Federal accountability policy mandates that states administer standardized tests beginning in thi... more Federal accountability policy mandates that states administer standardized tests beginning in third grade. In turn, third-grade test scores are often viewed as a key indicator in policy and practice. Yet literacy struggles begin well before third grade, as do racial and socioeconomic disparities in children’s literacy skills. Kindergarten readiness assessments provide a unique opportunity to better understand the emergence of literacy disparities. We use unique kindergarten literacy data from nearly every school division in Virginia to document the relationship between children’s early literacy skills and their later reading proficiency. When comparing children with similar literacy skills at kindergarten entry, we find significant racial and socioeconomic differences in the likelihood that a child will be proficient on their third-grade reading assessment.
BackgroundRecent curriculum studies raise a number of questions concerning teachers’ implementati... more BackgroundRecent curriculum studies raise a number of questions concerning teachers’ implementation fidelity, including the extent to which fidelity to multiple curriculum components is achieved and measured and the extent to which fidelity serves as a mechanism for impacting children’s learning.ObjectiveWithin the context of a language and literacy curriculum supplement designed for use at scale, we investigated (1) teachers’ fidelity across the multiple dimensions identified in the literature (e.g., Dane and Schneider in Clin Psychol Rev 18(1):23–45, 1998) and interrelations among these dimensions and (2) associations between measures of fidelity and the language and literacy gains made by children.MethodWe examined the fidelity of 74 preschool teachers implementing Read It Again!. Multiple measures of adherence, exposure, quality of delivery, and participant responsiveness were collected across the year of implementation, and children’s (n = 295) language and literacy gains were directly measured.ResultsDescriptive statistics demonstrated generally high implementation fidelity across all dimensions. Correlational analyses showed few interrelations among fidelity measures and few associations with child gains.ConclusionsFindings suggest that teachers can exhibit fidelity to multi-componential language and literacy curricula designed for wide-scale use. Findings also support fidelity as a multidimensional construct and suggest that researchers utilize multiple measures to capture both within- and between-teacher variation in fidelity, while also pursuing additional studies to better understand the measurement and functioning of fidelity to inform future work.
International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2010
The primary aim of the present study was to explore the heterogeneity of emergent literacy skills... more The primary aim of the present study was to explore the heterogeneity of emergent literacy skills among preschool-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) through examination of profiles of performance. Fifty-nine children with SLI were assessed on a battery of emergent literacy skills (i.e., alphabet knowledge, print concepts, emergent writing, rhyme awareness) and oral language skills (i.e., receptive/expressive vocabulary and grammar). Cluster analysis techniques identified three emergent literacy profiles: (1) Highest Emergent Literacy, Strength in Alphabet Knowledge; (2) Average Emergent Literacy, Strength in Print Concepts; and (3) Lowest Emergent Literacy across Skills. After taking into account the contribution of child age, receptive and expressive language skills made a small contribution to the prediction of profile membership. The present findings, which may be characterized as exploratory given the relatively modest sample size, suggest that preschool-age children with SLI display substantial individual differences with regard to their emergent literacy skills and that these differences cannot be fully determined by children's age or oral language performance. Replication of the present findings with a larger sample of children is needed.
This article provides an overview of how response to intervention (RTI) may be used effectively w... more This article provides an overview of how response to intervention (RTI) may be used effectively within early childhood settings. Discussion is organized to address such issues regarding RTI implementation as (1) how to design and implement a high-quality Tier 1 learning environment that systematically improves children's language and literacy outcomes, (2) how to design and implement a high-quality Tier 2 supplemental learning intervention that systematically improves the language and literacy outcomes of children who are unresponsive to Tier 1, and (3) how to design and implement a comprehensive and cohesive assessment system that appropriately identifies children who show inadequate response to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 learning opportunities. A model for implementing RTI using the supplemental curriculum by Justice and McGinty, READ IT AGAIN-PREK! (2008), is presented. This tool was developed to meet the needs of early childhood programs as they seek to implement RIA in a cost-effective and scalable manner.
Page 1. Socio-emotional climate of storybook reading interactions for mothers and preschoolers wi... more Page 1. Socio-emotional climate of storybook reading interactions for mothers and preschoolers with language impairment Lori E. Skibbe Æ Amelia J. Moody Æ Laura M. Justice Æ Anita S. McGinty Published online: 18 October ...
