This article asserts that a carefully administered informal reading inventory (IRI) provides important information on low-achieving readers that is "not" provided by an end-of-grade standardized reading test. Using case studies of students' IRI performance, we address the concept of instructional level and the necessity of teaching low…

In this response to Sakurai, Meredith Stephens agrees that Sakurai (2015) raises an important issue of which native English speaking teachers may be unaware; Japanese learners of English typically translate into Japanese while reading English. Sakurai explained, "It is speculated that Japanese students naturally translate English into…

This study examined the effects of a peer tutoring program that used a Direct Instruction (DI) reading curriculum. Students identified as gifted and talented delivered instruction, using the DI reading program, to their struggling reading peers. The students used a cross-skill peer tutoring instructional format. The results indicated that all of…

By using latent profile analysis eight stable and interpretable subgroups of readers were identified. The basis for subgrouping was different performance measures with four aspects of reading in focus: reading of continuous texts, reading of document texts, word reading and reading speed. Participants were 9-year-old Swedish students included in…

The generalization effects of empirically-supported fluency-based reading interventions have been largely ignored. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two fluency-based reading interventions, Repeated Readings and Multiple Exemplars, on elementary-aged children's immediate and generalized oral reading fluency rate. Using a…

Previous research studies examining the effects of fluency interventions on the fluency and comprehension outcomes for secondary struggling readers are synthesized. An extensive search of the professional literature between 1980 and 2005 yielded a total of 19 intervention studies that provided fluency interventions to secondary struggling readers…

The relationship of reading performance to difficulty level of material was the focus of this study. Participants in the study were 83 fourth graders from four urban schools. Each student was administered passages at different levels of challenge (independent, instructional, frustration) based on word identification accuracy. Passages were scored…

Identifying an effective instructional intervention for English language learners experiencing reading problems is a difficult task given the vast individual differences in language proficiency, motivation, and school experience for these students. To address this issue, this study investigated the utility of brief experimental analysis as a means…

This study investigated the effects of Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) on the reading skills of urban middle-school students using novels as the curriculum. Teacher-led instruction was compared with CWPT and CWPT plus a lottery contingency for appropriate on-task and tutoring behaviors. Three sixth-grade general education reading classes under the…

"Sort Stories: Leveled Reading Supplement to Words Their Way: Word Sorts for Letter Name-Alphabet Spellers" effectiveness was tested using five English language learner (ELL) students in the fifth and sixth grade. "Sort Stories" uses the word lists and accompanying clip-art from "Words Their Way" in developmental, grade-level specific, short read…