Reading Difficulties Assessment and Prevention

Nov 11, 2024

Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties

Introduction

  • Presented by: David Kilpatrick
  • Sponsored by Exceptional Student Services Unit
  • Collaboration with SLD specialists: Jill Marshall & Veronica Fiedler
  • Vision: All Colorado students become educated citizens
  • Mission: Prepare students for success with leadership, service, and support

Lecture Overview

  • Part of a 13-module series
  • Focus on assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading difficulties
  • Module 9 covers "Assessing Reading Comprehension and Related Skills"

Module 9: Reading Comprehension

Session 1: Reading Comprehension Tests

  • Purpose: Evaluate reading comprehension and interpret within reading skill profile
  • Simple View of Reading: Reading comprehension = word level reading skills + language comprehension skills
  • Assessment Methods:
    • Classic reading comprehension tests
    • Silent/oral reading followed by questions
    • Multiple choice questions, pointing response, acting out instructions
    • Cloze procedure (fill in the blank)
    • Timed sentence reading with comprehension questions
    • Story retell
    • Length of passages affects correlation with skills

Reading Difficulties

  • Dyslexia: Poor word-level reading, good language comprehension
  • Hyperlexia: Good word-level reading, poor oral language
  • Combined Type: Problems with both word-level reading and language comprehension
  • English learners often exhibit hyperlexic or combined patterns

Test Formats and Outcomes

  • Diverse formats lead to different outcomes
  • Correlations for word reading tests: 0.78 to 0.92
  • Reading comprehension tests have lower correlations: 0.3 to 0.7
  • Interactions among word reading, language comprehension, passage length
  • Use multiple formats for reliable assessment

Best Practices

  • Use multiple reading comprehension tests
  • Incorporate word reading and language comprehension assessments
  • Adjust assessments for format-specific reliability

Session 2: Language Comprehension and Related Tests

  • Explore language skills affecting reading comprehension
  • Language comprehension, like vocabulary, is crucial
  • Key Skills:
    • Vocabulary knowledge
    • Grammar and syntax
    • Background knowledge
    • Mental model construction
    • Inferencing
    • Working memory
    • Attention
    • Comprehension monitoring

Language Comprehension Skills

  • Vocabulary: Beyond definitions, includes idiomatic expressions
  • Grammar & Syntax: Rarely a standalone issue
  • Background Knowledge: General and specific
  • Mental Model: Framework for interpreting text
  • Working Memory: Temporary information store
  • Attention: Essential for comprehension
  • Inferencing: Necessary for understanding
  • Comprehension Monitoring: Awareness of understanding

Challenges with English Learners

  • Often show hyperlexic patterns
  • Interplay between language learning and comprehension difficulties
  • May require collaboration between educators and language specialists

Summary

  • Reading comprehension assessments should consider format, word reading, and language skills
  • Language comprehension difficulties can explain reading problems
  • Assess language skills alongside reading comprehension for targeted interventions

Conclusion

  • Understanding of language skills helps target interventions
  • Next module (10): Evidence for the prevention of reading difficulties