Which term describes the pattern that reading difficulties can spread to other subject areas and are associated with a downward spiral of motivation?

Which term describes the pattern that reading difficulties can spread to other subject areas and are associated with a downward spiral of motivation?

• A. Context Cues
• B. Mathew Effect
• C. Fluency
• D. Antisocial

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is the Matthew Effect: it describes how initial reading difficulties can cascade into other subject areas and become tied to a downward spiral of motivation. When a student struggles with reading, they’re likely to read less, fall further behind in content across multiple subjects, and become less motivated to engage with schoolwork. That drop in motivation and practice then leads to even bigger gaps in achievement, which can reinforce the struggle across the curriculum. The other terms don’t capture this cross-subject spread or the motivational spiral: context cues are about using surrounding text to infer meaning, fluency focuses on reading speed and accuracy, and antisocial refers to behavior rather than how reading trouble can affect learning across subjects.

The idea being tested is the Matthew Effect: it describes how initial reading difficulties can cascade into other subject areas and become tied to a downward spiral of motivation. When a student struggles with reading, they’re likely to read less, fall further behind in content across multiple subjects, and become less motivated to engage with schoolwork. That drop in motivation and practice then leads to even bigger gaps in achievement, which can reinforce the struggle across the curriculum. The other terms don’t capture this cross-subject spread or the motivational spiral: context cues are about using surrounding text to infer meaning, fluency focuses on reading speed and accuracy, and antisocial refers to behavior rather than how reading trouble can affect learning across subjects.