Predicting First Grade Reading Performance from Kindergarten Response to Tier 1 Instruction.

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Multi-tier Response to Intervention (RTI) models are increasingly used in schools.
• These models aim to prevent reading difficulties and identify students with learning disabilities (LD).
• This study is part of a larger longitudinal investigation into RTI within the Florida Learning Disabilities Center grant.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine response rates to kindergarten Tier 1 instruction.
• To predict first-grade reading performance based on kindergarten growth and end-of-year performance.
• To investigate the relationship between reading growth trajectories and later reading success.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal correlational design.
• Study conducted in 7 diverse schools, observing reading instruction in 20 classrooms.
• Data collected on 203 students, analyzing kindergarten growth and end-of-year reading performance to predict first-grade outcomes.

Main Results:

• Effective explicit core reading instruction was observed.
• Controlling for end-of-kindergarten reading, kindergarten growth did not predict first-grade performance.
• A steeper growth trajectory towards a satisfactory outcome in kindergarten was paradoxically associated with lower first-grade performance.

Conclusions:

• The findings challenge the assumption that rapid early progress directly translates to sustained reading success.
• Implications for refining RTI models and understanding student response to intervention are discussed.
• Further research is needed to understand the complex relationship between early growth and later academic achievement.