Low Reading Achievement Research Articles

Düşük Okuma Başarısında Rol Oynayan Etkenlerin Belirlenmesi

Düşük Okuma Başarısında Rol Oynayan Etkenlerin Belirlenmesi

Students Reading Achievement Based on Their Intelligence Quotient (IQ): A Case Study

This research was conducted to determine the factors that caused some students to have high IQ but low English reading achievement and vice versa. The research aimed to find out what factors caused students to have high intellectual intelligence but low reading achievement and vice versa. This type of research was a qualitative method with a case study research design. Participants in this research were grade VIII students at SMPN 4 Bukittinggi, and using purposive sampling techniques, the researchers selected 9 participants for this research. The instruments used in this research were interviews and observations checklist of students. The results of the analysis showed that there were two factors that caused students to have high IQ but low English reading achievement and vice versa. This could be seen from the results of interviews and observation checklists with students, namely internal factors are physiological, intelligence, talents, interests, student activity during the learning process, and also external factors, namely the role of parents, teachers, learning media, infrastructure, curriculum, school time, and mass media. It can be concluded that the factors causing students to have high IQ but low achievement in learning English and vice versa were internal and external factors, and were also supported by aspects of student activity in the English learning process.

Commentary: Teaching expertise is the best antidote for educational inequities.

This article discusses teaching expertise as the best antidote for educational inequities. Economically disadvantaged and minority students are over-represented in the population of those experiencing reading difficulties, and therefore the societal scourges of systemic racism and persistent economic inequalities are to blame. Closer examination of these variables, however, suggests that minority students attend under-resourced schools in greater numbers than white students and schooling itself predicts outcomes more than race alone. In other words, students who attend poor schools in unsupported environments are at risk for academic failure-no matter their race. While chronic inequities in schooling associated with race and poverty are currently receiving more attention, a substantial number of middle class and more advantaged students are also not learning to read proficiently. What do these children's experiences have in common with their less advantaged peers? They also are not receiving effective instruction, even though their schools have more material resources and fewer excuses for low reading achievement. There are several explanations for this chronic state of inadequate and ineffective reading and language instruction. First, the schools of education have been slow to embrace the science of reading on a wide enough scale. Second, faulty ideas about learning to read are deeply engrained in teacher culture and are perpetuated by publishers who will sell whatever consumers will buy, regardless of evidence for effectiveness. Third, the persistence of misconceived practices can be attributed to the fact that teaching reading is by nature very complex and challenging. For shifts to occur in the roles of school psychologists and other support personnel, professional learning opportunities must be expanded to include in-depth understanding of reading acquisition, reading disabilities, and research-aligned instructional practices. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Mid-Childhood Outcomes after Dextrose Gel Treatment of Neonatal Hypoglycaemia: Follow-Up of the Sugar Babies Randomized Trial

Introduction: Dextrose gel is widely used as first-line treatment for neonatal hypoglycaemia given its cost-effectiveness and ease of use. The Sugar Babies randomized trial first showed that 40% dextrose gel was more effective in reversing hypoglycaemia than feeding alone. Follow-up of the Sugar Babies Trial cohort at 2 and 4.5 years of age reported that dextrose gel appeared safe, with similar rates of neurosensory impairment in babies randomized to dextrose or placebo gel. However, some effects of neonatal hypoglycaemia may not become apparent until school age. Methods: Follow-up of the Sugar Babies Trial cohort at 9–10 years of age was reported. The primary outcome was low educational achievement in reading or mathematics. Secondary outcomes included other aspects of educational achievement, executive function, visual-motor function, and psychosocial adaptation. Results: Of 227 eligible children, 184 (81%) were assessed at a mean (SD) age of 9.3 (0.2) years. Low educational achievement was similar in dextrose and placebo groups (36/86 [42%] vs. 42/94 [45%]; RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.76, 1.44; p = 0.79). Children allocated to dextrose gel had lower visual perception standard scores (95.2 vs. 100.6; MD −5.68, 95% CI −9.79, −1.57; p = 0.006) and a greater proportion had low (<85) visual perception scores (20/88 [23%] vs. 10/95 [11%]; RR 2.23, 95% CI 1.13, 4.37; p = 0.02). Other secondary outcomes, including other aspects of visual-motor function, were similar in both groups. Conclusion: Treatment dextrose gel does not appear to result in any clinically significant differences in educational achievement or other neurodevelopmental outcomes at mid-childhood.

