In an effort to understand cognitive foundations of oral language comprehension (i.e., listening ... more In an effort to understand cognitive foundations of oral language comprehension (i.e., listening comprehension), we examined how inhibitory control, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring are uniquely related to listening comprehension over and above vocabulary and age. A total of 156 children in kindergarten and first grade from high-poverty schools participated in the study. Using structural equation modeling, results showed that all three cognitive skills (inhibitory control, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring) were positively related to listening comprehension after accounting for vocabulary and age. In addition, inhibitory control had a direct relation to listening comprehension, not indirectly via theory of mind. Results are discussed in light of cognitive component skills for listening comprehension.
Many assume that cognitive and linguistic processes, such as semantic knowledge (SK) and selfregu... more Many assume that cognitive and linguistic processes, such as semantic knowledge (SK) and selfregulation (SR) subserve learned skills like reading. However, complex models of interacting and bootstrapping effects of SK, SR, instruction, and reading hypothesize reciprocal effects. Testing this "lattice" model with children (n = 852) followed from 1 st-2 nd grade (5.9-10.4 years-of-age), revealed reciprocal effects for reading and SR, and reading and SK, but not SR and SK. More effective literacy instruction reduced reading stability over time. Findings elucidate the synergistic and reciprocal effects of learning to read on other important linguistic, self-regulatory, and cognitive processes, the value of using complex models of development to inform intervention design, and how learned skills may influence development during middle childhood. Children who are unable to read well by the end of second grade are unlikely to achieve adequate reading skills (Spira, Bracken, & Fischel, 2005), with serious consequences for academic and life success (Morrison, Bachman, & Connor, 2005). Learning to read calls on social, cognitive, linguistic, and text-specific processes, and we are beginning to understand how these processes work together and interact with literacy instruction to support the development of proficient literacy skills. Whereas it is largely assumed, for example, that cognitive and linguistic processes, such as working memory and vocabulary, underpin learned skills, such as reading comprehension (e.g., Swanson & O'Connor, 2009), it is possible that there are reciprocal effects; learning to read may improve cognitive and linguistic skills, which may, in turn further support developing text-specific processes, such as reading comprehension (RC). These interacting processes may combine with the literacy instruction children receive to further impact RC outcomes (Connor et al., 2013; Verhoeven, van Leeuwe, & Vermeer, 2011). The purpose of this study is to test this model of interacting and reciprocal effects of cognitive, linguistic, and text-specific processes, which Connor and colleagues have called the lattice model (Connor et al., 2014), using longitudinal data collected from the beginning of first grade through the end of second grade. RC, a learned skill, has been defined as the active extraction and construction of meaning from text and is influenced by the students' purpose for reading, the type and difficulty of the text, and the circumstances under which reading occurs (Snow, 2001). In contrast to spoken language, which has a long history in our species and likely evolved to fit the existing constraints of our brains and auditory system (Elman et al., 1996), reading and writing are
Phonological awareness is one of several key precursor skills to conventional literacy that devel... more Phonological awareness is one of several key precursor skills to conventional literacy that develop during the preschool period. Significant amounts of research support the causal and predictive relation between phonological awareness and children's ease of learning to decode and spell. However, many preschool curricula and early childhood educational and caregiving settings are still lacking in robust instruction in this area, and many preschool instructors do not yet have a strong grasp of the developmental trajectory of phonological awareness nor of how to incorporate effective support and instruction into a developmentally appropriate teaching plan. This article summarizes what is known from high-quality research about the development of phonological awareness and about how this informs effective pedagogical strategies for its instruction. Numerous examples are given of effective instructional strategies derived from randomized trials of preschool curricula and interventions.
The relations of proper character introduction to narrative quality and listening comprehension for young children from high poverty schools
Reading and Writing, 2013
The present study explored the types and frequency of literate language features in children’s na... more The present study explored the types and frequency of literate language features in children’s narratives, and the relation of literate language and proper character introduction to children’s oral language skills in a sample of 184 prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade students from high-poverty schools. Using hierarchical regression, the results showed that literate language features were not predictive of listening comprehension or narrative quality outcomes. In contrast, children’s skill in properly introducing characters significantly accounted for variance in all outcome measures (narrative comprehension, narrative quality, and listening comprehension) above and beyond the control variables (age, total number of words, and mean length of utterance) and literate language features (adverbs, conjunctions, mental and linguistic verbs, and elaborated noun phrases). These results indicate that the child’s retell and language comprehension skills may develop concurrently with proper character introduction.
