The Matthew Effect, named after a passage in the Bible’s Book of Matthew, is based on the notion of the rich get richer while the poor continue to get poorer (Konza, 2006). In relation to reading, this term refers to the cycle where students with poor vocabulary knowledge who struggle to read, generally read less and acquire fewer words, whilst good or expert readers read more and improve their comprehension (Malatesha, 2005).
The Matthew Effect |