We investigated the effect of participating in two domains of extracurricular activities (sports and performance arts/clubs) in Grades 7 and 8 on Grade 9 academic motivation and letter grades, above baseline performance. Participants were 483 students (55% male; 33% Euro-American, 25% African American, and 39% Latino). Propensity score weighting…

The authors conducted a multiple-baseline study to investigate the effects of a computer-based graphic organizer (CBGO) with embedded self-regulated learning strategies on the quantity and quality of persuasive essay writing by students with high-incidence disabilities. Ten seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities, emotional…

Expressive writing is important for school and life success, but remains challenging for many students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. Emerging evidence reveals promise for teaching students with learning and behavioral issues to improve written expression with self-regulated strategy development instruction. In that research, students…

This study examined the predictive utility of five formative reading measures: words correct per minute, number of comprehension questions correct, reading comprehension rate, number of maze correct responses, and maze accurate response rate (MARR). Broad Reading cluster scores obtained via the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ III) Tests of Achievement…

The integration of knowledge during reading was tested in 1,109 secondary school students. Reading times for the second sentence in a pair (Jane's headache went away) were compared in conditions where the first sentence was either causally or temporally related to the first sentence (Jane took an aspirin vs. Jane looked for an aspirin).…

This study addressed the effects of multiyear, response-based, tiered intervention for struggling readers in grades 6-8. A sample of 768 sixth-grade students with reading difficulties was randomized to a response-based, tiered-intervention condition or "business as usual," and initial treatment status was maintained over the three-year…

Gum chewing has been shown to improve cognitive performance in adults; however, gum chewing has not been evaluated in children. This study examined the effects of gum chewing on standardized test scores and class grades of eighth grade math students. Math classes were randomized to a gum chewing (GC) condition that provided students with gum…

The research base on how to effectively intervene to improve the reading fluency of students with academic and behavioral disabilities at the middle school level does not provide a strong support for evidence- based practices with this age group. The purpose of this study was to extend the body of research on reading fluency interventions to…

This study investigates the benefits of no-stakes educational testing during students' summer vacation as a strategy to mitigate summer learning loss. Fifty-one students in Grades 3-8 from the Every Child Valued (ECV) and Lawrence Community Center (LCC) summer programs in Lawrenceville, NJ, took short, online assessments throughout the summer,…

We evaluated the effects of student characteristics (sight word reading efficiency, phonological decoding, verbal knowledge, level of reading ability, grade, gender) and text features (passage difficulty, length, genre, and language and discourse attributes) on the oral reading fluency of a sample of middle-school students in Grades 6-8 (N =…

Middle school students struggle to solve mathematical word problems and mathematics teachers require researched based strategies to use when instructing students. Drawing a picture or representation is a strategy that students frequently use, and the purpose of this study was to examine the effects that learner-generated drawing has on a student's…

We tested the effects of teaching reading skills through U.S. history content for 38 eighth-grade poor readers whose reading ability ranged from second-to fourth-grade levels. Half of the students received special education services, and half of the students were English language learners. Students were taught to decode multisyllabic words, learn…

We tested the effects of teaching reading skills through U.S. History content for 38 eighth-grade poor readers whose reading ability ranged from 2nd to 4th grade levels. Half of the students received special education services and half of the students were English Language Learners. Students were taught to decode multisyllabic words, learn…

This study examined the effects of an intervention in writing with digital interactive books. To improve the writing skills of seventh- and eighth-grade students with a learning disability in reading, we conducted a quasi-experimental study in which the students read interactive digital books (i-books), took notes, wrote summaries, and acted as…

The validity and reliability of curriculum-based measures in reading as indicators of performance and progress for secondary-school students were examined. Thirty-five grade 8 students completed reading aloud and maze-selection measures weekly for 10 weeks. Criterion measures were the state standards test in reading and the Woodcock-Johnson III…