The authors used nationally based, random sample data from three different years (2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2014-2015) for nearly 20,000 first-grade students (n = 9,760, 3,657, and 3,121, respectively) to examine long-reported inadequacies of a commonly used early literacy assessment tool, the Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement…

This study investigated the use of computer-aided instruction (CAI) as an intervention for kindergarten students at risk for reading failure. Headsprout Early Reading (Headsprout 2005), a type of CAI, provides internet-based, reading instruction incorporating the critical components of reading instruction cited by the National Reading Panel (NRP…

The study presents a reading intervention for children having a variety of reading deficits. For this study it was found that most of the children had not responded positively to phonics instruction. Based on brain imaging studies, it has been shown that there are positive changes in the left brains of readers with dyslexia who receive phonemic…

Reading is typically considered a survival skill in our technology- and literacy-bound culture. Individuals who struggle with learning to read are at significantly elevated risk for a number of negative outcomes, including school failure, under- and unemployment, and special education placement. Thus, those who do not learn to read fluently will…

This study investigated the effect of explicit teaching of comprehension strategies on the comprehension performance of elementary school students. Two schools with similar demographics, including a significant proportion of students at risk for reading failure, participated in the study. One school utilized an explicit comprehension strategy…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact and sustainability of successfully discontinued first grade Reading Recovery students as compared to non-Reading Recovery students in reading achievement measures as third graders. Schools are facing the unprecedented challenge to ensure reading success for all students by the end of second…

This paper summarizes a study that was conducted on data from children who received a one-on-one intervention called Reading Recovery[R] during the first half of their first-grade year in school. The purpose was to investigate the relationship between accelerated progress children made during and after receiving a Reading Recovery intervention,…

Given expectations for higher standards teachers must find ways to improve family involvement and build a community atmosphere within the classroom. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the implementation of a family involvement program into a first grade classroom. Epstein's six types of parent involvement formed the theoretical…

Many researchers have documented that reading fluency scores continue to be a national concern for the United States and have suggested that early reading failure has long-term detrimental effects on society. However, much less is known regarding specific interventions that could reduce this concern. Investigators in other studies have suggested…

The present study investigated the reading attitude of struggling elementary students at risk for reading failure. Twenty-nine first-grade and 32 second-grade struggling readers were given the Elementary Reading Attitude Survey (McKenna & Kear, 1990). First-grade struggling readers favored more academic reading activities while second-grade…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of a Response to Intervention framework had a positive impact on student reading achievement in urban elementary schools. This was a causal-comparative study that examined the reading performance of a sample of kindergarten through grade three students who experienced the Response to…

The purpose of this study was to determine if phonemic awareness skills improved for first grade students classified as at-risk whose teachers used the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing Program (LiPS; Lindamood & Lindamood, 1998). Students' scores on a Kindergarten screening tool (Learning Disabilities Working Committee-LDWC, 2005) were compared to…

Reading Recovery is a short-term intervention for first-grade children with reading and writing difficulties. This longitudinal study investigated the performance of a cohort of 1998 Reading Recovery students on later literacy achievement as measured by the 2001 Grade 4 Maine Educational Assessment (MEA). The results showed that the average MEA…