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

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.