Search

This study aimed to examine language at the teacher/classroom level among second-grade classrooms that differ in socioeconomic backgrounds. Measures of teachers' vocabulary input across the school day throughout the school year were examined. There was a significant difference in the proportion of academic word use between classes that differed in the percentage of students on free or reduced-price lunch. Teachers in classes of students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds used more academic words. Class vocabulary level significantly predicted the proportion of academic word use and the proportion of grade-level vocabulary use. Once class vocabulary level was accounted for, the percentage of students on free or reduced-price lunch was no longer predictive. However, some classes of students may be at a disadvantage in their exposure to academic and grade-level vocabulary words given that school is the most likely place for many students to be exposed to these curriculum words.

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. This 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 through its relations with standardized measures of word reading and comprehension. The RM measure was developed to capture student's beliefs about their ability, learning goals, and effort during reading. Item response theory was used to select items that optimally measured the RM measure from a pool of existing items from previous research. 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 noncognitive areas of improvement for developing readers. The implications, limitations, and future directions for expanding upon the measure were discussed.

Promoting Adolescents' Comprehension of Text (PACT) is a text- and discourse-based set of instructional practices that engage students with disciplinary texts as a means of building content knowledge and improving reading comprehension. PACT)s "efficacy" has been the subject of extensive previous trials. The purpose of this study was to evaluate its "effectiveness" in a school-randomized design using stratified balanced sampling to assemble a representative sample of schools from the population of middle schools that teach U.S. history. The population-level effect estimates on a posttest of knowledge acquisition were 0.45 using weighted mixed effects estimation and 0.37 using weighted ordinary least squares. At follow-up, the effects were 0.53 based on weighted mixed effects estimation and 0.33 based on robust variance estimation. Furthermore, although treatment)s effects on content area reading comprehension and broad reading comprehension were not statistically significant, the sample-based treatment effects (g = 0.15 for content area reading and 0.14 for broad reading) were not trivial when evaluated in the context of other studies of literacy instruction with older readers. Our findings represent the most reliable estimates of PACT)s average student-level effects when the program is implemented at the school level. In addition, these estimates are for the program when implemented in "real-world" settings, versus in the more controlled conditions typical of efficacy designs. Finally, the results further replicate the PACT)s instructional practices, in this sample and in the population of middle schools that teach U.S. history.

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. In addition, 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.

Effects from different studies of reading and mindset interventions are inconsistent, pointing to the need to investigate moderating factors affecting response. In this study, we implemented two intensive intervention conditions for fourth-grade students with/at risk for reading disabilities (N = 360). One intervention condition included reading intervention only, whereas the other intervention condition incorporated both reading and mindset interventions. Through exploratory analyses, we examined student characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity, mindset) as moderators of the effects of the interventions on mindset, word attack, and reading comprehension outcomes and also explored potential interactions. Overall, we found no differential outcomes of intervention by race, sex, or initial mindset level. Our exploration of the interactions also did not yield any significant effects; however, we were limited by small sample sizes in subgroups. Overall, more research is needed to explore potential interactions moderating intervention outcomes.

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.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a virtual intensive reading intervention embedded with mindset training compared with 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 BAU comparison 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 interventions 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. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED623078.]

This study aimed to examine verbal behaviors within communicative interactions at the teacher/classroom level among second-grade classrooms that differ in socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds. Investigators recorded and examined language use across instructional periods for 38 second-grade classrooms. Teachers' communication behaviors were examined based on recorded samples across the school day throughout the school year. The proportion of use of questions, directives, and statements was examined for potential differences between classrooms that differed in SES. There was a significant relation between the proportion of facilitative and directive language at the classroom-level and class-level SES. Classrooms with a high proportion of free/reduced lunch eligibility were associated with high proportions of directives by teachers during the school day. The current findings suggest that students in low SES classes may be at a disadvantage in their access to adult facilitative communicative behaviors in the classroom.

