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Purpose: We sought to examine second grade teachers' word use throughout the school day to identify the amount and type of teacher vocabulary use across content areas as well as to examine relationships between this teacher talk and student language and literacy achievement., Method: Second grade teachers ( n = 64) and a random sample of half of their students ( n = 619) participated. Teachers recorded instruction during the school day throughout the year, and students were assessed on vocabulary, grammar, and reading measures in the fall and spring., Results: Findings reveal second grade students hear thousands of words spoken by the teacher each hour of the school day, including more than a thousand different words per hour on average. The large majority of words were the most common words in the English language. On average, there were few academic or curriculum vocabulary words used, but this varied widely between teachers. The proportion of academic words used by teachers during the school day significantly predicted students' end-of-year vocabulary. Teachers who used more academic words had students with higher vocabulary achievement at the end of the school year. There were no other significant relationships between teachers' language and student achievement., Conclusions: This correlational evidence adds to the existing knowledge of the importance of academic language to student school outcomes and provides implications for further research in the area of academic language at the early elementary level.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a virtual intensive reading intervention embedded with mindset training compared to typical reading instruction in a business-as-usual (BAU) condition delivered to fourth grade students with or at-risk for reading disabilities. After screening, the 59 participants were stratified and assigned randomly to condition. Highly trained interventionists delivered the intervention one-to-one with high fidelity and student engagement during the intensive intervention. Classroom teachers delivered the BAU. We examined the effects of the intervention on a variety of standardized timed and untimed measures of word reading and decoding, reading fluency, comprehension, and mindset. We addressed two research questions: What are the effects of intensive virtual reading intervention embedded with mindset training relative to a business-as-usual comparison (BAU) on the reading outcomes of fourth grade students with or at-risk for reading disabilities? Was initial mindset related to student response to intervention? Data analyses examined the main effect and moderation using linear mixed effects models. Significant differences in reading favored the virtual treatment condition for letter and word identification ( g = 0.38). No other significant effects were observed. We note limitations in our study and offer directions for future research, including the need to explore additional moderators.

The purpose of this paper is to describe what we know and what we still need to learn about literacy intervention for children who experience significant difficulties learning to read. We reviewed 14 meta-analyses and systematic reviews of experimental and quasi-experimental studies published in the last decade that examined the effects of reading and writing interventions in the elementary grades, including research focused on students with reading difficulties and disabilities, including dyslexia. We attended to moderator analyses, when available, to further refine what we know and need to learn about interventions. Findings from these reviews indicate that explicit and systematic intervention focusing on the code and meaning dimensions of reading and writing, and delivered one-to-one or in small groups, are likely to improve foundational code-based reading skills, and to a lesser extent, meaning-based skills, across elementary grade levels. Findings, at least in the upper elementary grades, indicate that some intervention features including standardized protocols, multiple components, and longer duration can yield stronger effects. And, integrating reading and writing interventions shows promise. We still need to learn more about specific instructional routines and components that provide more robust effects on students' ability to comprehend and individual differences in response to interventions. We discuss limitations of this review of reviews and suggest directions for future research to optimize implementation, particularly to understand for whom and under what conditions literacy interventions work best.

Recent research has focused on evaluating the relation between mindset and reading achievement. We used exploratory factor mixture models (E-FMMs) to examine the heterogeneity in reading achievement and mindset of 650 fourth graders with reading difficulties. To build E-FMMs, we conducted confirmatory factor analyses to examine the factor structure of scores of (a) mindset, (b) reading, and (c) mindset/reading combined. Our results indicated (a) a 2-factor model for mindset ( General Mindset vs. Reading Mindset ), (b) a 2-factor model for reading ( Word Reading vs. Comprehension ; four covariances), and (c) a combined model with significant correlations across mindset and reading factors. We ran E-FMMs on the combined model. Overall, we found three classes of students. We situate these results within the existing literature and discuss implications for practice and research.

This meta-analysis examined the effects on reading comprehension of foundational reading skills and multicomponent reading interventions provided to students with or at risk for reading difficulties or disabilities (students with RDs) in kindergarten through Grade 3. The meta-analysis included studies identified by Wanzek et al. (2016) and Wanzek et al. (2018), with an updated search through August of 2019, for a total of 47 included studies ( m = 112; total student N = 7446). The weighted average effect on norm-referenced reading comprehension outcomes was estimated as g = 0.37, indicating that primary-grade interventions have an educationally meaningful effect on reading comprehension for students with RDs. Effects did not differ for interventions focused only on foundational reading skills and those that provided both foundational skills and comprehension instruction. Effects were significantly moderated by the measurement timepoint, with follow-up effect sizes being, on average, 0.16 smaller than immediate posttest effect sizes., Competing Interests: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

