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One key concept in reading research is the Simple View of Reading.

Despite its importance, this is not an approach that all educators know about. This is a disadvantage as it can be a handy tool for understanding the core components of reading and assessing reading weaknesses in particular students.

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How does the Simple View of Reading work?

This easy-to-understand concept breaks reading down into two basic elements – recognition of words (called ‘decoding’) and language comprehension. Presented by Gough and Tunmer in 1986, the core formula is as follows:

  • Decoding (D) x Language Comprehension (LC) = Reading Comprehension (RC)

The values of D and LC in this formula are between 0 and 1 (or 0% and 100% if that is preferable). It is also worth noting that the values of D and LC are multiplied to get the final RC score – not added.

As the above formula shows, predicting a pupil’s reading comprehension ability is possible if you already know their decoding and comprehension of language levels. This formula can be beneficial for teachers when trying to gauge the reading comprehension level of a student. The Simple View of Reading can also help educators ensure students reach their maximum reading capabilities.

What are decoding, language comprehension, and reading comprehension?

Before we dive deeper into this method, it is worth clarifying what we mean by the above terms. For a quick overview of them, the information below is helpful.

  • Decoding is generally classed as the ability to recognize words effectively. This goes beyond simple phonics to include accurately reading a range of words within lists/connected texts.
  • Language Comprehension is the ability to take meaning from spoken words when they are part of a sentence. In the Simple View of Reading, pupils listen to a passage read out loud and then recount the passage back while responding to questions not contained in the retelling.
  • Reading Comprehension is the ability to take meaning from written words on the page. In the Simple View, this is tested by students reading a passage and then retelling it. They will also usually answer questions that were not part of this retelling.

What forms the basis of The Simple View of Reading?

Although the above sets out the basic formula this concept involves and how it works in broad terms, you may still be keen to dig into the background of it a bit further.

In essence, this approach to teaching and developing reading comprehension has the following core beliefs:

1. Comprehension of language and decoding key to reading comprehension

The Simple View of Reading makes it very clear that excellent reading comprehension is not possible without strong decoding and comprehension of language skills. This has not always been the prevailing thought across education, as decoding skills were often thought less important than language comprehension. With this approach, students are shown decoding as early as possible and taught robust content knowledge across grade levels to boost language comprehension.

2. Help with reading must target a student’s weaknesses

Another core part of this approach to teaching reading skills is that any interventions must be targeted specifically to each student’s needs. A general approach to improving a pupil’s reading comprehension is ineffective, as it may focus on the wrong areas. It is key to pinpoint if a student needs help with decoding, language comprehension, or both before giving them the required support.

3. Language comprehension and decoding can be taught/assessed in isolation

While both elements are needed for reading comprehension, decoding, and language comprehension can be assessed/taught separately. This can be a good idea because overall RC scores are often not enough to pinpoint which element a student is falling on. Assessments across all grade levels must show enough data to determine each pupil’s decoding and language comprehension capabilities.

4. Backed by scientific research

As a mathematical formula that uses two variables to predict a third, it is clear that the Simple View of Reading takes a rational approach to this key area of education. In addition, it is a concept backed by scientific research and validated by multiple research studies.

Key findings from the Simple View of Reading

Research that supports this approach to reading has delivered four key findings for educators to take on board. All four have massive implications for the delivery of reading assessment and instruction.

1 Reading comprehension comes from two clear sources

Although reading is a complex activity, the Simple View shows that it can be broken down into two distinct parts. Any complexities within reading can be attributed to either decoding or language comprehension for further work. If there is a deficiency in decoding, this could be down to a pupil’s ability to read printed words correctly. The deficiency in language comprehension could be due to a specific knowledge domain failure or sub-par higher thinking skills.

2 Three types of difficulties with reading

The Simple View of Reading finds that any problems associated with this activity fall into one of the three categories below:

  • Poor language comprehension
  • Poor decoding skills
  • Weak in both decoding and language comprehension

3 Decoding and comprehension of language required for reading

The Simple View of Reading shows that strong decoding and language comprehension skills are needed for effective reading. The formula that underpins this method demonstrates how both areas make up a student’s overall reading comprehension score.

4 RC score is not an average of D and LC

As the formula for this method shows, the final RC score is not an average of the students’ D and LC scores. It is also key to know that when one of the D or LC variables is strong, the overall reading comprehension score will be equal to the less robust variable. If a pupil has a D rating of 100% but an LC score of 30%, his overall RC score will be 30% as below:

  • D x LC = RC
  • 1.0 x .30 = .30

To help boost the student’s overall RC score, an increase in their weaker area should be where educators target any help.

When neither the D nor LC scores are overly strong, the final reading comprehension score will be lower than either of the two, as shown below:

  • D x LC = RC
  • 0.65 x 0.65 = 0.42

In this instance, educators will need to help the student improve decoding and language comprehension to boost their reading comprehension.

