Brandy Gatlin

Relations Among Children's Use of Dialect and Literacy Skills: A Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE The current meta-analysis examines recent empirical research studies that have investigated relations among dialect use and the development and achievement of reading, spelling, and writing skills. METHOD Studies published between 1998 and 2014 were selected if they: (a) included participants who were in Grades K-6 and were typically developing native English speakers, (b) examined a concurrent quantitative relationship between dialect use and literacy, including reading, spelling, or writing measures, and (c) contained sufficient information to calculate effect size estimates. RESULTS Upon the removal of one study that was found to be an outlier, the full sample included 19 studies consisting of 1,947 participants, of which the majority (70%) were African American. The results showed a negative and moderate relationship between dialect use and overall literacy performance (M effect size = -0.33) and for dialect and reading (M effect size = -0.32). For spelling and writing, the relationship was negative and small (M effect size = -0.22). Moderator analyses revealed that socioeconomic status and grade level were not significant predictors for relations among dialect use and literacy skills. CONCLUSIONS Implications for practice and future research, including analyzing dialect use in a variety of contexts and examining these relations to literacy outcomes, are discussed.

Theorization and an Empirical Investigation of the Component-Based and Developmental Text Writing Fluency Construct.

We discuss a component-based, developmental view of text writing fluency, which we tested using data from children in Grades 2 and 3. Text writing fluency was defined as efficiency and automaticity in writing connected texts, which acts as a mediator between text generation (oral language), transcription skills, and writing quality. We hypothesized that in the beginning phase, text writing fluency would be largely constrained by transcription skills (spelling and handwriting), while at a later phase, oral language would make an independent contribution to text writing fluency. Furthermore, we hypothesized that text writing fluency would have a stronger relationship with writing quality at a later phase than at an earlier phase. We operationalized text writing fluency using two curriculum-based measurement writing scores: percentage correct word sequences and correct minus incorrect word sequences. Results revealed that in Grade 2, only transcription skills were uniquely related to text writing fluency, whereas in Grade 3, oral language was also related to text writing fluency. Text writing fluency was weakly related to writing quality in Grade 2 but strongly related to writing quality in Grade 3, over and above oral language and transcription skills. In both grades, oral language and handwriting fluency were independently related to writing quality. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Writing Evaluation: Rater and Task Effects on the Reliability of Writing Scores for Children in Grades 3 and 4.

Abstract We examined how raters and tasks influence measurement error in writing evaluation and how many raters and tasks are needed to reach a desirable level of .90 and .80 reliabilities for children in Grades 3 and 4. A total of 211 children (102 boys) were administered three tasks in narrative and expository genres, respectively, and their written compositions were evaluated in widely used evaluation methods for developing writers: holistic scoring, productivity, and curriculum-based writing scores. Results showed that 54 and 52% of variance in narrative and expository compositions were attributable to true individual differences in writing. Students’ scores varied largely by tasks (30.44 and 28.61% of variance), but not by raters. To reach the reliability of .90, multiple tasks and raters were needed, and for the reliability of .80, a single rater and multiple tasks were needed. These findings offer important implications about reliably evaluating children’s writing skills, given that writing is typically evaluated by a single task and a single rater in classrooms and even in some state accountability systems.

The Impact of Transcription Writing Interventions for First-Grade Students

ABSTRACT We examined the effects of transcription instruction for students in 1st grade. We selected students in the lowest 70% of the participating schools for the study. We randomly assigned these 81 students to (a) spelling instruction, (b) handwriting instruction, (c) combination spelling and handwriting instruction, or (d) no intervention. Interventionists provided intervention in small groups of 4 students, 25 min a day, 4 days a week for 8 weeks. Students in the spelling condition outperformed the control group on spelling measures, with moderate effect sizes noted for curriculum-based writing measures (e.g., correct word sequences; gs = 0.34–0.68). Students in the handwriting condition outperformed the control group on correct word sequences, with small to moderate effects on other handwriting and writing measures (gs = 0.31–0.71). Students in the combined condition outperformed the control group on correct word sequences, with a small effect on total words written (gs = 0.39–0.84).

An Examination of Kindergarten Oral Language for African American Students: Are There Meaningful Differences in Comparison to Peers?

Understanding differences in oral language abilities is vital, particularly for children from low-income homes and minority children who are at an increased risk for academic failure because of differences or deficits in language use or exposure before they enter school. The purpose of this study was to investigate oral language performance, including receptive and expressive vocabulary, grammar, and sentence imitation, among a diverse group of kindergarten students (n = 503). Using hierarchical linear modeling, we examined the contributions of student race (African American or non–African American), student socioeconomic status (SES), and school-wide SES to oral language performance. In separate analyses, we found significant absolute effects of both race and individual SES. However, when analyzed simultaneously, only race was a significant predictor for all measures. We also found that both identification as African American and school-wide SES were significant predictors of oral language performance. We discuss implications for practice and future research.

Implementation of Tier 2 Reading Interventions in the Primary Grades

There is strong research evidence and a clear convergence of findings that providing Tier 2 interventions for students with reading difficulties in the primary grades is an effective practice. In this chapter, the current research and practice for implementing Tier 2 interventions are examined. First, the research-based recommendations for implementation of Tier 2 intervention at the early elementary level are reviewed. Both content and delivery aspects of intervention implementation are investigated. Then, survey and observational data regarding current implementation of Tier 2 interventions in practice and the extent to which current practice aligns with the research base are examined. Finally, a study of a hybrid Tier 1 and 2 intervention and its effects on the early literacy outcomes of kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties are presented. Implications and direction for future research on the implementation of Tier 2 interventions are discussed.

Elementary Students' Use of Dialect and Reading Achievement: Examining Students with Disabilities.

Nonmainstream American English, or dialect, among children may have important implications for reading research and practice. However, much of the research involving relations between dialect and literacy has analyzed dialect use in only one context and has omitted students with speech, language, and learning disabilities. Consequently, we examined dialect use in an oral narrative and two writing samples in relation to concurrent and longitudinal reading outcomes in a diverse sample of students, including those with diagnosed disabilities. Overall, most students used features of dialect in oral and written language. Dialect use was significantly and negatively predictive of reading outcomes the same year and 2 years later. Moderator analyses indicated a similar relationship between dialect use and reading for students with speech, language, and learning disabilities, suggesting that students with these disabilities who also use dialect may be at increased risk for reading difficulties. Implications for practice and future research are provided.