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Reexamining the Dolch Basic Sight Word List: Contemporary Considerations for Culturally Sustaining Approaches to Assess Sight Word Development

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Title: Reexamining the Dolch Basic Sight Word List: Contemporary Considerations for Culturally Sustaining Approaches to Assess Sight Word Development
Language: English
Authors: Laveria Hutchison, Sarah Jerasa, Raju Ahmm, Elisa Holcomb
Source: Literacy Research and Instruction. 2025 64(3):299-321.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 23
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Sight Method, Evaluation Methods, Word Lists, Word Frequency, Language Variation, Authors, Race, Comparative Analysis, Cultural Relevance
Assessment and Survey Identifiers: Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary
DOI: 10.1080/19388071.2024.2321209
ISSN: 1938-8071
Abstract: The Dolch Basic Sight Word (DBSW) list has been considered the gold standard tool in schools to determine young readers' sight word automaticity. It has not changed despite shifts in our lexical and language practices. Assessment tools need to be reexamined for culturally sustaining pedagogical approaches. This study examines how a high-frequency word list constructed from contemporary texts compares to the DBSW list. The study utilized a quantitative corpus linguistic design to construct a new contemporary high-frequency word (CHFW) list using popular American adult texts. Data analysis compared the CHFW list with the original DBSW list using Spearman's rho for ranked correlation. Texts by authors of color (AoC) were also identified to compare how highly frequent words differed between the CHFW and DBSW lists. Results found correlation between the CHFW and DBSW lists (p = 0.826) and suggests shifts in lexical and language practices within contemporary written texts. Examining an AoC text, correlation was evident between the DBSW list (p = 0.800) and CHFW list (p = 0.790) but displayed less correlation. Findings suggest that using DBSW to assess students' sight word recognition is an inaccurate reflection of today's contemporary texts and particularly those texts written by diverse authors.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1508511
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Reexamining the Dolch Basic Sight Word List: Contemporary Considerations for Culturally Sustaining Approaches to Assess Sight Word Development
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Data: The Dolch Basic Sight Word (DBSW) list has been considered the gold standard tool in schools to determine young readers' sight word automaticity. It has not changed despite shifts in our lexical and language practices. Assessment tools need to be reexamined for culturally sustaining pedagogical approaches. This study examines how a high-frequency word list constructed from contemporary texts compares to the DBSW list. The study utilized a quantitative corpus linguistic design to construct a new contemporary high-frequency word (CHFW) list using popular American adult texts. Data analysis compared the CHFW list with the original DBSW list using Spearman's rho for ranked correlation. Texts by authors of color (AoC) were also identified to compare how highly frequent words differed between the CHFW and DBSW lists. Results found correlation between the CHFW and DBSW lists (p = 0.826) and suggests shifts in lexical and language practices within contemporary written texts. Examining an AoC text, correlation was evident between the DBSW list (p = 0.800) and CHFW list (p = 0.790) but displayed less correlation. Findings suggest that using DBSW to assess students' sight word recognition is an inaccurate reflection of today's contemporary texts and particularly those texts written by diverse authors.
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      – SubjectFull: Evaluation Methods
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      – SubjectFull: Word Lists
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