We examined the effect of individualizing student instruction (ISI; N=445 students, 46 classrooms... more We examined the effect of individualizing student instruction (ISI; N=445 students, 46 classrooms) on first graders' self-regulation gains compared to a business-as-usual control group. Self-regulation, conceptualized as a constellation of executive skills, was positively associated with academic development. We hypothesized that the ISI intervention's emphasis on teacher planning and organization, classroom management, and the opportunity for students to work independently and in small groups would promote students' self-regulation. We found no main effect of ISI on selfregulation gains. However, for students with weaker initial self-regulation, ISI was associated with greater self-regulation gains compared to peers in control classrooms. The ISI effect on selfregulation was greater when the intervention was more fully implemented.
This study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations for the Get Ready to Read! (GRTR) emerg... more This study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations for the Get Ready to Read! (GRTR) emergent literacy screener. This measure, within a battery of oral language, letter knowledge, decoding, and phonological awareness tests, was administered to 204 preschool children (mean age = 53.6, SD = 5.78; 55% male) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Subgroups were reassessed at 6 months and 16 and 37 months later. Results indicate strong relations between the GRTR and the literacy and language assessments. Long-term follow-up indicated that the screener was significantly related to some reading-related measures, including decoding skills. These results support the utility of the GRTR as a brief, valid measure of children's emergent literacy skills. The GRTR holds promise as a tool useful for educators, parents, and others in regular contact with preschool children to help determine those who may be at risk for later reading difficulties and could benefit from intervention and f...
Family Child Care Learning Environments: Caregiver Knowledge and Practices Related to Early Literacy and Mathematics
Early Childhood Education Journal, 2011
This paper presents findings from a stratified-random survey of family child care providers’ back... more This paper presents findings from a stratified-random survey of family child care providers’ backgrounds, caregiving environments, practices, attitudes, and knowledge related to language, literacy, and mathematics development for preschool children. Descriptive results are consistent with prior studies suggesting that home-based providers are older, less educated, and care for a wider age-range of children than center-based providers. Provider education was unrelated
This paper describes the theoretical framework, as well as the development and testing of the int... more This paper describes the theoretical framework, as well as the development and testing of the intervention, Comprehension Tools for Teachers (CTT), which is composed of eight component interventions targeting malleable language and reading comprehension skills that emerging research indicates contribute to proficient reading for understanding for prekindergarteners through fourth graders. Component interventions target processes considered largely automatic as well as more reflective processes, with interacting and reciprocal effects. Specifically, we present component interventions targeting cognitive, linguistic, and text-specific processes, including morphological awareness, syntax, mental-state verbs, comprehension monitoring, narrative and expository text structure, enacted comprehension, academic knowledge, and reading to learn from informational text. Our aim was to develop a tool set composed of intensive meaningful individualized small group interventions. We improved feasibility in regular classrooms through the use of design-based iterative research methods including careful lesson planning, targeted scripting, pre-and postintervention proximal assessments, and technology. In addition to the overall framework, we discuss seven of the component interventions and general results of design and efficacy studies.
