Everyone can be great!

Vision
Everyone can be great!

Mission
To collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds, experience, and expertise to co-create innovative, data-informed tools and services that are effective, efficient, and empowering 

Alexandra Spichtig, Ph.D.

Alexandra (Alex) is the President and CEO of the Stanford Taylor Foundation. She started her professional career as a classroom teacher in Switzerland before moving to the United States where she earned a Masters in Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language and a  Ph.D. in Instructional Design for Online Learning. Her doctoral dissertation focused on the effects of electronic text presentation formats on reading development. She has been involved in educational technology development for over 20 years. During this time, she has had many opportunities to work with students and educators and collaborate with leading scholars and experts in education, psychology, neuroscience, vision sciences, and eye movement research. Her primary research interests involve the physical processes of reading and how silent reading efficiency affects both comprehension and motivation.  

Research Publications & Conference Presentations 

2019

• Ferrara, J. D., Spichtig, A. N., Pascoe, J. P., & Gehsmann, K.M. (July 2019). Evaluating Concurrent Validity and Classification Accuracy of a Short Web-based Adaptive Assessment Compared to Two Assessments Widely Used in the United States. The 26th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR), Toronto, Canada.
• Gehsmann, K.M., Spichtig, A. N., Pascoe, J. P., & Ferrara, J. D. (July 2019). The Confluence of Reading Efficiency and Orthographic Knowledge in Proficient and Non-Proficient Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Readers. The 26th Annual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR), Toronto, Canada.
• Hiebert, E., Scott, J., Castaneda, R., & Spichtig, A. (2019). An analysis of the features of words that influence vocabulary difficulty. Education Sciences, 9(1).8.
• Spichtig, A. N., Ferrara, J. D., & Pascoe, J. P. (August 2019). The relationship between efficiency and proficiency in reading: A cross-sectional eye-movement study. The 20th European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM), Alicante, Spain.
• Spichtig, A. N., Gehsmann, K. M., Pascoe, J. P., & Ferrara, J. D. (2019). The Impact of Adaptive, Web-Based, Scaffolded Silent Reading Instruction on the Reading Achievement of Students in Grades 4 and 5. The Elementary School Journal, 119(3), 443-467.
• Spichtig, A. N., Pascoe, J. P., & Ferrara, J. D. (August 2019). Reading Efficiency in Proficient and Non-Proficient Students: A Comparison Across Five English Speaking Countries. World Education Research Association (WERA) 10th Focal Meeting, Tokyo, Japan.
• Spichtig, A. N., Pascoe, J. P., Ferrara, J. D., & Gehsmann, K.M., (July 2019). How reading efficiency and reading proficiency relate: A closer look. The 26thAnnual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR), Toronto, Canada.

2017

• Gehsmann, K.M., Spichtig, A.N., Pascoe, J.P., Ferrara, J.D. (December 2017). Comparing the Construct of Reading Proficiency Across Five Commonly Used Reading Assessments: Implications for Policy and Practice. Literacy Research Association 67th Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, USA.
• Gehsmann, K.M., Spichtig, A.N., & Tousley, E. (2017) Validating an Online Assessment of Developmental Spelling in Grades Five Through Eight. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 66(1), 279-292.
• Gehsmann, K.M., Tousley, E., Spichtig, A.N., Pascoe, J.P., Ferrara JD. (August 2017). Effects of Scaffolded Silent Reading Practice on the Reading Related Eye Movements of US Students in Grades 4 and 5. In: Radach, R., Deubel, H., Vorstius, C., & Hofmann, M.J., (Eds.). The 19th European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM), Wuppertal, Germany. 
• Spichtig, A.N., Gehsmann, K.M., Pascoe, J.P., & Ferrara, J.D. (August 2017). The Correlation between Eye Movement Data and Three Commonly Used Academic Reading Assessments. In: R. Radach, H. Deubel, C. Vorstius, & M. J. Hofmann (Eds.). The 19th European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM), Wuppertal, Germany. 
• Spichtig, A.N., Gehsmann, K.M., Pascoe, J.P., Ferrara, J.D. (December 2017). Reading Fluency: The Gateway to Comprehension and Motivation. World Education Research Association (WERA) International Conference, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
• Spichtig, A. N., Pascoe, J. P., Ferrara, J. D. (August 2017). The Reliability of Reading Efficiency Measures Obtained by Classroom Educators Using a Low-Cost Eye Movement Recording System. In: R. Radach, H. Deubel, C. Vorstius, & M. J. Hofmann (Eds.). The 19th European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM), Wuppertal, Germany. 
• Spichtig, A.N., Pascoe, J.P., Ferrara, J.D., & Vorstius, C. (2017). A Comparison of Eye Movement Measures across Reading Efficiency Quartile Groups in Elementary, Middle, and High School Students in the U.S. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 10(4). 
• Spichtig, A.N., Pascoe JP, Gehsmann, K.M., Ferrara, J.D. (December 2017). Skimmers and Plodders: Implications for Practice. Literacy Research Association (LRA) 67th Annual Conference, Tampa, FL, USA.

2016

• Spichtig, A.N., Hiebert E., Vorstius, C., Pascoe J.P., Pearson P.D., & Radach, R. (2016). The Decline of Comprehension-Based Silent Reading Efficiency in the United States: A Comparison of Current Data with Performance in 1960. Reading Research Quarterly, 51(2), 239-259. 

2015

• Spichtig, A. N., Pascoe, J. P., & Ferrara, J. D. (August 2015). An Eye-Movement Study of Comprehension-Based Silent Reading Efficiency Across Grade Levels in U.S. Students. In: Ansorge, U., Ditye, T., Florack, A., & Leder, H. (Eds.). The 18th European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM), Vienna, Austria. Journal of Eye Movement Research, 8(4). 

2013

• Hiebert, H., Spichtig, A. N., & Bender, R. (2013). Building Capacity in Low-Performing Readers: Results of Two Months of Reading Plus Practice. http://www.readingplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Research_Brief_Vol2_Issue11.pdf

2012

• Reutzel, D. R., Petscher, Y., & Spichtig, A. N. (2012). Exploring the Value Added of a Guided, Silent Reading Intervention: Effects on Struggling Third-Grade Readers’ Achievement, The Journal of Educational Research, 105(6), 404-415. 
• Galonska, S., Spichtig, A., Kuperman, V., & Heine, A. (2012). Kommentare zu Radach, Guenther & Huestegge (2012): Blickbewegungen beim Lesen: Leseentwicklung und Legasthenie. Lernen und Lernstörungen, 1 (3), 205 – 217.
• Spichtig, A. (2012). Effects of four electronic text presentation formats on reading efficiency and comprehension. Doctoral dissertation, Capella University. 

2011

• Taylor, S.E. & Spichtig, A. (2011). Today’s technology to develop silent reading proficiency and fluency. In S.E. Taylor (Ed.), Exploring Silent Reading Fluency: It’s nature and development. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publisher, Inc., 143-178.

2009

• Spichtig, A., Vorstius, C., Greene, A., & Radach, R.R. (2009). Comparing Visagraph III to EyeLink 2k: How does a “low cost” eye tracker measure up to state-of-the-art technology? The 15th European Conference on Eye Movements (ECEM), Southampton, UK.