Teaching Word Identification to Students with Reading Difficulties and Disabilities

Abstract

The majority of students identified with learning disabilities (LDs) are primarily impaired in reading (Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes, 2007). Many students who have other high-incidence disabilities (e.g., behavioral disorders) also have serious reading difficulties (Benner, Nelson, Ralston, & Mooney, 2010). Although some students with disabilities are impaired in reading comprehension even though they can read words fairly accurately, the most commonly occurring reading disability is characterized by inaccurate word reading (Torgesen, 2000; 2005). In this paper we will describe evidence-based word identification instruction for students with reading disabilities and for those with serious word reading difficulties who have not been identified as having reading disabilities, as students in these two groups have been found to respond similarly to kind of instruction we will describe (Benner et al, 2010; Fletcher et al., 2007). We will refer to this group of students collectively as students with serious word reading difficulties (RD). The need to teach students with RD to read is urgent, as the consequences of low reading proficiency are serious. Students who do not learn to read adequately are more likely to have pervasive academic difficulties and are at high risk for school dropout (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2002). Poor reading has also been related to a higher incidence of delinquency (Center on Crime, Communities, and Culture, 1997) and suicide (Daniel et al., 2006). Adding to the urgency of this situation is the fact that, with typical instruction, the vast majority of students who do not learn to read adequately in the early elementary grades remain impaired in reading as long as they are in school (Francis, Shaywitz, Stuebing, Shaywitz, & Fletcher, 1996; Juel, 1988; Torgesen & Burgess, 1998). In addition, early difficulties with basic reading skills typically result in limited time engaged in text reading (Juel, 1988; Stanovich, 1986); because of this lack of exposure to text, a decoding problem may eventually become a generalized reading deficit characterized by low fluency, poor vocabulary, and limited world knowledge, all contributing to impaired reading comprehension (Stanovich). Unfortunately, traditional approaches to special education services often fail to close the gap between students with RD and average readers; at best, special education programs tend to stabilize the reading development of students with disabilities so that they do not fall farther behind. For example, in a study of special education reading instruction for students in Grades 3–6, Hanushek, Kain, and Rivkin (1998) found that students’ standard scores in reading rose by an average of only 0.04 standard deviations per year. If a student performing at the 5th percentile progressed at this rate, he or she would perform at only the 9th percentile 8 years later (Torgesen, Rashotte, Alexander, Alexander, & MacPhee, 2003). The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of evidence-based instructional practices for teaching word reading to students with RD. We define evidence-based practices in word reading instruction as instructional processes and routines that have been shown to be effective in teaching most students with RD to read words. Although no instructional approach is effective for every individual student, the practices we describe are supported by converging research findings from multiple studies. To provide a foundation for this discussion of word reading instruction, we begin with a description of the reading process. Then we describe the role of assessment in teaching word reading. Next, we describe evidence-based reading instruction and intervention for students with RD, including a set of general principles for effective instruction. The next section addresses additional considerations for the implementation of effective word reading instruction.