The acquisition of reading and writing skills is a key developmental milestone as well as a signi... more The acquisition of reading and writing skills is a key developmental milestone as well as a significant educational achievement for children in a literate society. Reading and writing skills serve as the cornerstone to acquiring content knowledge in other domains both in school and throughout life. Moreover, as opportunities for employment have shifted toward technology and information-oriented jobs in the United States and elsewhere, welldeveloped literacy skills have become increasingly important. Despite the importance of literacy skills to educational and occupational opportunities and success, many children in the United States struggle with learning to read (e.g., see National Assessment of Educational Progress; National Center on Educational Statistics, 2007). Over the past two decades, there has been growing recognition of the significance of the preschool years for the development of later academic skills, including reading. Research has highlighted the importance of the preschool years for becoming a skilled reader, with a focus on what is called emergent literacy. Emergent literacy includes the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are developmental precursors to conventional forms of reading and writing (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). These emergent literacy skills are conceptualized as the basic building blocks onto which children's later literacy skills are built. Because most preschool-age children are not yet reading or writing in conventional ways, instructional interventions during the preschool period most likely need to focus on helping children develop their emergent literacy skills. Children with well-developed emergent literacy skills are those children least likely to develop later reading problems. With the growing recognition of the potential contributions of the preschool period for children's educational successes or difficulties, there has been increased attention to how instructional activities during preschool can help shape children's educational outcomes-particularly for children at-risk of later reading difficulties. Some of this work can be informed by a "response to instruction" (RTI) approach that uses children's acquisition of key skills in different instructional contexts to determine the likely future trajectory of Questions regarding this work should be directed to either
A Computer-Assisted Instruction Phonological Sensitivity Program for Preschool Children At-Risk for Reading Problems
Journal of Early Intervention, 2003
Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for... more Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for decoding. This study evaluated the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to provide training in phonological sensitivity skills to preschoolers at-risk for reading problems. Forty-five children ranging in age from 44 to 64 months (M = 55.1, SD = 6.07) were randomly assigned to a CAI group or a control group. Children exposed to CAI made significantly greater gains on rhyming and elision skills compared to the control group. Expressive vocabulary scores were predictive of pre- to posttest growth. Children in the CAI condition positively rated participation in the training program. Results provide preliminary support for CAI to improve the phonological sensitivity skills of preschoolers who are at-risk.
A computer-assisted instruction phonological sensitivity program for preschool children at-risk for reading problems
Journal of Early …, 2003
Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for... more Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for decoding. This study evaluated the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to provide training in phonological sensitivity skills to preschoolers at-risk for reading problems. Forty-five children ranging in age from 44 to 64 months (M = 55.1, SD = 6.07) were randomly assigned to a CAI group or a control group. Children exposed to CAI made significantly greater gains on rhyming and elision skills compared to the control group. Expressive vocabulary scores were predictive of pre- to posttest growth. Children in the CAI condition positively rated participation in the training program. Results provide preliminary support for CAI to improve the phonological sensitivity skills of preschoolers who are at-risk.
The purpose of this paper was to explore factors that influence teacher-child relationships in He... more The purpose of this paper was to explore factors that influence teacher-child relationships in Head Start. Three Head Start teachers from three centers were recruited for this study. Interview and observation data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach by using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. Two coders completed the coding process. Inter-coder reliability and other triangulation techniques were employed to ensure the credibility of this study. The analysis revealed factors that teachers perceived as beneficial or harmful to their relationships with children. Three main themes emerged: professionalism (i.e., teacher beliefs, education, and work experience), teacher self-efficacy (i.e., teacher empowerment, children’s progress, and sufficient education and work experience), and job stress (i.e., lacking organizational support, teacher-parent conflict, workload, and insufficient training). The data vividly illustrated the mechanisms through which those influentia...
THIS STUDY investigated the order of acquisition of phonological sensitivity skills among prescho... more THIS STUDY investigated the order of acquisition of phonological sensitivity skills among preschool and kinder-garten children. Phonological sensitivity was examined in terms of four levels of linguistic complexity (words, syl-lables, onsets and rimes, phonemes) across four levels of task ...
How the Science of Reading Informs 21st‐Century Education
Reading Research Quarterly
The science of reading should be informed by an evolving evidence base built upon the scientific ... more The science of reading should be informed by an evolving evidence base built upon the scientific method. Decades of basic research and randomized controlled trials of interventions and instructional routines have formed a substantial evidence base to guide best practices in reading instruction, reading intervention, and the early identification of at-risk readers. The recent resurfacing of questions about what constitutes the science of reading is leading to misinformation in the public space that may be viewed by educational stakeholders as merely differences of opinion among scientists. Our goals in this paper are to revisit the science of reading through an epistemological lens to clarify what constitutes evidence in the science of reading and to offer a critical evaluation of the evidence provided by the science of reading. To this end, we summarize those things that we believe have compelling evidence, promising evidence, or a lack of compelling evidence. We conclude with a discussion of areas of focus that we believe will advance the science of reading to meet the needs of all students in the 21st Century.
Three-Level Longitudinal Mediation with Nested Units: How does an Upper-Level Predictor Influence a Lower-Level Outcome via an Upper-Level Mediator Over Time?