In this study, we conducted a review of reading intervention research (1988-2019) for upper elementary struggling readers and examined intervention area (e.g., foundational, comprehension, or multicomponent) and intensity (e.g., hours of intervention, group size, and individualization) as possible moderators of effects. We located 33 studies containing 49 treatment-comparison contrasts, found small effects for foundational reading skills ( g = 0.22) and comprehension ( g = 0.21), and decreased effects when considering standardized measures only. For intervention area, only multicomponent interventions predicted significant effects for both comprehension and foundational outcomes. For intensity, we did not find systematic evidence that longer or individualized interventions were associated with larger effects. However, interventions implemented in very small groups predicted larger comprehension outcomes. Overall, more research examining the quality of school provided reading instruction and how the severity of reading difficulties may impact effects of more intensive interventions is needed.

Much attention has been given to the development and validation of measures of growth mindset and its impact on learning, but the previous work has largely been focused on general measures of growth mindset. The present research was focused on establishing the psychometric properties of a Reading Mindset (RM) measure among a sample of upper elementary school students and validating the measure via its relations with standardized measures of word reading and comprehension. The RM measure was developed to capture student beliefs about their ability, learning goals, and effort during reading. Item Response Theory (IRT) was used to select items that optimally measured the RM measure from a pool of existing items from previous research (Petscher et al., 2017). The final five-item RM measure predicted reading comprehension outcomes above and beyond the effects of word reading, indicating that this measure may be an important tool for diagnosing non-cognitive areas of improvement for developing readers. The implications, limitations, and future directions for expanding upon the measure were discussed., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effects of providing mindset intervention in addition to reading intervention compared with only reading intervention for fourth graders with reading difficulties. Reading intervention was provided daily in 45 min sessions throughout the school year. Mindset intervention occurred in small groups for 24-30 min lessons. Multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) via n- level SEM was used to account for the latent variable representation of constructs, and the complex nesting and cross-classification structure of the data. Students in the reading intervention plus mindset condition significantly outperformed the business as usual condition on nonword reading ( d = 0.35) as did students in the reading intervention condition ( d = 0.20), who also outperformed the business as usual condition on phonological processing ( d = 0.28). There were no significant differences among students in the three conditions on nonword reading, word reading, phonological processing, reading comprehension, or growth mindset. Initial reading achievement, mindset, and problem behavior did not generally moderate these findings.

The purpose of this study was (a) to compare the single-word spelling performance of first graders across four groups that varied by speech and language status; and (b) to determine the linguistic predictors of first-grade spelling for children with speech and/or language impairment compared to children with typical development. First grade children ( N = 529) completed measures of spelling, early word reading, expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness, and morphosyntactic knowledge. Children with language impairment, with or without speech impairments, demonstrated lower spelling performance than children with typical development; children with speech impairment only did not differ from children with typical development. Additionally, early word reading and phonological awareness predicted spelling performance, regardless of group. Study findings indicate that language status, but not speech status, is a risk factor for low spelling performance in first grade, and that first grade spelling instruction should focus on developing early word reading and phonological awareness.

This study explored the underlying latent structure of items on the Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) tool, explore whether subgroups of students exist based on the latent structure of MAP items, and test whether subgroups were differentiated on standardized measures of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and word reading. Participants included 431 fourth grade students. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that a three-factor model provided the most parsimonious fit to the data. Results of exploratory finite mixture model analysis with auxiliary regression suggested five classes of students with the students categorized as Growth Mindset - High Effort profile, having the highest, observed reading comprehension ( M = 451.98, SD = 38.88) and vocabulary ( M = 454.37, SD = 34.74) scores. By contrast, students categorized as Fixed Mindset - Higher Effort had the lowest observed reading comprehension and vocabulary scores. Limitations and directions for future research, and implications for using MAP assessment to inform intervention are discussed.

We examined the efficacy of a content acquisition and reading comprehension intervention implemented in eighth-grade social studies classrooms. Using a within-teacher randomized control design, 18 eighth-grade teachers' social studies classes were randomly assigned to a treatment or comparison condition. Teachers taught all their classes (treatment and comparison) using the same content; however, in the treatment classes, teachers used instructional practices that included comprehension canopy, essential words, knowledge acquisition, and team-based learning. Students with reading comprehension difficulties in the treatment classes ( n  = 359) outperformed students with reading comprehension difficulties in the comparison classes ( n  = 331) on measures of content knowledge acquisition and content reading comprehension but not general reading comprehension. In addition, the proportion of students with reading comprehension difficulties in classes moderated outcomes for content knowledge acquisition and content reading comprehension.

