Motivation and incentives in education: Evidence from a summer reading experiment

Policymakers and economists have expressed support for the use of incentives in educational settings. In this paper, rather than asking whether incentives work, we focus on a different question: For whom and under what conditions do incentives work? This question is particularly important because incentives’ promise relies on the idea that they might take the place of some cognitive failing or set of preferences that otherwise would have led students to make choices with large long-term benefits. In this paper, we explore whether that is the case. In the context of a summer reading program called Project READS, we test whether responsiveness to incentives is positively or negatively related to the student's baseline level of motivation to read. As a part of the program, elementary school students are mailed books weekly during the summer. We implemented this book-mailing program as a randomized experiment with three treatment arms. Students in the first treatment arm were mailed books as a part of the standard Project READS program. Students in the second treatment arm were mailed books as a part of Project READS, and were also offered an incentive to read the books they were mailed. Students in the third experimental group served as a control and were given books after posttesting occurred in the fall. We find that, if anything, more motivated readers are more responsive to incentives to read, suggesting that to the extent that incentives are effective, they may not effectively target the students whose behavior they are intended to change.     

Access to Books in the Home and Adolescent Engagement in Recreational Book Reading: Considerations for secondary school educators

The emphasis on schools' providing reading materials for students at home is very much on the primary school years, when the skill of reading is being acquired. Little consideration has been given to the impact of curtailing school‐mediated access to books beyond this point. Regular recreational reading offers a wide range of benefit, and is essential for supporting ongoing literacy development. Without easy access to books, it can be readily surmised that capacity for regular engagement in reading can be limited. This article adds to the body of research supporting the benefit of student access to books in the home, linking access to books in the home with improved attitudes toward and frequency of engagement in recreational book reading, particularly in boys. It also provides analysis of data on students' access to books in the home, as well as discussing alternative avenues of access to books, such as the library and devices. The implications of the findings are explored, with educators ultimately urged to support increased access to self‐selected home reading materials through the secondary school.     

Access to local books: the effects of Read Malawi from a children's rights perspective

Children in low‐income, postcolonial countries such as Malawi have few opportunities with quality reading materials that promote independence as readers. In this study, we argue that access to locally produced text relevant to linguistic and cultural contexts is a fundamental human right for children throughout the world. Situating this study within the intersection of research on children's rights and complementary reading materials, we analyse data from a project in Malawi. We consider the ways in which a respect for children's educational rights – specifically, their rights to access information via children's books – can help them develop their biliteracy. Additionally, we examine how the Read Malawi program contributes to Malawian children's literacy development in both national and official languages. Our findings suggest not only a humanistic need for quality complementary books, but also the empirical justification for books in the hands of children; in particular, an interconnected relationship between borrowing books from school and engagement with Read Malawi was found, especially when we explore children's English proficiency. Through Read Malawi, this study exemplifies what a quality literacy intervention can do in supporting children's Chichewa and English proficiency and improving their rights to quality education.     

A longitudinal study of children's early literacy experiences at home and later literacy development at home and school

Studies of literacy attainment in the early years of school have identified various measures at school entry which predict later attainment. The study reported has sought not only to replicate earlier findings but to investigate significant home factors from a younger age. Literacy experiences of 42 children at ages 3, 5 and 7 were investigated, and the relationship of home factors to literacy development explored. Findings are reported concerning two outcome measures at age 7: children's reading level, as determined by the difficulty level of their school reading book, and whether or not children at age 7 were judged to have literacy difficulties. Significant factors included having favourite books at age 3; letter knowledge and parents reading to children at school entry; and at age 7, access to home computers, and parents’ knowledge of literacy teaching in school. Children with literacy difficulties owned fewer books, were less likely to read to themselves or their parents, and generally had less support for literacy at home. Implications for teachers, highlighting the relevance of home literacy, are discussed. The findings underline the importance of home factors for children's literacy development.     

