Subgroups of adult basic education learners with different profiles of reading skills |
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| Authors: | Charles A MacArthur Timothy R Konold Joseph J Glutting Judith A Alamprese |
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| Institution: | (1) School of Education, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA;(2) Curry School of Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA;(3) Abt Associates, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA |
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| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of adult basic education (ABE) learners with different profiles of skills
in the core reading components of decoding, word recognition, spelling, fluency, and comprehension. The analysis uses factor
scores of those 5 reading components from on a prior investigation of the reliability and construct validity of measures of
reading component skills (MacArthur, Konold, Glutting, & Alamprese, 2010). In that investigation, confirmatory factor analysis found that a model with those 5 factors fit the data best and fit equally
well for native and non-native English speakers. The study included 486 students, 334 born or educated in the United States
(native) and 152 not born nor educated in the US (non-native) but who spoke English well enough to participate in English
reading classes. The cluster analysis found an 8-cluster solution with good internal cohesion, external isolation, and replicability
across subsamples. Of the 8 subgroups, 4 had relatively flat profiles (range of mean scores across factors <0.5 SD), 2 had
higher comprehension than decoding, and 2 had higher decoding than comprehension. Profiles were consistent with expectations
regarding demographic factors. Non-native speakers were overrepresented in subgroups with relatively higher decoding and underrepresented
in subgroups with relatively higher comprehension. Adults with self-reported learning disabilities were overrepresented in
the lowest performing subgroup. Older adults and men were overrepresented in subgroups with lower performance. The study adds
to the limited research on the reading skills of ABE learners and, from the perspective of practice, supports the importance
of assessing component skills to plan instruction. |
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