Empirical studies investigating supplemental reading interventions for students with or at-risk for reading disabilities in the early elementary grades have demonstrated a range of effect sizes. Identifying the findings from high quality research can provide greater certainty of findings related to the effectiveness of supplemental reading interventions. This meta-analysis investigated how four variables of study quality (study design, statistical treatment, Type I error, and fidelity of implementation) were related to effect sizes from standardized measures of foundational reading skills and language/comprehension. The results from 88 studies indicated that year of publication was a significant predictor of effect sizes for both standardized measures of foundational reading skills and language/comprehension, with more recent studies demonstrating smaller effect sizes. Results also demonstrated that with the exception of research design predicting effect sizes on foundational reading skills measures, study quality was not related to the effects of supplemental reading interventions. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Many students at risk for or identified with reading disabilities need intensive reading interventions. This meta-analysis provides an update to the Wanzek and Vaughn synthesis on intensive early reading interventions. Effects from 25 reading intervention studies are analyzed to examine the overall effect of intensive early reading interventions as well as relationships between intervention and student characteristics related to outcomes. The weighted mean effect size (ES) estimate (ES = 0.39), with a mean effect size adjusted for publication bias (ES = 0.28), both significantly different from zero, suggested intensive early reading interventions resulted in positive outcomes for early struggling readers in kindergarten through third grades. There was no statistically significant or meaningful heterogeneity in the study-wise effect sizes. Exploratory examination of time in intervention, instructional group size, initial reading achievement, and date of publication are provided.

Treatment fidelity data (descriptive and statistical) are critical to interpreting and generalizing outcomes of intervention research. Despite recommendations for treatment fidelity reporting from funding agencies and researchers, past syntheses have found treatment fidelity is frequently unreported (e.g., Swanson, The Journal of Special Education, 47 , 3-13, 2011) in educational interventions and fidelity data are seldom used to analyze its relation to student outcomes (O'Donnell, Review of Educational Research, 78 (1), 33-84, 2008). The purpose of this synthesis was to examine how treatment fidelity is supported, measured, and reported in reading intervention studies conducted with students at risk or with reading difficulties in grades K-3 from 1995 through 2015. All studies ( k = 175) were coded to extract and classify information related to (a) the characteristics of the intervention study (e.g., publication year, research design); (b) treatment implementer training and support; (c) treatment fidelity data collection procedures, dimensions (i.e., adherence, quality, receipt, dosage, and differentiation), and levels of treatment fidelity data; and (d) the use of fidelity scores in the analysis of treatment effects. Results indicated that less than half (47%) of the reading intervention studies synthesized reported treatment fidelity data (numeric or narrative). Exploratory analyses showed that several study features were associated with the prevalence of fidelity reporting. Studies reporting treatment fidelity largely measured treatment adherence, and scores were, on average, high. Other dimensions of treatment fidelity (e.g., treatment differentiation), and analyses relating fidelity data to outcomes, were consistently absent from the corpus of reading intervention studies reviewed. Recommendations for enhancing how treatment fidelity data in intervention studies are collected and reported are presented.

We investigated developmental trajectories of and the relation between reading and writing (word reading, reading comprehension, spelling, and written composition), using longitudinal data from students in Grades 3 to 6 in the US. Results revealed that word reading and spelling were best described as having linear growth trajectories whereas reading comprehension and written composition showed nonlinear growth trajectories with a quadratic function during the examined developmental period. Word reading and spelling were consistently strongly related (.73 ≤ r s ≤ .80) whereas reading comprehension and written composition were weakly related (.21 ≤ r s ≤ .37). Initial status and linear slope were negatively and moderately related for word reading (-.44) whereas they were strongly and positively related for spelling (.73). Initial status of word reading predicted initial status and growth rate of spelling; and growth rate of word reading predicted growth rate of spelling. In contrast, spelling did not predict word reading. When it comes to reading comprehension and writing, initial status of reading comprehension predicted initial status (.69), but not linear growth rate, of written comprehension. These results indicate that reading-writing relations are stronger at the lexical level than at the discourse level and may be a unidirectional one from reading to writing at least between Grades 3 and 6. Results are discussed in light of the interactive dynamic literacy model of reading-writing relations, and component skills of reading and writing development.

