Initial word reading skill interacted with imageability: the poorest readers needed nearly 4 more exposures for low-imageability words than stronger readers¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? For low imageability words, students beginning 2 SD below the mean in word reading required nearly 4 more exposures than students beginning 2 SD above the mean. → Steacy LM 2020

Evidence¶

Steacy LM 2020¶

Steacy LM, Fuchs D, Gilbert JK, Kearns DM, Elleman AM, Edwards AA. (2020). Sight Word Acquisition in First Grade Students At-Risk for Reading Disabilities: An Item-Level Exploration of the Number of Exposures Required for Mastery. Annals of Dyslexia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-020-00198-7

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Model 2 of the crossed-random effects analysis added interaction terms; the SWE × imageability interaction was significant (coefficient .001, p = .001 in Table 5). The interaction, plotted in Figure 1, shows very low-skill readers needed "nearly 4 more exposures" for low-imageability words than relatively good readers.

"Overall, the imageability interaction indicates that for low imageability words (words for which it is harder to conjure a mental image), students who begin the intervention with very low word reading skills (2 standard deviations below the mean) require nearly 4 more exposures to those words, on average, than students who begin the intervention with relatively good word reading skills (2 standard deviations above the mean)."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Decoding — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• At-risk first graders required an average of 5.65 exposures to master a high-frequency sight word in a daily timed reading activity — related
• Initial word reading skill was the only significant child-level predictor of exposures required for mastery — related
• Word length, vocabulary grade, and imageability significantly predicted the number of exposures required for sight word mastery — related
• Initial word reading skill interacted with vocabulary grade: the poorest readers required more than twice as many exposures for later-introduced words — related
• Child cognitive skills other than initial word reading (phonemic decoding, working memory, phonological awareness, rapid letter naming) did not significantly predict exposures to mastery — related