Developing Early Literacy: NELP Report, Ch. 3 - Impact of Code-Focused Interventions on Young Children's Early Literacy Skills
Lonigan, C. J., Schatschneider, C., Westberg, L., & the National Early Literacy Panel · 2008
grade Cmeta-analysisindependentunreplicatednumbers spot-checked
Sample
83 code-focused intervention studies
Population
Children birth-age 5 (mostly 3-5) in preschool/kindergarten; general + at-risk; some low-SES/ELL.
Design
Random-effects meta disaggregating by intervention TYPE: PA-training-only vs PA+alphabet-knowledge vs PA+phonics. Published-only; mostly proximal measures; end-of-treatment. Book-length report, not journal peer-reviewed.
Key findings
Decisive on the core question: PA training WITHOUT print had a non-significant effect on reading (d=0.19, ns) and ~zero effect on alphabet knowledge (0.04, ns), whereas PA+phonics reached d=0.66. PA-only best moves PA itself (0.82) but that proximal gain does not transfer to reading without integration with letters.
Genetic confound
Experimental/quasi-experimental base addresses passive rGE.
Replication notes
Core PA-only-vs-PA+phonics contrast verified against the NELP report PDF (Tables 3.5-3.8).
DOI / URL
ERIC ED508381
Effects
| Outcome | Metric | Value | Measure | Timing | Vs | Horizon | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phonological awareness (all code-focused) | d | 0.82 (0.68-0.96, 51 studies) | mixed | end-of-treatment | unclear | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| Reading/decoding (all code-focused) | d | 0.44 (0.27-0.60, 36 studies) | mixed | end-of-treatment | unclear | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| READING: PA-training-ONLY (no print) | d | 0.19 (-0.12 to 0.50); NOT significant | mixed | end-of-treatment | unclear | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| READING: PA + phonics training | d | 0.66 (0.41-0.92) | mixed | end-of-treatment | unclear | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
| Alphabet knowledge: PA-training-ONLY | d | 0.04 (-0.19 to 0.26); NOT significant | mixed | end-of-treatment | unclear | end-of-treatment | domain-skill |
Cited by
- Phonemic awareness training (and whether it needs letters)moderate supportconf: mediumgc: low