We discuss a component-based, developmental view of text writing fluency, which we tested using data from children in Grades 2 and 3. Text writing fluency was defined as efficiency and automaticity in writing connected texts, which acts as a mediator between text generation (oral language), transcription skills, and writing quality. We hypothesized that in the beginning phase, text writing fluency would be largely constrained by transcription skills (spelling and handwriting), while at a later phase, oral language would make an independent contribution to text writing fluency. Furthermore, we hypothesized that text writing fluency would have a stronger relationship with writing quality at a later phase than at an earlier phase. We operationalized text writing fluency using two curriculum-based measurement writing scores: percentage correct word sequences and correct minus incorrect word sequences. Results revealed that in Grade 2, only transcription skills were uniquely related to text writing fluency, whereas in Grade 3, oral language was also related to text writing fluency. Text writing fluency was weakly related to writing quality in Grade 2 but strongly related to writing quality in Grade 3, over and above oral language and transcription skills. In both grades, oral language and handwriting fluency were independently related to writing quality. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Nonmainstream American English, or dialect, among children may have important implications for reading research and practice. However, much of the research involving relations between dialect and literacy has analyzed dialect use in only one context and has omitted students with speech, language, and learning disabilities. Consequently, we examined dialect use in an oral narrative and two writing samples in relation to concurrent and longitudinal reading outcomes in a diverse sample of students, including those with diagnosed disabilities. Overall, most students used features of dialect in oral and written language. Dialect use was significantly and negatively predictive of reading outcomes the same year and 2 years later. Moderator analyses indicated a similar relationship between dialect use and reading for students with speech, language, and learning disabilities, suggesting that students with these disabilities who also use dialect may be at increased risk for reading difficulties. Implications for practice and future research are provided.

We examined how raters and tasks influence measurement error in writing evaluation and how many raters and tasks are needed to reach a desirable level of .90 and .80 reliabilities for children in Grades 3 and 4. A total of 211 children (102 boys) were administered three tasks in narrative and expository genres, respectively, and their written compositions were evaluated in widely used evaluation methods for developing writers: holistic scoring, productivity, and curriculum-based writing scores. Results showed that 54% and 52% of variance in narrative and expository compositions were attributable to true individual differences in writing. Students' scores varied largely by tasks (30.44% and 28.61% of variance), but not by raters. To reach the reliability of .90, multiple tasks and raters were needed, and for the reliability of .80, a single rater and multiple tasks were needed. These findings offer important implications about reliably evaluating children's writing skills, given that writing is typically evaluated by a single task and a single rater in classrooms and even in state accountability systems.

Spelling is one of the most challenging areas for students with learning disabilities (LD), and improving spelling outcomes for these students is of high importance. In this synthesis, we examined the effects of spelling and reading interventions on spelling outcomes for students with LD in Grades K through 12. A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 2004 and 2014 was conducted using electronic databases and hand searches of relevant journals. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to meet the following criteria: (a) Participants were identified with LD and were in Grades K through 12, (b) designs were either treatment/comparison or single case, (c) a reading or spelling intervention was implemented, (d) at least one spelling outcome was measured, and (e) instruction was in English. Ten studies met criteria for inclusion in the synthesis, and effectiveness ranged from ineffective to highly effective. Findings demonstrated that spelling outcomes for taught words were improved for students with LD with the use of explicit instruction or self-correction strategies.

We examined the effects of transcription instruction for students in first grade. Students in the lowest 70% of the participating schools were selected for the study. These 81 students were randomly assigned to: (a) spelling instruction, (b) handwriting instruction, (c) combination spelling and handwriting instruction, or (d) no intervention. Intervention was provided in small groups of 4 students, 25 min a day, 4 days a week for 8 weeks. Students in the spelling condition outperformed the control group on spelling measures with moderate effect sizes noted on curriculum-based writing measures (e.g., correct word sequence; g range = 0.34 to 0.68). Students in the handwriting condition outperformed the control group on correct word sequences with small to moderate effects on other handwriting and writing measures ( g range = 0.31 to 0.71). Students in the combined condition outperformed the control group on correct word sequences with a small effect on total words written ( g range = 0.39 to 0.84).

We describe teacher fidelity (adherence to the components of the treatment as specified by the research team) based on a series of studies of a multicomponent intervention, Promoting Acceleration of Comprehension and Content Through Text (PACT), with middle and high school social studies teachers and their students. Findings reveal that even with highly specified materials and implementing practices that are aligned with effective reading comprehension and content instruction, teachers' fidelity was consistently low for some components and high for others. Teachers demonstrated consistently high implementation fidelity and quality for the instructional components of building background knowledge (comprehension canopy) and teaching key content vocabulary (essential words), whereas we recorded consistently lower fidelity and quality of implementation for the instructional components of critical reading and knowledge application., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

This meta-analysis extends previous work on extensive Tier 3 type reading interventions (Wanzek & Vaughn, 2007; Wanzek et al., 2013) to Tier 2 type interventions by examining a non-overlapping set of studies addressing the effects of less extensive reading interventions for students with or at risk for reading difficulties in Grades K-3. We examined the overall effects of these interventions on students' foundational skills, language, and comprehension as well as the intervention features that may be associated with improved outcomes. We conducted four meta-analyses on 72 studies to examine effects on (1) standardized foundational skill measures (mean ES = 0.54), (2) not-standardized foundational skill measures (mean ES = 0.62), (3) standardized language/comprehension measures (mean ES = 0.36), and (4) not-standardized language/comprehension measures (mean ES = 1.02). There were no differences in effects related to intervention type, instructional group size, grade level, intervention implementer, or the number of intervention hours.

