Growth In Reading Achievement Research Articles

Language anxiety does not affect the growth of L2 reading achievement: The latent growth curve model approach

AbstractSecond language (L2) anxiety has been proposed to play a causal role in L2 achievement. However, most studies have failed to acknowledge confounding variables that may be relevant to the study of anxiety and L2 achievement or to investigate the causal effect of L2 anxiety using longitudinal data. For these reasons, we investigated the effect of L1 reading achievement, L2 aptitude, and L2 anxiety as covariates on the growth of L2 reading achievement across three time points. We used the latent growth curve model (LGCM) to estimate the growth trajectory of US secondary school students’ L2 reading growth in Spanish (N = 307) over three school years. The findings showed that students’ L1 reading achievement and L2 aptitude strongly and significantly predicted L2 reading achievement growth. However, L2 anxiety did not predict L2 reading achievement growth. Findings suggest that growth in L2 reading achievement depends on the language-related skills used for L1 reading and the language skills that comprise L2 aptitude, but not on anxiety. Similar to past cross-sectional studies, L2 anxiety related only to initial levels of L2 reading achievement, suggesting that anxiety reflects students’ initial experience of L2 reading but not their L2 achievement.

School Effectiveness Factors and Student Achievement: A Longitudinal Study in an Urban School District

In this study we explore the longitudinal impact of effective school factors on student achievement over a five-year period in an urban school district. By collecting teacher survey data from urban schools in a Midwest school district and analyzing the survey data alongside student achievement, we identified several factors associated with student achievement growth. Our findings reveal that Shared Vision and Goals is positively associated with student achievement growth in math and reading. Furthermore, Student Behavior Expectations and Behavior Management Practices are positively associated with growth in reading achievement. Our research contributes to the understanding of effective school factors from a longitudinal perspective, particularly in an urban school setting.

The COVID-19 impact on reading achievement growth of Grade 3-5 students in a U.S. urban school district: variation across student characteristics and instructional modalities.

The current study aimed to explore the COVID-19 impact on reading achievement growth by Grade 3-5 students in a large urban school district in the U.S. and whether the impact differed by students' demographic characteristics and instructional modality. Specifically, using administrative data from the school district, we investigated to what extent students made gains in reading during the 2020-2021 school year relative to the pre-COVID-19 typical school year in 2018-2019. We further examined whether the effects of students' instructional modality on reading growth varied by demographic characteristics. Overall, students had lower average reading achievement gains over the 9-month 2020-2021 school year than the 2018-2019 school year with a learning loss effect size of 0.54, 0.27, and 0.28 standard deviation unit for Grade 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Substantially reduced reading gains were observed from Grade 3 students, students from high-poverty backgrounds, English learners, and students with disabilities. Additionally, findings indicate that among students with similar demographic characteristics, higher-achieving students tended to choose the fully remote instruction option, while lower-achieving students appeared to opt for in-person instruction at the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year. However, students who received in-person instruction most likely demonstrated continuous growth in reading over the school year, whereas initially higher-achieving students who received remote instruction showed stagnation or decline, particularly in the spring 2021 semester. Our findings support the notion that in-person schooling during the pandemic may serve as an equalizer for lower-achieving students, particularly from historically marginalized or vulnerable student populations.

Reading Trajectories in Elementary Grades: A Longitudinal Analysis

<p style="text-align:justify">Research shows that children's reading proficiency levels in the early grades positively correlate with students' future academic achievement. This study provides the first-ever analysis of reading achievement trajectories for a cohort of students in grades 3 to 5 in 2014–17 in Hawaii schools. Hawaii serves a diverse student population whose characteristics differ in ways often overlooked by standard US racial and ethnic classifications. Our analysis shows that Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students not only start at a lower reading proficiency than their peers in Grade 3, but the achievement gap widens as they move from Grade 3 to Grade 5. Moreover, we find a strong association between students' third-grade performance and reading achievement growth rate above and beyond all other factors in our longitudinal model. The difference in performance patterns between student subgroups across the elementary grades can serve as an accurate baseline for yearly monitoring. In light of our findings, we discuss implications for policy and practice.</p>

