AGREEMENT AND COVERAGE OF INDICATORS OF RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION: A MULTI-METHOD COMPARISON AND SIMULATION

Relationships Between Anxiety, Attention, and Reading Performance in Children

Many studies link anxiety in children with reading difficulties, but some facets of anxiety have been found to be positively associated with reading achievement. Attentional Control Theory offers a potential explanation for these seemingly contradictory findings, positing that anxiety can both interfere in attentional processes and enhance effort and use of compensatory processing strategies. The current study examines the relationships between anxiety, attentional control, and reading performance (word reading/decoding and passage comprehension) in a racially-diverse sample of 251 s-grade students, 152 of whom had not met reading benchmarks using screening measures. Results showed that harm avoidance was positively associated with reading performance and physical symptoms of anxiety were negatively associated with reading performance. These links were attenuated when including attentional control in the model, suggesting mediation and lending support to Attentional Control Theory. Further research is needed to confirm causal mediation effects between anxiety, attentional control, and reading performance.

The critical role of instructional response in defining and identifying students with dyslexia: a case for updating existing definitions

We address defining and identifying students with dyslexia within the context of multi-tier systems of support (MTSS). We review proposed definitions of dyslexia, evidence for proposed definitional attributes, and emphasize the role of instructional response in identifying students with dyslexia. We identify dyslexia as individuals with specific deficits in reading and spelling single words combined with inadequate response to evidence-based instruction. We propose a hybrid identification process in which assessment is utilized within school-wide MTSS allowing for integration of routinely collected progress monitoring data as well integrating with more formal diagnostic measures. This proposed "hybrid" method demonstrates strong evidence for valid decision-making and directly informs instruction. We close proposing a revised definition of dyslexia that incorporates these elements.

Assessment of Specific Learning Disabilities and Intellectual Disabilities

We review literature related to the assessment and identification of Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) and Intellectual Disabilities (ID). SLD and ID are the only two disorders requiring psychometric test performance for identification within the group of neurodevelopmental disorders in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - 5. SLD and ID are considered exclusionary of one another, but the processes for assessment and identification of each disorder vary. There is controversy about the identification and assessment methods for SLD, with little consensus. Unlike ID, SLD is weakly related to full-scale IQ, and there is insufficient evidence that the routine assessment of IQ or cognitive skills adds value to SLD identification and treatment. We have proposed a hybrid method based on the assessment of low achievement with norm-referenced tests, instructional response, and other disorders and contextual factors that may be comorbid or contraindicative of SLD. In contrast to SLD, there is strong consensus for a three-prong definition for the identification and assessment of ID: (a) significantly subaverage IQ, (b) adaptive behavior deficits that interfere with independent living in the community, and (c) age of onset in the developmental period. For both SLD and ID, we identify areas of controversy and best practices for identification and assessment.

Internalizing Symptoms and Reading Difficulties Among Early Elementary School Students

While the field of learning disabilities has grown substantially over the past several decades (Grigorenko et al. in Am Psychol 75:37, 2020) little work has explored the role of internalizing symptoms among struggling students. The present study compared struggling and typical readers on several child reported internalizing measures at both the beginning and end of a school year during which time they received either classroom-as-usual or research-team provided intensive intervention. Struggling readers who did and did not meet reading benchmarks were also compared at year-end. While minimal differences were present at the beginning of the year, numerous differences were observed at the end, with students exhibiting persistent reading struggles reporting significantly greater distress. Bi-directional associations emerged with beginning of year group status predicting internalizing symptoms and beginning of year internalizing symptoms predicting end of year intervention response group status. Findings are discussed in terms of future directions for enhancing intervention studies of struggling readers.

