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Science of Adolescent Reading

Doug Fisher

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The Opportunity Makers

How a Diverse Group of Public Schools Helps Students Catch Up — and How Far More Can

Read the Report:

tntp.org/publications

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Most students who fall behind stay behind.

In roughly half of the nation’s public elementary and middle schools, the average student is not yet proficient in math and reading/language arts for their grade level.

With the right support and hard work, we know it’s possible for young people to catch back up and learn on grade level. But how often does that happen?

To find out, we reviewed a decade of student learning data (from 2008-18) from public schools (both traditional public and charter schools) serving elementary and middle school students across the U.S.

Unfortunately, our analysis shows that most students who fall behind stay behind. Out of the nearly 28,000 elementary and middle schools nationwide where the average student was not yet on grade level, just five percent of schools helped the average student catch gain more than 1.3 years of learning per school year. Catching up is all too rare.

If we don’t transform student learning outcomes at scale, millions of young people may never catch up academically. Without a strong academic foundation, they will be less equipped to pursue chosen careers, achieve financial security, and thrive in life. This not only shortchanges individual young people; it also weakens our workforce, our communities, and our nation. For the good of the next generation, we must systematically accelerate student learning in thousands of schools nationwide. �

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We can learn from the schools where students consistently catch up.

Trajectory-Changing Schools:

Schools where the average student was not yet on grade level �and grew more than 1.3 relative grade levels each year, �based on the Stanford Education Data Archive (2008-09 to 2017-18).

Two years ago, we set out to learn from real schools that were helping young people catch up.

To identify trajectory-changing schools to study, we used the Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA 4.1). SEDA combines state testing data with the National Assessment of Educational Progress to compare scores from state tests on a common national scale. It provides test scores from 2008-09 through 2017-18 in reading and math. It captures grades 3-8, so we focused our studies on elementary and middle schools.

We defined "trajectory-changing" schools as schools where the average student was not yet on grade level in the initial tested grade and students grew at least 1.3 relative grade levels per year.

This rare group of schools is changing students’ academic trajectories. We can learn from what's going right.

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In three years, students gain a full extra year of learning.

What does it mean to average 1.3 years learning, year over year, for a decade? It means that a student who starts third grade a year behind in math is on grade level by sixth – a potentially life-changing difference. We call these schools these schools “trajectory-changing” because that’s exactly what they do for students.

We defined "trajectory-changing" schools as schools where the average student was not yet on grade level in the initial tested grade and students grew at least 1.3 relative grade levels per year. This threshold, while somewhat arbitrary, is also practical. Setting the bar at 1.3 relative grade levels per year pulls the top five percent of public elementary and middle schools in SEDA. At this growth rate, compounded over several years, most students who are behind in elementary and middle school can reach grade-level proficiency during their time in school.

For the last decade, students in these schools gained more than 1.3 years of learning each school year. Growing at this rate allows most students to catch up during their time in school. In three years, students gain a full extra year of learning. A student who starts third grade one year behind in math is on grade level by sixth grade—a potentially life-changing difference.

Critically, these trajectory-changing schools have bucked the national trend for a decade. Student academic growth was consistent across different demographic groups and consistent over time. Because their trends are long-term, this isn’t about a single heroic leader or group of self-sacrificing teachers. It’s not the result of a one-time investment or a one-off initiative. This isn’t a silver bullet story.

Instead, trajectory-changing schools show us a long arc of sustained improvement by helping students gain 1.3 years or more of learning, year after year. These schools have found a way to sustain progress despite changes in leadership and the education landscape. Clearly, there must be durable systems, practices, and daily habits that can create exceptional levels of learning for all young people.

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Trajectory-changing schools �do three things well.

Coherence

Schools build a unified instructional program and set priorities that are clear to all.

Belonging

Schools create an emotional climate for learning that activates students' ability to excel.

Consistency

Schools deliver consistently good teaching and grade-level content for all students.

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Coherent

Instructional Program

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The original rope was developed by Scarborough. She was not actually a teacher, but she was a researcher. As Scarborough (2002) noted, there are strands that are each important and are represented within the two major skill bundles of language comprehension and word recognition. Each of these bundles need to be developed in a systematic way, and each of these two bundles are equally important.

The goal is to support our students becoming skilled readers. The strands within each bundle are intertwined to illustrate the increasing consolidation of skills. Each bundle needs to be developed and they are equally importantly. The reading rope should not be misinterpreted as either a curriculum or an instructional framework. Rather, it is a visual metaphor to represent the theoretical research on reading.

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“Being strong on the lower strands affords more opportunities to acquire knowledge of the upper strands and being strong on the upper strands has been shown to enable faster and more accurate decoding of unfamiliar words.

Therefore, if any of the strands gets frayed, it can hold back development of the other strands and by extension can eventually weaken the entire rope.”

Scarborough, 2020

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What about Older Readers? �Do we have a model?

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The Reading Circuit

A model of reading instruction for older readers

bit.ly/PT_adolit

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<-0.3. -0.1 0.1 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1

Self-Efficacy

R=3

0.64

Hattie, J. (2023). Visible learning: The sequel. A synthesis of over 2100 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge.

