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Reading Performance (reading + performance)
Selected AbstractsInvestigating the Relationship Between Vocabulary Knowledge and Academic Reading Performance: An Assessment PerspectiveLANGUAGE LEARNING, Issue 3 2002David D. Qian The present study was conducted in the context of Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) 2000 research to conceptually validate the roles of breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension in academic settings and to empirically evaluate a test measuring three elements of the depth dimension of vocabulary knowledge, namely, synonymy, polysemy, and collocation. A vocabulary size measure and a TOEFL vocabulary measure were also tested. The study found that the dimension of vocabulary depth is as important as that of vocabulary size in predicting performance on academic reading and that scores on the three vocabulary measures tested are similarly useful in predicting performance on the reading comprehension measure used as the criterion. The study confirms the importance of the vocabulary factor in reading assessment. [source] Estimation of premorbid IQ in individuals with Alzheimer's disease using Japanese ideographic script (Kanji) compound words: Japanese version of National Adult Reading TestPSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 3 2006KEIKO MATSUOKA phd Abstract The National Adult Reading Test (NART) is widely used as a measure of premorbid IQ of the English-speaking patients with dementia. The purpose of the present study was to develop a Japanese version of the NART (JART), using 50 Japanese irregular words, all of which are Kanji (ideographic script) compound words. Reading performance based on JART and IQ as measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale,Revised (WAIS-R) was examined in a sample of 100 normal elderly (NE) persons and in 70 age-, sex-, and education-matched patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The NE group was randomly divided into the NE calculation group (n = 50) and the NE validation group (n = 50). Using the NE calculation group, a linear regression equation was obtained in which the observed full-scale IQ (FSIQ) was regressed on the reading errors of the JART. When the regressed equation computed from the NE calculation group was applied to the NE validation group, the predicted FSIQ adequately fit the observed FSIQ (R2 = 0.78). Further, independent t -tests showed that the JART-predicted IQs were not significantly different between the NE and AD groups, whereas the AD group performed worse in the observed IQs. The reading ability of Kanji compound words is well-preserved in Japanese patients with AD. The JART is a valid scale for evaluating premorbid IQ in patients with AD. [source] Gender ratios for reading difficultiesDYSLEXIA, Issue 3 2009Jesse L. Hawke Abstract The prevalence of reading difficulties is typically higher in males than females in both referred and research-identified samples, and the ratio of males to females is greater in more affected samples. To explore possible gender differences in reading performance, we analysed data from 1133 twin pairs in which at least one member of each pair had a school history of reading problems and from 684 twin pairs from a comparison sample with no reading difficulties. Although the difference between the average scores of males and females in these two samples was very small, the variance of reading performance was significantly greater for males in both groups. We suggest that a greater variance of reading performance measures in males may account at least in part for their higher prevalence of reading difficulties as well as for the higher gender ratios that are observed in more severely impaired samples. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Cross-linguistic transfer of phonological skills: a Malaysian perspectiveDYSLEXIA, Issue 1 2002Caroline Gomez Abstract This study examined the phonological and reading performance in English of Malaysian children whose home language was Bahasa Malaysia (BM). A sample of 69 Malaysian Standard Two pupils (aged 7,8 years) was selected for the study. Since commencing school at the age of 6 years, the children had been learning to read in BM and had subsequently also been learning to read in English for some 12 months. The study was part of a larger scale research programme that fully recognized the limitations of tests that had not been developed and standardized in Malaysia. Nevertheless, as a first step to developing such tests, a comparison with existing norms for the Phonological Assessment Battery (PhAB) and the Wechsler Objective Reading Dimension (WORD) was undertaken in relation to information about the children's L1 and L2 language competencies. Results showed that the children's performance on PhAB was at least comparable to the UK norms while, not surprisingly, they fared less well on WORD. The results are discussed in terms of L1 and L2 transfer, whereby the transparency of written BM and the structured way in which reading is taught in BM facilitates performance on phonological tasks in English. This has implications for identifying children with phonologically based reading difficulties. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Does whole-school reform boost student performance?JOURNAL OF POLICY ANALYSIS AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2005The case of New York City Thousands of schools around the country have implemented whole-school reform programs to boost student performance. This paper uses quasi-experimental methods to estimate the impact of whole-school reform on students' reading performance in New York City, where various reform programs were adopted in dozens of troubled elementary schools in the mid-1990s. This paper complements studies based on random assignment by examining a broad-based reform effort and explicitly accounting for implementation quality. Two popular reform programs,the School Development Program and Success for All,were not found to significantly increase reading scores but might have been if they had been fully implemented. The More Effective Schools program was found to boost reading scores, but this effect seems to disappear when the program "trainers" leave the school. © 2005 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management. [source] Family history, self-perceptions, attitudes