The purpose of the Teacher Prep Review is to guarantee teachers have expertise in reading instruction (as well as other essential areas NCTQ assesses) before being trusted to teach children to read. By regularly reviewing the reading coursework provided by nearly 700 elementary teacher preparation programs, the National Council on Teacher Quality…

This article builds on evidence-based teaching strategies to support a learning experience for third-grade students that integrates language and music. In the language-learning field, "prosody" refers to changes in volume, rhythm, and pitch that add expression and meaning when reading text aloud. When students incorporate prosodic…

Research has shown that: (1) Curriculum-based monitoring (CBM) can be easily implemented and interpreted by teachers (e.g., Fuchs, Deno, & Mirkin, 1984); (2) student outcomes have improved when teachers use CBM to inform instructional decision making (e.g., Fuchs, Fuchs, Hamlett, & Stecker, 1991); (3) reliable and valid measures have been…

This paper uses recent evidence from international early grade reading programs to provide guidance about how best to create appropriate targets and more effectively identify improved program outcomes. Recent results show that World Bank and US Agency for International Development-funded large-scale international education interventions in low-…

Verb use and the production of verb argument structure in the written texts of children in elementary school is a key stepping stone towards academic writing success that has remained relatively unexplored and is a notable gap in our understanding of writing development. To evaluate the role of verbs in the written narrative texts of children, we…

Teachers balance many goals when selecting texts for small-group reading. The author explored the impact of one variable that teachers consider, quantitative text difficulty, on students' participation, discussion, comprehension, and fluency in small-group discussions of informational science texts. Six bilingual third graders identified as…

Future Forward is an early primary literacy program that pairs one-on-one tutoring with family engagement. Future Forward's approach is informed by both systems theory and a school-family-community partnership model. Future Forward understands that schools are not solely responsible for developing student literacy. Instead of viewing families and…

This manuscript presents the results of an analysis between the easyCBM® literacy assessments, Grades K-3, and Ohio's Learning Standards related to literacy at those grade levels. Results indicate some alignment at each grade level, with the greatest degree of alignment in Grade 3.

The Early Intervention Reading Software Program (EISP) encourages literacy growth and achievement in students in grades K-3. The program addresses early reading through the use of computer-based literacy software which provides individualized instruction designed to supplement students' classroom learning. During the 2017-2018 school year, these…

"Achieve3000®" is a supplemental online literacy program that provides nonfiction reading content to students in grades preK-12 and focuses on building phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, reading comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills. "Achieve3000®" is designed to help students advance their nonfiction reading skills…

This article offers instructional suggestions and strategies based on research and theoretical literature for developing reading fluency through the use of rhyming poetry and other texts beyond the narrative and informational texts that have been traditionally used for reading instruction. Readers' lack of fluency in reading can be a monumental…

This study examined the predictive validity and classification accuracy of two commonly used universal screening measures relative to a statewide achievement test. Results indicated that second-grade performance on oral reading fluency and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), together with special education status, explained 68% of the…

Response to intervention (RTI) is a comprehensive early detection and prevention strategy used to identify and support struggling students before they fall behind. An RTI model usually has three tiers or levels of support. Tier 1 is generally defined as classroom instruction provided to all students, tier 2 is typically a preventive intervention…

Educators increasingly need to evaluate schoolwide reform efforts; however, complex program evaluations often are not feasible in schools. Through a case example, we provide a heuristic for program evaluation that is easily replicated in schools. Criterion-referenced interpretations of schoolwide screening data were used to evaluate outcomes…

"Success for All" ("SFA"®) is a whole-school reform model (that is, a model that integrates curriculum, school culture, family, and community supports) for students in prekindergarten through grade 8. "SFA"® includes a literacy program, quarterly assessments of student learning, a social-emotional development program,…