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Self-efficacy is a personal judgement about “how well one can execute courses of action required to deal with prospective situations.”

Bandura, 1982

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When students experience academic success, they’re more likely to engage in behaviors that led to that success.

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Wang et al., 2019

Comprehension strategies won’t work

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Sight

Words

Words recognized instantly and effortlessly when seen

High frequency words

Words

appearing

often

in texts

Sight Word and High Frequency Words

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Eventually all words that readers immediately recognize are added to the category of sight words. (Erhi, 2005)

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Orthographic Mapping

• Connection between letters and sounds of the word

• Recognition of the pronunciation of the word

• Connection to the meaning of the word

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in – dus – tri – a – li – za – tion

Flexible Word Chunking

Identifying affixes
Segmenting word parts / syllables
Adjusting vowel sounds

Activity Flexible Word Chunking

Decoding multisyllabic words can be challenging, but using a flexible approach can support word recognition and pronunciation (Archer et al., 2003). Flexibility means that we are open to trying different strategies for breaking the word up, and for pronouncing word parts until we find what works best for a particular word.

Choose a word or two from the text being read in class that is a longer word that students might have a difficult time reading. Then ask students for ideas on how to break apart the word to read the word. One word might involve using several strategies. Here are several strategies students can choose from:

1. Identifying Affixes: Choose a word from the text that contains affixes (prefixes and suffixes). Ask students to identify these affixes by circling them before reading the whole word.

Example: In a biology class students read about cell membranes and how substances move in and out of cells through permeable membranes. By recognizing the prefix “per—” and the suffix “—able,” students can chunk the word as “per-me-able.” We will delve deeper into affixes and how they also provide clues to the meaning of words in the next chapter.

2. Segmenting Word Parts: Encourage students to first look through the whole word then look for

recognizable parts within the word. Display the word separated into parts or syllables that make reading

the word more manageable.

Example: When discussing the transition from agrarian to industrial economies in social studies, students might struggle with words like “agrarian” and “industrialization.” Displaying these words as shown in Figure --,, can help students pronounce each syllable. It is important to note that pronunciation may vary depending on word form or context, so flexibility is key. For example, in the word industrialization, the third syllable, “tri” could be pronounced differently depending on the word. Tri as in triathlon is pronounced differently from tri (pronounced tree) in industrialization.

The reason we need be flexible is because while there are patterns that can be explicitly taught, as students move up through the grade levels, and words contain more syllables and parts, the consistency of the patterns is less reliable (Kerns, 2020).

3. Adjusting Vowel Sounds: Underline vowels or vowel teams in the word and demonstrate how we can be flexible in our pronunciation of the vowel sound.

Example: In a high school health class learning about disease patterns and how outbreaks of infectious diseases are investigated, the teacher identified the word epidemiology as a word students might struggle immediately recognizing and reading automatically. The teacher wrote epidemiology on the board and underlined all the vowels. Students were reminded that they had to be flexible in the pronunciation of the vowel sounds. This helps students slow down and attend to each part of the word.

We need to explicitly tell students to use this decoding strategies when they encounter words. It seems intuitive that a strategy taught, students would use. But students don’t often know they are suppose to generalize the strategies they are taught when they are working to decode a word (Vaughn et al., 2000). Students need to be given numerous opportunities practicing chunking multisyllabic words and using a mixture of these strategies to decode the word. Also, there is always an opportunity to identify related words. So when a student learns to read epidemiology, they also see the connection with epidemiologic, epidemiologist, and epidemiologically.

Tri with flexible vowel sounds

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Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Teacher models the text selection. (2 min.) Students read the same section of the text in a whisper voice as the teacher walks around to listen (3 min.) Students engage in a Partner-Share “What is this text mainly about?” (3 min.) Students are chosen at random (after the partner-share opportunity) to summarize the main point of the text. (2 minutes)	Teacher uses the choral reading strategy on a selection of the text. (2 min.) Students read the same section of the text in a whisper voice as the teacher walks around to listen (3 min.) Teacher poses a text-dependent question, and partners discuss. (3 min.) Students are chosen at random (after the partner-share opportunity) to respond to the question. (2 minutes)	Teacher uses the choral reading strategy on a selection of the text. (2 min.) Students read the same section of the text in a whisper voice as the teacher walks around to listen (3 min.) Teacher asks a question that requires inferential thinking. Partners discuss. (3 min.) Students are chosen at random (after the partner-share opportunity) to respond to the question. (2 minutes)	Partner A reads to Partner B. Partner B gives feedback based on accuracy of words and expression (3 min.) Partner B reads to Partner A. Partner A gives feedback based on accuracy of words and expression (3 min.) Writing - Response to text-dependent questions. (4 min)	Students read the same section of the text in a whisper voice as the teacher walks around to listen (3 min.) Students develop questions based on the text. (2 min.) Writing - Students choose one of the questions that were developed and independently craft a written response (5 min.)

