Universal screening in reading is a common, and often required, practice in early elementary school. Computer-adaptive screening tools, such as "Istation's Indicators of Progress-Early Reading" (ISIP-ER), are often chosen for this purpose in schools. In our present study, we examine the validity evidence between the ISIP-ER in…

This quantitative study aimed to research factors that influence third-graders' reading performance on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, a standardized test used to measure the proficiency of students in various subjects. The independent variables of this study were student attendance, teacher's professional background, and…

This study examined the reading performance data for a grade level of fifth graders using the Web-based Accelerated Reader assessment program. Based solely on student archival data, this study focused on the hypothesized relationship between the volume and complexity of quizzes taken from books read using the Accelerated Reader assessment program…

Based on recommendations from research, leaders in a north Texas public school district implemented social emotional learning (SEL) to address academic gaps among high residential mobility (HRM) students. Incorporating SEL instruction improves academic achievement 11 percentile points on average; however, in Adoniram School District (ASD), 2021…

The new ELAR TEKS includes a new standard that requires students to "self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time" (19 TAC Chapter 110). Though independent reading has been a literacy practice across the state, the state standards has only recently included it as a student expectation. Literacy leaders include…

Many high school graduates begin college and quickly realize that there is a discrepancy between their high school reading experiences and the expectations of reading for college classes. These students are often placed into developmental reading courses, often based on standardized test scores, to improve their vocabulary, reading comprehension,…

Despite dedication of tremendous resources to developing literary proficiencies, advanced readers may remain an underserved and understudied population. This qualitative study included nine preadolescent participants aged 10-12 years who demonstrated reading comprehension abilities within the top 10% on a national normed achievement battery. The…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether English as a Second Language (ESL) Hispanic students, attendance at Title I or Non-Title I schools, and percentage of Bilingual/ESL teachers on campus impacted academic performance as measured by standardized tests. With a rapidly expanding Hispanic population in Texas, it was prudent…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine the extent to which differences were present by student demographic characteristic in the reading achievement of Texas Grade 3 students. In the first article, the extent to which the economic status (i.e., Poor, Not Poor) of Grade 3 underrepresented boys in Texas is related to…

This quantitative non-experimental study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of Istation, a computer-assisted instruction program, as a form of intervention to improve students' overall reading ability score after use for three consecutive full years (2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015). Achievement was measured by Istation's Indicators of…

This project is a multi-site, multi-year study designed to test the efficacy of a fully developed intervention, Collaborative Strategic Reading (CSR), with adolescent readers. In year 1, the research questions were: (1) "Does CSR improve reading comprehension for adolescent readers attending relatively low SES schools?"; and (2)…

In this article, we report the regression relations between preservice teachers' academic characteristics and their performance on the Texas Examination of Educator Standards. These academic characteristics include grade point average, reading ability, and critical thinking. The studies indicate that the critical thinking was the best predictor…

As increasing numbers of states move to end social promotion of 3rd graders, some are also including interventions to help students learn to read. Oklahoma is one of several states that recently adopted new reading policies that--with limited exceptions--call for 3rd graders to be held back if they flunk a state standardized test. Supporters say…

This article discusses the open-content movement in education. A small but growing movement of K-12 educators is latching on to educational resources that are "open," or free for others to use, change, and republish on web sites that promote sharing. The open-content movement is fueled partly by digital creation tools that make it easy…

E-readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook are beginning to make their way into school libraries and classrooms. It's about time. E-readers have tremendous potential to entice reluctant readers to read more. A study that the authors recently conducted among low-reading-ability middle school students demonstrated that potential.…