Early Positive Predictors of Later Reading Comprehension for African American Students

Abstract

The potential of preschools that emphasize early language and literacy for improving the reading outcomes of African American students is discussed.

The Importance of Early Vocabulary for Literacy Achievement in High-Poverty Schools

“…As children begin formal literacy instruction, their entry into full literacy is supported by knowledge of letters and letter-sound correspondences, by experience with a range of types of print, and by the vocabulary, syntactic, and discourse abilities involved in understanding text (Morris, Bloodgood, & Perney, 2003;Snow & Dickinson, 1991). These foundational skills and understandings ideally develop in home and preschool contexts that include frequent interaction with print, attention to letter names and sounds, opportunities to engage in extended talk, such as narrative, and exposure to domains of knowledge and the networks of words associated with these domains (Craig et al, 2003;Dickinson & Tabors, 2001;Farver, Xu, & Eppe, 2006;Hoff, 2006). Although there is wide variability in home and school experiences of low-income children, preschool and kindergarten environments may not fully support the development of language and literacy skills (Barone, 2002;Vernon-Feagans, 1996).…”

“…Schatschneider, Francis, Carlson, Fletcher, and Foorman (2004), for example, have argued that code-related skills, specifically phonological skills and naming speed, are more important predictors of first-and second-grade reading achievement than oral language abilities. However, other researchers (Craig, Connor, & Washington, 2003;Dickinson & Tabors, 2001;Roth et al, 2002) present contrasting evidence that meaning-related skills, particularly early vocabulary and discourse skills, are important predictors of later literacy.…”

Teacher Outreach Efforts and Reading Achievement in Kindergarten

“…Not surprisingly, recent empirical studies suggest that intensive involvement efforts must begin prior to kindergarten entry, not in kindergarten or higher elementary grades, and that preschool education with early language and literacy experience is a potential solution to improve reading outcomes for African American students (Craig, Connor, & Washington, 2003;Washington, 2001). Therefore, if we aim to decrease the achievement gap between minority students and Downloaded by [Eunjoo Jung] at 12:14 05 January 2013 their counterparts, we need to underscore the early school readiness upon kindergarten entry, and ensure that minority students are better prepared at the preschool level to take advantage of teachers' outreach efforts at the kindergarten level.…”

Does Socioeconomic Level Have an Effect on School-Age Language Skills in a Developed Country?

“…To the extent that mastery of complex language skills is essential for children to benefit maximally from classroom activities and teacher input in achieving academic success (cf. Stevenson and Newman 1986;Storch and Whitehurst 2002;Craig, Connor and Washington 2003;O'Neil, Pearce and Pick 2004;Magnuson and Ducan 2006;Pungello, Irukha, Dotterer, Mills-Koonce and Reznick 2009), the findings suggest that the language skills of young school-going children from low-SE backgrounds warrant further attention.…”