Validity of Renaissance Learning's STAR-R; RAN & Reading; Text Structure Instruction; Plus: 3 studies on writing/handwriting/spelling
Is Renaissance Learning’s STAR-R Valid?
Computer Adaptive Tests (CATs) are replacing traditional R-CBM for screening purposes. This study found that Renaissance Learning’s STAR-R (a CAT that assesses reading comprehension) had good diagnostic accuracy for predicting performance on the state test (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) for 3rd-5th graders. Sensitivity was greater than .80 and at times greater than .90, suggesting it can be used to determine which students might fail the state test. Citation: Ochs, S., Keller-Margulis, M. A., Santi, K. L., & Jones, J. H. (2020). Long-Term Validity and Diagnostic Accuracy of a Reading Computer-Adaptive Test. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 45(3), 210–225. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534508418796271
Related: How to Evaluate a Screener
If your district is adopting a new screener (or you are interested in evaluating your current one) you can download these guiding questions put together by Dr. Yaacov Petscher: https://psyarxiv.com/vukt2/
Why is RAN Related to Fluency?
Rapid automatized naming (RAN) is the ability to quickly and accurately name known items such as letters, and it strongly predict reading skill, but researchers do not know why. Georgiou et al. examined 3 facets of RAN: seriality (presenting several letters on screen at once vs one letter on the screen at a time), articulation, and set size in a group of 2nd graders and in a group of university students. I think their most important finding is that seriality contributed to reading fluency. While this may seem obvious to some, Georgiou et al. state that seriality is absent from definitions of reading fluency and theoretical models of fluency development. Citation: Georgiou GK, Parrila R. What mechanism underlies the rapid automatized naming-reading relation? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 2020;194:104840. doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2020.104840
Text Structure Instruction Aids Reading Comprehension
Meta-analyses are studies that systematically synthesize several studies on a certain outcome, and therefore their results often carry more importance than a single study. This meta-analysis analyzed the results of 44 studies that used text structure interventions to see if reading comprehension was improved in upper elementary children in the Netherlands. They found that groups that received text structure intervention outperformed control groups (that received regular reading instruction) on questions, summarization, and recall, but the effects did not last at a delayed posttest. Citation: Bogaerds‐Hazenberg, S.T.M., Evers‐Vermeul, J., & van den Bergh, H. ( 2020). A Meta‐Analysis on the Effects of Text Structure Instruction on Reading Comprehension in the Upper Elementary Grades. Reading Research Quarterly, 0( 0), 1– 28. https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rrq.311 (Open Access!)
Reading (and development of letter-sound knowledge) is intertwined with writing development, and below are 3 studies that highlight some findings about writing, spelling, and handwriting.
Do “Matthew Effects” Also Exist for Writing?
“Matthew effects” or; the phenomenon that good readers read more, thus improving their reading skills, is talked about a lot in reading, but not so much in writing. This study found Matthew effects for second-graders when it comes to writing. Specifically, they found that the total number of words a child wrote in the beginning of the school year predicted a child’s growth in total number of words over the school year. Citation: Wood, C., Schatschneider, C. & Wanzek, J. Matthew effects in writing productivity during second grade. Reading and Writing, 33, 1377–1398 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-10001-8
Handwriting Delay For Children With Dyslexia
In this study, French-speaking, upper elementary school children with dyslexia were found to have more deficits in motors skills, including an increased number of short pauses during letter production, relative to their peers without dyslexia. The authors state that dyslexia might be accompanied by more general cerebellar motor deficits but that due to the small sample size more research is needed. Citation: Alamargot, D., Morin, M.-F., & Simard-Dupuis, E. (2020). Handwriting Delay in Dyslexia: Children at the End of Primary School Still Make Numerous Short Pauses When Producing Letters. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(3), 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219420903705
The Influence of A Child’s Own Name on Spelling
Zhang et al. found that English-speaking 3-6 year olds used the first letter-sound in their first name correctly more often than would be expected when spelling words. This suggests that learning one’s own name is not a “rote” “mechanical” process, but can be used by educators and parents to “foster literacy development.” Citation: Lan Zhang & Rebecca Treiman (2020) Learning to Spell Phonologically: Influences of Children’s Own Names, Scientific Studies of Reading, 24:3, 229-240, DOI: 10.1080/10888438.2019.1662027