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.

Vocabulary Language Prediction (VLP) to Enhance Students' Reading Achievement in Narrative Text

Reading comprehension plays a vital role in entertaining and gaining some information. The teacher-researcher needs to do a pre-reading activity to scaffold students' reading comprehension in narrative text. VLP (Vocabulary, Language, Prediction) is an appropriate strategy to improve students' reading achievement by mastering vocabulary before the main reading activity. The students in grade X of SMK with low English reading achievement were taught English, especially reading comprehension in narrative text. Before the strategy was implemented, the average score was 41.1. Then, the Classroom Action Research was conducted, and the VLP strategy was applied. After implementing two cycles of CAR, the average score reached 77.8. It proves that by applying the VLP strategy, students can improve their reading comprehension. Students' motivation in learning English also increased as well as their self-confidence to express their thoughts in class discussions.

Reading Achievement, Resilience, and Motivation in Contexts of Vulnerability: A Study of Perceived Self-Efficacy, Intrinsic Motivation, and Family Support in Chile

Recent research has proven the importance of non-cognitive determinants, such as motivation and resilience, in improving reading achievement. This study provides insights on how these two determinants are displayed by students living in contexts of high social vulnerability. A mixed methodology was used to conduct the study in six schools across the O’Higgins Region of Chile. A reading comprehension test and questionnaires about resilience and reading motivation were responded by 192 eighth grade students (mean age = 13.49 years). The results identified students with high, average, and low reading achievement. Subsequently, 32 students participated in interviews, as did 9 mothers, 6 language teachers, and 6 school principals. The results showed that, even in a highly segregated educational system, factors such as perceived self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and family support are significantly related to reading achievement. This investigation underscores how student and familial life experiences influence reading achievement.

The Potential of Children's Rearing Environment to Overcome Genetic Propensity for Low Reading Achievement.

Genetic studies show that children's reading achievement is in part genetically influenced, and intervention studies show that reading achievement can be increased by environmental interventions. However, correlational and mean-level analytic strategies are rarely integrated into achievement research, potentially leading to misinterpretation of results. The parent-offspring adoption design offers a novel opportunity to examine the independent and joint roles of genetic and rearing environmental contributions. The sample included 344 adopted children in first grade and their biological and adoptive parents. Results indicated that adoptees' reading scores were correlated with their biological parents' scores, but not with their adoptive parents' scores, suggesting genetic influences. In addition, examination of mean scores indicated that adoptees' scores were significantly greater than their biological parents' (p's< .001) for all subtests, suggesting promotive effects of the rearing environment. This pattern was present even when biological parents scored >1 standard deviation below the biological parent mean on achievement.

The Dimensionality of Reading Self-Concept: Examining Its Stability Using Local Structural Equation Models.

For results from large-scale surveys to inform policy and practice appropriately, all participants must interpret and respond to items similarly. While organizers of surveys assessing student outcomes often ensure this for achievement measures, doing so for psychological questionnaires is also critical. We demonstrate this by examining the dimensionality of reading self-concept-a crucial psychological construct for several outcomes-across reading achievement levels. We use Programme for International Student Assessment 2018 data (N = 529,966) and local structural equation models (LSEMs) to do so. Results reveal that reading self-concept dimensions (assessed through reading competence and difficulty) vary across reading achievement levels. Students with low reading achievement show differentiated responses to the two item sets (high competence-high difficulty). In contrast, students with high reading achievement have reconciled responses (high competence-low difficulty). Our results highlight the value of LSEMs in examining factor structure generalizability of constructs in large-scale surveys and call for greater cognitive testing during item development.