Relationships between Anxiety, Attention, and Reading Comprehension in Children

Many studies link anxiety in children with reading difficulties, but some facets of anxiety have been found to be positively associated with reading achievement. Attentional Control Theory offers a potential explanation for these seemingly contradictory findings, positing that anxiety can both interfere in attentional processes and enhance effort and use of compensatory processing strategies. The current study examines the relationships between anxiety, attentional control, and reading comprehension in a racially-diverse sample of 251 second-grade students, most of whom were struggling readers. Results showed that harm avoidance was positively associated with reading comprehension and physical symptoms of anxiety were negatively associated with reading comprehension. These links were attenuated when including attentional control in the model, suggesting mediation and lending support to Attentional Control Theory. Further research is needed to confirm causal mediation effects between anxiety, attentional control, and reading performance.

Prediction With Mixed Effects Models: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study

Oftentimes in many fields of the social and natural sciences, data are obtained within a nested structure (e.g., students within schools). To effectively analyze data with such a structure, multilevel models are frequently employed. The present study utilizes a Monte Carlo simulation to compare several novel multilevel classification algorithms across several varied data conditions for the purpose of prediction. Among these models, the panel neural network and Bayesian generalized mixed effects model (multilevel Bayes) consistently yielded the highest prediction accuracy in test data across nearly all data conditions.

A Revised Discrepancy Method for Identifying Dyslexia

The issue of how to reliably identify students with developmental dyslexia in order that they may serve in research studies and receive appropriate intervention has been unresolved for decades. The primary issue is how to distinguish students who are likely to have dyslexia from the considerable number of students who are simply poor readers. The present study explores the feasibility of developing a valid method for selecting students with dyslexia to serve as subjects in research studies and to enroll in special intervention programs. After consulting 16 definitions of dyslexia, five common elements were identified, and operational criteria were developed for four of the elements. These criteria were applied to 70 school-identified students with dyslexia residing in eight states. The results were used to establish three categories of likelihood for dyslexia: very likely, likely, and not very likely. According to our revised discrepancy method, 51% of the students currently receiving services under the dyslexia label satisfied the dyslexia likelihood criteria of very likely or likely. The remaining 49% did not satisfy the dyslexia likelihood criteria (i.e., they were not very likely to have dyslexia). Most researchers would probably agree that the students identified by this revised discrepancy method do in fact have dyslexia (i.e., seriously low reading ability, average or better cognitive ability, and a standard score difference of 15 to 29 points [for likely] and 30 points or more [for very likely]).

Executive Functions and Response to Intervention: Identification of Students Struggling with Reading Comprehension

Inadequate responders demonstrate significant risk for learning disabilities. Previous investigations of the cognitive profiles of inadequate and adequate responders have not included measures of executive functions (EF), which have well-documented associations to reading comprehension. We evaluated EF performance on a common factor comprised of shared variance across tasks as well as five separable EF factors in the context of an intensive reading intervention for struggling fourth graders. To determine if EF performance at pretest is associated with subsequent responder status, we compared EF performance of three subgroups of students: inadequate and adequate responders and typical students not at-risk for reading disabilities. Results of discriminant function analyses and linear regression models comparing groups were largely null; EF performance at pretest demonstrated only small associations with responder status. These results suggest that the assessment of EF may have limited value in predicting which individual students will respond to intensive reading interventions.

An examination of student reading outcomes following tier II exit decisions

The current study examined reading skills at two distal time-points for 6828 students who received support from a tier II reading intervention program in the 2015 and 2016 school years. The first follow-up assessment occurred at the end of the year in which intervention was provided and the second assessment occurred at the beginning of the next year. Multilevel models were fit to the data to predict the log odds that a student would meet spring and fall reading benchmarks depending on a variety of student- and school-level predictors. Of most interest was the probability of future success as a function of whether students met intervention exit criteria, defined as consistent grade-level performance on a progress monitoring measure. Meeting intervention exit criteria was a statistically and practically significant predictor of scoring above the spring and fall benchmark the following school year. Yet despite improved outcomes relative to students not exited from the intervention, many students who met exit criteria due to grade-level performance failed to meet spring and fall benchmarks. The proportion of students meeting state-defined proficiency criteria, duration of intervention, and proportion of students receiving free or reduced lunch at the school-level did not influence the association between meeting exit criteria and scoring above benchmark at either screening period. Results suggest that future research is needed to evaluate and guide "downward movement" in an RtI model (i.e., ensuring gains made during tier II intervention are maintained after that support is removed).

