Facility with learning from multiple text documents is critical for college and career readiness. However, children with reading difficulties and disabilities have been largely excluded from research on multiple document comprehension. Accordingly, little is known about how children with reading difficulties and disabilities perform on…

This exploratory study builds upon extant reading development studies by identifying discrete groups based on reading comprehension trajectories across first grade. The main goal of this study was to enhance the field's understanding of early reading comprehension development and its underlying subcomponent skills, with the intent of better…

The purpose of this systematic observation study was to improve our understanding of small-group reading instruction for kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties (RDs). We aimed to observe and document activity types addressed as well as instructional practices and materials employed during small-group instruction, with a particular…

The purpose of this systematic observation study was to improve our understanding of small-group reading instruction for kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties (RDs). We aimed to observe and document activity types addressed as well as instructional practices and materials employed during small-group instruction, with a particular…

The state of Texas requires a reading inventory for all kinder, first, and second grades students, as well as the state assessment in reading for third grade. Educators face numerous challenges when attempting to teach children and meet the rigor on state assessments. In order for students to be successful on state assessments, teachers must…

Background: Over the past two decades, national attention has emphasized the critical role of early literacy and language instruction in preventing reading difficulties and improved our understanding of how young children learn to read. The research has established that students who are not strong readers by Grade 3 are less likely to build…

Acadience Reading (AR) is a screener for early detection of reading problems in elementary students. Limited research exists, however, on its technical adequacy for evaluation of English Learners (ELs). In this study, we tested the long-term predictive validity and diagnostic accuracies of AR and examined the differences between native…

This study identified distinct, homogeneous latent profiles of at-risk (n = 141) and not at-risk (n = 149) first grade readers. Separate latent profile analyses were conducted with each subgroup using measures of phonological awareness, decoding, linguistic comprehension, and oral reading fluency. This study also examined which measures best…

In Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) and Response to Intervention (RTI) models, the reading achievement of English Learners (ELs) is assessed multiple times during the school year to monitor students' progress toward meeting grade-level reading standards. Most MTSS/RTI frameworks do not include a comparable system for assessing oral language…

The purpose of this feasibility study was to inform the development of an intervention to support reading and self-regulation for students with significant reading difficulties and disabilities (RDs), including dyslexia. Participants were 21 special educators, dyslexia specialists, and reading interventionists and 48 students in Grades 2 to 4.…

The purpose of this feasibility study was to inform the development of an intervention to support reading and self-regulation for students with significant reading difficulties and disabilities (RDs), including dyslexia. Participants were 21 special educators, dyslexia specialists, and reading interventionists and 48 students in Grades 2 to 4.…

Assessing students' emerging literacy skills is crucial for identifying areas where a child may be falling behind and can lead directly to an increased chance of reading success. The Waterford Assessment of Core Skills (WACS), a computerized adaptive test of early literacy for students in prekindergarten through 2nd grade, addresses this need.…

This study examined the predictive validity of formative assessments embedded in a Tier 2 intervention curriculum for kindergarten students identified as at risk for reading difficulty. We examined when (i.e., months during the school year) measures could predict reading outcomes gathered at the end of kindergarten and whether the predictive…

We examined the direct impact of an ongoing, intensive, and structured professional development (PD) within an English-as-second-language (ESL) instructional intervention on (a) teachers' time allocation in cognitive--academic language proficiency (CALP) and (b) Spanish-speaking English language learners' (ELLs) CALP development from the second to…

This study examines the effect of 30 min of small group explicit instruction on reading outcomes for first-grade Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) at risk of reading difficulties. Participants were 78 ELs from seven schools who were receiving Spanish only, or Spanish and English, whole group reading instruction in first grade. Students were…