Science of Reading Aligned RTI Frameworks
Here are 2 major takeaways from early ed research completed by the University of South Carolina and the MGH Institute of Health that I thought would be worth sharing¹:
Takeaway 1 - Simple View of Reading (SVR) formula variables should be taught simultaneously rather than sequentially, starting in kindergarten.
The SVR science of reading formula does not imply teaching decoding first and then language secondly. Instead, it should be taught simultaneously. Although the adage "learn to read; read to learn" is generally accurate, it shouldn’t be taken as pushing language comprehension development out after students learn to decode. In fact, these researchers are are calling on districts everywhere, starting in Kindergarten, to:
💡 Provide in-service PD that supplements the current focus on systematic phonics with comprehensive coursework addressing all the sub-components of language as expressed in Scarborough's Reading Rope. [good place to start]
💡 Build instructional time into the ELA block that makes regular time for language comprehension development. [read more about how this is done here]
Takeaway 2 - “RTI frameworks do not systematically measure these broader language skills.”¹
More often than not the Response to Intervention (RTI) Framework is designed to primarily measure and provide intervention for word reading. As a result, learners who are not diagnosed with the very common developmental language disorder (DLD) and are considered to have moderate language delays get overlooked. What stands in the way of remediating this? The publishers point out that it’s an implementation problem due to the complexity of language assessments that SLPs usually have to administer. Here’s a list of language comprehension models to research.
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Sources:
¹Adlof, S. M. & Hogan, T. P. (2019). "If We Don’t Look, We Won’t See: Measuring Language Development to Inform Literacy Instruction." Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 6(2), 210-217. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732219839075
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