This rejoinder provides responses to the conceptual concerns expressed in the nine critiques published in this issue of Educational Researcher of the 2008 National Early Literacy Panel report. It explains the necessity of adhering to clearly established study selection parameters in conducting trustworthy meta-analyses and the need to be cautious in claims made on the basis of empirical evidence. The rejoinder summarizes the report’s extensive analyses of language development data and highlights substantial empirical evidence that contradicts the critics’ claims about alphabetic code-related skills. Also included are pointed discussions of the critics’ conceptual arguments concerning shared reading activities, parent/home literacy programs, English-language learners, and early childhood education.
AugustD.ShanahanT. (Eds.). (2006). Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
2.
AnthonyJ. L.SolariE. J.WilliamsJ. M.SchogerK. D.ZhangA.Branum-MartinL.. (2009). Development of bilingual phonological awareness in Spanish-speaking English language learners: The roles of vocabulary, letter knowledge, and prior phonological awareness. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13, 535–564.
3.
AnthonyJ. L.WilliamsJ. M.McDonaldR.Corbitt-ShindlerD.CarlsonC. D.FrancisD. J. (2006). Phonological processing and emergent literacy in Spanish-speaking preschool children. Annals of Dyslexia, 56, 239–270.
4.
ArnoldD. S.LoniganC. J.WhitehurstG. J.EpsteinJ. N. (1994). Accelerating language development through picture-book reading: Replication and extension to a videotape training format. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 235–243.
5.
BadianN. A. (2001). Phonological and orthographic processing: Their roles in reading prediction. Annals of Dyslexia, 51, 179–202.
6.
Branum-MartinL.MehtaP. D.FletcherJ. M.CarlsonC. D.OrtizA.CarloM.. (2006). Bilingual phonological awareness: Multilevel construct validation among Spanish-speaking kindergarteners in transitional bilingual education classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 170–181.
7.
Branum-MartinL.MehtaP. D.FrancisD. J.FoormanB. R.CirinoP. T.MillerJ. F.. (2009). Pictures and words: Spanish and English vocabulary in classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 897–911.
8.
DailA. R.PayneR. L. (2010). Recasting the role of family involvement in early literacy development: A response to the NELP report. Educational Researcher, 39, 330–333.
9.
DentonK.WestJ. (2002). Children’s reading and mathematics achievement in kindergarten and first grade. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/2002125.pdf
10.
DickinsonD. K.GolinkoffR. M.Hirsh-PasekK. K. (2010). Speaking out for language: Why language is central to reading development. Educational Researcher, 39, 305–310.
11.
FarverJ. M.LoniganC. J.EppeS. (2009). Effective early literacy skill development for young English language learners: An experimental study of two methods. Child Development, 80, 703–719.
12.
FarverJ. M.NakamotoJ.LoniganC. J. (2007). Assessing preschoolers’ emergent literacy skills in English and Spanish with the Get Ready to Read! screening tool. Annals of Dyslexia, 57, 161–178.
13.
GottardoA.MuellerJ. (2009). Are first- and second-language factors related in predicting second-language reading comprehension? A study of Spanish-speaking children acquiring English as a second language from first to second grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 330–344.
14.
GutiérrezK. D.ZepedaM.CastroD. C. (2010). Advancing early literacy learning for all children: Implications of the NELP report for dual-language learners. Educational Researcher, 39, 334–339.
15.
JacksonR.McCoyA.PistorinoC.WilkinsonA.BurghardtmJ.ClarkM.. (2007). National evaluation of Early Reading First: Final report to Congress. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences.
16.
LoniganC. J.AnthonyJ. L.BloomfieldB.DyerS. M.SamwelC. (1999). Effects of two preschool shared reading interventions on the emergent literacy skills of children from low-income families. Journal of Early Intervention, 22, 306–322.
17.
LoniganC. J.SchatschneiderC.WestbergL. (2008). Identification of children’s skills and abilities linked to later outcomes in reading, writing, and spelling. In National Early Literacy Panel, Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel (pp. 55–106). Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy. Available at http://www.nifl.gov/earlychildhood/NELP/NELPreport.html
18.
LoniganC. J.WhitehurstG. J. (1998). Relative efficacy of parent and teacher involvement in a shared-reading intervention for preschool children from low-income backgrounds. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17, 265–292.
19.
MacDonaldG. W.CornwallA. (1995). The relationship between phonological awareness and reading and spelling achievement eleven years later. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28, 523–527.
20.
National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy. Available at http://www.nifl.gov/earlychildhood/NELP/NELPreport.html
21.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Pub. No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
22.
NeumanS. B. (2010). Lessons from my mother: Reflections on the National Early Literacy Panel report. Educational Researcher, 39, 301–304.
23.
OrellanaM. F.D’warteJ. (2010). Recognizing different kinds of “Head Starts.”Educational Researcher, 39, 295–300.
24.
PearsonP. D.HiebertE. H. (2010). National reports in literacy: Building a scientific base for practice and policy. Educational Researcher, 39, 286–294.
25.
SchatschneiderC.LoniganC. J. (2010). Misunderstood statistical assumptions undermine criticism of the National Early Literacy Panel’s report. Educational Researcher, 39, 347–351.
26.
SchickedanzJ. A.McGeeL. M. (2010). The NELP report on shared story reading interventions (chapter 4): Extending the story. Educational Researcher, 39, 323–329.
27.
SénéchalM.LeFevreJ. (2002). Parental involvement in the development of children’s reading skill: A five-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 73, 445–460.
28.
ShanahanT. (in press). Review of Interdisciplinary Approaches to Literacy and Development. Comparative Education Review.
29.
ShanahanT.BeckI. (2006). Effective literacy teaching for English-language learners. In AugustD.ShanahanT. (Eds.), Developing literacy in second-language learners: Report of the National Literacy Panel on Language-Minority Children and Youth (pp. 415–488). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
30.
StorchS. A.WhitehurstG. J. (2002). Oral language and code-related precursors to reading: Evidence from a longitudinal structural model. Developmental Psychology, 38, 934–947.
31.
StreetB. V. (1984). Literacy in theory and practice. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
32.
TaconisR.Ferguson-HesslerM. G. M.BroekkampH. (2001). Teaching science problem solving: An overview of experimental work. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38, 442–468.
33.
TealeW. H.HoffmanJ.PacigaK. A. (2010). Where is NELP leading preschool literacy instruction? Potential positives and pitfalls. Educational Researcher, 39, 311–315.
34.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. (2005, May). Head Start impact study: First year findings. Washington, DC: Author.
35.
WalkerD.GreenwoodC.HartB.CartaJ. (1994). Prediction of school outcomes based on early language production and socioeconomic factors. Child Development, 65, 606–621.
36.
WhitehurstG. J.LoniganC. J. (1998). Child development and emergent literacy. Child Development, 69, 848–872.