In an effort to understand cognitive foundations of oral language comprehension (i.e., listening ... more In an effort to understand cognitive foundations of oral language comprehension (i.e., listening comprehension), we examined how inhibitory control, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring are uniquely related to listening comprehension over and above vocabulary and age. A total of 156 children in kindergarten and first grade from high-poverty schools participated in the study. Using structural equation modeling, results showed that all three cognitive skills (inhibitory control, theory of mind, and comprehension monitoring) were positively related to listening comprehension after accounting for vocabulary and age. In addition, inhibitory control had a direct relation to listening comprehension, not indirectly via theory of mind. Results are discussed in light of cognitive component skills for listening comprehension.
Many assume that cognitive and linguistic processes, such as semantic knowledge (SK) and selfregu... more Many assume that cognitive and linguistic processes, such as semantic knowledge (SK) and selfregulation (SR) subserve learned skills like reading. However, complex models of interacting and bootstrapping effects of SK, SR, instruction, and reading hypothesize reciprocal effects. Testing this "lattice" model with children (n = 852) followed from 1 st-2 nd grade (5.9-10.4 years-of-age), revealed reciprocal effects for reading and SR, and reading and SK, but not SR and SK. More effective literacy instruction reduced reading stability over time. Findings elucidate the synergistic and reciprocal effects of learning to read on other important linguistic, self-regulatory, and cognitive processes, the value of using complex models of development to inform intervention design, and how learned skills may influence development during middle childhood. Children who are unable to read well by the end of second grade are unlikely to achieve adequate reading skills (Spira, Bracken, & Fischel, 2005), with serious consequences for academic and life success (Morrison, Bachman, & Connor, 2005). Learning to read calls on social, cognitive, linguistic, and text-specific processes, and we are beginning to understand how these processes work together and interact with literacy instruction to support the development of proficient literacy skills. Whereas it is largely assumed, for example, that cognitive and linguistic processes, such as working memory and vocabulary, underpin learned skills, such as reading comprehension (e.g., Swanson & O'Connor, 2009), it is possible that there are reciprocal effects; learning to read may improve cognitive and linguistic skills, which may, in turn further support developing text-specific processes, such as reading comprehension (RC). These interacting processes may combine with the literacy instruction children receive to further impact RC outcomes (Connor et al., 2013; Verhoeven, van Leeuwe, & Vermeer, 2011). The purpose of this study is to test this model of interacting and reciprocal effects of cognitive, linguistic, and text-specific processes, which Connor and colleagues have called the lattice model (Connor et al., 2014), using longitudinal data collected from the beginning of first grade through the end of second grade. RC, a learned skill, has been defined as the active extraction and construction of meaning from text and is influenced by the students' purpose for reading, the type and difficulty of the text, and the circumstances under which reading occurs (Snow, 2001). In contrast to spoken language, which has a long history in our species and likely evolved to fit the existing constraints of our brains and auditory system (Elman et al., 1996), reading and writing are
Phonological awareness is one of several key precursor skills to conventional literacy that devel... more Phonological awareness is one of several key precursor skills to conventional literacy that develop during the preschool period. Significant amounts of research support the causal and predictive relation between phonological awareness and children's ease of learning to decode and spell. However, many preschool curricula and early childhood educational and caregiving settings are still lacking in robust instruction in this area, and many preschool instructors do not yet have a strong grasp of the developmental trajectory of phonological awareness nor of how to incorporate effective support and instruction into a developmentally appropriate teaching plan. This article summarizes what is known from high-quality research about the development of phonological awareness and about how this informs effective pedagogical strategies for its instruction. Numerous examples are given of effective instructional strategies derived from randomized trials of preschool curricula and interventions.
The relations of proper character introduction to narrative quality and listening comprehension for young children from high poverty schools
Reading and Writing, 2013
The present study explored the types and frequency of literate language features in children’s na... more The present study explored the types and frequency of literate language features in children’s narratives, and the relation of literate language and proper character introduction to children’s oral language skills in a sample of 184 prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade students from high-poverty schools. Using hierarchical regression, the results showed that literate language features were not predictive of listening comprehension or narrative quality outcomes. In contrast, children’s skill in properly introducing characters significantly accounted for variance in all outcome measures (narrative comprehension, narrative quality, and listening comprehension) above and beyond the control variables (age, total number of words, and mean length of utterance) and literate language features (adverbs, conjunctions, mental and linguistic verbs, and elaborated noun phrases). These results indicate that the child’s retell and language comprehension skills may develop concurrently with proper character introduction.
