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Phonics Evidence

This is not a definitive list of (synthetic/linguistic) phonics research studies.

1996. Classroom Research Findings and the Nutshell Programme. Dr. Bonnie Macmillan
https://www.dyslexics.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/RRF47-Macmillan-classroom-observation.pdf

1996. Phono-Graphix: A New Method for Remediating Reading Difficulties (linguistic phonics).
https://www.phono-graphix.com/pdfs/research/OrtonAnnals.pdf

https://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape8/PQDD_0002/NQ41321.pdf
1999. Karen Sumbler. Phonological awareness combined with explicit alphabetic coding instruction in kindergarten, classroom observations and evaluation.

http://jolly2.s3.amazonaws.com/Research/Getting%20Ready%20for%20Reading.pdf
1999. Stuart. M. Synthetic phonics teaching improves reading and spelling in inner-city second language learners.

2004. Johnston, R.S., Watson, J.E. Accelerating the development of reading, spelling and phonemic awareness skills in initial readers. Reading and Writing. Vol. 17

2005. The Clackmannanshire study: A Seven Year Study of the Effects of Synthetic Phonics Teaching on Reading and Spelling Attainment.
https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/id/eprint/14793/1/0023582.pdf

https://www.dyslexics.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/rhona_ppt.pdf
Prof Rhona Johnston’s ppt. slides on the Clackmannanshire study

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251371861_Long-term_effects_of_synthetic_versus_analytic_phonics_teaching_on_the_reading_and_spelling_ability_of_10_year_old_boys_and_girls
Long-term effects of synthetic versus analytic phonics teaching on the reading and spelling ability of 10-year-old boys and girls.

2005. ”An Australian study by Christensen and Bowey (bit.ly/30xedZM) found significant advantages for systematic synthetic phonics over analytic phonics in reading and spelling for students in their second year of school.”

2007. Developing young readers through the linguistic phonics approach. Gray et al. International Journal of Early Years Education. Vol. 15.1. ”Findings from this three‐stage test/retest matched‐samples evaluation (n = 745, Yr 2 and Yr 3 pupils) indicate that the [linguistic phonics approach] does significantly raise standards and that the gains made by pupils taught through this approach sustain over time.”

2009. Sound~Write’s longitudinal study of literacy development following 1607 pupils through KS1, using linguistic phonics. Case, Philpot & Walker.
https://sounds-write.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/A-longitudinal-study-of-literacy-development-using-Sounds-Write.pdf

https://www.academia.edu/7182043/Synthetic_phonics_and_early_reading_development
Synthetic phonics and early reading development. ”A synthetic phonics approach may be particularly suitable for children starting school with weaker than average language skills (e.g., those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds)”.

2014. ”(S)pelling practice has been found to result in superior orthographic learning, relative to print exposure through reading alone”  
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00117/full

2014. Grant. M. Report: Longitudinal Studies with Synthetic Phonics from Reception to Year 2 & to Year 6.
https://www.syntheticphonics.net/pdf/2014-Report.pdf

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5458780/pdf/xge_146_6_826.pdf
2017. Phonics works. New research suggests that sounding out words is the best way to teach reading
”Results showed striking benefits of print–sound training on reading aloud, generalization, and comprehension of single words”

2018. Effectiveness of Preschool-Wide Teacher-Implemented Phoneme Awareness and Letter-Sound Knowledge Instruction on Code-Based School-Entry Reading Readiness
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1525740118789061
”Overall, preschool-wide, teacher-implemented, phoneme-focused PA and LSK instruction can support code-based reading readiness skills for children with SLD and TD”

2018. Machin et al ‘Changing How Literacy Is Taught: Evidence on Synthetic Phonics’
Good results (see p239) but the ERDP phonics programme was used, not high-quality synthetic phonics. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5553/5632e06923dfe051109d405c83936e6240cf.pdf

2019. Meta-analysis regarding the teaching of phonics to students with intellectual disabilities:
”Teaching decoding skills to students with intellectual disability can be challenging”
”Phonics instruction has a large overall effect size (g = 1.42) on their decoding skills.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X18301660?via%3Dihub

2020. Reconsidering the evidence that systematic phonics is more effective than alternative methods of reading instruction. Dr J. Buckingham.
https://fivefromfive.com.au/uncategorized/the-grass-is-not-greener-on-jeffrey-bowers-side-of-the-fence-systematic-phonics-belongs-in-evidence-based-reading-programs/

2020. ‘A 2020 Perspective on Research Findings on Alphabetics (PA & Phonics): Implications for Instruction’. Prof. Susan Brady
https://www.thereadingleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Brady-Expanded-Version-of-Alphabetics-TRLJ.pdf
”Phonics instruction is most effective with a synthetic method. The implications of research on phonics are ever more compelling. The studies that have been done with careful comparisons of analytic versus synthetic methods have shown strong advantages of synthetic approaches”

2021. Study showing the dramatic impact of direct instruction in learning to read over “discovery” learning.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797620968790

Examining the evidence on the effectiveness of synthetic phonics teaching: the Ehri et al (2001) and C. Torgerson et al (2006) meta-analyses. Prof Rhona Johnston.
https://www.dyslexics.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Examining-the-evidence-of-SSP-teaching.pdf

2024. Can Older Pupils, Who Do Not Present as Struggling Readers, Improve Their
Basic Decoding Skills Through Systematic Phonics Instruction and What Effect
Does This Have on Their Reading Fluency and Comprehension? Dr Timothy Mills.
https://www.cmjpublishers.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/can-older-pupils-who-do-not-present-as-struggling-readers-improve-their-basic-decoding-skills-through-systematic-phonics-instruction-and-what-effect.pdf

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0089900
Effectiveness of Treatment Approaches for Children and Adolescents with Reading Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
”The results revealed that phonics instruction is not only the most frequently investigated treatment approach, but also the only approach whose efficacy on reading and spelling performance in children and adolescents with reading disabilities is statistically confirmed.”