This research synthesis was conducted to understand the effectiveness of interventions designed to improve learning from informational text for students with learning disabilities in elementary school (K-5). The authors identified 18 studies through a comprehensive search. The interventions were evaluated to determine treatment effects and to understand implementation and methodological variables that influenced outcomes. Moderate to large effect sizes on researcher-developed measures for cognitive strategy interventions were reported. Interventions that utilized graphic organizers as study guides to support social studies learning were also associated with improved outcomes. The findings are considered within the context of limited implementation of standardized measures. The authors extend findings from previous research by reporting a paucity of interventions to enhance higher-level cognitive and comprehension skills. The majority of reviewed studies targeted fact acquisition and main idea identification, and overall encouraging findings were noted for these skills. Implications for future research are discussed., (© Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.)

Understanding differences in oral language abilities is vital, particularly for children from low-income homes and minority children who are at an increased risk for academic failure because of differences or deficits in language use or exposure before they enter school. The purpose of this study was to investigate oral language performance, including receptive and expressive vocabulary, grammar, and sentence imitation, among a diverse group of kindergarten students ( n = 503). Using hierarchical linear modeling, we examined the contributions of student race, African American or non-African American, student socioeconomic status (SES), and schoolwide SES to oral language performance. In separate analyses, we found significant absolute effects of both race and individual SES. However, when analyzed simultaneously, only race was a significant predictor for all measures. We also found that both identification as African American and schoolwide SES were significant predictors of oral language performance. We discuss implications for practice and future research.

Purpose: The current meta-analysis examines recent empirical research studies that have investigated relations among dialect use and the development and achievement of reading, spelling, and writing skills., Method: Studies published between 1998 and 2014 were selected if they: (a) included participants who were in Grades K-6 and were typically developing native English speakers, (b) examined a concurrent quantitative relationship between dialect use and literacy, including reading, spelling, or writing measures, and (c) contained sufficient information to calculate effect size estimates., Results: Upon the removal of one study that was found to be an outlier, the full sample included 19 studies consisting of 1,947 participants, of which the majority (70%) were African American. The results showed a negative and moderate relationship between dialect use and overall literacy performance (M effect size = -0.33) and for dialect and reading (M effect size = -0.32). For spelling and writing, the relationship was negative and small (M effect size = -0.22). Moderator analyses revealed that socioeconomic status and grade level were not significant predictors for relations among dialect use and literacy skills., Conclusions: Implications for practice and future research, including analyzing dialect use in a variety of contexts and examining these relations to literacy outcomes, are discussed.

The purpose of this interdisciplinary paper is to describe Response to Intervention (RTI), or multi-tier systems of support, for early literacy to improve reading outcomes for students with or at risk for reading disability. First we review the current US policy on RTI for the purpose of early literacy intervention and for identification of reading disabilities. We situate this within recent efforts in developing countries supported by the World Bank and the Early Grade Reading Assessments. Then, we highlight a large experimental study we conducted with first graders and provide findings from a third grade follow up. We conclude with implications for research, practice, and policy.

We had three aims in the present study: (1) to examine the dimensionality of various evaluative approaches to scoring writing samples (e.g., quality, productivity, and curriculum based writing [CBM]) , (2) to investigate unique language and cognitive predictors of the identified dimensions, and (3) to examine gender gap in the identified dimensions of writing. These questions were addressed using data from second and third grade students ( N = 494). Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and multilevel modeling. Results showed that writing quality, productivity, and CBM scoring were dissociable constructs, but that writing quality and CBM scoring were highly related ( r = .82). Language and cognitive predictors differed among the writing outcomes. Boys had lower writing scores than girls even after accounting for language, reading, attention, spelling, handwriting automaticity, and rapid automatized naming. Results are discussed in light of writing evaluation and a developmental model of writing.

The primary goal of the present study was to examine the relations of kindergarten transcription, oral language, word reading, and attention skills to writing skills in third grade. Children ( N = 157) were assessed on their letter writing automaticity, spelling, oral language, word reading, and attention in kindergarten. Then, they were assessed on writing in third grade using three writing tasks - one narrative and two expository prompts. Children's written compositions were evaluated in terms of writing quality (the extent to which ideas were developed and presented in an organized manner). Structural equation modeling showed that kindergarten oral language and lexical literacy skills (i.e., word reading and spelling) were independently predicted third grade narrative writing quality, and kindergarten literacy skill uniquely predicted third grade expository writing quality. In contrast, attention and letter writing automaticity were not directly related to writing quality in either narrative or expository genre. These results are discussed in light of theoretical and practical implications.

