What is academic language? Roger S. Frantz, Ed.D. principal content ...
Impact of Syntactic Complexity on Text Complexity Roger S. Frantz, Pearson Laura E. Starr, Pearson Alison L. Bailey, UCLA CERA 2013
Friday, December 6
Text Complexity in CCSS
Informational literacy is a key focus in CCSS for ELA & Literacy Accurate measurement of text complexity is important for instruction, assessment CCSS Appendix A presents a three-part model for measuring text complexity: ◦ Qualitative dimensions ◦ Quantitative dimensions ◦ Reader and task considerations 2
Text Complexity in CCSS
“Using qualitative measures of text complexity involves making an informed decision about the difficulty of a text in terms of one or more factors discernible to a human reader applying trained judgment to the task.”
Areas of focus are: ◦ Levels of meaning or purpose ◦ Organizational structure of text ◦ Language conventionality and clarity ◦ Knowledge demands There is no mention of grammar, syntax.
3
This Research Project
What is the relationship, if any, between syntactic complexity and text complexity? Reading passages from 2011 NAEP: ◦ Four grade 4 passages ◦ Four grade 8 passages (http://nationsreportcard.gov) Linguistic analysis of passages uses categories from Heritage & Bailey (2011) Protocol for Analysis of Language Content in English Language Proficiency Assessments. 4
Readability Scores: Grade 4
5
Readability Scores: Grade 8
6
Sentence Structure: Grade 4
7
Sentence Structure: Grade 8
8
Clause-level Structure: Grade 4
9
Clause-level Structure: Grade 8
10
Syntactic Complexity Patterns by Genre Grouped passages with similar genre and writing style Broadly defined categories due to limited number of passages
◦ Narrative
Fiction and literary non-fiction Literary or conversational style, story structure, narrative arc Literary non-fiction style typical of a magazine article
◦ Informational
Expository and literary non-fiction Informational, formal style typical of a textbook or encyclopedia 11
Narrative Passages Tough as Daisy – contemporary fiction Ducklings Come Home to Boston – biographical sketch Twins (in Meet the Author) – essay Mint Snowball – memoir
12
Informational Passages
Daddy Day Care – expository Marian’s Revolution – expository 1920: Women Get the Vote – expository Tech-Trash Tragedy – informational article Not Just for Kids Anymore (in Meet the Author) – biography
13
Sentence Structure Low % complex and CC (50%)
fiction, memoir, biographical sketch
essay, expository, expository, informational article biography
Fiction and memoir have several fragments
Essay has literary style with many long sentences
Bio sketch has conversational style with story-telling feel
Article has conversational style with informative feel
Biography has expository style
14
Clause-level Structure 35% Dependent
fiction, memoir, biographical sketch
essay, informational expository, article biography
No surprises — lowest % of complex sentences
No surprises — complex sentences under 50%
About ¼ sentences in each passage have 3 or more clauses
15
Readability Narrative passages are easier to read than expository passages Literary style of the essay makes it harder to read than other narratives Readability scores correlate with genre and clause-level structure patterns generally (but not perfectly!)
16
Syntactic Complexity: Implications for Assessment and Instruction
17
Syntactic complexity can contribute to a broader articulation of the text complexity construct Teachers can pay attention to syntax in strategic and tactical ways that fit within communicative approaches to language pedagogy
Should teachers expect to do these kinds of analyses without additional help?
18
Broader Educational Context 2013 NAEP reading assessment Students performing below basic: 4th grade: 33% overall; 69% of ELLs 8th grade: 23% overall; 70% of ELLs
- did not reach “partial mastery of fundamental skills” (NCES, 2013) - reading proficiency challenges at current levels of text complexity (e.g., Gamson, Lu, & Eckert, 2013) 19
Syntactic Complexity Findings 1)
2) 3)
Text complexity does not equal syntactic complexity; need to understand broader construct Varied within grade; lack of stability Did not increase uniformly grade–to-grade; lack of progression
“The forms [or passages] used across grade spans should show a useful progression in complexity of language skills and knowledge as students encounter more challenging uses of content-area language from grade-to-grade.” (Heritage & Bailey, 2011, p.4).
