Individual Differences in Response to Early Interventions in Reading: The Lingering Problem of Treatment Resisters

TLDR

Early reading instruction aims to teach children accurate word identification to support later text comprehension. The study seeks to determine the conditions required for all children to achieve adequate reading skills. The authors reviewed five recent studies on early elementary interventions designed to ensure all children attain adequate word‑reading skills. Even with the best current methods, 2–6% of first‑ and second‑grade children would remain with inadequate word‑reading skills, and the study identifies broad characteristics of these treatment resisters, highlighting implications for future research.

Abstract

The goal of many recent intervention studies has been to examine the conditions that must be in place for all children to acquire adequate reading skills. Although the ultimate goal of reading instruction is to help children acquire the skills necessary to comprehend text, an important subgoal for early reading instruction is to teach children to identify words accurately on the printed page. Five recent studies of methods to prevent reading difficulties were examined in light of the goal that every child should acquire adequate word reading skills during early elementary school. It was estimated that our best current methods, if applied broadly, would leave anywhere from 2% to 6% of children with inadequate word reading skills in the first and second grades. Several broad characteristics of these treatment resisters are identified, and the implications of these findings for future research are discussed.