英语专业学生兴趣阅读频率和态度调查研究

运用定量和定性研究的方法调查了英语专业学生兴趣阅读的习惯和态度。151名在校大学生接受了问卷调查。结果表明：英语专业学生总体课外兴趣阅读的频率较高,他们对待兴趣阅读的态度也是积极肯定的。多元回归分析进一步表明,调查对象过去接触过的英丈课外书与其阅读频率和态度均显著相关,其母语阅读频率与英语兴趣阅读频率之间的相关也达到了显著水平。此研究结果对二语阅读教学和实践有着重要启示。     

Scaffolding Voluntary Summer Reading for Children in Grades 3 to 5: An Experimental Study

The effects of a voluntary summer reading intervention with teacher and parent scaffolding were investigated in an experimental study. A total of 24 teachers and 400 children in Grades 3, 4, and 5 were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: control, books only, books with oral reading scaffolding, and books with oral reading and comprehension scaffolding. Books were matched to children's reading levels and interests. Children were pre- and posttested on measures of oral reading fluency (DIBELS) and silent reading ability (Iowa Test of Basic Skills [ITBS]). Results showed that children in the books with oral reading and comprehension scaffolding condition scored significantly higher on the ITBS posttest than children in the control condition. In addition, children in the two scaffolding conditions combined scored higher on the ITBS posttest than children in the control and books only conditions combined. Practical implications for summer voluntary reading interventions are discussed.     

Children's perceptions of wider reading: to what extent do 7- and 8-year-old children read beyond the scheme books?

A case study was conducted with a class of twenty 7- to 8-year-old children in a primary school in the North West of England, to explore possible links between the use of a school reading scheme and children's involvement in wider reading. A questionnaire was administered to all children in the class, followed by semi-structured interviews with three children. The findings revealed that the vast majority of the children held extremely positive views of their reading scheme books but were also very enthusiastic wider readers, be it either independent reading or reading with a parent or carer. Further findings emerged suggest that environmental factors, such as access to books at home and library usage, also play an important part in children's involvement in wider reading.     

Independent reading in rural China’s elementary schools: A mixed-methods analysis

Independent reading—unassigned reading for personal pleasure—has been shown to be an important driver of reading skills and academic success. Children that commonly read for pleasure exhibit higher academic performance. However, little research has been done on independent reading in rural China, where the education system is charged with schooling tens of millions of students. Many rural students fall behind their urban counterparts in school, with potentially troubling implications for China’s ongoing development. This article explores the prevalence of independent reading and its associations with reading ability and academic performance among rural students. Using a mixed methods approach, we analyze quantitative data from a survey of 13,232 students from 134 rural schools and interviews with students, teachers, principals, and caregivers. We find that independent reading is positively and significantly correlated with reading ability as well as standardized math and Chinese tests scores. Despite such correlations, only 17 percent of students report reading for pleasure for an hour a day. Interview findings suggest that inaccessible bookstores, curriculum constraints, unsupportive home environments, low availability of appealing and level-appropriate books, and insufficient school investment in reading resources may explain the low prevalence of independent reading.     

Recouping and rethinking the effects of summer vacation on reading achievement

Vacations may have detrimental effects on maths and spelling performance, but the findings for reading are less conclusive. The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of summer vacation on early literacy skills of young children. Participants included rising first and second‐graders, most of whom were at‐risk, struggling readers. No evidence of summer setback was evident for this sample of children; in fact, gains in reading (or, recoupment of any losses) were more common in children performing at lower levels than for those with higher scores at the end of the school year. Our outcomes are different from those reported by other researchers. We explain this with attention to the content of our comparisons, the grade levels investigated and measures used to assess performance, and discuss implications for future research based on our findings.     

Contributions of print exposure to first and second grade oral language and reading in Chile

This study examines the contribution of print exposure to oral language (expressive vocabulary and listening comprehension) and reading (word reading and reading comprehension) in first and second grade in Chile, and tests whether the contribution of print exposure to reading comprehension is mediated by language and word reading skills. Two‐hundred and eighty one children (mean age 6.55 years) participated. Print exposure was measured with a book‐cover recognition task in first grade, and outcomes were measured both in first and second grade. Print exposure had direct effects on all outcomes in first grade and indirect effects in second grade. Effects on first grade reading comprehension were partially mediated by listening comprehension and word reading, but not vocabulary. We discuss the importance of the findings for improving reading comprehension in countries with low access to books.     

