Reading Achievement Research Articles

The Impact of Professional Development on Inservice Teachers’ Culturally Responsive Practices and Students’ Reading Achievement

ABSTRACT This study examined the impact of a professional development in culturally responsive practices on in-service teacher practices and student achievement in reading. Using a concurrent explanatory mixed method design that incorporated quasi-experimental analysis of implementation and achievement data alongside inductive analysis of interview data, researchers investigated effects of the professional development on 21 K-8 teachers and their students. Results indicated that participating teachers grew significantly in their implementation of culturally responsive practices as compared to a control group. Students whose teachers participated in the professional development made significantly higher gains in reading achievement than students in control classes. Teachers linked changes in family collaboration, instruction, discourse, and critical consciousness to higher student achievement.

Academic achievements and brain volume development in children and adolescents.

Children are expected to acquire both basic and numeric skills. Achievement of higher levels of reading, writing, arithmetic, and vocabulary are favorable and desirable. The relationship between each literacy skill and neural development has been investigated; however, association between brain development and the 4 literacy skills has not been examined. This longitudinal, structural, neuroimaging study explored the contribution of higher academic achievement in reading, writing, arithmetic, and vocabulary to neural development. The brain volumes of children and adolescents aged 9-16years were measured in the first test. Approximately 2.6years later, the brain volumes and 4 academic achievement scores of 77 participants were measured in the second test. Changes in the gray matter volume in the left fusiform gyrus were associated with vocabulary scores, whereas those in the left striatum were associated with arithmetic scores. The reading and writing scores showed no statistically significant relationship with changes in brain volume. The current vocabulary score correlated with current gray matter volume, while brain volumes in the first test showed no association with any achievement scores. These results suggest that academic achievement may modulate brain plasticity in various ways.

Long-run Trends in the U.S. SES—Achievement Gap

Abstract Rising inequality in the United States has raised concerns about potentially widening gaps in educational achievement by socioeconomic status (SES). Using assessments from LTT-NAEP, Main-NAEP, TIMSS, and PISA that are psychometrically linked over time, we trace trends in SES gaps in achievement for U.S. student cohorts born between 1961 and 2001. Gaps in math, reading, and science achievement between the top and bottom quartiles of the SES distribution have closed by 0.05 standard deviation per decade over this period. The findings are consistent across alternative measures of SES and subsets of available tests and hold in more recent periods. At the current pace of closure, the achievement gap would not be eliminated until the second half of the 22nd century.

Effectiveness of a Negotiated Syllabus on the Reading Achievement of Intermediate-Level EFL Learners

Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of a negotiated syllabus on the reading skill of learners. The present study attempts to establish if a negotiated syllabus had any effect on the reading achievement of female EFL learners at intermediate level English proficiency. The study was conducted with the participation of 61 learners placed into the experimental group ( n = 32) and the control group ( n = 29). The element of negotiation in this study was the topic interests of the experimental group surveyed on an interest areas questionnaire on the basis of which instructional reading passages were selected. Topic interests were not surveyed in the control group and the texts given to them were selected by the teachers. Both groups were tested at the beginning of the experiment and retested at the end of the experiment with a valid reading comprehension test comprising 22 items. A two-sample t-test was performed to compare any means difference between the scores of the experimental group and the control group on the reading test. The results indicated that no statistically significant difference was observed between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups.

THE COMPARISON OF READING COMPREHENSION IN NARRATIVE TEXT THROUGH PSRA AND QAR STRATEGIES

The study's objectives were to determine: (1) whether or not there was any significant achievement on students' reading comprehension between students who were taught by PSRA Strategy, (2) whether or not there was any significant achievement on students' reading comprehension who were taught by QAR Strategy, and (3) whether or not there was any significant difference in students' reading comprehension achievement between students who were taught by PSRA and QAR Strategy. The population consisted of all tenth-grade students at SMA Negeri 1 Muara Payang in the academic year 2021/2022. The samples involved two groups, selected using purposive sampling, consisting of 32 students for each group. This study used a quasi-experimental design The test as data collection was given as pre-test and post-test. The findings revealed that both PSRA and QAR strategy had a significant impact on students' reading achievement in each class. Based on the data, the students' mean post-test score in the experimental group who were taught using the PSRA was 84.63 and the students' mean post-test score in the control group who were taught using the QAR was 79.70. Based on the independent sample t-test analysis, the t-obtained (3.216) was found to be greater than the t-table (1.671), indicating that there was a significant difference in students' reading comprehension achievement between those taught utilizing PSRA Strategy and those taught utilizing QAR Strategy.

