Improving L2 learners reading fluency has been identified by leading L2 reading researchers as an important aspect of L2 reading instruction (Grabe, 2004, 2009; Nation, 2009). A number of studies have been conducted on the use of paper-based fluency development methods on ESL and EFL students reading speeds and showed positive results (Al-Homoud…

"LANGUAGE!"[R] is a language arts intervention designed for struggling learners in grades 3-12 who score below the 40th percentile on standardized literacy tests. The curriculum integrates English literacy acquisition skills into a six-step lesson format. During a daily lesson, students work on six key literacy strands (which the…

This study investigated micro- and macrostructural text features, and the impact of language-specific skills, on the bilingual, persuasive writing of 41 high school students learning English in Italy. Participants composed persuasive essays on 2 topics, each in Italian and English, and completed spelling and sentence generation tasks in both…

The authors used a large data set (N = 1,011,549) to examine literacy growth over a single school year comparing general education (GenEd) students to three high-risk subgroups: English language learners (ELL), those with a specific learning disability (LD), and those identified as both LD and ELL (LD-ELL) in students in Grades 3-10. The authors…

Although the field of school psychology currently calls upon practitioners to implement evidence-based interventions to address reading deficits, the literature base is limited and inconclusive when it comes to effectiveness of reading interventions at the high school level, especially with older adolescents with reading disabilities. The current…

As the reading difficulties experienced by students with emotional-behavioral disorders (EBD) receive more attention, the corresponding call for evidence-based practices has become more pronounced. We conducted a systematic review of comprehension and fluency interventions for middle and high school students with EBD served outside of the general…

In this study, we identified the code-related (decoding, fluency) and language comprehension (vocabulary, listening comprehension) demands of the CBM-Maze test, a formative assessment, and compared them to those of the Gates-MacGinitie test, a standardized summative assessment. The demands of these reading comprehension tests and their…

This longitudinal study aimed to investigate the extent to which primary school text comprehension predicts mathematical word problem-solving skills in secondary school among Finnish students. The participants were 224 fourth graders (9-10 years old at the baseline). The children's text-reading fluency, text comprehension and basic calculation…

Although the simple view of reading and other theories suggest that listening comprehension is an important determinant of reading comprehension, previous research on linguistic transfer has mainly focused on the role of first language (L1) decoding skills in second language (L2) reading. The present study tested the assumption that listening…

All native speakers of Arabic read in a language variety that is remarkably distant from the one they use in everyday speech. The study tested the impact of this distance on reading accuracy and fluency by comparing reading of Standard Arabic (StA) words, used in StA only, versus Spoken Arabic (SpA) words, used in SpA too, among Arabic native…

Based on the "Simple View of Reading," the present study investigates whether component skills of reading differ between adolescents from low-track schools speaking German as a first (L1) versus as a second language (L2). In our study, 479 9th-grade students completed the "Programme for International Student Assessment" reading…

Although literacy has become a multi-faceted aspect of education essential to students' future success, studies have found that many secondary students lack basic literacy skills. In the past, much of the blame for adolescents' literacy problems has been placed on elementary teachers, but recent research suggests that secondary teachers must share…

The purpose of this action research study was to examine Reader's Theater as an instructional and motivational strategy for underachieving students (N = 24) in a ninth- and tenth- grade Literacy for Life classroom. The Literacy for Life course was designed to assist high school students reading below an eighth-grade level. The research took place…

This fifth annual "Boston Opportunity Agenda Report Card" provides the most up-to-date information available on Boston's education pipeline, from kindergarten through college graduation, including measures for school readiness, 3rd grade reading proficiency, 10th-grade academic proficiency, high school completion, dropout rates, college…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of peer-mediated versus teacher-directed reading intervention on the reading performance of high school sophomores. Participants (n = 57) from the lowest 25th percentile of their sophomore class in reading were assigned randomly to peer-mediated or teacher-directed intervention. Fifteen to…