A technique for tracking the reading rate to identify the e‐book reading behaviors and comprehension outcomes of elementary school students

Tracking individual reading behaviors is a difficult task, as is carrying out real‐time recording and analysis throughout the reading process, but these aims are worth pursuing. In this study, the reading rate is adopted as an indicator to identify different reading behaviors and comprehension outcomes. A reading rate tracking technique is thus developed with an Interactive E‐book Learning System (IELS), and this study examines whether the reading rate detected by this system can properly reflect the actual reading behaviors and comprehension outcomes of users. A total of 500 quantitative records were collected from the reading profiles of 43 fifth‐grade students, separated into two groups for oral and silent reading behaviors, and then analyzed to reveal the reading rates accounting for specific reading behaviors and comprehension outcomes. Our findings indicate that the reading rate can accurately reflect students' reading behaviors. In addition, a somewhat positive correlation between reading rates and comprehension outcomes was only found in the silent reading group. By using the technique presented in this work, the reading behaviors related to e‐books can be easily interpreted based on the reading rate over time throughout the reading process, something that is much more difficult when using printed books. Based on the results of this work, it is anticipated that educators can get better insights into students' behaviors with regard to reading, so as to deliver more personalized and effective instruction.     

Book matters: The effect of Cocky’s Reading Express on student performance

The literature argues that children are more likely to succeed academically if they acquire strong reading skills and a love of reading at a young age. In this paper, I evaluate an early childhood literacy program, Cocky’s Reading Express (CRE), to understand how reading events at school and the gifts of books impact learning. Combining the CRE visit records with administrative student data, I find that CRE leads to 0.02–0.03 of a standard deviation increase in statewide English Language Arts test scores among low-income students one year after the visit and find suggestive evidence that CRE improves the math scores for subgroups of students in poverty. In particular, the CRE effect varies based on locality and access to reading materials, with a larger effect on students residing in metropolitan areas or close to public libraries. However, the positive effects on low-income students diminish over time; CRE does not show impacts on the scores of students from better-off families either.     

USING CURRICULUM‐BASED MEASUREMENT TO EXAMINE SUMMER LEARNING LOSS

Summer loss of reading is a potential factor in maintaining, and potentially widening, the achievement gap. This study used curriculum‐based measurement of reading (R‐CBM) to investigate the effect of the summer on reading. For this study, 317 students in Grades 2 to 5 were assessed in the spring and fall using Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) measure. Repeated measures analysis of variance modeled overall change in ORF scores by grade, family income, ethnic minority status, English language learner status, and special education (SPED) status. Students in Grades 2 and 3 evidenced overall summer loss, whereas students in Grades 4 and 5 did not exhibit summer loss. In addition, students in Grade 2 showed differential loss based on family income and SPED status. These results support the broadening application of R‐CBM and add to the summer loss literature. Findings are discussed relative to prevention and intervention.     

Preventing a summer slide in reading – the effects of a summer school

ABSTRACT

Researchers have found that summer reading loss contributes to the reading achievement gap between low and high socioeconomic (SES) children. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 3-week summer intervention in addressing this slide for 36 low SES children compared with another 36 children in a matched control group from one New Zealand school. The program involved one-to-one tutoring with explicit phonics instruction, high-frequency word-reading practice and application of these skills in reading age-appropriate texts. Results showed that although the mean reading comprehension slide was 5.8 months for both groups, the summer school group had higher word reading scores than the control group. The summer school participants showed improvements in phonological recoding ability, word reading, spelling and passage reading accuracy. These were not sufficient to stop the reading comprehension slide, but the program did make inroads. With further emphasis on comprehension strategies, the achievement gap may narrow.     

An evaluation of the discrepancy definition of dyslexia.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children with dyslexia, that is, children whose reading levels were significantly lower than would be predicted by their IQ scores, constituted a distinctive group when compared with poor readers, that is, children whose reading scores were consistent with their IQ scores. The performance of children with dyslexia, poor readers, and normally achieving readers was compared on a variety of reading, spelling, phonological processing, language, and memory tasks. Although the children with dyslexia had significantly higher IQ scores than the poor readers, these two groups did not differ in their performance on reading, spelling, phonological processing, or most of the language and memory tasks. In all cases, the performance of both reading disabled groups was significantly below that of nondisabled readers. The findings were similar whether absolute difference or regression scores were used. Reading disabled children, whether or not their reading is significantly below the level predicted by their IQ scores, experience significant problems in phonological processing, short-term and working memory, and syntactic awareness. On the basis of these data, there does not seem to be a need to differentiate between individuals with dyslexia and poor readers. Both of these groups are reading disabled and have deficits in phonological processing, verbal memory, and syntactic awareness.     