What is Developmental Dyslexia?

Until the 1950s, developmental dyslexia was defined as a hereditary visual disability, selectively affecting reading without compromising oral or non-verbal reasoning skills. This changed radically after the development of the phonological theory of dyslexia; this not only ruled out any role for visual processing in its aetiology, but it also cast doubt on the use of discrepancy between reading and reasoning skills as a criterion for diagnosing it. Here I argue that this theory is set at too high a cognitive level to be explanatory; we need to understand the pathophysiological visual and auditory mechanisms that cause children's phonological problems. I discuss how the 'magnocellular theory' attempts to do this in terms of slowed and error prone temporal processing which leads to dyslexics' defective visual and auditory sequencing when attempting to read. I attempt to deal with the criticisms of this theory and show how it leads to a number of successful ways of helping dyslexic children to overcome their reading difficulties.

Adoption Costs Associated With Processing Strengths and Weaknesses Methods for Learning Disabilities Identification

There is controversy regarding the relative merits of cognitive assessment for the identification of learning disabilities. Proponents of cognitive assessment have suggested that multitiered systems of support (MTSS) should be supplemented with routine, systematic assessment of cognitive processes following a determination of inadequate response to evidence-based interventions in order to document a pattern of processing strengths and weaknesses (PSW methods) as an inclusionary criterion for learning disabilities. However, the financial costs incurred by this addition to MTSS are not well known. In the present study, we present a systematic case study to estimate the costs associated with adopting routine assessment of cognitive processing for students referred for special education evaluation. We estimate that implementation within a district would cost between $1,960 and $2,400 per student, assuming no existing infrastructure. These expenses are discussed in relation to evidence for the educational value of such assessments and inherent trade-offs between assessment and intervention.

Simulation of LD Identification Accuracy Using a Pattern of Processing Strengths and Weaknesses Method With Multiple Measures

We investigated the classification accuracy of learning disability (LD) identification methods premised on the identification of an intraindividual pattern of processing strengths and weaknesses (PSW) method using multiple indicators for all latent constructs. Known LD status was derived from latent scores; values at the observed level identified LD status for individual cases according to the concordance/discordance method. Agreement with latent status was evaluated using (a) a single indicator, (b) two indicators as part of a test-retest "confirmation" model, and (c) a mean score. Specificity and negative predictive value (NPV) were generally high for single indicators (median specificity = 98.8%, range = 93.4%-99.7%; median NPV = 94.2%, range = 85.6%-98.7%), but low for sensitivity (median sensitivity = 49.1%, range = 20.3%-77.1%) and positive predictive value (PPV; median PPV = 48.8%, range = 23.5%-69.6%). A test-retest procedure produced inconsistent and small improvements in classification accuracy, primarily in "not LD" decisions. Use of a mean score produced small improvements in classifications (mean improvement = 2.0%, range = 0.3%-2.8%). The modest gains in agreement do not justify the additional testing burdens associated with incorporating multiple tests of all constructs.

Cognitive discrepancy models for specific learning disabilities identification: Simulations of psychometric limitations