Identifying Turkish students’ profiles of using information and communication technologies and its relationship with their academic achievement: A latent class analysis approach

In this study, 15-year-old Turkish students’ profiles of using ICT at home and at school were identified, and the extent to which these profiles were associated with their academic achievement was determined. Moreover, the study investigated the effects of the students’ age of first usage of digital device and internet, their gender and their parents’ education level on the students’ ICT usage profiles. In the study, by using Latent Class Analysis, Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 Turkey data were analyzed ( n = 6890). According to the findings obtained in the study, it was revealed that the students who used ICT resources at high level at home and at school constituted the smallest class (8% of the sample). The students whose mothers’ levels of education were high and those who were male had a higher probability of being a member of the high-level ICT user class. In addition, the students who started using their first digital devices and the Internet at later ages were less likely to be a member of the class using high-level ICT. Finally, the students in the high-level ICT user class had low mathematics, reading, and science achievement scores.

Students’ Abilities and Difficulties in Comprehending English Reading Texts at Secondary Schools; An Effect of Phonemic Awareness

Reading comprehension in the EFL context requires abilities not only linguistic competences but also reading strategies. The timely acquisition of this competence has a crucial effect for language learners. Unfortunately, most language learners in all level have low skills and high difficulties to acquire reading skills. This study aims to explore students’ abilities and difficulties in comprehending English reading texts as secondary level. This study is categorized as qualitative study consisting of three main data gathering methods: semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and group discussions. The data collected then are analyzed in stages, namely data condensation, data display, and data conclusion. Based on the result of analysis, this study showed that students have low reading achievement at secondary level. The low achievement is affected by some reading difficulties such as low reading exercises, unwilling to read out loud, low reading skills, low vocabulary, low phonemic awareness, low reading strategies, and low grammatical competence. For further studies, reading exercises and phonemic awareness in reading activities should be paid intention with giving students with various reading texts to train them comprehend EFL texts.

The Influence of Articulatory Suppression on Reading Among Chinese Children With Developmental Dyslexia: An Eye-Movement Study.

Objective: The study aimed to examine how the phonological loop influences reading ability and processing in Chinese children with developmental dyslexia (DD).Methods: This study included 30 children with DD and 37 children without DD. Two types of articles (i.e., scenery prose and narrative story) and two conditions (under the conditions of articulatory-suppression and silent reading) were applied. An eye-link II High-Speed Eye Tracker was used to track a series of eye-movement parameters. The data were analyzed by the linear Mixed-Effects model.Results: Compared with children without DD, Children with DD had lower reading achievement (RA), frequency of saccades (FS) and frequency of fixations (FF), longer reading time (RT) and average fixation duration (AFD), slower reading speed (RS), shorter average saccade amplitude (ASA) and fixation distance (FD), more number of fixations (NF), and number of saccades (NS). There were significant interactions between participant group and articulatory suppression on RT and FD. We also observed interaction effects between article types and articulatory suppression on RA, AFD, ASA, and FS.Conclusion: Children DD exhibit abnormal phonological loop and eye movements while reading. The role of articulatory suppression on reading varies with the presentation of DD and the article type.

Examining English Language Arts Teachers: Evidence from National Data

Background: Much of the previous research in teacher attrition and retention focuses on teachers in general, without regard to specific types of teachers. We focus on English language arts (ELA) and English as a second language (ESL) teachers because the United States has stubbornly low achievement in reading, and reading is critical to the success of learning other subjects, and because these are the two groups of teachers most responsible for teaching both native and non-native English speakers to read. Purpose: Our goal is to understand how the demographics and qualifications of ELA and ESL teachers have changed over time, changes in the student characteristics and school conditions in which they teach, their attrition rate, and the factors that are associated with their attrition behaviors. We also pay close attention to teachers in economically disadvantaged schools. Research Design: We use nationally representative data from seven waves of the Schools and Staffing Survey from 1987–1988 to 2011–2012, as well as the 2015–2016 National Teacher and Principal Survey to examine ELA and ESL teachers and their turnover behaviors. We employ sampling weights to make the results nationally representative. We use both descriptive and regression analyses to examine these teachers. Data Analysis: We first describe how characteristics of ELA and ESL teachers and the schools in which they teach have changed from 1988 to 2016. We then examine how these characteristics vary systematically across high- and low-poverty schools and compare the attrition rate for ELA and ESL teachers relative to other teachers. We also examine the factors that are associated with various forms of turnover and how organizational supports may be leveraged to increase retention. Findings: We find the composition of ELA and ESL teachers has changed substantially over time, with more teachers attending selective schools, being certified to teach, and more likely to teach in high-poverty schools. Relatedly, teacher characteristics in high- and low-poverty schools are consistently different across time, and school working conditions play an enhanced role in high-poverty schools rather than in more affluent schools. Conclusions: Although we find ELA teachers turn over at similar rates compared to non-ELA teachers, we find ESL teachers are more likely to leave both their current school and the profession. This is particularly concerning given that the ESL population is increasing while at the same time there is a shortage of trained-ESL teachers.