We examined the effect of individualizing student instruction (ISI; N=445 students, 46 classrooms... more We examined the effect of individualizing student instruction (ISI; N=445 students, 46 classrooms) on first graders' self-regulation gains compared to a business-as-usual control group. Self-regulation, conceptualized as a constellation of executive skills, was positively associated with academic development. We hypothesized that the ISI intervention's emphasis on teacher planning and organization, classroom management, and the opportunity for students to work independently and in small groups would promote students' self-regulation. We found no main effect of ISI on selfregulation gains. However, for students with weaker initial self-regulation, ISI was associated with greater self-regulation gains compared to peers in control classrooms. The ISI effect on selfregulation was greater when the intervention was more fully implemented.
This study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations for the Get Ready to Read! (GRTR) emerg... more This study examined concurrent and longitudinal relations for the Get Ready to Read! (GRTR) emergent literacy screener. This measure, within a battery of oral language, letter knowledge, decoding, and phonological awareness tests, was administered to 204 preschool children (mean age = 53.6, SD = 5.78; 55% male) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Subgroups were reassessed at 6 months and 16 and 37 months later. Results indicate strong relations between the GRTR and the literacy and language assessments. Long-term follow-up indicated that the screener was significantly related to some reading-related measures, including decoding skills. These results support the utility of the GRTR as a brief, valid measure of children's emergent literacy skills. The GRTR holds promise as a tool useful for educators, parents, and others in regular contact with preschool children to help determine those who may be at risk for later reading difficulties and could benefit from intervention and f...
Family Child Care Learning Environments: Caregiver Knowledge and Practices Related to Early Literacy and Mathematics
Early Childhood Education Journal, 2011
This paper presents findings from a stratified-random survey of family child care providers’ back... more This paper presents findings from a stratified-random survey of family child care providers’ backgrounds, caregiving environments, practices, attitudes, and knowledge related to language, literacy, and mathematics development for preschool children. Descriptive results are consistent with prior studies suggesting that home-based providers are older, less educated, and care for a wider age-range of children than center-based providers. Provider education was unrelated
This paper describes the theoretical framework, as well as the development and testing of the int... more This paper describes the theoretical framework, as well as the development and testing of the intervention, Comprehension Tools for Teachers (CTT), which is composed of eight component interventions targeting malleable language and reading comprehension skills that emerging research indicates contribute to proficient reading for understanding for prekindergarteners through fourth graders. Component interventions target processes considered largely automatic as well as more reflective processes, with interacting and reciprocal effects. Specifically, we present component interventions targeting cognitive, linguistic, and text-specific processes, including morphological awareness, syntax, mental-state verbs, comprehension monitoring, narrative and expository text structure, enacted comprehension, academic knowledge, and reading to learn from informational text. Our aim was to develop a tool set composed of intensive meaningful individualized small group interventions. We improved feasibility in regular classrooms through the use of design-based iterative research methods including careful lesson planning, targeted scripting, pre-and postintervention proximal assessments, and technology. In addition to the overall framework, we discuss seven of the component interventions and general results of design and efficacy studies.