The Efficiency-Equity Trade-off in a Federal System: Local Financing of Schools and Student Achievement

AbstractFederalism theorists debate the desirability of funding local services from local revenues or inter-governmental grants. Tiebout expects efficiency gains from local funding, but Oates says it perpetuates inequalities. Research using data from national probability samples has yet to show whether efficiency-equity trade-offs are associated with funding sources. We describe the trade-off in education by estimating the effect of revenue share from local sources on math and reading achievement. Data come from national probability samples of student performances on tests administered between 1990 and 2017. Relationships are estimated with OLS descriptive models, event study models of school finance reforms, and geographic discontinuity models that exploit differences in state funding policies. For every ten-percentage point increase in local revenue share, mean achievement rises by 0.05 standard deviations (sd) and socio-economic achievement gaps widen by 0.03sd. Voice and exit channels moderate the size of the efficiency-equity trade-off. Implications for inter-governmental grant policy are discussed.

Missions with Monty: A Game-Based Learning Environment to Promote Comprehension Monitoring and Science Achievement

While game-based learning environments (GBLE) are an increasingly popular means to engage learners, there remains limited research on the benefits of GBLEs for students’ learning and metacognitive skills in classroom contexts. Missions with Monty is a GBLE developed to engage students as they learn comprehension strategies to support their scientific literacy with targeted Next Generation Science Standards content. The current missions focus on ecosystems, earth and human activity, molecules, and organisms. Students navigate through the game to solve challenges that require the application and transfer of science knowledge. One primary and unique focus of Missions with Monty is to benefit students’ metacognition through comprehension monitoring. Comprehension monitoring is an essential strategy to support literacy and is measured through students’ accuracy in rating their performance on comprehension items. In the game, students are explicitly taught and subsequently practice essential comprehension monitoring strategies. Additional key educational outcomes for students playing Missions with Monty include reading achievement, science knowledge, and transfer of science learning.
 In this study we examined 10 and 11 year old students’ outcomes as they either played the game (n = 144) or learned the content via a computer-based learning environment (CBLE) without game elements in a comparison condition (n = 80) within classrooms of diverse learners in the United States. Significant gains for science learning were found across conditions, (t(223) = 13.67, p <.001). The primary research question of interest focused on whether students who played Missions with Monty were better able to monitor their understanding of science text after playing the game and therefore we compared monitoring, as measured by bias and accuracy, before and after the game play. Effective metacognition is demonstrated by low bias and high accuracy. Findings revealed that both conditions demonstrated improved bias (t(223) = 4.44, p < .001) and accuracy (t(223) = 11.81, p < .001). Thus, students were better able to monitor their science learning through the game, an essential skill for scientific literacy. Future research should continue to examine the benefits of GBLEs versus CBLEs in terms of benefits for motivation and learning.

Assessment of reading performance of non-Native English learners

English being an international language is the need of the time. Reading is one of the essential skills of language learning for non-native English learners. In recent years the concern of reading decline among students has become a point of discussion among educators. In this article, we probe how the quality of English reading is going down gradually among non-native English learning students. For this purpose, we measure the reading abilities of grade 5 students with multiple languages as their mother tongue, having probably not very different socio-economic backgrounds. The data of students (N=589) were collected through convenience sampling. Students were assessed in three domains of reading (fluency, comprehension, and reading vocabulary) through the self-developed English Reading Achievement Scale (ERAS). The results demonstrated unsatisfactory performance of sampled students' reading in English. Only 56 percent of students remained successful in the assessment of English reading. The performance of girls' school students in reading was comparatively better than the boys' students. Students' performance was probably better in reading fluency and worse in reading vocabulary.