Pregnancy weight gain in twin gestations and maternal and child health outcomes at 5 years.

Objective:Current guidelines for maternal weight gain in twin pregnancy were established in the absence of evidence on its longer-term consequences for maternal and child health. We evaluated the association between weight gain in twin pregnancies and the risk of excess maternal postpartum weight increase, childhood obesity, and child cognitive ability.Methods:We used 5-year follow-up data from 1000 twins born to 450 mothers in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort, a nationally representative U.S. cohort of births in 2001. Pregnancy weight gain was standardized into gestational age- and prepregnancy body mass index (BMI)-specific z-scores. Excess postpartum weight increase was defined as ≥10 kg increase from prepregnancy weight. We defined child overweight/obesity as BMI ≥ 85th percentile, and low reading and math achievement as scores one standard deviation below the mean. We used survey-weighted multivariable modified Poisson models with a log link to relate gestational weight gain z-score with each outcome.Results:Excess postpartum weight increase occurred in 40% of mothers. Approximately 28% of twins were affected by overweight/obesity, and 16% and 14% had low reading and low math scores. There was a positive linear relationship between pregnancy weight gain and both excess postpartum weight increase and childhood overweight/obesity. Compared with a gestational weight gain z-score 0 SD (equivalent to 20 kg at 37 weeks gestation), a weight gain z-score of +1 SD (27 kg) was associated with 6.3 (0.71, 12) cases of excess weight increase per 1000 women and 4.5 (0.81, 8.2) excess cases of child overweight/obesity per 100 twins. Gestational weight gain was not related to kindergarten academic readiness.Conclusions:The high prevalence of excess postpartum weight increase and childhood overweight/obesity within the recommended ranges of gestational weight gain for twin pregnancies suggests that these guidelines could be inadvertently contributing to longer-term maternal and child obesity.

The effects of a comprehensive and supplemental middle school reading program

We present results of an evaluation of the first year of a multi-year comprehensive middle school reading program. Four public middle schools in rural Virginia with large populations of students with limited reading proficiency participated in a study to determine the reading program’s impact. We evaluated 235 students with low reading achievement scores, including students with disabilities, to determine reading gains. The multi-year curriculum consisted of multiple components (word-level instruction, comprehension and vocabulary, motivation and engagement, and assessment) and seven related instructional units, each taught using explicit instruction. A quasi-experimental design was used to determine the intervention’s effectiveness. Statistically significant differences were found between the experimental and comparison conditions on a standardized measure of reading achievement with some scores favoring the experimental condition. Results support, in part, the reading program’s promise to improve middle school students’ reading achievement scores at a level that may narrow the reading achievement gap.

국어교육분야에서의 읽기 부진 연구 동향: 주제범위 문헌고찰

국어교육분야에서의 읽기 부진 연구 동향: 주제범위 문헌고찰

The Effects of a Vocabulary Intervention on Teaching Multiple-Meaning Words to Students Who Are d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Building vocabulary knowledge, especially breadth and depth of word meanings, is a crucial step in assisting students to read and comprehend print independently. A large body of research has documented the low reading achievement levels of a number of Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) students. The goal of the present study was to examine the effects of a vocabulary intervention to teach 24 multiple-meaning words to fourth-grade DHH students in Saudi Arabia by utilizing a single-case experimental design (multiple probe design across participants). A total of 5 students with a profound hearing loss participated in the study. About 3 of 5 received the intervention, whereas two other students served as an additional control component and were administered the pretest and posttest only. The data showed that there was a significant improvement in the recognition and comprehension scores of students who received the intervention. In contrast, students who did not receive the intervention showed no significant improvement on the posttest.

