Development and Student Reading Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effects

Abstract

Research-based instruction is necessary to support students’ reading development, and professional development (PD) is a critical avenue to ensuring high-quality instructional practices. To date, there has been no comprehensive review focused on the effects of teacher PD on student reading achievement. As such, the purpose of the present meta-analysis was to examine the impact of teacher PD on reading outcomes for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. A secondary aim was to determine whether study, program, or participant characteristics were potential moderators of these effects. A comprehensive search of published and unpublished research between 1975 and 2017 resulted in 28 studies that met prescribed criteria. Results indicate that teacher PD has a moderate and significant, positive average effect on reading achievement. However, moderator analyses did not explain the variance in the effects of PD on student outcomes. Primarily, studies represented typically-developing students in the elementary grades, with only three studies including middle school students and four studies including reading outcomes of students with or at-risk for reading disabilities. Recommendations for improved study designs that allow for more in-depth investigation of the characteristics of effective PD and mechanisms of change in student outcomes are discussed.     

Influence of Cost and Demographic Factors on Reading Achievement

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if selected noninstructional variables affect the reading achievement of fourth-grade students in Arkansas. Data for 332 of the state's 333 school districts for the 1986-87 school year were analyzed. The relationships between achievement of students, as measured by the Metropolitan Achievement Test-6 (MAT-6) and eight variables were analyzed. Four variables studied had significant relationships to fourth-grade reading scores, as measured by the MAT-6. The percentage of minority students and the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunches had negative relationships. The percentage of staff holding master’s degrees or above and the relative wealth of the school districts had positive relationships.     

Junior Primary in the Van Dyke Level Plan

Abstract

Attitudes toward school subjects were explored in a group of sixth graders. First, correlations were obtained between ratings of school subjects on the Semantic Differential (SD) and scores on corresponding subtests of the SRA Achievement Series. Significant positive correlations (p < .01) were observed for boys in social studies, arithmetic, and reading and for girls in reading. Second, achievement at the end of the year was predicted from IQ, achievement and SD scores at the beginning of the year. SD ratings contributed significantly to predictions only in the case of arithmetic for boys (p < .01). Third, SD ratings of school subjects at the beginning and end of the year were compared by an anlysis of variance procedure. For both boys and girls, attitudes were significantly less favorable for most subjects at the end of the year.     

Overcoming Some Addition Difficulties

Abstract

In literature relating to elementary school reading it is commonly contended that attitudes toward reading influence achievement in reading and that teachers’ attitudes (and achievement) affect pupils’ attitudes and achievement. As yet there is little research support for this contention. In opposition is the view expressed in teacher effectiveness literature that there may be a degree of incompatibility between maximizing in pupils both desired cognitive (or achievement) outcomes and desired affective outcomes (for example, favorable attitudes). The validity of these two positions was assessed by administering reading attitude and achievement tests to 251 final-year student teachers and to the grade 4 through 6 pupils (approximately 900) of 48 of these teachers twice during the following year. One-way analyses of variance were used to investigate teacher-pupil relationships. Findings indicated that high achievement and high attitude in teachers were positively associated with high achievement and high attitudes in pupils; in the pupils of low achievement and low attitude teachers, achievement was low, but attitudes were more favorable than those expressed by the pupils of middle achievement and middle attitude teachers.     

The Intelligence Examination for High-School Freshmen

Abstract

This study examined the reading achievement patterns of impulsives and reflectives under varying phonics approaches in beginning reading instruction. The study used 170 second grade students who were classified as having an impulsive or reflective cognitive style and as receiving phonics instruction via an analytic or synthetic approach. Achievement in vocabulary and comprehension was measured by the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test. As such, the investigation was a post-hoc aptitude-treatment interaction study employing a step- down analysis model. Results supported the existing body of research which indicates that reflectives tend to be better readers than impulsives. However, multivariate analyses indicated reflectives in the synthetic approach performed significantly better than impulsives only in vocabulary. Under an analytic approach, the reverse was true; reflectives were significantly better only on the variable of comprehension. While the limitations of the study should be considered, it was suggested that the word recognition and vocabulary skills of reflective readers could be enhanced by beginning reading programs emphasizing a more intensive phonics approach.     

Effects of removing morphemic information and adding interword spacing on reading in Chinese experienced and inexperienced readers

Two experiments tested the role of morphemic information and interword spacing in reading in experienced and inexperienced Chinese readers. Chinese is normally written in hanzi, or characters, which mostly represent monosyllabic morphemes, but it can also be written in pinyin, or romanised Chinese, which represents phonemes and is word-spaced. While previous research has shown that Chinese readers are slower with pinyin than hanzi materials, this has mostly been explained in terms of lack of proficiency in pinyin reading. The present study aimed at testing whether pinyin reading may be slow because morphemic information is needed for fluent Chinese reading, and phonemic information alone is not sufficient; for this purpose, the study included not only adults but also primary school students, who are experienced pinyin readers and unproficient hanzi readers. Participants performed a sentence-picture verification task. Sentences were written with morphemic or phonemic information (in hanzi or pinyin, respectively), and with interword or inter-morpheme spacing. Removing morphemic information had strong negative effects on all readers, including children. Adding interword spacing had no facilitative effects, and had some negative effects, especially with children. Results reveal the important role of morphemic information in Chinese reading, and fail to support the universality of the facilitative effects of interword spacing.     