The relationship between formative assessment and reading achievement: A multilevel analysis of students in 19 countries/regions

AbstractDespite the general consensus on the positive impact of formative assessment on student learning, researchers have not shown the underlying mechanisms between specific formative assessment strategies and academic performance on an international sample. This study examines the link between student and teacher reports of teachers’ formative assessment strategies (i.e. clarifying goals and monitoring progress, providing feedback, and instructional adjustments) and students’ reading achievement, based on data from 151,969 fifteen‐year‐olds in 5,225 schools in 19 countries/regions in PISA 2018 via multilevel analysis of plausible values. The results show that clarifying goals and monitoring progress, and instruction adjustments are positively linked to reading achievement, but providing feedback alone has no significant impact. These findings highlight the complexity of formative assessment as a multifaceted concept and the different impacts of formative assessment strategies on student learning. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.

School Readiness Test and Intelligence in Preschool as Predictors of Middle School Success: Result of an Eight-Year Longitudinal Study.

Research has shown that the development of cognitive and social skills in preschool predicts school readiness in kindergarten. However, most longitudinal studies are short-term, tracking children’s development only through the early elementary school years. This study aims to investigate the long-term impact of preschool predictors, intelligence, and mothers’ education on grade six school performance. This study presents the results of an eight-year-long longitudinal study. The sample includes 202 Hungarian children (89 boys) from a disadvantaged region of southeastern Hungary. The independent variables were the preschool measures: DIFER (Diagnostic System for Assessing Development), a widely used, standardized school readiness test that measures cognitive and social skills; the Raven intelligence test; and socioeconomic status. The dependent variables in grade six were: National Standardized tests in math and reading (NABC, National Assessment of Basic Competencies) and school grades (GPA). Cronbach’s alpha reliability of each test is above 0.76. Correlations and a series of multiple regressions were used for analysis. All three independent variables have significant predictive power for school performance in sixth grade. DIFER skills were the best predictors for reading achievement, intelligence for math achievement, and GPA was best predicted by mothers’ education. The results show that developing preschool skills, mothers’ education and IQ in preschool are essential to long-term learning success.

Early child maltreatment and reading processes, abilities, and achievement: A systematic review

BackgroundChildren with maltreatment histories demonstrate weaker reading abilities compared to their peers. However, the differential processes driving this effect remain unclear. Prior studies focused on social and behavioral factors explaining this effect, yet reading research has shown that one's ability to comprehend written text is driven by a set of underlying dynamic and interactive cognitive abilities. ObjectiveThis systematic review sought to understand what theoretical or conceptual frameworks researchers cited as guiding their studies, what reading processes and abilities were studied as outcomes, how reading processes or abilities were measured, and what constructs were included to help understand the relationship between maltreatment and reading. MethodThree databases were searched for empirical peer-reviewed journal articles. Articles retained using inclusion and exclusion criteria were coded based on their sample characteristics, reference to theoretical or conceptual frameworks, reading processes and abilities measured, and included predictors of reading. Procedures were documented using the reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement (Moher et al., 2009). ResultsTwenty-seven studies were included in the final systematic review. Those that discussed theoretical or conceptual frameworks focused on the social and behavioral predictors of reading. Many studies (51.9 %) examined effects of maltreatment on reading achievement, rather than specific reading processes or abilities. Most studies (92.6 %) used at least one standardized reading measure. However, only four studies included cognitive abilities as potential predictor variables. ConclusionsFuture research could benefit from investigating specific cognitive and reading-related processes, using measures to examine specific reading processes leading to breakdowns in reading achievement, and incorporation of reading theories to drive research questions and methods.

The Effect of the Use of Smartphones on Intensive Reading Students’ Achievement

The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of using Smartphones on the student's achievement of Intensive Reading learning at St Augustine Hippo Catholic University. The development of information technology has been so fast, that it has affected every aspect of human life. In addition, the development of information and communication technology has a positive impact on humans but it can also have a negative effect, especially on mobile communication devices (smartphones). The method used in this research is a quantitative research survey design. The research findings indicate several essential points, namely: (1) Improvement of students' learning achievement in Intensive Reading, (2) Students are more active in conducting learning activities in class, and (3) The quality of teaching and learning process increases significantly. It can be concluded that the use of a Smartphone could increase students’ achievement.

Profiles of reading mindset and self-efficacy: how are they related to achievement goals, engagement, and reading achievement?