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2010
Purpose This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of teachers' use of a print-r... more Purpose This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of teachers' use of a print-referencing style during whole-class read-alouds with respect to accelerating 4- and 5-year-old children’s print-knowledge development. It also examined 8 specific child- and setting-level moderators to determine whether these influenced the relation between teachers' use of a print-referencing style and children’s print-knowledge development. Method In this randomized controlled trial, 59 teachers were randomly assigned to 2 conditions. Teachers in the experimental group ( n = 31) integrated explicit references to specified print targets within each of 120 read-aloud sessions conducted in their classrooms over a 30-week period; comparison teachers ( n = 28) read the same set of book titles along the same schedule but read using their business-as-usual reading style. Children’s gains over the 30-week period on a composite measure of print knowledge were compared for a subset of childr...
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2010
Purpose The potential benefit that a low-cost scripted language and literacy supplemental curricu... more Purpose The potential benefit that a low-cost scripted language and literacy supplemental curriculum titled Read It Again! (RIA; L. M. Justice, A. S. McGinty, A. R. Beckman, & C. R. Kilday, 2006) may have on preschool-age children’s skills was explored. RIA was developed to meet the needs of preschool educators who may not have access to current commercially available high-cost language and literacy curricula, which often require ongoing intensive professional development. RIA involves implementing 60 large-group lessons over a 30-week period that feature repeated use of 15 commercial storybooks. Method Using a quasi-experimental pre–post research design, 11 preschool teachers implemented RIA in their classrooms for an academic year, and 9 teachers working in comparable preschool programs served as comparisons. Language and literacy measures were collected in the fall and spring of the year. Results Children whose teachers implemented RIA had higher scores in the spring on measures ...
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2009
Purpose The 2 studies reported in this manuscript collectively address 3 aims: (a) to characteriz... more Purpose The 2 studies reported in this manuscript collectively address 3 aims: (a) to characterize the name-writing abilities of preschool-age children with language impairment (LI), (b) to identify those emergent literacy skills that are concurrently associated with name-writing abilities, and (c) to compare the name-writing abilities of children with LI to those of their typical language (TL) peers. Method Fifty-nine preschool-age children with LI were administered a battery of emergent literacy and language assessments, including a task in which the children were asked to write their first names. A subset of these children ( n = 23) was then compared to a TL-matched sample to characterize performance differences. Results Results showed that the name-writing abilities of preschoolers with LI were associated with skills in alphabet knowledge and print concepts. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that only alphabet knowledge uniquely contributed to the variance in c...
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2011
Purpose This study evaluated the feasibility, efficacy, and social validity of a parent-implement... more Purpose This study evaluated the feasibility, efficacy, and social validity of a parent-implemented intervention for promoting print knowledge in preschoolers with language impairment. Method This trial involved 62 children and their parents. Each dyad completed a 12-week intervention program. Parents in the treatment group implemented print-focused reading sessions; parents in two comparison groups implemented sessions focused on either storybook pictures (picture-focused condition) or phonological concepts (sound-focused condition). Results Many parents completed the program successfully, but attrition was high; 23% of families dropped out of the program. Children who remained in the treatment group demonstrated significantly greater gains on 1 of 2 measures of print knowledge compared with those in the picture-focused condition but not the sound-focused condition. Parents generally reported favorable impressions of the program, although several aspects of the program received hig...
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2009
Purpose Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate delays in print knowled... more Purpose Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate delays in print knowledge, yet the reasons for these delays are not well understood. The present study investigates the degree to which developmental risk factors and home literacy experiences predict the print knowledge of children with SLI. Method Direct child measures, maternal reports, and observations from 41 mothers and their preschool-aged children with SLI assessed child language and attentional difficulties, family socioeconomic status, the frequency and quality of home literacy, and children’s print knowledge. Results Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that individual differences in children’s oral language abilities did not explain individual variability in print knowledge. The quality of home literacy was the only significant predictor of print knowledge, but its influence was moderated by children’s attentional difficulties. Conclusions Findings reveal that language difficulty is n...
Page 1. LITERACY BELIEFS AND PRACTICES SKIBBE, JUSTICE, ZUCKER, MCGINTY Relations Among Maternal ... more Page 1. LITERACY BELIEFS AND PRACTICES SKIBBE, JUSTICE, ZUCKER, MCGINTY Relations Among Maternal Literacy Beliefs, Home Literacy Practices, and the Emergent Literacy Skills of Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment ...