An Examination of an Evidence-Based Literacy Program in Rural Georgia

A small rural school district in the southwestern part of the United States required teachers to provide highly effective literacy instruction by implementing an evidence-based reading program called Journeys. With consistently low reading achievement, it was unclear whether teachers were implementing Journeys as prescribed. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teacher implementation of the Journeys program for students at an elementary school in the district. The theoretical framework used to guide the study was Clay’s emergent literacy theory. The conceptual framework included five strands of the Journeys reading curriculum, which was derived from Clay’s theory. A modified formative program evaluation case study was conducted. Nine teachers who had taught reading and two administrators who supervised reading teachers were purposefully selected for semi-structured interviews. Coding and analysis of interview data indicated that more than half of the teachers were not implementing Journeys with fidelity. Themes that emerged from the interviews were; inconsistent understanding of evidence-based literacy instruction, lack of collaborative planning, teacher’s use of an alternate phonics-based resource, focus on technology integration, lack of teacher buy-in, and lack of teacher training in implementation of the Journeys program. Based on findings, a 3-day professional development training was developed to provide training in implementing Journeys’ underlying evidence-based strategies. In regard to social change, the study findings could assist school leaders in determining guidelines for the implementation of evidence-based reading curricula. The study findings could assist school leaders and teachers in effective implementation of Journeys and providing quality literacy instruction to enhance student learning in the district. Keywords: Journeys, evidence-based reading, fidelity, reading achievement, reading levels DOI : 10.7176/JEP/11-2-09 Publication date: January 31 st 2020

Moving Forward by Looking Back: Understanding Why Some Spanish-Speaking English Learners Fall Behind.

This study investigated early indicators of Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) at risk for reading difficulties at the end of Grade 2 by examining their early bilingual oral language development, taking into account language of academic instruction. Standardized measures of reading and narrative samples were collected in English and Spanish from kindergarten to Grade 2 from 1,243 ELs primarily instructed in English or Spanish. Conditional growth curve models yielded four primary findings of reading and oral language development. First, ELs with low reading achievement at the end of Grade 2 demonstrated early reading difficulties during kindergarten. Second, although ELs demonstrated overall higher reading achievement in their instructed language, this difference decreased over time. Third, ELs with low reading achievement at the end of Grade 2 demonstrated lower oral language skills in each language over time. Fourth, ELs demonstrated overall higher oral language skills in their instructed language, yet these differences varied over time. The study provided a detailed description of the longitudinal relations among the bilingual reading and oral language skills of Spanish-speaking ELs during the early school years. These findings help to inform the processes of early identification and intervention for Spanish-speaking ELs who are likely to demonstrate reading achievement difficulties.

Teaching Students with Low Academic Achievement in Reading Through Multisensory Approach – Intervention Programme

Jolly Phonics is a multisensory approachdesigned to teach children how to read, write and spell using a systematic multisensory phonics program. It uses synthetic phonics method. In this programme children learn the letter sounds first and then move on to blending [putting together] the sounds in order to read words. Jolly Phonics was developed for children from junior kindergarten to grade 2. It can be used for children who have reading/ writing difficulties. The researchers have noticed, while working as supervisors in Cycle One Omani schools, that grade threestudents have certain weaknesses in reading. They realized that some students could not even read simple words though they have spent 2 years and a halfstudying English.In order to investigate this problem, six low achievers students from grade 3 were selected; they were males and females and their age is between 8-9 years old. A certain scheme was designed; it included teaching one lesson a week for 4 months using Jolly Phonics programme. The teacher was provided by the Jolly Phonics materials to help her teaching the lessons effectively. The programme included learning the letter sounds, learning the letter formation, blending, identifying sounds in words and spelling the tricky words. A certain exam has been given to the students before and after the programme. The results show that there is a noticeable improvement in the students' academic achievement comparing with their previous level. The presentation will be interactive, researcher and audience together will explore to what extent this programme has certain effectiveness on students’ performance. Findings will be set beside those from previous studies, implications for the Omani classroom will be discussed, and recommendations made for future research. Excerpts from students reading and writing will be shared with the audience.