Dynamic assessment of word learning as a predictor of response to vocabulary intervention

Abstract

Introduction: The current study examined the extent to which static and dynamic measures of vocabulary and word learning predicted response and identified poor responders to a vocabulary intervention.

Methods: Participants were 46 preschool children in classrooms randomly assigned to complete the Story Friends intervention in two cluster-randomized efficacy trials. Children were administered a static measure of vocabulary knowledge and a dynamic assessment of explicit word learning prior to intervention. Vocabulary learning in response to intervention was assessed using a curriculum-based definitional task.

Results: Both the static and dynamic measures were significant predictors of vocabulary learning in response to intervention. The dynamic assessment alone predicted 25 % of variance in vocabulary learning; the static and dynamic measures in combination predicted 42 %. In the responsivity analysis, the dynamic measure provided the best accuracy for a single measure (76 %), but the most accurate classification was provided by a combination of static and dynamic measures (79. The static measure accurately identified 93 % of poor responders, whereas the dynamic measure accurately identified 88 %.

Conclusions: In this study, both static and dynamic measures predicted preschool children's response to vocabulary intervention and provided a mostly accurate classification of good and poor responders. Additional research can inform the use of dynamic assessment to predict response to intervention and to match children with intense interventions.

Keywords: Dynamic assessment; Intervention; Preschool; Response to intervention; Vocabulary; Vocabulary intervention.