This study examined how self-beliefs, particularly reading mindset and self-efficacy, interact together to predict reading-specific achievement goals and engagement as well as reading achievement in fourth-grade students. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles (n = 206): Confident and Fixed Mindset, Moderately Confident and Neutral Mindset, and Confident and Growth Mindset. Compared to the Confident Growth Mindset profile, the Confident Fixed Mindset profile had higher performance goals and lower behavioural engagement and reading achievement. The Confident Fixed Mindset profile showed even lower reading achievement than the Moderately Confident and Neutral Mindset profile on school English/Language Arts grade and vocabulary performance. Lastly, the Confident Growth Mindset profile showed higher levels of behavioural and cognitive engagement than the Moderately Confident and Neutral Mindset profile. Overall, the effects of mindset supersede self-efficacy on reading-related outcomes, suggesting the importance of providing support that promotes a growth mindset before upper elementary students endorse a fixed mindset.

THE EFFECT OF INTONATION ON READING COMPREHENSION DURING READING ALOUD THIRD SECONDARY LEARNERS PREPARATORY AS A MODEL

In this article, we discuss the role of intonation in developing the performance and comprehension abilities of learners: Performance by tracing the positive impact of prosodic reading in general, and intonation in particular, on the learners’ reading aloud, which some learners often find difficult and repel them in order to avoid making mistakes in front of the teacher and peers. And comprehension by tracing the impact of this prosodic feature on improving the reading comprehension skill of these learners, and their ability to penetrate into the semantics of the readable text, and thus, moving reading to the level of oral reading achievement coupled with understanding, analysis, taste and conclusion. In order to ascertain the effectiveness of this prosodic variable didactically (reading), we conducted an experimental field study in this regard, during which we dealt with a sample of the third secondary preparatory learners by dividing them into two groups: a control group and an experimental group, using the statistical method (SPSS) to read the most important results of this study will be presented at the end of the article

Metacognitive Reading Strategies and L2 Reading Achievements: A Correlational Study of EFL in Indonesia

This study aimed to investigate how metacognitive reading strategies correlate with EFL learners’ achievement. Three types of metacognitive reading strategies were measured in this study, namely: global reading strategies, problem-solving reading strategies, and support reading strategies. The data collection was conducted with 56 participants from an ESP reading class at a private university in Yogyakarta. This study found that problem-solving reading strategies and global reading strategies correlated positively with students’ achievement, while support reading strategies correlated negatively with their achievement. However, those correlations were not statistically significant. Therefore, it indicates insufficient evidence to suggest that the same correlations also happened in the population or that the observed correlations might have occurred by chance. Despite the correlations not being statistically significant, in this research, the participants were sampled from the population with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 5%.In addition to the findings, this study provides teachers with an example of a framework for a needs analysis to measure their students’ metacognitive reading strategies and help them plan more informed reading instruction.

Perceived teacher autonomy support for adolescents' reading achievement: The mediation roles of control-value appraisals and emotions.

Analyzing students’ internal cognitive-motivational appraisals and achievement emotions is of pivotal importance for educational outcomes and student individual wellbeing, yet little is shown about their associations with teacher autonomy support. This study investigates the relationship between perceived teacher autonomy support and reading achievement by addressing mediating influences of control and value-related constructs, i.e., reading self-efficacy, meaning in life, and reading enjoyment. Multiple mediation modeling was adopted to test the proposed model with carrying out a total of 12,058 students from 361 schools in China in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 reading database. The results elucidated that student-perceived teacher autonomy support is significantly positively related to adolescents’ reading outcomes by fostering internal control and value appraisals and academic enjoyment. These current findings confirm the positive correlation between teacher autonomy support and adolescents’ motivational and emotional factors, providing significant practical implications for educators to adopt various teaching strategies to enhance adolescents’ self-efficacy, intrinsic values, and positive emotions.

Profiles of pre-service teachers’ personality traits and cognitive abilities: Relations with graduation and teacher self-efficacy

ABSTRACT The present study investigates the effect of pre-service teachers’ cognitive abilities and personality traits on graduation and teacher self-efficacy using data from the German National Education Panel Study (N = 5 520). Applying latent profile analysis, we found four different profiles of pre-service teachers based on high school grade point average, reading and maths achievement as well as the Big Five. Our results show that the profile with low cognitive abilities and low extraversion is negatively associated with graduation and teacher self-efficacy. Conversely, high cognitive abilities in combination with high extraversion are positively related to both aspects of university success. The findings provide novel evidence on the identification of at-risk students in teacher education and have implications on the selection of teacher candidates as well as targeted support offers.

