Dynamic Assessments of Word Reading Skills in Diverse School-Age Children: A Meta-Analysis

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups

Wood, E., Biggs, K., et al. (2024).

Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_PERSP-23-00262.

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigates the validity of dynamic assessment of word reading skills in children, 4 to 10 years old. This summary includes findings regarding multilingual children and children with or at risk for a reading disorder.

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; Ministry of Colleges and Universities (Canada); University of Toronto Excellence Award (Canada); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

From database inception to March 2022

Primary research articles

35

<div>For children with or at risk for a reading disorder, dynamic assessment, including those with word reading skills, showed a strong correlation with word reading measurements (g = 0.48). Skills assessed included phonological awareness, sound-symbol knowledge, and decoding. <br><br>Limitations to this review included the risk of publication bias due to the exclusion of papers not written in English or Spanish. Additional research investigating differences between children with reading disorders and those who are at risk is needed.</div>

<div>For bilingual children, dynamic assessment showed a strong correlation with word reading measurements (g = 0.48). The authors highlight that dynamic assessment used in addition to static assessments may reduce the overidentification of reading disorders in this population. <br><br>Limitations to this review included the risk of publication bias due to the exclusion of papers not written in English or Spanish. Additional research investigating differences between children with reading disorders and those who are at risk is needed.</div>