An Experimental Study of Formal Reading Instruction at the Kindergarten Level

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of formal reading instruction on kindergartners with respect to reading achievement, attitude toward reading, and attitude toward school.

Altogether 220 children, classified on intelligence and reading readiness variables, were randomly assigned to formal reading and readiness programs for four months. Criterion data respecting to achievement and attitudes were collected by means of the California Reading Test and constructed attitude inventories.

Analyses of data reveal that in terms of reading achievement, the reading program was more effective than the readiness program, but that attitudes toward school and reading were a function of intelligence and reading readiness when attitudes were measured by a teacher-reporting scale. When measured by a pupil self-reporting scale, attitudes were a function of the type of instruction, with children in the readiness program showing more favorable attitudes.     

Reading and listening progress in segregated primary schools: Does ethnic and socioeconomic classroom composition matter?

This study aimed to investigate the relationship of classroom composition factors with reading and listening comprehension achievement and progress in socially and ethnically segregated primary schools in Flanders (Belgium). Specifically, using a three‐level multivariate repeated measures analysis, it examined the association of reading and listening achievement and progress with ethnic diversity, the proportion of non‐native students and the average socioeconomic status of the class, taking into account student characteristics. At the beginning and end of the school year, reading tests, listening tests and questionnaires were administered to a sample of 7‐ and 8‐year‐old students (n = 683) in 42 second‐grade classes. Students' listening comprehension achievement at the beginning of the school year was negatively related to having a home language other than the language of instruction and to classes with a high proportion of non‐native students. However, progress in listening comprehension was not significantly associated with any student or classroom composition factors. Students whose mothers had a lower level of education performed lower on reading comprehension at the beginning of the school year, while at the end of the school year students whose mothers had a higher level of education were at a greater disadvantage. Limitations of this study and directions for future research are discussed.     

Contributions of Instructional Practices to Reading Achievement in a Statewide Improvement Program

Abstract

The amount and direction of school change in reading achievement on a statewide, high-stakes performance assessment were identified. School change in reading achievement with instructional practices reported by teachers in primary and intermediate grades in 33 schools was predicted. Meta-analyses of the effects of instructional practices in reading on achievement in 6 areas—including reading, writing, language use, mathematics, science, and social studies—were conducted. In Grade 5, achievement in reading, science, mathematics, and writing increased significantly. Practices of integrated instruction and use of abundant texts and resources were associated positively with change in achievement. Basal emphasis and comprehension instruction were associated negatively with achievement change. In Grade 3, few effects were observed. Findings are interpreted in light of existing models of integrated instruction and the roles of teacher knowledge in achievement and learning.     

A One-Month Experiment in Teaching Context Aids in Fifth Grade

Abstract

Thirty pairs of first- and second-grade children were matched on; (a) race, (b) sex, (e) socio-economic level, (d) type of classroom assignment, (e) age, (f) mental ability, and (g) reading achievement. Each pair consisted of a once-retained first grader and a never-retained second grader. The children were white, low socio-economic slow learners from urban areas. Metropolitan Achievement Test scores for 1062, 1062, and 1064 were used as a measure of the reading and arithmetic achievement gain of the two groups over the two-year period of the study.

The test for matched pairs, using the data on the 20 matched pairs, showed both the reading and arithmetic achievement gain of the promoted group to be significantly greater than that of the non promoted group during the first year of the study. An analysis of variance, using the data on the 24 matched pairs whose achievement scores were available the second year of the study, showed both the reading and arithmetic achievement gain of the promoted group to be significantly greater than that of the non promoted group over the two-year period of the study. It was concluded that nonpromotion was not an aid to achievement.     

Benefits of Opportunity to Read and Balanced Instruction on the NAEP

Abstract

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) requires reading comprehension processes that may be increased by students' amount of engaged reading, parental education, and gender, along with balanced reading instruction and opportunity to read. To examine the effects of those variables on reading achievement and engagement, the authors analyzed the 1994 Grade 4 Maryland NAEP with hierarchical linear modeling to construct both between-school and between-teacher models. Amount of engaged reading significantly predicted reading achievement on the NAEP, after parental education was statistically controlled. Balanced reading instruction significantly predicted reading achievement after accounting for students' engaged reading and parental education. Findings confirmed expectations from the proposed theoretical perspective on reading engagement. Policy implications included an emphasis on some instructional variables in the reading engagement model.     