The purpose of this study was to use a mixed methods approach to learn about inadequate response to a year-long multi-tier RTI model that allowed first-grade students to move up and down tiers. Participants were 156 students who received supplemental intervention services during a larger multi-tier RTI study involving classrooms and 522 students across 10 schools. Findings from an all-subset regression indicate letter word reading, the fluency composite, and blending words explained the most variance (15%) in response among initial skills. Adding additional teacher ratings of behavior and academics, accounted for a small amount of additional variance (3%) in group membership. The ROC curve analysis indicated 87.5% of students were correctly classified, yielding a sensitivity of 85.3 and a specificity of 65.0. Findings from qualitative observations of intervention sessions suggest inadequate responders demonstrated physical and verbal task avoidance and displayed emotions of hopelessness and shame. Implications for practice are discussed.

This randomized controlled experiment compared the efficacy of two Response to Intervention (RTI) models - Typical RTI and Dynamic RTI - and included 34 first-grade classrooms ( n = 522 students) across 10 socio-economically and culturally diverse schools. Typical RTI was designed to follow the two-stage RTI decision rules that wait to assess response to Tier 1 in many districts, whereas Dynamic RTI provided Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions immediately according to students' initial screening results. Interventions were identical across conditions except for when intervention began. Reading assessments included letter-sound, word, and passage reading, and teacher-reported severity of reading difficulties. An intent-to-treat analysis using multi-level modeling indicated an overall effect favoring the Dynamic RTI condition ( d = .36); growth curve analyses demonstrated that students in Dynamic RTI showed an immediate score advantage, and effects accumulated across the year. Analyses of standard score outcomes confirmed that students in the Dynamic condition who received Tier 2 and Tier 3 ended the study with significantly higher reading performance than students in the Typical condition. Implications for RTI implementation practice and for future research are discussed.

For many students at risk for reading difficulties, effective, early reading instruction can improve reading outcomes and set them on a positive reading trajectory. Thus, response-to-intervention models include a focus on a student's Tier I reading instruction as one element for preventing reading difficulties and identifying students with a learning disability. The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of time kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties actively engaged in reading print during Tier I reading instruction, and the extent to which time in reading print was related to end-of-year reading achievement. Findings revealed the amount of time students were engaged in reading print predicted end-of-year reading achievement, although time engaged in reading print during Tier I was limited overall. Student and teacher level factors and their relationship to the amount of time students engage in reading print is also examined.

In the present study, we examined the influence of kindergarten component skills on writing outcomes, both concurrently and longitudinally to first grade. Using data from 265 students, we investigated a model of writing development including attention regulation along with students' reading, spelling, handwriting fluency, and oral language component skills. Results from structural equation modeling demonstrated that a model including attention was better fitting than a model with only language and literacy factors. Attention, a higher-order literacy factor related to reading and spelling proficiency, and automaticity in letter-writing were uniquely and positively related to compositional fluency in kindergarten. Attention and higher-order literacy factor were predictive of both composition quality and fluency in first grade, while oral language showed unique relations with first grade writing quality. Implications for writing development and instruction are discussed.

We use three data sources to build a rationale for why intensive interventions are necessary for students with pervasive reading disabilities: current data on the performance of students with disabilities on reading achievement measures over time, observation studies on students with reading disabilities in general and special education classrooms, and findings from intensive intervention studies for students with reading disabilities. Results of these data sources indicate that students with disabilities are not making progress in reading at the same rate as students without disabilities, reading instruction for students with reading disabilities is comprised of excessive amounts of low level tasks, and findings from intensive intervention studies suggest positive impacts for students with reading disabilities. We argue that students with reading disabilities require ongoing intensive interventions that are likely to require schools to change the contexts and practices for these students.