0371 Educational Disparities in U.S. Elementary School Children are Related to Sleep Duration and Bedtimes

Abstract Introduction Sleep is vital for healthy development in children. Suboptimal sleep health may play an under-appreciated role in educational achievement gaps among vulnerable student populations. Students of color, students from economically disadvantaged homes, and students with disabilities are especially likely to experience poor sleep. Sleep deficiency could interfere with school functioning, including academic achievement. Methods Longitudinal data from the nationally-representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K: 2011) included ~12,000 students. We tested the hypothesis that parent-reported child sleep duration (typical hours per night) was associated with academic achievement trajectories (3rd-5th grade). We further tested the extent to which this relation is linked to parent-reported bedtimes in kindergarten. Preregistered analyses (osf.io) used structural equation path modeling, stratified by racial/ethnic group (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian), disability status, and socioeconomic status (SES) tertiles. Students were assessed using psychometrically-validated standardized academic achievement tests. Results Children with later kindergarten bedtimes had shorter sleep duration across 3rd-5th grade. Children with shorter sleep duration also had poorer achievement in 3rd grade. The path by which sleep associates with achievement differed by vulnerable subgroups. Among children from average- or high-SES families, earlier bedtimes were related to higher reading achievement growth across 3rd-5th grade, but not among children from low-SES families. For children with disabilities, longer sleep duration was significantly and positively associated with growth in reading achievement across 3rd-5th grade, but this relation among children with disabilities was not evident within racial or ethnic groups or SES strata. Conclusion Sleep duration, a modifiable behavioral factor, may be a promising target of intervention in families for promoting healthy childhood sleep health behaviors. Results provide evidence that age-appropriate bedtimes and adequate sleep duration could be promoted among vulnerable populations including students with disabilities. For instance, although most screening instruments do not currently evaluate sleep or sleep disorders, assessing and treating disability or behavioral difficulties could include such evaluations for clinical and parent consideration. Support Penn State Center for Educational Disparities Research

Extending an Evaluation of a Volunteer-Tutoring Program in Reading: Examining the Growth in Reading Achievement for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

Extending an Evaluation of a Volunteer-Tutoring Program in Reading: Examining the Growth in Reading Achievement for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities

What's behind being behind? Using integrated administrative data to enhance our understanding of how publicly monitored early risk experiences uniquely affect children's growth in reading achievement

This study uses an established integrated data system (IDS) in a large city to enhance our understanding of unique associations between publicly monitored early risk experiences and reading proficiency gaps during early grades. This IDS was used to determine if a set of evidence-based, early risk factors, not found in educational records, relate adversely to reading achievement from first to third grade. Results showed that these risks were uniquely associated with significant reading achievement gaps in first grade, controlling for other risks and demographic factors associated with reading gaps. Further, these gaps persisted across second and third grades. Findings highlight the potential of using an established IDS to identify relevant variables found outside educational records to provide local, actionable intelligence to address reading gaps and create cross-sector collaborations.

Effects of Teacher-Student Ethnoracial Matching and Overall Teacher Diversity in Elementary Schools on Educational Outcomes

ABSTRACTThe United States is facing culture gaps between students and teachers in schools. Although the U.S. school-age population is racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse, the teachers are predominantly White. This article investigates whether assignment to same-race teachers affects students’ math and reading achievement growth in early elementary grades. The article also examines if overall teacher diversity in schools moderates the relationship between student-teacher ethnoracial match and achievement growth. This study finds that assignment to same-race teachers has no effect on minority students’ math and reading achievement growth between kindergarten and 3rd grade. However, the overall teacher diversity in school does affect whether minority teachers are effective educators for minority students. This interactive effect is significant for math and reading achievement growth among Hispanic students. Hispanic teachers are most effective as educators for Hispanic students when these teachers also teach in schools with greater teacher diversity. Hispanic teachers are least effective as educators for Hispanic students when these teachers work in schools with low teacher diversity.

Principals’ qualifications in special education and students with and at risk for disabilities’ reading achievement growth in kindergarten

ABSTRACTTo effectively teach reading to students with and at risk for disabilities, special and general education teachers depend on principals who support effective specialized reading instruction. Yet, extant research indicates that principals have inadequate preparation for supporting specialized instruction. To address this issue, scholars have recommended that leader preparation programs should provide prospective leaders with more preparation in special education. However, research to date provides limited indications of whether more preparation would in fact support more effective leadership for special education. Therefore, we examined data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to determine whether principals’ qualifications in special education and in reading predicted struggling readers’ and students with disabilities’ reading achievement growth in kindergarten. We found no effects; principals’ coursework in special education, coursework in reading, prior experiences as a special education teacher, and experience in school leadership did not predict reading achievement growth among students with or at-risk for disabilities.

Teaching reading to children with neurofibromatosis type 1: a clinical trial with random assignment to different approaches.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a genetic disorder with a cognitive profile that includes visual-spatial perception deficits and a high incidence of reading disability. There is a paucity of information about how this cognitively complex population responds to mainstream reading interventions. The clinical trial goals were to determine whether children and adolescents with NF1 and reading deficits (NF+RD) benefit from mainstream remedial reading programs and whether responsiveness varies with differences in program-related visual-spatial demands. Forty-nine participants (28 males, 21 females; aged 8-14y) with either NF+RD (n=17, 11 males, six females) or idiopathic reading deficit (IRD) (n=32, 17 males, 15 females) were randomly assigned to intensive remedial teaching using one of two multisensory reading programs: one with greater kinesthetic demands and the other with greater visual-spatial demands. Two control groups - wait-listIRD (n=14, 11 males, three females) and typically developing readers (n=26, 13 males, 13 females) - received no treatment. Repeated measures and multivariate ANOVA analyses compared each group's growth in reading achievement from pre- to post-testing. Treated groups showed significant growth whereas untreated groups did not. Comparing treated groups, the IRD group responded equally well to both interventions, whereas the NF+RD group showed a better response to the more kinesthetic approach. Results suggest that multisensory remedial reading teaching that emphasizes kinesthetic demands more than visual-spatial demands is suitable for students with NF+RD.