How can the Simple View of Reading be applied practically?

The formula this method is based on shows that it is an algebraic equation with three distinct variables. Any one variable in the formula can be estimated if the other two are known. This can be in terms of how the basic Simple View formula works but also in terms of working out D or LC if needs be as below:

  • D x LC = RC
  • LC = RC ÷ D
  • D = RC ÷ LC

It is common to find pupils’ RC capabilities from sources like higher-stakes tests. If the scores for decoding or language comprehension are also available, the third variable can be predicted using the above formulas. This means teachers only have to assess two variables, saving time in assessing all three.

Different intervention responses using the Simple View of Reading

This section will examine three 5th-grade students with reading issues and low RC scores. They were placed in the same group for intervention, which focused on content knowledge/teaching comprehension to increase their RC levels.

Overview of responses to intervention

Four months of reading intervention highlighted various effects on the three students’ RC scores. Student A boosted theirs beyond the goal of 50%, while Student B showed no real signs of improvement. Student C did not quite hit the 50% RC score goal after intervention but was close to it at 40%.

How can the Simple View help us explain these varying responses?

The Simple View of Reading explains why each student responded differently to the intervention, even with the same instruction. This mainly focused on assessing each pupils decoding skills post-intervention, as it is safe to assume each of their D scores before intervention was at the same general level. These assessments showed that Student A’s D score was 80%, Student B’s was 25%, and Student C’s was 40%.

Using RC scores known before intervention in conjunction with these D scores, we can use the Simple View formula to predict the LC score for each pupil before intervention. When we have the D and LC scores, it is then possible to place each student into distinct categories for reading issues, enabling us to target help for them effectively.

Low RC pre-intervention but varying responses

Understanding that the students had low RC scores before the intervention but had different needs in terms of what they were struggling with makes it easier to understand why each responded differently to the intervention. Using the Simple View formula, for example, we can see that Student A had a poor RC score pre-intervention because of poor LC skills. As the intervention mainly targeted this area, this pupil saw a real upturn in his overall RC level.

Student B on the other hand, got the least from the intervention and showed hardly any improvement in his RC score. If we had used the Simple View formula before any intervention, it would have shown that poor decoding skills were his problem and that working on his LC skills would not be effective. On the other hand, using the Simple View approach would have highlighted that this pupil needed specific help with his decoding abilities to get better at reading overall.

Student C showed some improvement but did not quite do as well as Student A after the intervention. This is because the comprehension-focused help only addressed his weaknesses in one area. Using the Simple View formula would have allowed educators pre-intervention to see he needed help with decoding and improve overall.

Key to look at more than just comprehension in reading before the intervention

The above examples show that teachers need to look at more than just comprehension-focused intervention for students with reading difficulties. It is crucial to not only ascertain a pupil’s particular reading weaknesses (decoding, language comprehension, or both) but also target them in any intervention. Spending time teaching pupils reading strengths, on the other hand, will not raise RC levels meaningfully.

The Simple View of Reading gives a clear, structured way to see which element a student is having problems with and is, therefore, a potent tool in schools. It also lets teachers dig deeper into overall RC scores and discover what is holding a pupil back in their reading. By doing this, you avoid the scattershot approach to reading intervention that working from general RC scores can bring.

What research backs up The Simple View of Reading?

We have mentioned earlier in this article that the Simple View of Reading is backed up by scientific research and multiple studies. But which are the most important studies to know about?

The Simple View of Reading – Hoover and Gough 1990

The Hoover and Gough study in 1990 validated The Simple View formula and involved over 250 pupils. This study used multiple assessments to gauge the participant’s language, reading, and cognitive development. A comprehensive study, this piece of research ran from 1978 to 1985 and covered from the start of kindergarten through to the fourth grade.

To help validate the Simple View formula, students’ D, LC, and RC levels were measured throughout the process. By comparing the real RC scores taken to the ones estimated by the formula, Hoover and Gough could endorse it strongly.

Language Deficits in Poor Comprehenders: A Case for the Simple View of Reading (2006)

The Catts, Adlof, and Weismer study in 2006 was focused on a group of 182 8th-grade students. These students were split into poor comprehenders, decoders, and typical readers for study purposes.

This study was key for the Simple View method because it confirmed it was an effective way to aid reading interventions for poor readers. It showed that the Simple View of Reading formula could correctly predict that students with weak RC but strong D levels would generally have poor language skills.

The Simple View of Reading – an overview

The Simple View method demonstrates that reading comprehension is based on decoding and language comprehension abilities. It also shows that both these elements can be assessed and taught separately.

With more data than basic RC scores needed to assess a student’s reading capabilities effectively, this method can benefit teachers. By enabling them to find out which specific elements that makeup reading comprehension a pupil is having issues with, they can properly target these areas for intervention.