ResearchWorks: Uncovering the cognitive causes of reading difficulty: Help for struggling readers

Abstract

Reading may be the single most important skill for children to learn—a portal to the world of knowledge. Yet a 2003 report by the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that more than 37 percent of fourth-grade students, 26 percent of eighth-grade students, and 26 percent of twelfth-grade students read below grade level. The percentage of struggling readers has scarcely decreased over the last decade despite extensive research and interventions undertaken to help them. Educational psychology professor Paul van den Broek and assistant professors Kristen McMaster and David Rapp (now at Northwestern University) set out to reverse this trend with an innovative approach that zeroes in on the specific cognitive challenges that can trip up struggling readers.