Elementary School ELLs' Reading Skill Profiles Using Cognitive Diagnosis Modeling: Roles of Length of Residence and Home Language Environment

The study examined differences in reading achievement and mastery skill development among Grade‐6 students with different language background profiles, using cognitive diagnosis modeling applied to large‐scale provincial reading test performance data. Our analyses revealed that students residing in various home language environments show different reading achievement growth patterns. Earlier gaps in their reading achievement disappear the longer they reside in the target language community. Additionally, students who come from home environments where they use English and another language equally demonstrate higher skill mastery achievement levels, indicating that immigrant students' diverse home language environments do not adversely affect their reading achievement in the longer term. The study results support the evidence that multilingual home language environments are not a cause of low achievement; however, the achievement patterns of Canadian‐born English language learners (ELLs) do differ from their immigrant counterparts, revealing that time alone is not a sufficient condition of reading skill achievement. ELLs' outperformance of monolinguals after 5 years of residence is a result of ongoing instructional support and a rich linguistic environment. The study results hold important policy implications: The evaluation of ELLs' academic achievement and school effectiveness for accountability purposes should be based on longitudinal data that track their developmental growths.

Early Reading Skills and Academic Achievement Trajectories of Students Facing Poverty, Homelessness, and High Residential Mobility

This investigation tested the importance of early academic achievement for later achievement trajectories among 18,011 students grouped by level of socioeconomic risk. Students considered to be at highest risk were those who experienced homelessness or high residential mobility (HHM). HHM students were compared with students eligible for free meals, students eligible for reduced price meals, and students who were neither HHM nor low income. Socioeconomic risk and oral reading ability in first grade predicted growth of reading and math achievement in Grades 3 through 8. Risk status predicted achievement beyond the effects of early reading scores and also moderated the prediction of later growth in reading achievement from early oral reading. Results underscore the early emergence and persistence of achievement gaps related to poverty, the high and accumulating risk for HHM students, and the significance of oral reading in first grade as both an early indicator of risk and a potential protective factor.

The influence of maternal employment on children's learning growth and the role of parental involvement

Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, this study employed a latent growth curve model to examine how parental involvement explains the association between maternal employment status and children's math and reading achievement growth from kindergarten through the third grade. To address this issue, three types of parental involvement – school participation, parent–child interaction, and educational trips – were considered. Our findings indicated that maternal employment can be both beneficial and detrimental to children's educational development depending on the mother's number of working hours. Students whose mothers were employed part time exhibited an advantage in academic learning because of increased rates of school participation and parent–child interaction, whereas students of mothers employed full time appeared to experience a lower learning growth, given lower rate of school participation and fewer educational trips than students of unemployed mothers. These findings highlight the importance of family context in understanding work–family relationships.

Growth in Reading Achievement of Students with Disabilities, Ages 7 to 17

Using data from the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SRI International, 2002), this study estimated reading growth trajectories in a nationally representative sample of 3,421 students with disabilities ages 7 to 17 representing 11 federal disability categories. Reading achievement in all disability categories increased with age, but the rate of growth decreased with age. Average reading achievement differed by disability category. Students with speech or visual impairments performed highest; students with multiple disabilities or intellectual disabilities performed lowest. Although growth over time was comparable across disability categories, students with speech or hearing impairments or autism improved more slowly than students with learning disabilities. Gender, racial and ethnic, and socioeconomic differences were observed. Implications for accountability policies are discussed.

Predictors of reading development in deaf children: A 3-year longitudinal study

The development of reading ability in a group of deaf children was followed over a 3-year period. A total of 29 deaf children (7–8 years of age at the first assessment) participated in the study, and every 12 months they were given a battery of literacy, cognitive, and language tasks. Earlier vocabulary and speechreading skills predicted longitudinal growth in reading achievement. The relations between reading and the predictor variables showed developmental change. Earlier reading ability was related to later phonological awareness skills, suggesting that deaf children might develop their phonological awareness through reading. Deaf children who had the most age-appropriate reading skills tended to have less severe hearing losses and earlier diagnoses and also preferred to communicate through speech. The theoretical implications of the role for speechreading, vocabulary and phonological awareness in deaf children’s literacy are discussed.

