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We examined the extent to which achievement goals predict reading comprehension, measured by two response formats (free recall and constructed response), and how these relations differ for students with and without reading difficulties (RD). We further explored how executive functions (working memory and semantic verbal fluency) mediate the relations between achievement goals and reading comprehension. We fit multigroup structural equation models with data from monolingual English-speaking fifth graders (n = 146 for RD; n = 109 for non-RD) in the United States. Results revealed that achievement goals predict reading comprehension as measured by the free recall but not by the constructed response format, and this pattern was moderated by RD status. For students with RD, mastery goals positively predicted performance on free recall, a relationship that was completely mediated by semantic verbal fluency, whereas performance-approach goals were negatively related to free recall. For students without RD, however, achievement goals did not predict reading comprehension as measured by either assessment format. Our findings underscore the need to account for motivational differences in reading comprehension and the importance of fostering mastery goals when teaching reading comprehension, particularly for students with RD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We modeled word reading growth in typically developing (n = 118) and children with dyslexia (n = 20), Grades 2–5, across multiple exposures to 30 words. We explored the facilitative versus inhibitory effects of exposures to differential mixes of words that support high- versus low-frequency vowel pronunciations. One training corpus contained a ratio of 80%–20% high- to low-frequency pronunciations (e.g., for ea ; 80% ea pronounced as /i/ as in bead and 20% ea pronounced /ε/ as in dead), whereas the other consisted of a ratio of 20%–80%. We also modeled accuracy at the final exposure for a subset of 12 shared words across conditions using item-level crossed-random effects models with reading skill (i.e., typically developing vs. dyslexic), condition, word frequency, and vowel pronunciation (i.e., high- vs. low-frequency vowel pronunciation) as predictors in the model. We were particularly interested in the interaction between condition and vowel pronunciation across reading groups. Results suggest typically developing children were influenced by the interaction between condition and vowel pronunciation, suggesting both facilitation and inhibition, whereas children with dyslexia were influenced by condition and vowel pronunciation without an interaction. Results are interpreted within the overfitting model of dyslexia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Specific learning disabilities (SLDs) are highly relevant to the science and practice of psychology, both historically and currently, exemplifying the integration of interdisciplinary approaches to human conditions. They can be manifested as primary conditions—as difficulties in acquiring specific academic skills—or as secondary conditions, comorbid to other developmental disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this synthesis of historical and contemporary trends in research and practice, we mark the 50th anniversary of the recognition of SLDs as a disability in the United States. Specifically, we address the manifestations, occurrence, identification, comorbidity, etiology, and treatment of SLDs, emphasizing the integration of information from the interdisciplinary fields of psychology, education, psychiatry, genetics, and cognitive neuroscience. SLDs, exemplified here by specific word reading, reading comprehension, mathematics, and written expression disabilities, represent spectrum disorders, each occurring in approximately 5% to 15% of the school-aged population. In addition to risk for academic deficiencies and related functional social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties, those with SLDs often have poorer long-term social and vocational outcomes. Given the high rate of occurrence of SLDs and their lifelong negative impact on functioning if not treated, it is important to establish and maintain effective prevention, surveillance, and treatment systems involving professionals from various disciplines trained to minimize the risk and maximize the protective factors for SLDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the developmental trajectories and predictors of word reading and reading comprehension among young at-risk readers. In fall of first grade, 185 students identified as at-risk for reading difficulties were assessed on measures of domain-specific skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and vocabulary), domain-general skills (working memory, nonverbal reasoning, and processing speed), and word reading and reading comprehension. Word reading and reading comprehension were assessed again in spring of grades 1–4. Individual growth curve modeling showed that the children demonstrated decelerated growth on word reading and linear growth on reading comprehension, although their performance on both word reading and reading comprehension were consistently below average on national norms. After controlling for word reading and reading comprehension in first grade, letter knowledge predicted growth in word reading; vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning predicted growth in reading comprehension. That is, we found different developmental trajectories and different predictors for word reading and reading comprehension among our at-risk sample. Implications are discussed for theory and early reading instruction for at-risk children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In this article, we respond to Catts and Kamhi's (2017) argument that reading comprehension is not a single ability. Method: We provide a brief review of the impact of strategy instruction, the importance of knowledge in reading comprehension, and possible avenues for future research and practice. Results: We agree with Catts and Kamhi's argument that reading comprehension is a complex endeavor and that current recommended practices do not reflect the complexity of the construct. Knowledge building, despite its important role in comprehension, has been relegated to a back seat in reading comprehension instruction. In the final section of the article, we outline possible avenues for research and practice (e.g., generative language instruction, dialogic approaches to knowledge building, analogical reasoning and disciplinary literacy, the use of graphics and media, inference instruction) for improving reading-comprehension outcomes. Conclusions: Reading comprehension is a complex ability, and comprehension instruction should reflect this complexity. If we want to have an impact on long-term growth in reading comprehension, we will need to expand our current repertoire of instructional methods to include approaches that support the acquisition and integration of knowledge across a variety of texts and topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive models of derived polymorphemic word recognition skill in developing readers, with an emphasis on children with reading difficulty (RD), have not been