The effectiveness of formative assessment for enhancing reading achievement in K-12 classrooms: A meta-analysis.

This quantitative synthesis included 48 qualified studies with a total sample of 116,051 K-12 students. Aligned with previous meta-analyses, the findings suggested that formative assessment generally had a positive though modest effect (ES = + 0.19) on students’ reading achievement. Meta-regression results revealed that: (a) studies with 250 or less students yielded significantly larger effect size than large sample studies, (b) the effects of formative assessment embedded with differentiated instruction equated to an increase of 0.13 SD in the reading achievement score, (c) integration of teacher and student directed assessment was more effective than assessments initiated by teachers. Our subgroup analysis data indicated that the effect sizes of formative assessment intervention on reading were significantly different between Confucian-heritage culture and Anglophone culture and had divergent effective features. The result cautions against the generalization of formative assessment across different cultures without adaptation. We suggest that effect sizes could be calculated and intervention features be investigated in various cultural settings for practitioners and policymakers to implement tailored formative assessment.

Improving students’ achievement in reading comprehending through imaginative text for the eighth grade of SMP Kristen Sa’dan

The objective of this research is to find out whether using imaginative text can improve students’ reading achievement in comprehending reading imaginative text or not. In order to achieve the objective of the research, the writer designed an experimental research by using pre-test, treatment and post-test. The population of this study was the eighth grade students at SMP Kristen Sa’dan. Toraja Utara. The population of this study consists of 75 students. The sample of the study was the eighth grade students class B. The number of the students was 25. They took it by using cluster sampling. There were four four meetings. Before the treatment the students were given a pre-test. and after , the students were given a post-test. The result of this research revealed that the post test was higher than pre-test. It could be seen by comparing their mean score. The mean score of the pre-test was 51,4 categorized poor and the mean score of the post-test was 66,6 categorized good. It can be concluded that the eighth grade students of SMP Kristen Sa’dan have good comprehension, after learning to read imaginative texts. Using imaginative text in teaching reading can help the students to improve their comprehension.

A-216 Construct Validity of The National Institutes of Health Toolbox- Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB) in Children and Adolescents with Cerebral Cavernous Malformation, Type 1 (CCM-1) and their Non-Affected Relatives

Abstract Objective: This study assessed the convergent validity of the NIHTB-CB in a sample of children and adolescents with CCM-1 and non-affected relatives. Method: Twenty-two participants with CCM-1 and 7 non-affected relatives completed the NIHTB-CB and traditional neuropsychological measures. The following domains were assessed: memory (NIHTB-CB Picture Sequencing Memory and Child and Adolescent Memory Profile- Screening Index), word reading (NIHTB-CB Oral Reading and Wide Range Achievement Test-4th Word Reading [WRAT-4 WR]), processing speed (NIHTB-CB Pattern Comparison and Symbol Digit Modalities Test), and attention/working memory (NIHTB-CB List Sorting and Digit Span). Results: The non-affected group scored higher than the CCM-1 group on WRAT-4 WR (t = 2.68, p = .02) and NIHTB-CB Oral Reading (t = 2.18, p = .05). The groups did not differ on the other measures (p > .05). Pearson’s correlations ranged from .45 for memory to .81 for word reading, demonstrating adequate construct validity for memory, processing speed, and attention/ working memory and good to very good for word reading. The NIHTB-CB was more likely to identify participants as impaired for memory (17.2% vs 6.9%) and processing speed (62.1% vs. 3.4%). The traditional attention/working memory measure was more likely to identify participants as impaired (27.6% vs 3.4%). Impairment rates were similar for the word reading measures. Conclusions: Of the domains considered, convergent validity was best established for word reading. Although correlations were adequate, rates of impairment differed for memory, processing speed, and attention/ working memory, suggesting that caution is warranted when comparing the NIHTB-CB to traditional measures in these areas.