By Ruthie Swibel

Calling all research nerds (although perhaps the term, “intellectual bada** is more fitting) who might not have time to scour the pages of scholarly journals. The recently published article, Forty Years of Reading Intervention for Students with or at Risk for Dyslexia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Hall et al, 2022) provides some helpful takeaways for everyone who cares about literacy. While the students studied were all diagnosed with dyslexia or classified as “at risk” for dyslexia, the findings are relevant for teaching literacy skills to all children. The difference between teaching a struggling reader and a typical reader tends to be in the amount of time, repetitions, and amount of practice needed. This systematic review of reading interventions over the past 40 years suggests that:

1. Instruction in spelling matters! In fact, instruction in spelling has a greater impact on reading outcomes than the reverse. Struggling readers who receive intervention that includes systematic, explicit spelling instruction in addition to word reading instruction show better outcomes in spelling and reading than students who only receive intervention focused on reading. What does this mean for day-to-day instruction? Always start with spelling if you can and save word reading for after. It will improve phonemic awareness, spelling, and reading. If you run out of instructional time, you will have covered one of the most important areas. Ideally, you want to teach spelling and reading, but spelling tends to get short shrift because it is the more challenging skill and we tend to hold on to the misconception that spell check will come to save us. Sure, it can help, but time spent on teaching spelling pays great dividends in ALL aspects of literacy. 

2. MOST students who have difficulties with word reading ALSO have difficulty with vocabulary knowledge and language/listening comprehension. It is very rare for a student to exhibit a decoding weakness as an isolated area that needs support. The tricky thing is that the decoding challenges are usually the most obvious, but they typically exist within a constellation of overarching challenges with language. This is SO important in terms of how we focus our time on intervention. We have to focus on reading, spelling, and language comprehension. Explicit instruction in vocabulary, morphology, and syntax is critical for all students, especially for those who struggle with word reading.

3. Dosage matters! How often and for how long students receive intervention sessions makes a difference. Dosage was one of two factors (the other being including spelling in the intervention) that was found to have the largest impact on intervention outcomes. Struggling readers need more time to practice skills and more time to receive evidence-based instruction not just to make progress, but to close the gap between them and peers who are achieving skills at a typical pace. The research here is clear that increased dosage is associated with accelerated reading development. 

4. This finding might be counter-intuitive, but it is very helpful to keep in mind as we think of how to scale interventions to meet the needs of our students. In this research, student group size did not significantly impact intervention outcomes. Overall, small-group and 1:1 interventions yielded similar measures in reading outcomes. It IS, however, helpful to work through diagnostic assessments to form groups of students who are working on similar skills. The camaraderie, support, and empathy that develop out of a group of struggling readers learning together add an important dimension to building resilience and perseverance.