The acquisition of reading and writing skills is a key developmental milestone as well as a signi... more The acquisition of reading and writing skills is a key developmental milestone as well as a significant educational achievement for children in a literate society. Reading and writing skills serve as the cornerstone to acquiring content knowledge in other domains both in school and throughout life. Moreover, as opportunities for employment have shifted toward technology and information-oriented jobs in the United States and elsewhere, welldeveloped literacy skills have become increasingly important. Despite the importance of literacy skills to educational and occupational opportunities and success, many children in the United States struggle with learning to read (e.g., see National Assessment of Educational Progress; National Center on Educational Statistics, 2007). Over the past two decades, there has been growing recognition of the significance of the preschool years for the development of later academic skills, including reading. Research has highlighted the importance of the preschool years for becoming a skilled reader, with a focus on what is called emergent literacy. Emergent literacy includes the skills, knowledge, and attitudes that are developmental precursors to conventional forms of reading and writing (Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998). These emergent literacy skills are conceptualized as the basic building blocks onto which children's later literacy skills are built. Because most preschool-age children are not yet reading or writing in conventional ways, instructional interventions during the preschool period most likely need to focus on helping children develop their emergent literacy skills. Children with well-developed emergent literacy skills are those children least likely to develop later reading problems. With the growing recognition of the potential contributions of the preschool period for children's educational successes or difficulties, there has been increased attention to how instructional activities during preschool can help shape children's educational outcomes-particularly for children at-risk of later reading difficulties. Some of this work can be informed by a "response to instruction" (RTI) approach that uses children's acquisition of key skills in different instructional contexts to determine the likely future trajectory of Questions regarding this work should be directed to either
A Computer-Assisted Instruction Phonological Sensitivity Program for Preschool Children At-Risk for Reading Problems
Journal of Early Intervention, 2003
Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for... more Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for decoding. This study evaluated the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to provide training in phonological sensitivity skills to preschoolers at-risk for reading problems. Forty-five children ranging in age from 44 to 64 months (M = 55.1, SD = 6.07) were randomly assigned to a CAI group or a control group. Children exposed to CAI made significantly greater gains on rhyming and elision skills compared to the control group. Expressive vocabulary scores were predictive of pre- to posttest growth. Children in the CAI condition positively rated participation in the training program. Results provide preliminary support for CAI to improve the phonological sensitivity skills of preschoolers who are at-risk.
A computer-assisted instruction phonological sensitivity program for preschool children at-risk for reading problems
Journal of Early …, 2003
Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for... more Previous research has demonstrated that phonological sensitivity is an important causal skill for decoding. This study evaluated the use of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to provide training in phonological sensitivity skills to preschoolers at-risk for reading problems. Forty-five children ranging in age from 44 to 64 months (M = 55.1, SD = 6.07) were randomly assigned to a CAI group or a control group. Children exposed to CAI made significantly greater gains on rhyming and elision skills compared to the control group. Expressive vocabulary scores were predictive of pre- to posttest growth. Children in the CAI condition positively rated participation in the training program. Results provide preliminary support for CAI to improve the phonological sensitivity skills of preschoolers who are at-risk.
The purpose of this paper was to explore factors that influence teacher-child relationships in He... more The purpose of this paper was to explore factors that influence teacher-child relationships in Head Start. Three Head Start teachers from three centers were recruited for this study. Interview and observation data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach by using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. Two coders completed the coding process. Inter-coder reliability and other triangulation techniques were employed to ensure the credibility of this study. The analysis revealed factors that teachers perceived as beneficial or harmful to their relationships with children. Three main themes emerged: professionalism (i.e., teacher beliefs, education, and work experience), teacher self-efficacy (i.e., teacher empowerment, children’s progress, and sufficient education and work experience), and job stress (i.e., lacking organizational support, teacher-parent conflict, workload, and insufficient training). The data vividly illustrated the mechanisms through which those influentia...
THIS STUDY investigated the order of acquisition of phonological sensitivity skills among prescho... more THIS STUDY investigated the order of acquisition of phonological sensitivity skills among preschool and kinder-garten children. Phonological sensitivity was examined in terms of four levels of linguistic complexity (words, syl-lables, onsets and rimes, phonemes) across four levels of task ...
How the Science of Reading Informs 21st‐Century Education
Reading Research Quarterly
The science of reading should be informed by an evolving evidence base built upon the scientific ... more The science of reading should be informed by an evolving evidence base built upon the scientific method. Decades of basic research and randomized controlled trials of interventions and instructional routines have formed a substantial evidence base to guide best practices in reading instruction, reading intervention, and the early identification of at-risk readers. The recent resurfacing of questions about what constitutes the science of reading is leading to misinformation in the public space that may be viewed by educational stakeholders as merely differences of opinion among scientists. Our goals in this paper are to revisit the science of reading through an epistemological lens to clarify what constitutes evidence in the science of reading and to offer a critical evaluation of the evidence provided by the science of reading. To this end, we summarize those things that we believe have compelling evidence, promising evidence, or a lack of compelling evidence. We conclude with a discussion of areas of focus that we believe will advance the science of reading to meet the needs of all students in the 21st Century.
Three-Level Longitudinal Mediation with Nested Units: How does an Upper-Level Predictor Influence a Lower-Level Outcome via an Upper-Level Mediator Over Time?
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