Teacher Quality Moderates the Genetic Effects on Early Reading (Florida Twin Project)
Taylor, J., Roehrig, A. D., Hensler, B. S., Connor, C. M., & Schatschneider, C. · 2010
grade Btwin-adoptionindependentreplicated
Sample
Florida Twin Project, grades 1-2
Population
US twin pairs, early elementary.
Design
Behavioral-genetic gene x environment analysis: heritability of oral reading fluency as a function of classroom/teacher quality.
Key findings
Better teaching RAISES, not lowers, the heritability of reading fluency: when instruction is good, more of the remaining variance is genetic. Refutes any implicit 'good instruction erases genetic differences.' Effective phonics is best read as floor-raising that lets genetic potential express, not gap-erasure.
Genetic confound
This IS the genetically-sensitive design; it quantifies how instruction interacts with heritable variation.
Replication notes
Key GxE datum for interpreting instruction effects; consistent with Byrne 2009.
DOI / URL
10.1126/science.1186149
Effects
| Outcome | Metric | Value | Measure | Timing | Vs | Horizon | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genetic variance in oral reading fluency vs teacher quality | GxE | genetic variance INCREASES as teacher quality rises (Scarr-Rowe/bioecological pattern) | standardized | cross-sectional | none | not-applicable | domain-skill |
Cited by
- Systematic/explicit phonics vs whole language and balanced literacystrong supportconf: highgc: low