Darlene Pany

Effects on poor readers' comprehension of training in rapid decoding

comprehension of increasing the decoding speed of poor readers. In the first experiment, poor readers were trained to read a list of words as rapidly as good readers, and then were asked to read a passage comprised of the practiced words. Decoding speed measures on the word list and passage and comprehension measures were obtained. The performance of the trained poor readers was compared to their performance on an equivalent untrained passage and to the performance of good readers. The second experiment was essentially a replication of the first, with the addition of a training condition which emphasized rapid phrase reading. The results of both experiments indicated that decoding training, whether focusing on isolated words or on phrases, significantly increased the decoding speed of single words. However, it did not improve comprehension performance. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to a decoding sufficiency hypothesis.

Standardized Achievement Tests: How Useful for Special Education?

The extent and direction of curriculum bias in standardized reading achievement tests are examined. Bias was estimated by comparing the relative overlap in the contents of four separate reading achievement tests with the contents of five commercial reading series at first and second grade levels. Overlap between each achievement test and each reading series is reported in terms of achievement test grade equivalent scores that would be expected given mastery of the words that appear both as content in a reading series and as achievement test items. Results indicate clear discrepancies between the grade equivalent scores obtained, both between tests for a single curriculum and on a single test for different reading curricula. The implications of the apparent curriculum bias of achievement tests are discussed as they relate to evaluation of teachers, children, and curricula; to reading placement; and to the identification and classification of exceptional children.

Vocabulary Instruction: Effects on Word Knowledge and Reading Comprehension.

Three experiments were conducted to assess the effects of vocabulary instruction on word knowledge and reading comprehension. Treatments varied in the amount of direct instruction, ranging from meaning derivation from context to drill on synonyms. In Experiment 1, subjects were “average” fourth-grade readers, whereas subjects in Experiments 2 and 3 were learning disabled and remedial readers. Results of Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that the treatments were differentially effective in teaching synonyms for unfamiliar words. More meanings were acquired as a result of increased direct instruction. Average students learned some word synonyms under all conditions except a noninstructional control condition. However, learning disabled students acquired fewer meanings across all conditions and seemed to require more direct instruction in order to produce learning. In both experiments, procedures which were differentially effective in teaching synonyms also produced differential transfer to sentence comprehension. The third experiment examined the effect of vocabulary instruction on comprehension of connected discourse. Again, vocabulary training transferred to comprehension of single sentences; however, on two of three measures of passage comprehension no effects were observed that were attributable to vocabulary instruction.

Curriculum Biases in Reading Achievement Tests.

The extent and direction of curriculum bias in standardized reading achievement tests are examined. Bias is estimated by comparing the relative overlap in the contents of five separate reading achievement tests with the content of seven commercial reading series at first and second grade levels. Overlap between each achievement test and each reading series is reported in terms of achievement test grade equivalent scores that would be expected given mastery of the words which appear both as content in a reading series and as achievement test items. Results indicate clear discrepancies between the grade equivalent scores obtained both between tests for a single curriculum and on a single test for different reading curricula. The implications of the apparent curriculum bias of achievement tests are discussed as they relate to teacher, child, and curriculum evaluation, to reading replacement, and to applied educational research.

Learning Word Meanings: A Comparison of Instructional Procedures.

While a considerable amount of research has been conducted on learning disabled populations to determine their ability to decode and learn words in isolation, limited research has addressed the reading comprehension of LD populations. Pany and Jenkins compared the effects of three instructional strategies on reading comprehension. Specifically, the study measured recall of word meanings and recall of facts from a story. The authors discuss the implications of their findings for remedial reading instruction.

Effects of Corrective Feedback on Word Accuracy and Reading Comprehension of Readers with Learning Disabilities

This study examined reading comprehension and word recognition effects of corrective feedback during oral reading on the performance of readers with learning disabilities. In a repeated measures design, students with learning disabilities read under three treatment conditions: corrective feedback on every oral reading error, correction on meaning change errors only, and no feedback regardless of errors. Corrective feedback on oral reading errors had a significant positive effect on both word recognition accuracy and reading comprehension. Results are discussed in relation to theory and practice.