Family, Neighborhood, and School Settings across Seasons: When Do Socioeconomic Context and Racial Composition Matter for the Reading Achievement Growth of Young Children?

Background/Context Seasonal researchers have developed a theory and hypotheses regarding the importance of neighborhood and school contexts for early childhood learning but have not possessed nationally representative data and precise contextual measures with which to examine their hypotheses. Purpose/Research Questions This empirical study employs a seasonal perspective to assess the degree to which social context and race/ethnic composition—in neighborhoods and schools—affect the reading achievement growth of young children. The authors ask, Were there specific seasons when context and/or composition were particularly salient for reading achievement? Also, did accounting for context and composition challenge established appraisals of the relationship between family factors and achievement? Population Data for a nationally representative sample of students proceeding through kindergarten and first grade came from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K). Neighborhood social and race/ethnic measures came from the 2000 Census. Research Design: This quantitative study employs a three-level model that assesses reading achievement at school entry and during three subsequent seasons. The model represents reading achievement as a time-varying process at level 1, conditional upon family socio/demographic factors at level 2, and dependent on social context and race/ethnic composition at level 3. Findings/Results Neighborhood social context mattered substantially for students’ reading achievement levels at school entry and for their reading achievement growth during the summer. The proportion of neighborhood residents from minority race/ethnic groups was not associated with reading achievement at school entry or during the summer season. During the school year, school social context was associated with reading growth during kindergarten, and school social context and race/ethnic composition were associated with reading growth during first grade. Conclusions/Recommendations The magnitude and frequency of contextual effects found in this national sample have considerable implications for achieving educational equality in the United States. The authors recommend that policy makers attend to the quality of neighborhood and school settings as a means of promoting literacy development for young children.

Birth Weight, Math and Reading Achievement Growth: A Multilevel Between-Sibling, Between-Families Approach

We used multilevel covariance structure analysis to study the relationship between birth weight, family context and youth math and reading comprehension growth from approximately ages 5 through 14 within and between families. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Child Sample, we examined the relationship between birth weight and subsequent academic achievement growth disparities, distinguishing between birth weight and other contextual social confounders. We found that smaller birth weight is associated with lower math and reading scores at age 5. Additional findings indicated that the home environment has important developmental consequences from early childhood and into adolescence. Overall, the pattern of findings painted a complex picture of disadvantage, beginning in the womb and extending through a variety of mechanisms into adolescence.

Reading achievement growth in children with language impairments.

This study examined the reading achievement growth of children with language impairments (LI) across the school grades. The authors sought to determine whether children with LI demonstrate a delayed, deficit, or cumulative pattern of reading achievement growth when compared with children with typical language (TL). A group of 225 children with LI and a group of 379 children with TL were identified in kindergarten and were administered multiple measures of word recognition and reading comprehension in 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 10th grades. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the constructs of word recognition and reading comprehension were invariant across grades and groups of children with LI and TL. Further analyses indicated that a multiple group latent growth curve analysis was appropriate. This analysis showed that children with LI differed significantly from children with TL in initial level (2nd grade) of word recognition and reading comprehension, but they did not differ significantly in the shape of their growth trajectories. These results are consistent with a deficit model of reading growth in children with LI. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for early identification.

Evidence of a Differential Effect of Ability Grouping on the Reading Achievement Growth of Language-Minority Hispanics

Ability grouping is sometimes thought to exacerbate inequality by increasing achievement gaps; however, ability grouping may in fact benefit a fast growing and often marginalized student population: children from non-English-speaking home environments. The level-appropriate, small-group instruction received in reading ability groups may be particularly beneficial to these language-minority children, who are not regularly exposed to English at home. Focusing on Hispanics, who make up the majority of language-minority students, the author examined this hypothesis through difference-in-differences estimation techniques in a hierarchical linear model framework. Ability grouping in reading during kindergarten was significantly associated with greater benefits for language-minority Hispanic students relative to other students. However, this benefit faded during the summer and first grade, unless grouping continued in first grade. These findings are robust to alternative specifications and suggest that differentiated instructional strategies upon school entry may be an effective, relatively low cost tool to combat the achievement gap faced by a fast growing segment of students.

The Elusive Relationship Between Teacher Characteristics and Student Academic Growth: A Longitudinal Multilevel Model for Change

Teacher characteristics and student achievement growth are currently a significant topic of investigation in the educational accountability arena. Given the environment of high-stakes accountability associated with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and state accountability systems, staffing all classrooms with highly qualified teachers is a critical national concern. A new era of research is needed to understand the complexity of teacher quality when defined by student learning growth. The present study evaluated the effects of teacher characteristics (i.e., experience, education, and race) in high school reading achievement gains using a multi-level growth model in an urban school district in Kentucky. Findings showed significant effects of time, but non-significant effects of teacher characteristics in high school reading achievement growth. Implications for educational policy and future research are discussed.