In the context of reading instruction, the ‘Matthew effect’ is the idea that children who learn to read in the first three years of their education become increasingly fluent readers. They read more and learn more vocabulary, which enables them to even read more and comprehend more-advanced texts – so they advance further.
Conversely, children who struggle with reading read less, are less fluent, have poorer vocabularies and comprehend less, meaning they continue to struggle. The gap just keeps on growing. It is the principle of ‘the rich get richer and the poor get poorer’.
This is why it is essential that all children are offered a structured systematic phonics programme: science tells us that this is the best way for all to learn to read. This method is essential for most, and can’t harm those who don’t seem initially to need it.