Federal accountability policy mandates that states administer standardized tests beginning in thi... more Federal accountability policy mandates that states administer standardized tests beginning in third grade. In turn, third-grade test scores are often viewed as a key indicator in policy and practice. Yet literacy struggles begin well before third grade, as do racial and socioeconomic disparities in children’s literacy skills. Kindergarten readiness assessments provide a unique opportunity to better understand the emergence of literacy disparities. We use unique kindergarten literacy data from nearly every school division in Virginia to document the relationship between children’s early literacy skills and their later reading proficiency. When comparing children with similar literacy skills at kindergarten entry, we find significant racial and socioeconomic differences in the likelihood that a child will be proficient on their third-grade reading assessment.
BackgroundRecent curriculum studies raise a number of questions concerning teachers’ implementati... more BackgroundRecent curriculum studies raise a number of questions concerning teachers’ implementation fidelity, including the extent to which fidelity to multiple curriculum components is achieved and measured and the extent to which fidelity serves as a mechanism for impacting children’s learning.ObjectiveWithin the context of a language and literacy curriculum supplement designed for use at scale, we investigated (1) teachers’ fidelity across the multiple dimensions identified in the literature (e.g., Dane and Schneider in Clin Psychol Rev 18(1):23–45, 1998) and interrelations among these dimensions and (2) associations between measures of fidelity and the language and literacy gains made by children.MethodWe examined the fidelity of 74 preschool teachers implementing Read It Again!. Multiple measures of adherence, exposure, quality of delivery, and participant responsiveness were collected across the year of implementation, and children’s (n = 295) language and literacy gains were directly measured.ResultsDescriptive statistics demonstrated generally high implementation fidelity across all dimensions. Correlational analyses showed few interrelations among fidelity measures and few associations with child gains.ConclusionsFindings suggest that teachers can exhibit fidelity to multi-componential language and literacy curricula designed for wide-scale use. Findings also support fidelity as a multidimensional construct and suggest that researchers utilize multiple measures to capture both within- and between-teacher variation in fidelity, while also pursuing additional studies to better understand the measurement and functioning of fidelity to inform future work.
International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2010
The primary aim of the present study was to explore the heterogeneity of emergent literacy skills... more The primary aim of the present study was to explore the heterogeneity of emergent literacy skills among preschool-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) through examination of profiles of performance. Fifty-nine children with SLI were assessed on a battery of emergent literacy skills (i.e., alphabet knowledge, print concepts, emergent writing, rhyme awareness) and oral language skills (i.e., receptive/expressive vocabulary and grammar). Cluster analysis techniques identified three emergent literacy profiles: (1) Highest Emergent Literacy, Strength in Alphabet Knowledge; (2) Average Emergent Literacy, Strength in Print Concepts; and (3) Lowest Emergent Literacy across Skills. After taking into account the contribution of child age, receptive and expressive language skills made a small contribution to the prediction of profile membership. The present findings, which may be characterized as exploratory given the relatively modest sample size, suggest that preschool-age children with SLI display substantial individual differences with regard to their emergent literacy skills and that these differences cannot be fully determined by children's age or oral language performance. Replication of the present findings with a larger sample of children is needed.
This article provides an overview of how response to intervention (RTI) may be used effectively w... more This article provides an overview of how response to intervention (RTI) may be used effectively within early childhood settings. Discussion is organized to address such issues regarding RTI implementation as (1) how to design and implement a high-quality Tier 1 learning environment that systematically improves children's language and literacy outcomes, (2) how to design and implement a high-quality Tier 2 supplemental learning intervention that systematically improves the language and literacy outcomes of children who are unresponsive to Tier 1, and (3) how to design and implement a comprehensive and cohesive assessment system that appropriately identifies children who show inadequate response to the Tier 1 and Tier 2 learning opportunities. A model for implementing RTI using the supplemental curriculum by Justice and McGinty, READ IT AGAIN-PREK! (2008), is presented. This tool was developed to meet the needs of early childhood programs as they seek to implement RIA in a cost-effective and scalable manner.
Page 1. Socio-emotional climate of storybook reading interactions for mothers and preschoolers wi... more Page 1. Socio-emotional climate of storybook reading interactions for mothers and preschoolers with language impairment Lori E. Skibbe Æ Amelia J. Moody Æ Laura M. Justice Æ Anita S. McGinty Published online: 18 October ...