20
Implications for Assessment
Test development and interpretation: provides a
tool to strategically evaluate whether passage selection/creation is assessing progression of language development
ELP assessment: New ELD standards/frameworks
emphasize scholastic contexts (i.e., mathematics, English language arts) in which English develops Less attention has been paid to language content – the features of English and how they develop over time as a result of instruction and experience. (Bailey & Huang, 2011; Bailey & Heritage, submitted) 21
Implications for Instruction Faced with existing challenging texts, current findings can be used to: ◦ ◦
help teachers more effectively support reading development, and help define what reasonable expectations the profession should have for student achievement in English language arts (Hiebert & Mesmer, 2013)
22
“One hazard of focusing too intently on the CCSS notion of text complexity is that it ushers us into a rather rarified atmosphere, where Lexile rank— or any static single standard—becomes allimportant. The danger is that we will lose sight of what researchers and practitioners view as high, but reasonable, expectations….” (Gamson et al., 2013, p.389)
Role of teachers:
Helping students “gain access to the ideas encoded in this complex language” - one sentence at a time. (Wong- Fillmore & Fillmore, 2012, p.6) 23
Teachers Attending to Content and Language Given a syntactic progression, teachers can learn to be: 1) Strategic: set goals for syntactic development during content lesson planning based on prior observations of student needs 2) Tactical: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
model sentence structures provide sentence starter phrasing support target syntax across all modalities choose activities that provide a context for uptake Dynamic Language Learning Progressions project, (Bailey & Heritage, submitted). 24
“Where this time I just felt more at ease….It wasn't necessarily looking for one or the other [math/language]. But simultaneously… I mean how was one informing the other? How was language being used to help them articulate their reasoning?” Teacher of ELL & English-only/proficient Students; grades 1&2 combined classroom
25
Friday, December 6
Text Complexity in CCSS
Informational literacy is a key focus in CCSS for ELA & Literacy Accurate measurement of text complexity is important for instruction, assessment CCSS Appendix A presents a three-part model for measuring text complexity: ◦ Qualitative dimensions ◦ Quantitative dimensions ◦ Reader and task considerations 2
Text Complexity in CCSS
“Using qualitative measures of text complexity involves making an informed decision about the difficulty of a text in terms of one or more factors discernible to a human reader applying trained judgment to the task.”
Areas of focus are: ◦ Levels of meaning or purpose ◦ Organizational structure of text ◦ Language conventionality and clarity ◦ Knowledge demands There is no mention of grammar, syntax.
3
This Research Project
What is the relationship, if any, between syntactic complexity and text complexity? Reading passages from 2011 NAEP: ◦ Four grade 4 passages ◦ Four grade 8 passages (http://nationsreportcard.gov) Linguistic analysis of passages uses categories from Heritage & Bailey (2011) Protocol for Analysis of Language Content in English Language Proficiency Assessments. 4
Readability Scores: Grade 4
5
Readability Scores: Grade 8
6
Sentence Structure: Grade 4
7
Sentence Structure: Grade 8
8
Clause-level Structure: Grade 4
9
Clause-level Structure: Grade 8
10
Syntactic Complexity Patterns by Genre Grouped passages with similar genre and writing style Broadly defined categories due to limited number of passages
◦ Narrative
Fiction and literary non-fiction Literary or conversational style, story structure, narrative arc Literary non-fiction style typical of a magazine article
◦ Informational
Expository and literary non-fiction Informational, formal style typical of a textbook or encyclopedia 11
Narrative Passages Tough as Daisy – contemporary fiction Ducklings Come Home to Boston – biographical sketch Twins (in Meet the Author) – essay Mint Snowball – memoir
12
Informational Passages
Daddy Day Care – expository Marian’s Revolution – expository 1920: Women Get the Vote – expository Tech-Trash Tragedy – informational article Not Just for Kids Anymore (in Meet the Author) – biography
13
Sentence Structure Low % complex and CC (50%)
fiction, memoir, biographical sketch
essay, expository, expository, informational article biography
Fiction and memoir have several fragments
Essay has literary style with many long sentences
Bio sketch has conversational style with story-telling feel
Article has conversational style with informative feel
Biography has expository style
14
Clause-level Structure 35% Dependent
fiction, memoir, biographical sketch
essay, informational expository, article biography
No surprises — lowest % of complex sentences
No surprises — complex sentences under 50%
About ¼ sentences in each passage have 3 or more clauses
15
Readability Narrative passages are easier to read than expository passages Literary style of the essay makes it harder to read than other narratives Readability scores correlate with genre and clause-level structure patterns generally (but not perfectly!)