Effects of pre-service teachers�� receptive vocabulary knowledge on their interactive read-alouds with elementary school students

There are individual differences in the amount and type of vocabulary that adults produce to young children in the home environment before the children enter school. How many words a mother knows is a significant predictor of a child??s vocabulary. The current study addressed the question of whether there were individual differences in the amount and type of vocabulary that pre-service teachers produced in their first read-aloud lessons to first and second grade students. Specifically, would pre-service teachers with higher vocabulary scores differ from those with lower vocabulary scores in their choice of books to read and in the language they used to discuss the books? Results indicated that pre-service teachers with more advanced vocabulary scores chose books with more vocabulary diversity and sophistication. When they chose narrative texts, they also chose books that were more difficult in terms of their semantic cohesion. Both the receptive vocabulary of pre-service teachers and the language in the books that they chose had an effect on the ??teacher talk?? that they used in the lesson surrounding the book reading. Just as parents show individual differences in the richness of the language input provided to their children before they enter school, pre-service teachers own knowledge of language varies, and this influences the linguistic input that they provide to their students.     

论崔述《读风偶识》的史学色彩

清代学者崔述是史学名家,其史学思维方式也贯穿到了他的读<诗>笔记--<读风偶识>中,他从史学角度研究<诗经>,使<读风偶识>染上了浓重的史学色彩.具体表现为两方面:一是崔述对"诗可以观"的理论认识与其观<诗>知政的说<诗>实践是高度一致的.他认为"诗可以观"就是指通过<诗经>可以考察政事得失、历史变化,强调现<诗>知政的作用;在说<诗>实践中,崔述透过<诗经·国风>文本看历史兴袁、政治得失、风俗好坏.二是以史证诗,据<春秋>、<左传>、<国语>、<史记>、<汉书>、<后汉书>等史书考证<国风>某篇是否属诸某人,是否反映某件历史事件.     

Extensive reading in English: habits and attitudes of a group of Italian university EFL students

Although extensive reading is now recognised as an important element of language instruction, it appears that EFL students specialising in business studies do little reading in English beyond course requirements. This study illustrates the findings of a survey of reading frequency and attitudes related to extensive reading in English. A questionnaire administered to 182 Italian EFL students at the University of Florence showed that even if frequency of reading in English is quite low, attitude towards it is clearly favourable. In addition, multiple regression analysis was used to determine potentially influential factors. Reading in Italian and experience abroad were significantly correlated with both reading frequency and attitude. The correlation between past access to English books and reading attitude approached the significance level. A negative correlation was found instead between the number of years of past English study and reading attitude. These findings are useful for defining appropriate instructional actions and identifying areas for further research, with the aim of more effectively promoting extensive reading in English.     

略论版本学、目录学知识在研阅古文献中的运用

利用古典文献进行相关学科学习和研究的研阅者,利用古代书籍文献是获取知识和进行研究的第一步;中国古代文献在刊印、流传过程中＂信息失真＂现象时有发生,会造成研阅上的＂误读＂和错误。避免研阅中的＂误读＂和错误最有效的方法,是具备相应的版本学、目录学知识,通过检索相关的书籍文献目录,有针对性地选择可靠而实用的书籍文献版本,既保障了知识的准确性,还可以为研阅收到事半功倍的效果。     

Can Low-Cost Online Summer Math Programs Improve Student Preparation for College-Level Math? Evidence From Randomized Experiments at Three Universities

Every year many students enter college without the math preparation needed to succeed in their desired programs of study. Many of these students struggle to catch up, especially those who are required to take remedial math courses before entering college-level math. Increasing the number of students who begin at the appropriate level of math has become an important focus for educators and policymakers. We conducted randomized experiments of low-cost online summer math programs at three universities to test whether this type of intervention can increase access to math preparation, improve placement and enrollment in fall math classes, and improve performance in first-year math courses. Students who received the intervention engaged with the platform, though at relatively low rates, and were more likely to retake the placement test and improve their scores than students in the control group. However, these improved scores did not translate into enrolling in higher level math courses, obtaining more math credits, or improving grades in math-related courses during the first year of college. Thus, providing students access to this online tool did not improve their math skills.