Oral reading fluency,reading motivation and reading comprehension among second graders

The relationships between oral reading fluency, reading motivation and reading comprehension were examined at the beginning and the end of second grade among 121 Hebrew speaking students. The contribution of oral reading fluency and three sub-factors of motivation—self-concept as a reader, value attached to reading and literacy outloud (social interactions about literacy)—at the beginning of the school year to reading comprehension at the end of the year was also examined. Results indicate that all oral reading fluency measures and all motivational sub-factors were significantly correlated with reading comprehension at the end of second grade. In addition, positive change in self-concept as a reader along the school year was related to improvement in reading achievement. Finally, text rate and self-concept as a reader at the beginning of second grade together predicted 28% of the variance in reading comprehension at the end of second grade. The results support the notion that the cognitive approach to reading cannot explain all the variance in reading comprehension and emphasize the necessity of including motivational factors in the language arts curriculum in the early stages of reading acquisition.

     

Parent-Teacher Contacts and Student Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teacher-parent contacts on the reading achievement of 398 underachievers in an ESEA program in a desegregated elementary school district. Most of the students were black. The central hypothesis was that the home environment influences classroom learning. The results, as measured by normed CAT achievement tests, indicate that the number of contacts was found to have a differential effect on achievement gains. With increasing numbers of contacts, younger students made significant gains in reading; however, increasing numbers of contacts were associated with decreased achievement in older students.     

A Method for Computing Accomplishment Quotients on the High-School and College Levels

Abstract

The study investigates relationships among pupil reading behaviors and teacher responses with a sample of 106 primary grade readers. With student background traits such as sex and prior reading achievement controlled, seven different reading behaviors and pupil responses accounted for significant increases in the prediction of teacher behaviors. Pupil reading behaviors had the greatest effect on teacher corrections and word pronunciations. Conversely, pupil background factors had the greatest association with the length of reading assigned and the numbers of grapho- phonemic and prereading cues teachers provided. In view of the findings, the authors suggest that future study of classroom interaction examine the notion that teacher expectations may be at least partially due to then- responses to specific aspects of pupil behavior.     

Developmental aspects of reading motivation and reading achievement among second grade low achievers and typical readers

This investigation examined developmental aspects of 155 second‐graders' intrinsic reading motivation and reading achievement at the beginning and end of a school year. Reading motivation remained at the same level through the school year, while reading achievement was significantly higher at the end of it than at the beginning. According to word reading skills, low reading achievers (n = 63) and typical readers (n = 92) evinced significant differences in reading motivation. The former scored lower in overall reading motivation and self‐concept as a reader, as well as in reading achievement. Throughout the school year, low reading achievers showed a decline in overall motivation, self‐concept as a reader and literacy outloud, and did not improve in reading comprehension achievement. Reading motivation in typical readers remained high and steady during the school year. Implications of the results are discussed in relation to previous studies.     

Gotcha! Catching Kids During Mindless Reading

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mindless reading behavior of children. Across two studies, 2nd-grade students read passages while their eye movements were monitored. Trained raters then identified mindless reading behaviors from the eye movement records. Several important findings emerged. We were able to reliably identify mindless reading behavior in children using eye-tracking methodology, which was characterized by shorter gaze durations and total time, more skipping, and in general a more erratic reading pattern than on-task reading behavior. On the other hand, on-task reading behavior was characterized by an increase in fixations and regressions, especially intraword regressions. Word frequency effects were attenuated during mindless reading. In addition, the children who engaged in mindless reading had weaker reading achievement profiles compared to children who read the entire passage.     

Reading achievement and reading self-concept – Testing the reciprocal effects model

Although there is a vast amount of research on reading motivation, evidence for bidirectional associations between reading self-concept and reading achievement is still missing, whereas there is compelling empirical evidence that suggests reciprocal effects between academic self-concept and achievement in other domains. This paper aimed to rigorously test reciprocal effects between reading self-concept and reading achievement within a longitudinal design comprising four waves of data collection. Drawing on a sample of N = 1508 secondary school students, results of structural equation modeling yielded support for reciprocal effects between reading self-concept and reading achievement. Strong support was found for the skill-development hypothesis, i.e. achievement predicting self-concept. Moreover, the self-enhancement hypothesis (self-concept predicting achievement) was corroborated in early years of secondary school. Thus, to best support poor readers, reading skills should perhaps be fostered by boosting the reading skill itself and reading self-concept, the latter particularly at the beginning of secondary school.     

A Beginning Reading Vocabulary

Abstract

Two ability tests (verbal and nonverbal), six achievement tests, and seven scales of the Self Observation Scales (a measure of self- concept) were completed by 225 sixth graders in two West Virginia rural counties. Self concept (measured by the SOS) was shown to add significantly to the prediction equation for achievement over and above the contribution of nonverbal intelligence. The SOS accounted for 22 percent of the variance in reading achievement, and combined with nonverbal intelligence to account for 34 percent of the variance in reading achievement.