As necessary as reading is to the success of a child--and entire nations--many low-income countries overlook the fundamental duty of their school systems to produce readers. Galvanized by the Education For All (EFA) mission to provide universal access to primary education by 2015, donors and low-income countries have focused on scaling up inputs…

This study investigated the sustained effects of Reading Recovery on the reading achievement of native Spanish-speaking English Language Learners (ELL) who received the one-to-one intervention while in the first grade. All native Spanish-speaking ELL students who received the Reading Recovery intervention during the three academic years from the…

The WWC practice guide "Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade" presents a set of evidence-based practices that teachers and other educators can use to successfully teach reading comprehension to young readers. The guide, developed by a panel of experts, presents a set of evidence-based practices that teachers…

Reading is the most valuable skill children must master early in schooling. Unfortunately, many students struggle to read and may be identified as having a Reading Disability (RD). In this dissertation, I explored the usefulness of the Response-to-Intervention (RtI) framework for identifying children with RD by examining the use of 1st and 2nd…

Students whose first language is not English are the fastest-growing group in public schools in all regions of the United States. Almost 10 million children between the ages of five and 17 live in the homes and communities in which a language other than English in spoken and presently most schools in the U.S. are under-educating many English…

This study investigated the student-student interactions, attitudes toward reading and engagement during literacy events in a second grade classroom. The literacy environment and the teacher's conceptualization of her role as a reading instructor were also part of this investigation. Five second grade struggling readers and their teacher,…

There is currently no fixed programme for sequencing of formal reading instruction in Irish-medium schools and practices vary considerably. This study compared the development of reading skills in the Irish and English languages of children from varying linguistic backgrounds and schooling experiences. Three age groups of children (N = 254)…

This case study investigates the implementation of the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum English Language Arts in selected first grade classes. The teaching of the specific language arts skills, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as directed the the Comprehensive Curriculum is examined. Four first grade teachers from a large urban school…

First implemented in 1987, Success for All (SFA) is one of the best-known and most thoroughly evaluated school reform models. It combines three basic elements: (1) Reading instruction that emphasizes phonics for beginning readers and comprehension for students at all levels, and that is characterized by a highly structured curriculum, an emphasis…

"Success for All" (SFA) is one of the best known and thoroughly evaluated school reform models. Further evaluation of the initiative is especially important for two reasons. First, the program model has continued to evolve over time, with a greater emphasis placed on the use of engaging technology in the classroom and on the deployment…

Teachers at a Title I elementary school in South Carolina implemented the scripted Reading Mastery© program (RMP) to improve students' comprehension. Comprehension scores did not increase, despite teachers receiving RMP professional development (PD) prior to implementing the program. Administrators were unaware if the teachers were adequately…

This paper outlines a method of determining the achieved relative strength (ARS) of an intervention by calculating the extent to which core intervention components are present in both the treatment and control condition. Using data from several examples the authors demonstrate how to calculate ARS indices, and subsequently how to incorporate them…

This study examined whether the "Experience Corps" program improved the reading skills of elementary school students who were at risk of academic failure. Nearly 900 first through third grade students in 23 schools in Boston, New York City, and Port Arthur, TX participated in the study. These students were randomly assigned to either a…

This action-research case study endeavors to enhance the summarization skills of first grade students who are reading at or above the third grade level during the first trimester of the academic school year. Students read "twin text" sources, meaning, fiction and nonfiction literary selections focusing on a common theme to help identify…

This research explored the relationship of the Reading First Initiative (RFI) in terms of its impact on students' early reading development K-3 and teachers' delivery of instruction. Extant test data were used to establish quantitative data. Direct observation utilizing a checklist consisting of five categories--management, environment, setting…