Few studies have investigated specific learning disabilities (SLD) identification methods based on the identification of patterns of processing strengths and weaknesses (PSW). We investigated the reliability of SLD identification decisions emanating from different achievement test batteries for 1 method to operationalize the PSW approach: the concordance/discordance model (C/DM; Hale & Fiorello, 2004). Two studies examined the level of agreement for SLD identification decisions between 2 different simulated, highly correlated achievement test batteries. Study 1 simulated achievement and cognitive data across a wide range of potential latent correlations between an achievement deficit, a cognitive strength and a cognitive weakness. Latent correlations permitted simulation of case-level data at specified reliabilities for cognitive abilities and 2 achievement observations. C/DM criteria were applied and resulting SLD classifications from the 2 achievement test batteries were compared for agreement. Overall agreement and negative agreement were high, but positive agreement was low (0.33-0.59) across all conditions. Study 2 isolated the effects of reduced test reliability on agreement for SLD identification decisions resulting from different test batteries. Reductions in reliability of the 2 achievement tests resulted in average decreases in positive agreement of 0.13. Conversely, reductions in reliability of cognitive measures resulted in small average increases in positive agreement (0.0-0.06). Findings from both studies are consistent with prior research demonstrating the inherent instability of classifications based on C/DM criteria. Within complex ipsative SLD identification models like the C/DM, small variations in test selection can have deleterious effects on classification reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record

Cognitive Attributes, Attention, and Self-Efficacy of Adequate and Inadequate Responders in a Fourth Grade Reading Intervention

We examined cognitive attributes, attention, and self-efficacy of fourth grade struggling readers who were identified as adequate responders (n = 27), inadequate responders with comprehension only deficits (n = 46), and inadequate responders with comprehension and word reading deficits (n = 52) after receiving a multicomponent reading intervention. We also included typical readers (n = 40). These four groups were compared on measures of nonverbal reasoning, working memory, verbal knowledge, listening comprehension, phonological awareness, and rapid naming as well as on teacher ratings of attention problems and self-reported self-efficacy. The two inadequate responder groups demonstrated difficulties primarily with verbal knowledge and listening comprehension compared to typical readers and adequate responders. Phonological awareness and rapid naming differentiated the two inadequate responder groups. In addition, both inadequate responder groups showed more attention problems and low self-efficacy compared to typical readers.

Neuropsychological Profiles of Written Expression Learning Disabilities Determined by Concordance-Discordance Model Criteria

Children with specific learning disabilities (SLD) have disparate neuropsychological processing deficits that interfere with academic achievement in spelling, writing fluency, and/or written expression (WE). Although there are multiple potential causes of WE SLD, there is a paucity of research exploring this critical academic skill from a neuropsychological perspective. This study examined the neuropsychological profiles of WE SLD subtypes defined using the concordance-discordance model (C-DM) of SLD identification. Participants were drawn from a sample of 283 children (194 boys, 89 girls) aged 6 years to 16 years old (M(age) = 9.58 years, SD = 2.29 years) referred for comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations in school settings and subsequently selected based on C-DM determined spelling, writing fluency, and WE SLD. WE SLD subtypes differed on several psychomotor, memory, and executive function measures (F range = 2.48-5.07, p range = .049 to <.001), suggesting that these children exhibit distinct patterns of neuropsychological processing strengths and weaknesses. Findings have relevance for differential diagnosis of WE subtypes, discriminating WE SLD subtypes from low WE achievement, and developing differentiated evidence-based instruction and intervention for children with WE SLD. Limitations and future research will be addressed.

An Experimental Evaluation of Guided Reading and Explicit Interventions for Primary-Grade Students At-Risk for Reading Difficulties

Considerable research evidence supports the provision of explicit instruction for students at risk for reading difficulties; however, one of the most widely implemented approaches to early reading instruction is Guided Reading (GR; Fountas & Pinnel, 1996), which deemphasizes explicit instruction and practice of reading skills in favor of extended time reading text. This study evaluated the two approaches in the context of supplemental intervention for at-risk readers at the end of Grade 1. Students (n = 218) were randomly assigned to receive GR intervention, explicit intervention (EX), or typical school instruction (TSI). Both intervention groups performed significantly better than TSI on untimed word identification. Significant effects favored EX over TSI on phonemic decoding and one measure of comprehension. Outcomes for the intervention groups did not differ significantly from each other; however, an analysis of the added value of providing each intervention relative to expected growth with typical instruction indicated that EX is more likely to substantially accelerate student progress in phonemic decoding, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension than GR. Implications for selection of Tier 2 interventions within a response-to-intervention format are discussed.