Research Reports: Latest Research on Reading Education
A Comparison of the Effects of Two Phonetically Regular Text Types on Young English Learners’ Literacy
Long after Chall (1967/1983) described the choice of reading pedagogy for beginning reading as “the great debate,” the topic of the kinds of texts that best support beginning readers continues to generate controversy (Allington, 1997; Beck, 1997). RhetRead More »A Comparison of the Effects of Two Phonetically Regular Text Types on Young English Learners’ Literacy
Hiebert, E.H. & Fisher, C.W. (2016). A Comparison of the Effects of Two Phonetically Regular Text Types on Young English Learners’ Literacy (Reading Research Report 16.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
Growing Capacity with the Vocabulary of English Language Arts Programs: Vocabulary Megaclusters
The typical approach to teaching vocabulary in English/Language Arts programs has been to focus on six to eight words per text. Even though these words may add meaning to a particular story, the target words are often rare and their generalizability is limited. The Vocabulary Megaclusters provides a framework for selecting and teaching words according to their shared meaning and function in stories.
Hiebert, E.H. (2011). Growing Capacity with the Vocabulary of English Language Arts Programs: Vocabulary Megaclusters (Reading Research Report 11.02). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
Download: TextProject_RRR-11.02_Vocabulary-Megaclusters Research Growing Capacity with the Vocabulary of English Language Arts Programs: Vocabulary Megaclusters
The State of the Field: Qualitative Analyses of Text Complexity
The purpose of this review is to examine the function, logic, and impact of qualitative systems, with a focus on understanding their benefits and imperfections.
Pearson, P.D., & Hiebert, E.H. (2013). The State of the Field: Qualitative Analyses of Text Complexity. (Reading Research Report 13.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
Download: TextProject-RRR-13-01-Qualitative-Analyses-of-Text-Complexity-v.1.0
What Differences in Narrative and Informational Texts Mean for the Learning and Instruction of Vocabulary
This report compares features of the words in fourth grade ELA and science texts and suggests instructional methods suitable to the vocabulary in each type of text.
Hiebert, E.H. & Cervetti, G.N. (2011). What Differences in Narrative and Informational Texts Mean for the Learning and Instruction of Vocabulary (Reading Research Report 11.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
Download: TextProject_RRR-11.01_Vocabularies-of-Narrative-and-Informational-Texts
Using Multiple Sources of Information in Establishing Text Complexity
The Common Core State Standards/English Language Arts use Lexiles as the single measure of text complexity, but an analysis using the two component measures of Lexiles along with a third measure suggests that conclusions about text complexity vary considerably when multiple quantitative measures are used, rather than a single, omnibus index.
Hiebert, E.H. (2011). Using Multiple Sources of Information in Establishing Text Complexity (Reading Research Report 11.03). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
Download: TextProject_RRR-11.03_Multiple-Sources-of-Text-Complexity
An Examination of Current Text Difficulty Indices with Early Reading Texts
This report examines the difficulty of early reading texts over the years as measured by today’s prevailing indices.
Hiebert, E.H. & Pearson, P.D. (2010). An Examination of Current Text Difficulty Indices with Early Reading Texts (Reading Research Report 10.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.