16
Syntactic Complexity: Implications for Assessment and Instruction
17
Syntactic complexity can contribute to a broader articulation of the text complexity construct Teachers can pay attention to syntax in strategic and tactical ways that fit within communicative approaches to language pedagogy
Should teachers expect to do these kinds of analyses without additional help?
18
Broader Educational Context 2013 NAEP reading assessment Students performing below basic: 4th grade: 33% overall; 69% of ELLs 8th grade: 23% overall; 70% of ELLs
- did not reach “partial mastery of fundamental skills” (NCES, 2013) - reading proficiency challenges at current levels of text complexity (e.g., Gamson, Lu, & Eckert, 2013) 19
Syntactic Complexity Findings 1)
2) 3)
Text complexity does not equal syntactic complexity; need to understand broader construct Varied within grade; lack of stability Did not increase uniformly grade–to-grade; lack of progression
“The forms [or passages] used across grade spans should show a useful progression in complexity of language skills and knowledge as students encounter more challenging uses of content-area language from grade-to-grade.” (Heritage & Bailey, 2011, p.4).
20
Implications for Assessment
Test development and interpretation: provides a
tool to strategically evaluate whether passage selection/creation is assessing progression of language development
ELP assessment: New ELD standards/frameworks
emphasize scholastic contexts (i.e., mathematics, English language arts) in which English develops Less attention has been paid to language content – the features of English and how they develop over time as a result of instruction and experience. (Bailey & Huang, 2011; Bailey & Heritage, submitted) 21
Implications for Instruction Faced with existing challenging texts, current findings can be used to: ◦ ◦
help teachers more effectively support reading development, and help define what reasonable expectations the profession should have for student achievement in English language arts (Hiebert & Mesmer, 2013)
22
“One hazard of focusing too intently on the CCSS notion of text complexity is that it ushers us into a rather rarified atmosphere, where Lexile rank— or any static single standard—becomes allimportant. The danger is that we will lose sight of what researchers and practitioners view as high, but reasonable, expectations….” (Gamson et al., 2013, p.389)
Role of teachers:
Helping students “gain access to the ideas encoded in this complex language” - one sentence at a time. (Wong- Fillmore & Fillmore, 2012, p.6) 23
Teachers Attending to Content and Language Given a syntactic progression, teachers can learn to be: 1) Strategic: set goals for syntactic development during content lesson planning based on prior observations of student needs 2) Tactical: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
model sentence structures provide sentence starter phrasing support target syntax across all modalities choose activities that provide a context for uptake Dynamic Language Learning Progressions project, (Bailey & Heritage, submitted). 24
“Where this time I just felt more at ease….It wasn't necessarily looking for one or the other [math/language]. But simultaneously… I mean how was one informing the other? How was language being used to help them articulate their reasoning?” Teacher of ELL & English-only/proficient Students; grades 1&2 combined classroom
25