developed. The purpose of the present study was to model individual differences in polymorphemic word recognition ability at the item level among 5th-grade children (N = 173) oversampled for children with RD using item-response crossed random-effects models. We distinguish between two subtypes of RD children with word recognition problems, those with early-emerging RD and late-emerging RD. An extensive set of predictors representing item-specific knowledge, child-level characteristics, and word-level characteristics were used to predict item-level variance in polymorphemic word recognition. Results indicate that item-specific root word recognition and word familiarity; child-level RD status, morphological awareness, and orthographic choice; word-level frequency and root word family size; and the interactions between morphological awareness and RD status and root word recognition and root transparency predicted individual differences in polymorphemic word recognition item performance. Results are interpreted within a multisource individual difference model of polymorphemic word recognition skill spanning item-specific, child-level, and word-level knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of a dynamic assessment (DA) of decoding in predicting responsiveness to Tier 2 small-group tutoring in a response-to-intervention model. First grade students (n = 134) who did not show adequate progress in Tier 1 based on 6 weeks of progress monitoring received Tier 2 small-group tutoring in reading for 14 weeks. Student responsiveness to Tier 2 was assessed weekly with word identification fluency (WIF). A series of conditional individual growth curve analyses were completed that modeled the correlates of WIF growth (final level of performance and growth). Its purpose was to examine the predictive validity of DA in the presence of three sets of variables: static decoding measures, Tier 1 responsiveness indicators, and prereading variables (phonemic awareness, rapid letter naming, oral vocabulary, and IQ). DA was a significant predictor of final level and growth, uniquely explaining 3% to 13% of the variance in Tier 2 responsiveness depending on the competing predictors in the model and WIF outcome (final level of performance or growth). Although the additional variances explained uniquely by DA were relatively small, results indicate the potential of DA in identifying Tier 2 nonresponders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes dynamic assessment as an alternative to responsiveness to intervention (RTI) in U.S. schools. The authors note that, because RTI uses instruction as the "test" for identifying students' academic level or performance, the validity of the instruction is equally as important as that of any test instrument, and they describe discrepancies and consensus in the format and implementation of RTI across the country. They advocate for use of a dynamic assessment (DA), or assessment of learning potential, as a more efficient means of predicting and monitoring academic performance. In support of this, they describe their two studies focusing on first-grade students' reading instruction and progress, as measured through dynamic assessment, and commend on their findings.

The article presents information on the benefits of early intervention to children with reading disabilities. The authors explain that use of response to intervention (RTI) to identify learning disabled children, made possible by the 2004 reauthorization of the U.S. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, allows earlier identification that previous methods, focuses on providing effective instruction and continuous monitoring, and improves student outcomes. They describe the three-tier RTI identification method in favor as of 2007, and they explain the diagnostic decision making and screening measures, taking into account both in-school and at-home factors, that schools can employ to help ensure the success of RTI methods.

Identifies instructional practices that accelerate the learning of children with disabilities in kindergarten through grade three in the U.S. Exploration of methods for operationalizing responsiveness; Approach for reading disability identification; Assessment of the mathematics performance of children in first-grade classrooms in ten schools.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between phonological and orthographic processing skills in relation to the two lexical acquisition systems (i.e., word-specific knowledge and subword orthographic—phonological connections) in children with and without reading disabilities (RD). Performance on measures of phonemic awareness, orthographic processing, and print exposure in 16 fifth- and sixth-grade children with RD was compared to that of three control groups without RD (each with N = 16): a chronological—age matched group of children and two different groups of reading-age—matched children. One reading-age group was matched with the group of children with RD on pseudoword identification skills (considered a proxy for the robustness of subword orthographic—phonological connections in the lexicon); the other was matched on exception-word identification (used to approximate word-specific knowledge in the lexicon). Results were consistent with the hypothesis that children with RD add word-specific entries to their lexicons without a corresponding expansion of subword orthographic—phonological connections. Furthermore, this lexical asymmetry fully accounts for differences in phonemic awareness and orthographic processing skill differences between children with and without RD. Results indicate that phonological and orthographic processes may be less integrated in children with RD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness of combining curriculum-based measurement and hierarchical linear modeling procedures to identify the characteristics of first-grade children that predict growth rates in the acquisition of decoding skills (as assessed through measures of isolated word and nonword reading). This study examined the relative importance of both static (initial levels of performance) and dynamic (rate of growth) measures of cognitive-processing abilities (i.e., phonemic awareness and rapid naming speed) and emergent print knowledge (i.e., letter name, letter sound, more advanced graphophoneme knowledge, and orthographic awareness) as predictors of decoding growth in a sample of 75 first-grade children. Over the course of an academic year, a set of parallel word and nonword reading tasks, constructed using curriculum-base measurement techniques and administered on a monthly basis, were capable of demonstrating individual change in decoding skill. Furthermore, results indicate that growth in cognitive-processing abilities and general knowledge about print could likewise be measured and adequately modeled. In this sample of children, rate of growth in word and nonword reading was predicted by a different combination of static and dynamic variables representing both cognitive-processing abilities and print knowledge. Results suggest that in the very earliest stages of word reading development there may be a strong association between the rate of growth in cognitive processing, print knowledge, and decoding skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]