This study describes the development of a special education teacher observation protocol detailing the elements of effective decoding instruction. The psychometric properties of the protocol were investigated through many-facet Rasch measurement (MFRM). Video observations of classroom decoding instruction from 20 special education teachers across…

In this study, we developed a Reading for Meaning special education teacher observation rubric that detailed the elements of evidence-based comprehension instruction and tested its psychometric properties using many-facet Rasch measurement. We collected video observations of classroom instruction from 10 special education teachers across 3 states…

The Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development were created as a joint effort between the Institute of Education Science and the National Science Foundation in an effort to streamline education research and contribute to an accumulation of knowledge that will lead to improved student outcomes. One type of research that emerged in the…

We examined the diagnostic accuracy and efficiency of three approaches to universal screening for reading difficulties using retrospective data from 1,307 students in Grades 3 through 5. School staff collected screening data using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a curriculum-based measure (CBM), and running records (RR). The criterion…

A handful of states are gradually adopting licensing tests that measure aspiring elementary teachers' ability to master aspects of what's arguably their most important task: teaching students to read. In the most recent example of what appears to be a slow but steady push, Wisconsin became the latest state to adopt a rigorous, stand-alone test of…

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of props on children's narrative retells. Forty-two children in two comparable K/1 classrooms heard and practiced the same stories over eight weeks. This study found that the props had a positive effect on the children's use of descriptive language, but there was no effect on the number…

The department editors, joined by classroom teachers from Wisconsin and reading specialists from Tennessee, examine across geographical and school boundaries the current practices of teachers who are initiating Response to Intervention (RTI) instruction. They address three goals of RTI that focus on providing systematic instruction of student…

The disparity between the results of state accountability tests in reading and the fourth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has left many educators dismayed and concerned. In this article the authors describe a comparison of assessment approaches evident in NAEP to the approaches taken in a sample of state tests. The authors…

This research examined the impact of formative quizzes on e-learning designed to teach volunteers how to tutor struggling readers. Three research questions were addressed: (1) Do embedded quizzes facilitate learning of e-content? (2) Does the announcement of upcoming quizzes affect learning? (3) Does prior knowledge interact with quizzing and…

Standardized tests are increasingly used to determine students' growth in reading comprehension. In some U.S. school districts, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has led to a focus on multiple-choice questions to better prepare students for these types of tests. Even though such questions can provide some important information, they do not…

This nonexperimental, longitudinal field study examines the extent to which variation in observed classroom supports (quality of emotional and instructional interactions and amount of exposure to literacy and math activities) predicts trajectories of achievement in reading and math from 54 months to fifth grade. Growth mixture modeling detected…

The author investigated the alignment of reading instruction to Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Reading, grades 1-4 (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 1998a). Teachers in 18 hearing-only, 10 mixed (hearing and deaf students), and 8 deaf-only classrooms were study participants. Teacher groups demonstrated equal alignment to the…

A recent report by Dr. Randall Ryder evaluated the use of Direct Instruction (DI) reading programs in 2 school districts in Wisconsin. In the report, Ryder claimed that students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade who received Direct Instruction scored significantly lower on several standardized tests of reading than students who received more traditional…