and cognitive abilities are associated with early adolescent reading skillsJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 1 2006Elizabeth G. Conlon This study evaluated a model of reading skills among early adolescents (N=174). Measures of family history, achievement, cognitive processes and self-perceptions of abilities were obtained. Significant relationships were found between family history and children's single-word reading skills, spelling, reading comprehension, orthographic processing and children's perceived reading competence. While children with poor reading skills were five times more likely to come from a family with a history of reading difficulties, this measure did not account for additional variance in reading performance after other variables were included. Phonological, orthographic, rapid sequencing and children's perceived reading competence made significant independent contributions towards reading and spelling outcomes. Reading comprehension was explained by orthographic processing, nonverbal ability, children's attitudes towards reading and word identification. Thus, knowledge of family history and children's attitudes and perceptions towards reading provides important additional information when evaluating reading skills among a normative sample of early adolescents. [source] How Can We Improve the Accuracy of Screening Instruments?LEARNING DISABILITIES RESEARCH & PRACTICE, Issue 4 2009Evelyn S. Johnson Screening for early reading problems is a critical step in early intervention and prevention of later reading difficulties. Evaluative frameworks for determining the utility of a screening process are presented in the literature but have not been applied to many screening measures currently in use in numerous schools across the nation. In this study, the accuracy of several Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) subtests in predicting which students were at risk for reading failure in first grade was examined in a sample of 12,055 students in Florida. Findings indicate that the DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency, Initial Sound Fluency, and Phoneme Segmentation Fluency measures show poor diagnostic utility in predicting end of Grade 1 reading performance. DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency in fall of Grade 1 had higher classification accuracy than other DIBELS measures, but when compared to the classification accuracy obtained by assuming that no student had a disability, suggests the need to reevaluate the use of classification accuracy as a way to evaluate screening measures without discussion of base rates. Additionally, when cut scores on the screening tools were set to capture 90 percent of all students at risk for reading problems, a high number of false positives were identified. Finally, different cut scores were needed for different subgroups, such as English Language Learners. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [source] Oral and silent reading performance with macular degenerationOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 5 2000Jan E. Lovie-Kitchin Summary Previous studies have shown that reading rate for very large print (6°, 1.86 logMAR character size) is a strong predictor of oral reading rate with low vision devices (LVDs). We investigated whether this would apply using large print sizes more readily available in clinical situations (e.g. 2°, 1.4 logMAR), for subjects with macular degeneration. We assessed rauding rates,reading for understanding. A combination of near word visual acuity and large print reading rate (without LVDs) provided the best prediction of oral rauding rates (with LVDs). However, near word visual acuity alone was almost as good. Similarly, silent rauding rate was predicted best by near word visual acuity alone. We give near visual acuity limits as a clinical guide to expected oral and silent reading performance with LVDs for patients with macular degeneration. [source] The prevention science of reading research within a Response-to-Intervention modelPSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 1 2010Erica S. Lembke The purpose of this article is to describe research-based reading intervention within a Response-to-Intervention (RTI) model, using prevention science as a context. First, RTI is defined and a rationale is provided for its use in improving the reading performance of all students, particularly those students identified as at risk for reading-related learning disabilities. Next, reading risk is defined and discussed, including prevalence, antecedents, and how risk is assessed through universal screening and progress monitoring. Existing literature on the use of RTI models in reading is summarized, including small- and large-scale implementation studies. Finally, future research directions in the area of reading within an RTI model are discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Meta-analysis of the nonword reading deficit in specific reading disorderDYSLEXIA, Issue 3 2006Julia A. Herrmann Abstract A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate whether specific reading disorder (SRD) groups demonstrate a deficit in using phonological recoding strategies. Thirty-four studies were reviewed that had compared the nonword reading performances of SRD groups with reading-level matched (RL) control groups. The average nonword reading difference between groups across the total number of studies was moderate (d=0.65, N=2865). Three predictors of the size of group differences in nonword reading ability were identified. Studies that used passage reading tests to match groups for reading level found significantly less evidence for nonword reading deficits than studies that used word-level reading accuracy tests. Secondly, there was a significant positive relationship between group differences in intelligence level (SRD-RL control group) and effect sizes. Finally, group differences in age showed a significant negative association with effect magnitudes. The mean age, reading level and intelligence level of groups did not significantly predict nonword reading outcomes. It was concluded that there was evidence for nonword reading deficits in SRD groups, consistent with the claim that deficient development of phonological recoding strategies is a leading cause of reading difficulties. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||