What is the Science of Reading?
The Science Of Reading (SOR) is a vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing. This research has been conducted over the last five decades across the world, and it is derived from thousands of studies conducted in multiple languages. The science of reading has culminated in a preponderance of evidence to inform how proficient reading and writing develop; why some have difficulty; and how we can most effectively assess and teach and, therefore, improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties. The science of reading is a key component of economic and social mobility for all young people. When students master foundational literacy skills, the world of learning opens for them—for life. We believe nothing is more important than helping young people learn, persevere, and achieve their goals.
What is the Simple View of Reading?
In the Simple View of Reading (SVR), reading comprehension is conceptualized as the product of two component skills: decoding and linguistic comprehension. Decoding, a word-level skill, involves rapidly and efficiently retrieving words from memory, and linguistic comprehension consists of the literal and inferential construction and interpretation of the meaning of those words. If an individual is able to decode words, but does not understand what those words mean, then they will not be able to comprehend a text. Conversely, if an individual is able to understand what words mean, but not decode them, they will also not be able to comprehend text. Because many students with dyslexia have difficulties with decoding, they are likely to have difficulty comprehending text. This does not mean that reading is a simple process, only that two main components (decoding and linguistic comprehension) contribute the most to overall reading comprehension. Scarborough (2001) created a graphic (shown above) called the “Reading Rope” that depicts the components of the Simple View of Reading. To become a skilled reader, a student must develop increasing speed and accuracy in decoding and linguistic comprehension skills. Specifically, automatic decoding frees up an individual’s attentional resources so that they can comprehend text. To reach this level of automaticity, students require proper instruction that focuses on mastering decoding skills. This is our goal at Altitude Tutoring, to make reading automatic for our learners.