A synthesis and meta-analysis of the extant research on the effects of reading interventions delivered using social studies content for students with learning disabilities in kindergarten through Grade 12 is provided. A total of 27 studies met criteria for the synthesis, with 16 studies providing sufficient data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Reading interventions implemented within the context of social studies have employed the use of graphic organizers, mnemonics, reading and answering questions, guided notes, and multicomponent comprehension instruction. The overall mean effect size for interventions included in the meta-analysis was 1.02, indicating that reading interventions delivered using social studies content have a substantial positive effect on outcomes among students with learning disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to compare the long term effects of two first grade RTI models (Dynamic and Typical RTI) on the reading performance of students in second and third grade. Participants included 419 first grade students (352 in second grade and 278 in third grade after attrition). Students were classified based on first grade screeners as at-risk or not at-risk and then based on their response to intervention (no risk [NR], relative easy to remediate [ER] and requiring sustained remediation [SR]). Students in the Dynamic RTI condition had higher reading comprehension scores at the end of third grade. At the end of second grade, ER and SR students had lower reading scores than NR students. At the end of third grade, there were no differences in reading skills between ER and NR students, but SR students had lower scores than NR students. ER students in the Dynamic RTI condition had higher reading scores at the end of second grade than those in the Typical RTI condition. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the academic responding of students at-risk for reading difficulties in beginning reading instruction. Opportunities for kindergarten students at-risk for reading difficulties to respond academically during teacher-facilitated reading instruction in the general education classroom were examined in relation to student reading achievement as well as social behaviors. Student academic responding during teacher-facilitated instruction significantly predicted end of year reading achievement. Teacher perceptions of students' social skills (positive correlation) and problem behaviors (negative correlation) were significantly correlated with academic responding. When academic responding and teacher perceptions of social behaviors were examined together, only teacher perceptions of academic competence and problem behaviors predicted spring outcomes.

This study used a large state-wide database to examine the oral reading fluency development of second and third grade students with emotional disturbance or learning disabilities and their general education peers. Oral reading fluency measures were administered to 185,367 students without disabilities (general education), 2,146 students identified with an emotional disturbance, and 10,339 students with a learning disability. Student status and growth trends were examined in a piecewise model at each grade level for the full sample as well as for a subsample with reading difficulties. Data suggested students with disabilities performed significantly below students without disabilities in initial status and growth. Gender was also examined as a moderator of outcomes for each of the study groups.

The implementation of response to intervention requires interventions for struggling students be provided through general education prior to referral for special education. We surveyed elementary teachers (K-3) in one state to examine the characteristics of the supplemental reading interventions that their students receive through general education. Findings reveal differences between grade levels in the amount of time interventions are provided to students, the providers of the intervention, and the material selection for the interventions. No differences between grade levels were noted in the frequency of intervention or instructional group sizes. Three-quarters of the teachers reported providing the supplemental interventions to students in their class. The findings provide insight into the resources utilized by schools to implement supplemental interventions.

The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of time spent actively engaged in reading sounds, words, and connected text for students at-risk for reading difficulties in the first formal grade of reading instruction, kindergarten. Observational data of 109 kindergarten students at high-risk for later reading difficulties were collected during general education reading instruction across the school year. Findings revealed students read orally for just over 1 minute during their reading instruction with approximately equal time spent reading sounds, words, or connected text. Implications of these results for early reading instruction and intervention for students at-risk for reading difficulties or disabilities are presented.

This experimental study reports findings on the effects from a year-long reading intervention providing daily, 50-minute sessions to middle-school students with identified learning disabilities (n = 65) compared with similar students who did not receive the reading intervention (n = 55). All students continued to receive their special education services as provided by the school. Results indicated statistically significant findings favoring the treatment group for sight word reading fluency following intervention. Small effects were found for phonemic decoding fluency and passage comprehension. No other statistically significant differences were noted between groups. The findings suggest that while gains on word reading fluency resulted from the additional reading treatment, accelerating the reading performance of students identified with learning disabilities may be unlikely to result from a one-year, daily intervention provided to students in groups of 10-15.

Many schools are beginning to implement multi-tier response to intervention (RTI) models for the prevention of reading difficulties and to assist in the identification of students with learning disabilities (LD). The present study was part of our larger ongoing longitudinal RTI investigation within the Florida Learning Disabilities Center grant. This study used a longitudinal correlational design, conducted in 7 ethnically and socio-economically diverse schools. We observed reading instruction in 20 classrooms, examined response rates to kindergarten Tier 1 instruction, and predicted students' first grade reading performance based upon kindergarten growth and end of year reading performance (n = 203). Teachers followed an explicit core reading program and overall, classroom instruction was rated as effective. Results indicate that controlling for students' end of kindergarten reading, their growth across kindergarten on a variety of language and literacy measures suppressed predictions of first grade performance. Specifically, the steeper the students' trajectory to a satisfactory outcome, the less likely they were to demonstrate good performance in first grade. Implications for future research and RTI implementation are discussed.

A synthesis and meta-analysis of the extant research on the effects of storybook read-aloud interventions for children at risk for reading difficulties ages 3 to 8 is provided. A total of 29 studies met criteria for the synthesis, with 18 studies providing sufficient data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Read-aloud instruction has been examined using dialogic reading; repeated reading of stories; story reading with limited questioning before, during, and/or after reading; computer-assisted story reading; and story reading with extended vocabulary activities. Significant, positive effects on children's language, phonological awareness, print concepts, comprehension, and vocabulary outcomes were found. Despite the positive effects for read-aloud interventions, only a small amount of outcome variance was accounted for by intervention type.

