Multisyllabic Decoding Challenges for Students Above and Below the Decoding Threshold Attending a Diverse Urban Elementary School

• In Event: Crossing the Decoding Threshold: Research, Remedy, and Repair for Older Students With Word Recognition Needs

Abstract

1. Objectives
A major challenge for elementary readers is decoding multisyllabic words (Kearns & Hiebert, 2022; Hiebert, 2022; Sabatini et al., 2019a; White et al., 2021). The goal of this study is to investigate the multisyllabic decoding skills of fourth- and fifth-grade students performing above and below the “decoding threshold” (Wang et al., 2019) in a diverse urban elementary school.

2. Theoretical framework
Readers must identify written words and connect them to their appropriate meanings for the context, using these lexical representations to build a mental model of the text while reading (Perfetti & Hart, 2002; Perfetti & Stafura, 2014). To support ongoing growth in comprehension, word reading instruction should continue beyond the primary grades. This study examines the multisyllabic word reading skills of students above and below the decoding threshold to identify possible targets for decoding instruction in the upper elementary grades.

3. Methods
As part of a larger study, 188 fourth- and 135 fifth-grade students (N=323; 39.3% Black, 21.4% Latinx; 9.3% White, 9% Asian or Pacific Islander, 7.1% multiracial, 13% missing data) attending a large urban public charter school were assessed in spring 2023. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, and ANOVA were used to describe the multisyllabic word recognition skills of students scoring above and the decoding threshold.

4. Data source and materials
Students completed the ReadBasix assessment through Capti Assess (Sabatini et al., 2019b) and the Multisyllabic Decoding Inventory (MDI; Authors et al., 2020). The MDI includes seven subtests with 10 bisyllabic words and pseudowords of seven different types (compound words, closed syllables, open syllables, vowel-consonant-e syllables, r-controlled syllables, vowel team syllables, and consonant-le syllables). Reliability ranges from .58 to .83 (Authors et al., 2024). We used the ReadBasix word recognition and decoding (WRD) subtest to identify students performing above and below the decoding threshold score of 235 (see Sabatini et al., 2019b; Wang et al., 2019) and describe their performance on the MDI real-word items for each subtest.

5. Results
Overall, 65.1% and 45.1% of students performed below the decoding threshold at the end of grade four and grade five, respectively. Students performing above the threshold read 63.71 (out of 70) two-syllable words on the MDI correctly, while those below the threshold read 56.80 correctly. There were significant differences between the two groups in performance on all seven subtests of the MDI (p<.001) (Table 1). The greatest differences in performance (more than two words) occurred on words with open first syllables and words with vowel-consonant-e patterns, and the least differences (less than 1 word) occurring on compound words and words with consonant-le final syllables (Figure 2) with significant differences in performance on 33 items (Figure 3).

6. Scientific significance
Students performing below the decoding threshold in fourth and fifth grade may need additional instruction in reading two-syllable words that begin with open syllables and end with vowel-consonant-e patterns, but they likely do not require instruction in single-syllable or compound words. More research is needed to inform the design and implementation of asset-based multisyllabic decoding interventions for this population.

Authors

• Laura S. Tortorelli, Michigan State University

• John Z. Strong, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Blythe E. Anderson, University at Buffalo - SUNY

• Eunsoo Cho, University of California - Riverside

• Amy K. Edlefson, Michigan State University