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