The current study examined the predictive validity of oral reading fluency measures across first, second, and third grades for two reading achievement measures at the end of third grade. Oral reading fluency measures were administered to students from first grade to third. The Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills and the Stanford Achievement Test were also administered in the third grade. Oral reading fluency was a reliable predictor of student success on both measures. Data suggest that greater student growth in oral reading fluency is needed through the grade levels to ensure high probabilities of success on the nationally normed measure, as compared to what is needed for the state-normed measure. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

This study reports findings on the relative effects from a yearlong secondary intervention contrasting large-group, small-group, and school-provided interventions emphasizing word study, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension with seventh- and eighth-graders with reading difficulties. Findings indicate that few statistically significant results or clinically significant gains were associated with group size or intervention. Findings also indicate that a significant acceleration of reading outcomes for seventh- and eighth-graders from high-poverty schools is unlikely to result from a 50 min daily class. Instead, the findings indicate, achieving this outcome will require more comprehensive models including more extensive intervention (e.g., more time, even smaller groups), interventions that are longer in duration (multiple years), and interventions that vary in emphasis based on specific students' needs (e.g., increased focus on comprehension or word study).

This study examined the effectiveness of a yearlong, researcher-provided, Tier 2 (secondary) intervention with a group of sixth-graders. The intervention emphasized word recognition, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, Participants scored below a proficiency level on their slate accountability test and were compared to a similar group of struggling readers receiving school-provided instruction. All students received the benefits of content area teachers who participated in researcher-provided professional development designed to integrate vocabulary and comprehension practices throughout the school day (Tier 1). Students who participated in the Tier 2 intervention showed gains on measures of decoding, fluency, and comprehension, but differences relative to students in the comparison group were small (median d = +0.16). Students who received the re searcher-provided intervention scored significantly higher than students who received comparison intervention on measures of word attack, spelling, the state accountability measure, passage comprehension, and phonemic decoding efficiency, although most often in particular subgroups.

A synthesis of the extant research on reading interventions for students with reading difficulties and disabilities in fourth and fifth grade (ages 9-11) is presented. Thirteen studies with treatment/comparison study designs and eleven single group or single subject studies were located and synthesized. Findings from the 24 studies revealed high effects for comprehension interventions on researcher-developed comprehension measures. Word recognition interventions yielded small to moderate effects on a range of reading outcomes. Few studies were located implementing vocabulary and multi-component interventions.

Despite recent research findings that implicate a long list of student variables that predict reading success or failure, these predictor variables have not been considered in the context of contemporary models of multitiered schoolwide reading intervention. This longitudinal, retrospective study follows 668 kindergarten and first-grade students identified as at risk for later reading difficulties through third grade. Key predictor variables were examined to determine their validity for predicting initial status and growth on oral reading fluency, third-grade oral reading fluency, and third-grade performance on a standardized test of reading. Results are provided in light of the instructional model provided. Implications for instruction and assessment are discussed.

Two studies examined response to varying amounts of time in reading intervention for two cohorts of first-grade students demonstrating low levels of reading after previous intervention. Students were assigned to one of three groups that received (a) a single dose of intervention, (b) a double dose of intervention, or (c) no intervention. Examination of individual student response to intervention indicated that more students in the treatment groups demonstrated accelerated learning over time than students in the comparison condition. Students' responses to the single-dose and double-dose interventions were similar over time. Students in all conditions demonstrated particular difficulties with gains in reading fluency. Implications for future research and practice within response to intervention models are provided.

Addressing the literacy needs of secondary school students involves efforts to raise the achievement levels of all students and to address specifically the needs of struggling readers. One approach to this problem is to consider the application of a Response to Intervention (RTI) model with older students. We describe an approach to enhanced literacy instruction for middle school students that includes the essential components of any RTI model: universal screening, progress monitoring, and multi-tiered instructional service delivery. We use screening and progress-monitoring tools specifically tied to state accountability tests and a multi-tiered instructional framework that addresses the literacy needs of all middle school students, including struggling readers. Presently a large-scale, multi-site randomized trial is under way to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of this RTI model for middle school students.

Previous research studies examining the effects of spelling and reading interventions on the spelling outcomes of students with learning disabilities (LD) are synthesized. An extensive search of the professional literature between 1995 and 2003 yielded a total of 19 intervention studies that provided spelling and reading interventions to students with LD and measured spelling outcomes. Findings revealed that spelling outcomes were consistently improved following spelling interventions that included explicit instruction with multiple practice opportunities and immediate corrective feedback after the word was misspelled. Furthermore, evidence from spelling interventions that employed assistive technology aimed at spelling in written compositions indicated positive effects on spelling outcomes.