This study examined the predictive validity and classification accuracy of individual- and group-administered screening measures relative to student performance on a year-end state reading assessment in two states. A sample of 321 students was assessed in the areas of word-level and text fluency, as well as reading comprehension in the fall of fourth grade. For individual measures, a group-administered reading comprehension test exhibited the highest classification accuracy (74%-80%) for both outcomes though no screener demonstrated optimal sensitivity and specificity levels. Using a multivariate approach, logistic regression results revealed minimal to no increase in classification accuracy over the single comprehension measure. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses determined local cut scores to maintain sensitivity constant at 0.90, which resulted in a large number of false positives. The implications and limitations of these findings for screening at the upper elementary level are discussed.

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 and 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 and 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.

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.

Students with disabilities are often included in general education social studies classes, but these classes can differ in the achievement level of the overall class, including wide variation in content-related background knowledge, reading achievement, or both. The purpose of this study was to examine how background knowledge and reading achievement moderate the effects of a previously validated intervention, Promoting Adolescents' Comprehension of Text (PACT). We examined data from a prior randomized control trial of 1,487 eighth-grade students in 85 classes that were randomly assigned at the class level to receive either PACT instructional practices or typical instructional practices using the same social studies content. Results of the current study reveal no moderating effect at the class level of either initial background knowledge or reading achievement on student content knowledge acquisition or content reading comprehension outcomes. Classes with varying levels of background knowledge and reading achievement performed similarly in PACT instruction, with benefits of the PACT instruction found on content knowledge acquisition.

Material encountered in social studies has been shown to be challenging for students with reading difficulties, including those with disabilities. This study first examined the amount of time eighth-grade U.S. History teachers implemented empirically supported instructional practices. Second, this research investigated the association between instruction and student growth in content knowledge. The sample included 188 students identified with low reading ability, of which 20% were students with disabilities. Instruction in 30 classrooms was coded for the presence of learning strategy instruction, study aids, graphic/spatial organizers, peer-mediated instruction, computer-aided instruction, and mnemonics. Utilization of these practices was limited (~20% of total instruction), with the use of spatial/graphic organizers and peer-mediated activities most prevalent. Time allocated to these practices was not significantly associated with student gains in content knowledge. Additional research to determine how to best impact content learning for students at-risk for poor learning outcomes is warranted.

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.

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 3-6 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 (0.73 [less than or equal to] rs [less than or equal to] 0.80) whereas reading comprehension and written composition were weakly related (0.21 [less than or equal to] rs [less than or equal to] 0.37). Initial status and linear slope were negatively and moderately related for word reading (- 0.44) whereas they were strongly and positively related for spelling (0.73). 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 (0.69), 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. [This article was published in "Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal" (EJ1188173).]

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. [This article was published in "Journal of Learning Disabilities" (EJ1180590).]

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.

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 0.90 and 0.80 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 0.90, multiple tasks and raters were needed, and for the reliability of 0.80, 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 some state accountability systems. [This article was published in "Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal" (EJ1142406).]

This study explored the underlying latent structure of items on the Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) tool, explored whether subgroups of students exist based on the latent structure of MAP items, and tested 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 and SD = 38.88) and vocabulary (M = 454.37 and 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.

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.

Students with disabilities who display severe reading difficulties may require intensive interventions in order to make progress. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of a multicomponent reading intervention implemented at two different intensities, in two separate randomized control trials, for a subset of fourth-grade students who displayed severe reading difficulties, and who had or were at risk for disabilities. We use multilevel models to examine the effect of a standard, less intensive implementation in Study 1, and of a more intensive implementation in Study 2, relative to typical school services. Analyses revealed no significant effects of treatment for the standard, less intensive implementation in Study 1. Significant effects for word reading and word reading fluency outcomes for students assigned to receive the intensive implementation were noted in Study 2. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.

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 letterwriting automaticity were not independently related towriting quality in either narrative or expository genre. These results are discussed in light of theoretical and practical implications.