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Vocabulary knowledge is a strong predictor of listening and reading comprehension.

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We don’t learn words,

we learn concepts.

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Words are the

labels for those concepts.

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Subitizing

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Evidence-based vocabulary instruction leverages incidental and explicit word learning.

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Why Sentence Analysis?

Improves comprehension: Research indicates that analyzing sentence structures enhances understanding of complex texts.

Supports struggling readers: Sentence-level interventions are particularly effective for students with uneven reading profiles (Lovett et al., 2022).

Bridges the gap between word recognition and text comprehension: Sentence analysis connects smaller units of meaning (words) to larger ideas in texts.

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Syntax matters.

Insert the word “only” anywhere in the following sentence:

She told him that she loved him.

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Syntax matters.

Insert the word “only” anywhere in the following sentence:

She only told him that she loved him.

She told only him that she loved him.

She told him only that she loved him.

She told him that only she loved him.

She told him that she only loved him.

She told him that she loved only him.

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Generative Sentence challenges	Kylie wrote the following generative sentences
Write a sentence that is at least 10 words in length with the word inadequate in the ninth position.	The response of the military was heroic but inadequate, so the city burned.
Write a sentence that is between seven and nine words in length with the word catastrophe in the ending position.	Newspapers across the country called it a catastrophe.
Use the word genuine in a sentence that has a dependent clause.	After the earthquake, the people had genuine concerns about going back into buildings.
Write a sentence with the word evaluated and include a parenthetical expression.	Experts evaluated the disaster and made many improvements to the building code (no more wood structures, stronger materials.)

San Francisco Earthquake Disaster of 1906

Image Source: ScienceDirect

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Do I understand this part of the text?

Yes

No

Keep reading

Reading Self-Monitoring Decision Flow Chart

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Do I understand this part of the text?

Yes

Let me think about why I am having difficulty understanding the text.

No

Yes

I’m not sure.

That happens.

How can I refocus?

• Box breathe

• Drink water

• Stretch

• Remove distractions

I can re-read the section and continue to check for understanding after each section.

Think. What is it about this text that is making it tricky for for me understand?

Keep reading

Was I distracted?

Do I need a more background knowledge about the topic? Yes. Review the title, headings, and images. Do a quick internet search on the topic to read about the basics.

Are there a lot of vocabulary words I don’t know? Yes. Use the inside-outside the word strategy for the terms that seem important.

The sentences are long or complicated? Yes. Break down longer sentences into smaller parts. Find the subject then the verb of the sentence.

Choose a strategy:

• Create a mind map.

• Use the Juicy Sentences Protocol. • Ask questions as you read.

• Re-read. • Find 3 key words for the section and then summarize.

Reading Self-Monitoring Decision Flow Chart

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Juicy Sentences

Fillmore and Fillmore (n.d.)

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Under the microscope, a cell looks a lot like a fried egg: It has a white (the cytoplasm) that’s full of water and proteins to keep it fed, and a yolk (the nucleus) that holds all the genetic information that makes you you.

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Under the microscope, a cell looks a lot like a fried egg: It has a white (the cytoplasm) that’s full of water and proteins to keep it fed, and a yolk (the nucleus) that holds all the genetic information that makes you you.

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Under the microscope	What is under a microscope?
a cell looks a lot like a fried egg	How does it look like a fried egg?
It has a white (the cytoplasm) that’s full of water and proteins to keep it fed	What does it feed on? What is the “it” referring to?
and a yolk (the nucleus) that holds all the genetic information that makes you you.	What is genetic information?

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What is Verbal Reasoning?

Definition: The ability to process, analyze, and make sense of textual information logically and critically.

Core Components:

Making inferences
Connecting ideas
Evaluating arguments

Research: Verbal reasoning supports deeper comprehension and problem-solving across disciplines (Alexander & Fox, 2011).

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Metaphors
Referents
Tone and mood
Author’s voice
Forward and backward inferences

Verbal reasoning includes

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We use verbal reasoning to understand what happened in an across sentences.

Cornwell, J. (2019). Jabari jumps. Scholastic.

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The referent his is used twice in the same sentence.
But is a contrastive. If you take it out, there’s no longer a reason to question how he’s feeling.

“Looks easy,” Jabari said. But when his dad squeezed his hand, Jabari squeezed back.

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Backward inference:

Will it be easy or hard for Jabari when he does jump?

“Looks easy,” Jabari said. But when his dad squeezed his hand, Jabari squeezed back.

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Knowledge eats reading ability for lunch.

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The Baseball Study

High reading ability High knowledge of baseball	High reading ability Low knowledge of baseball
Low reading ability High knowledge of baseball	Low reading ability Low knowledge of baseball

(Recht & Leslie, 1988)

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Measure of Comprehension

high reading ability & high knowledge

low reading ability & high knowledge

high reading ability & low knowledge

low reading ability & low knowledge

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

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Tyner and Kabourek (2021)

“An additional 30 minutes of social studies instruction per day was associated with a 15 percent of a standard deviation increase in reading ability over other students.”

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Thank you!