Researchers
Home » Researchers » Reading Research Reports
This report examines the difficulty of early reading texts over the years as measured by today's prevailing indices.
Hiebert, E.H. & Pearson, P.D. (2010). An Examination of Current Text Difficulty Indices with Early Reading Texts (Reading Research Report 10.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
This report compares features of the words in fourth grade ELA and science texts and suggests instructional methods suitable to the vocabulary in each type of text.
Hiebert, E.H. & Cervetti, G.N. (2011). What Differences in Narrative and Informational Texts Mean for the Learning and Instruction of Vocabulary (Reading Research Report 11.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
The typical approach to teaching vocabulary in English/Language Arts programs has been to focus on six to eight words per text. Even though these words may add meaning to a particular story, the target words are often rare and their generalizability is limited. The Vocabulary Megaclusters provides a framework for selecting and teaching words according to their shared meaning and function in stories.
Hiebert, E.H. (2011). Growing Capacity with the Vocabulary of English Language Arts Programs: Vocabulary Megaclusters (Reading Research Report 11.02). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
The Common Core State Standards/English Language Arts use Lexiles as the single measure of text complexity, but an analysis using the two component measures of Lexiles along with a third measure suggests that conclusions about text complexity vary considerably when multiple quantitative measures are used, rather than a single, omnibus index.
Hiebert, E.H. (2011). Using Multiple Sources of Information in Establishing Text Complexity (Reading Research Report 11.03). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
The purpose of this review is to examine the function, logic, and impact of qualitative systems, with a focus on understanding their benefits and imperfections.
Pearson, P.D., & Hiebert, E.H. (2013). The State of the Field: Qualitative Analyses of Text Complexity. (Reading Research Report 13.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.
Hiebert, E.H. & Fisher, C.W. (2016). A Comparison of the Effects of Two Phonetically Regular Text Types on Young English Learners’ Literacy (Reading Research Report 16.01). Santa Cruz, CA: TextProject, Inc.