We had 3 aims in the present study: (a) to examine the dimensionality of various evaluative approaches to scoring writing samples (e.g., quality, productivity, and curriculum-based measurement [CBM] writing scoring), (b) to investigate unique language and cognitive predictors of the identified dimensions, and (c) to examine gender gap in the identified dimensions of writing. These questions were addressed using data from 2nd- and 3rd-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 = 0.82). 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. [This article was published in "Journal of Educational Psychology" (EJ1055888).]

This study reports vocabulary and reading comprehension instructional practices implemented in middle and high school social studies and language arts classrooms. It also describes text reading practices. We conducted 137 observations of 11 social studies and 9 language arts teachers over the course of 1 academic year. We observed instructional practices supportive of vocabulary and reading comprehension to differing degrees in social studies and language arts. The proportion of time spent reading text was roughly the same across the 2 subjects, with differences by text type, reading mode, and grade level within both subject areas. [At time of submission to ERIC this article was in press with "Reading and Writing Quarterly."]

Facility with learning from multiple text documents is critical for college and career readiness. However, children with reading difficulties and disabilities have been largely excluded from research on multiple document comprehension. Accordingly, little is known about how children with reading difficulties and disabilities perform on multiple-document tasks, the factors that predict their performance, and how best to foster their development of this skill. To begin to fill these gaps, we examined concurrent predictors of one dimension of multiple-document comprehension, intertextual integration (ie, the ability to integrate information presented across two or more text documents), among third-grade children with reading difficulties and disabilities (N = 70). Correlational analyses revealed that children's intertextual integration performance was significantly and positively associated with single-document comprehension (SDC) but not with word-level reading (WLR) or passage-reading fluency (PRF). Multiple-regression analyses indicated that SDC significantly predicted intertextual integration but that WLR and PRF did not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [This article was published in "Reading and Writing" (EJ1039045).]

For students with learning disabilities, the upper elementary grades may represent a unique opportunity to provide successful remediation for lessening a reading difficulty and preventing students with learning disabilities from falling behind in other content areas. This article discusses effective reading interventions for students with learning disabilities in fourth and fifth grades. First, we review the research base on reading interventions at these grade levels in terms of content and context. Next, practical recommendations for practitioners emanating from the research are discussed. The article concludes with a brief discussion on limitations of the extant literature and suggestions for future research. (Contains 2 tables.)

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 examined social studies teachers' use of text and supports for reading text during their instruction as well as how their practices related to students' content acquisition. A total of 37 social studies teachers and their students (n = 572) participated and recorded their instruction during 3 instructional units. We documented the amount of time teachers engaged in text reading and text reading support. We assessed students on social studies content knowledge. We noted text reading activities in about 10% of the class instruction. The total numbers of minutes spent in text reading and providing support in reading comprehension strategies were significantly related to student content acquisition. Examination of differences in this relationship by student pretest demonstrated that increases in text reading during instruction were associated with increased scores on content acquisition for lower level students. There were no significant associations between text reading practices and content acquisition for higher performing students.

Findings from a synthesis of 27 intervention studies that examined the effects of school-based reading interventions for kindergarten students at-risk for reading difficulties are reported. Results indicated that reading interventions were effective for improving reading outcomes for kindergarten students with disabilities and those at-risk for reading difficulties (i.e., low socioeconomic status, low phonological awareness, or low letter naming ability). Although there is variation among intervention types and delivery, certain features (e.g., phonemic awareness component, small group size, intensity of 15-30 minutes) produced the largest effects. The findings were consistent with converging evidence that early intervention for the prevention of reading difficulties is effective for kindergarten students.

This paper provides an examination of the foundations, efficacy, and effectiveness of a set of practices associated with improved social studies and history learning and literacy outcomes for middle grade students, including students with varying learning needs (e.g., English learners, students with disabilities). This approach, Promoting Adolescents' Comprehension of Text, has been the focus of multiple randomized controlled trials, including a large-scale effectiveness study. This paper has two foci: (a) to examine the evidence for the PACT intervention across settings, populations, and time and (b) to consider the design of these studies and the unit of randomization (i.e., within teacher or across school) to better understand why the typically expected differential effect sizes between efficacy and effectiveness studies were not evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]