African American Preschoolers' Performance on Norm-Referenced Language Assessments: Examining the Effect of Dialect Density and the Use of Scoring Modifications.

Purpose: We investigated and compared the outcomes from two standardized, norm-referenced screening assessments of language (i.e., Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool-Second Edition [CELFP-2], Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation-Screening Test [DELV-ST]) with African American preschoolers whose spoken dialect differed from that of General American English (GAE).

Revisiting the definition of dyslexia.

The International Dyslexia Association definition of dyslexia was updated 20 years ago and has been referenced frequently in research and practice. In this paper, researchers from the Florida Center for Reading Research consider the components of the definition and make recommendations for revisions. These include recognizing the persistence of word-reading, decoding, and spelling difficulties, acknowledging the multifactorial causal basis of dyslexia, clarifying exclusionary factors, and denoting comorbidity with other developmental disorders.

Commentary: If not you, then who: Equity, social justice, and the role of school psychologists in ensuring reading success for all learners.

Over the last 2 years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented set of events that have changed the course of history. The global COVID-19 pandemic heightened awareness of both social, economic, and health disparities and racial injustices suffered by Black, Brown, and poor people in the United States. Although we are still learning about the impact of these disruptions on learning and achievement, emerging data indicates that children's experiences varied widely and that disparities that were present before the pandemic only got worse.

Building a framework to understand and address vulnerability to reading difficulties among children in schools in the United States.

This paper presents a vulnerability framework as a means to contextualize inequities in reading achievement among children who are vulnerable to poor reading outcomes. Models to understand vulnerability have been applied in the social sciences and public health to identify population disparities and design interventions to improve outcomes. Vulnerability is multifaceted and governed by context.

Researchers Translating the Science of Reading: Widening the Lens of Translational Science through Team Science.

Translation of the science of reading into effective classroom practice and improved reading achievement has been difficult. There is evident when we consider that despite decades of scientific research of how reading develops, many children and adolescents across the country read below expected levels.

How the Science of Reading Informs 21st-Century Education.

The science of reading should be informed by an evolving evidence base built upon the scientific method. Decades of basic research and randomized controlled trials of interventions and instructional routines have formed a substantial evidence base to guide best practices in reading instruction, reading intervention, and the early identification of at-risk readers. The recent resurfacing of questions about what constitutes the science of reading is leading to misinformation in the public space that may be viewed by educational stakeholders as merely differences of opinion among scientists.

Examination of Narrative Language at Microstructural and Macrostructural Levels in Spanish-Speaking Preschoolers.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine narrative language samples of Spanish-speaking preschoolers to analyze changes in microstructural and macrostructural skills in their first language (L1) from fall to spring, relationships between narrative and vocabulary skills in L1, and the extent to which fall skills predict spring performance. Method Participants included 40 Spanish-speaking children who were enrolled in community-based preschool programs. Narrative language retells from the fall and spring were examined, and microstructural and macrostructural components were analyzed using the Narrative Assessment Protocol-Spanish and the Narrative Scoring Scheme, respectively.

Dialect variation, dialect-shifting, and reading comprehension in second grade.

The purpose of this study was to examine second graders' (n=680) changing spoken nonmainstream American English (NMAE) use in relation to their oral language and reading comprehension achievement. Fall NMAE production was negatively associated with fall achievement scores. NMAE production generally decreased from fall to spring.

High post-transplant virological response in hepatitis C virus infected patients treated with pretransplant protease inhibitor-based triple therapy.

Background & Aims: Prevention of recurrent hepatitis C virus (HCV) following liver transplant (LT) with pre-LT antiviral therapy is limited by poor tolerability and efficacy. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of NS3/4A protease inhibitor (PI)-based triple therapy in patients awaiting LT.

Methods: Consecutive patients treated with triple therapy pre-LT from two centers were prospectively enrolled in an observational cohort.

Oral narrative performance of african american prekindergartners who speak nonmainstream American English.

Purpose: This study had 4 primary purposes: (a) to describe the oral narrative performance of typically developing African American prekindergarten children with commonly used macro- and microstructure measures; (b) to examine the concurrent and (c) predictive relations between narrative performance, spoken dialect use, vocabulary, and story comprehension; and (d) to explore change in narrative performance during the school year.

Method: Children provided story retells of Frog Where Are You? ( Mayer, 1969) at the beginning ( n = 76) and end ( n = 146) of the school year. Retells were analyzed using the narrative assessment protocol ( Pence, Justice, & Gosse, 2007), the narrative scoring scheme ( Heilmann, Miller, & Nockerts, 2010; Heilmann, Miller, Nockerts, & Dunaway, 2010), high point analysis ( McCabe, Bliss, Barra, & Bennett, 2008), and other common indices of narrative ability (e.

Changing nonmainstream American English use and early reading achievement from kindergarten to first grade.

Purpose: This study had 2 principal aims: (a) to examine whether children who spoke Nonmainstream American English (NMAE) frequently in school at the end of kindergarten increased their production of Mainstream American English (MAE) forms by the end of first grade, and (b) to examine concurrent and predictive relations between children's NMAE use and reading skills.

Method: A longitudinal design was implemented with 49 children who varied in their spoken NMAE production in kindergarten. Word reading, phonological awareness, and receptive vocabulary skills were measured at both time points.

Dialect variation and reading: is change in nonmainstream American English use related to reading achievement in first and second grades?

Purpose: In this study, we examined (a) whether children who spoke Nonmainstream American English (NMAE) frequently in school at the beginning of 1st grade increased their use of Mainstream American English (MAE) through the end of 2nd grade, and whether increasing MAE use was associated with (b) language and reading skills and school context and (c) greater gains in reading skills.

Method: A longitudinal design was implemented with 49 children who spoke NMAE moderately to strongly. Spoken production of NMAE forms, word reading, and reading comprehension were measured at the beginning, middle, and end of 1st and 2nd grades.

Examining relationships among dialect variation, literacy skills, and school context in first grade.

Purpose: This study examined relationships between the use of nonmainstream American English dialects, literacy skills, and school environment among typically developing first graders (n = 617), of whom 48% were African American and 52% were White, in order to describe and better understand the difficulties many children from linguistically diverse backgrounds experience while learning to read.

Method: Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors examined the linear and quadratic relationships between students' dialect variation (DVAR) and their vocabulary, phonological awareness, and word reading skills, taking into account school environment, specifically schoolwide socioeconomic status (SES).

Results: The relationships between DVAR and literacy outcomes depended on the outcome of interest and school SES.