Effect of Vocabulary Test Preparation on Low-Income Black Middle School Studentsâ•Ž Reading Scores
نویسنده
چکیده
Black middle school students in the United States continue to perform poorly on standardized reading achievement tests in comparison to other racial and ethnic groups. The purpose of this research study was to examine the effectiveness of a vocabulary-focused test preparation program for Black middle school students. The theoretical framework consisted of Thorndike’s concept of test-wiseness, a test-taking capacity. Teachers at the research site were trained on Larry Bell’s 12 Powerful Words strategy that aims to make students testwise, that is, to familiarize them with key vocabulary terms related to tests. An intact-group comparison was conducted, involving a total of N = 679 Black students in Grades 6, 7, and 8 with 370 girls and 309 boys. An analysis of covariance showed significant effects for Grade 6, marginally significant effects for Grade 7, and nonsignificant effects for Grade 8. These findings suggest that the 12 Powerful Words are effective and that their effect decreases with students’ age. As a practical consequence, instructional leaders will be able to make more informed decisions regarding test preparation and potentially reduce the number of underperforming students in classrooms.
منابع مشابه
Effect of Vocabulary Test Preparation on Low-Income Black Middle School Students' Reading Scores
Effect of Vocabulary Test Preparation on Low-Income Black Middle School Students’ Reading Scores by Ingrid Nadia Mitchell EdS, Union University, 2007 MA, University of Memphis, 2004 BS, Oral Roberts University, 1999 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
متن کاملThe Effect of Teaching Critical Reading Strategies on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Retention
This study was an attempt to investigate whether teaching critical reading strategies had any significant effect on intermediate EFL learners’ vocabulary retention. To fulfill the purpose of this study, 72 male and female students within the age range of 17 to 32 years studying at Farzan and Farzanegan language schools in Tehran at intermediate level were selected from a total number of 114 par...
متن کاملThe effect of reading purpose on incidental vocabulary learning and retention among elementary Iranian learners of English
This study, situated in an EFL context, aimed at discovering the ways purposes behind reading activities influence vocabulary knowledge gain and retrieval. Seventy five elementary learners of English were randomly assigned to three groups of ‘free reading’, ‘reading comprehension’ and ‘reading to summarize’. A modified text was administered to all the three groups. The dat...
متن کاملTranslating Learners, Researchers, and Qualitative Approaches through Investigations of Studentsâ•Ž Experiences in School
متن کامل
A Randomized Evaluation of the Success for All Middle School Reading Program
This article describes a randomized evaluation of The Reading Edge, a reading program for middle school students. The Reading Edge was designed to integrate findings of research on cooperative learning and metacognitive reading strategies into a replicable reading instructional package that could be implemented effectively in Title I middle schools. In this study, 405 sixth graders in two high-...
متن کامل