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2010
Purpose This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of teachers' use of a print-r... more Purpose This study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of teachers' use of a print-referencing style during whole-class read-alouds with respect to accelerating 4- and 5-year-old children’s print-knowledge development. It also examined 8 specific child- and setting-level moderators to determine whether these influenced the relation between teachers' use of a print-referencing style and children’s print-knowledge development. Method In this randomized controlled trial, 59 teachers were randomly assigned to 2 conditions. Teachers in the experimental group ( n = 31) integrated explicit references to specified print targets within each of 120 read-aloud sessions conducted in their classrooms over a 30-week period; comparison teachers ( n = 28) read the same set of book titles along the same schedule but read using their business-as-usual reading style. Children’s gains over the 30-week period on a composite measure of print knowledge were compared for a subset of childr...
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2010
Purpose The potential benefit that a low-cost scripted language and literacy supplemental curricu... more Purpose The potential benefit that a low-cost scripted language and literacy supplemental curriculum titled Read It Again! (RIA; L. M. Justice, A. S. McGinty, A. R. Beckman, & C. R. Kilday, 2006) may have on preschool-age children’s skills was explored. RIA was developed to meet the needs of preschool educators who may not have access to current commercially available high-cost language and literacy curricula, which often require ongoing intensive professional development. RIA involves implementing 60 large-group lessons over a 30-week period that feature repeated use of 15 commercial storybooks. Method Using a quasi-experimental pre–post research design, 11 preschool teachers implemented RIA in their classrooms for an academic year, and 9 teachers working in comparable preschool programs served as comparisons. Language and literacy measures were collected in the fall and spring of the year. Results Children whose teachers implemented RIA had higher scores in the spring on measures ...
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 2009
Purpose The 2 studies reported in this manuscript collectively address 3 aims: (a) to characteriz... more Purpose The 2 studies reported in this manuscript collectively address 3 aims: (a) to characterize the name-writing abilities of preschool-age children with language impairment (LI), (b) to identify those emergent literacy skills that are concurrently associated with name-writing abilities, and (c) to compare the name-writing abilities of children with LI to those of their typical language (TL) peers. Method Fifty-nine preschool-age children with LI were administered a battery of emergent literacy and language assessments, including a task in which the children were asked to write their first names. A subset of these children ( n = 23) was then compared to a TL-matched sample to characterize performance differences. Results Results showed that the name-writing abilities of preschoolers with LI were associated with skills in alphabet knowledge and print concepts. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that only alphabet knowledge uniquely contributed to the variance in c...
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2011
Purpose This study evaluated the feasibility, efficacy, and social validity of a parent-implement... more Purpose This study evaluated the feasibility, efficacy, and social validity of a parent-implemented intervention for promoting print knowledge in preschoolers with language impairment. Method This trial involved 62 children and their parents. Each dyad completed a 12-week intervention program. Parents in the treatment group implemented print-focused reading sessions; parents in two comparison groups implemented sessions focused on either storybook pictures (picture-focused condition) or phonological concepts (sound-focused condition). Results Many parents completed the program successfully, but attrition was high; 23% of families dropped out of the program. Children who remained in the treatment group demonstrated significantly greater gains on 1 of 2 measures of print knowledge compared with those in the picture-focused condition but not the sound-focused condition. Parents generally reported favorable impressions of the program, although several aspects of the program received hig...
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2009
Purpose Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate delays in print knowled... more Purpose Many children with specific language impairment (SLI) demonstrate delays in print knowledge, yet the reasons for these delays are not well understood. The present study investigates the degree to which developmental risk factors and home literacy experiences predict the print knowledge of children with SLI. Method Direct child measures, maternal reports, and observations from 41 mothers and their preschool-aged children with SLI assessed child language and attentional difficulties, family socioeconomic status, the frequency and quality of home literacy, and children’s print knowledge. Results Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that individual differences in children’s oral language abilities did not explain individual variability in print knowledge. The quality of home literacy was the only significant predictor of print knowledge, but its influence was moderated by children’s attentional difficulties. Conclusions Findings reveal that language difficulty is n...
Page 1. LITERACY BELIEFS AND PRACTICES SKIBBE, JUSTICE, ZUCKER, MCGINTY Relations Among Maternal ... more Page 1. LITERACY BELIEFS AND PRACTICES SKIBBE, JUSTICE, ZUCKER, MCGINTY Relations Among Maternal Literacy Beliefs, Home Literacy Practices, and the Emergent Literacy Skills of Preschoolers With Specific Language Impairment ...
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