Over the past 65 years, the roles of the reading specialist have continually evolved. Historically, reading specialists have been hired by schools to work predominantly with struggling readers (Bean, Cassidy, Grumet, Shelton & Wallis, 2002; Bean, Swan & Knaub, 2003). Reading specialists today serve in a variety of roles within their…

South Carolina's Read to Succeed Law (RTS) is different than the other 15 states' literacy-based third grade retention laws. It mandates literacy intervention training for in-service and pre-service teachers. Research indicates academic gains from retention are short-lived, diminishing over time and increasing drop-out rates. Through a statewide…

Despite evidence that youths' literacy practices and identities are important contributors to literacy learning, studies of secondary literacy instruction often focus on understanding classroom storylines from the perspectives of teachers and schools. The purpose of this case study was to examine how one youth, Leo, shaped the storyline of his…

This study investigates how the role of the reading specialist (RS) is defined and communicated by principals, and examines to what degree a common understanding of this role exists among teachers, building administrators and reading specialists. The principal's responsibility in defining and communicating role, and the effect these efforts have…

Rarely is a school-based speech language pathologist (SLP) thought of as an active contributor to the achievement of students or to the learning community in general. Researchers have found benefits for students when members of the learning community collaborate, and the SLP should be a part of this community collaboration. This qualitative case…

"Setting the Foundation: A Report on Elementary Grades Reading in Tennessee" (ED572952) provides insight into the challenges associated with early grades reading in Tennessee, along with a set of recommendations for building more readers across the state. This appendix provides detailed information about reading programs in Tennessee…

This study explored how an elementary reading teacher navigates the complex role of literacy instruction in public schools. Data was gathered through observation, semi-structured interviews, and document collection and analysis. Observation notes, transcripts, lesson plans, and schedules were analyzed using In Vivo, Values, and Descriptive coding.…

This authoritative text and practitioner resource has now been extensively revised and expanded with 70% new material covering new topics and standards in literacy leadership. Prominent experts present research-based methods for improving instruction, assessment, and professional learning experiences in PreK-12. The distinct roles of teachers,…

The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to explore the narratives of 22 elementary reading specialists about their work. It asked: What were reading specialists' narratives about their work and their influences? The study looked at reading specialists' day-to-day functioning within an institution and at reading specialists'…

This study evaluates the impacts and costs of the Reading Partners program, which uses community volunteers to provide one-on-one tutoring to struggling readers in under-resourced elementary schools. The evaluation uses an experimental design. Students were randomly assigned within 19 different Reading Partners sites to a program or control…

Scores on national and international tests for students in the United States indicated that students are not performing proficiently in reading. Furthermore, students are not able to comprehend complex reading tasks, which resulted in an adolescent literacy crisis (NGA & CCSO, 2010). In this collective case study, I explored ways four fifth…

Purpose: Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and reading professionals provide educational services to children who are at risk for reading difficulties, although these professions do not necessarily coordinate efforts. To date, there is limited evidence regarding the proportion of children who receive services from both professionals. The current…

The Texas Literacy Initiative (TLI) was first implemented in Austin Independent School District during the 2012-2013 school. This report summarizes Spring 2014 survey responses from administrators at TLI campuses.

The existence of elementary reading specialists in schools has increased, and their role in improving schoolwide efforts for prevention and intervention of reading risk has received increased emphasis. The purpose of this article is to describe the components of a multitier schoolwide reading model in the early grades in which the reading…

This article describes the development and initial implementation of the Comprehension and Learning from Text Survey (CoLTS), an instrument designed to assess teachers' specialized knowledge for comprehension instruction in the context of discussion. CoLTS is a paper-and-pencil test that engages teachers in analyzing a text to identify the most…