Reading is a complex, uniquely human invention for communication through print. It is a critical ability for making progress in education. Students with reading difficulties, the most common learning disability, struggle with reading fluency and accuracy. Skilled reading is enabled by the coordination of a network of brain regions interconnected…

Black men on a national level have historically demonstrated their inability to read at the appropriate grade level (Tatum, 2015). Upon a closer analysis of this phenomenon, Washington (1998) posits that attitude has a profound effect on literacy rates because it has the power to cause Black men to either be drawn to literature or avoid it.…

Public school teachers across all content areas are faced with how to resolve low adolescent literacy rates. The arts curriculum in the United States has experienced multiple internal directives, often by ill-conceived efforts to improve reading scores (Begoray, 2008). Research on disciplinary literacy has been at the center of recent studies that…

In this dissertation I report findings from two studies of the literacy abilities of children with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder associated with intellectual disability. I had two overarching goals: 1) evaluate the applicability of theories of reading and spelling acquisition developed based on typically developing children to…

Developing the high levels of reading proficiency necessary to navigate the secondary curriculum is challenging for ELLs, but it is an essential component of academic success in their secondary and subsequent post-secondary education. Despite the importance of understanding the literacy needs of this population, research documenting the reading…

Many adolescents need additional support during the early years of high school to develop their reading skills, but secondary teachers often have few options available that meet the unique literacy needs of this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to design and investigate an innovative approach to help adolescent readers with a…

The growth of reading and cognitive skills is crucial for children's development. This study examined the utility of incorporating a cognitive framework for reading in intervention design among struggling readers receiving National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) Educational Therapy® over a 3- to 5-year period. Evidence from this…

This three-article dissertation gathers teachers' reflections about Reciprocal Teaching (Vygotsky, 1978) and gauges the role of teacher expectations on the reading comprehension success of African American students. Article One provides a detailed literature review outlining the history and significant research applicable to the subject of…

This study investigated the effects of a Direct Instruction (DI) reading comprehension program on the reading comprehension skills of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder or intellectual disability. Although the effectiveness of DI programs has been well documented in disability and instructional literature, effectiveness of DI for…

Remediating student learning deficits in the area of reading is of the utmost importance, as the ability to read has a lifelong impact on learning. Schools and school districts are ranked on their ability to demonstrate growth in core areas of education, including reading. Although many programs, strategies, and remedies are extant for identifying…

Literacy rates among male adolescents continue to fall below those of female adolescents, and this trend shows no indication of improving (Cheung & Slavin, 2014; Gurian & Stevens, 2007; Weins, 2005; Clark, 2006; Cantrell & Carter, 2009). This study aims to examine this trend by measuring the effects of extended literacy learning…

The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to investigate the impact of a repeated reading fluency intervention focused on prosody, counterbalanced with an intervention focused on reading strategies. Both of these interventions were designed to promote feelings of achievement through participation in activities intended to…

It is well documented that ELLs face significant challenges as they develop literacy skills in their second language (NCES, 2007, 2011). This population is diverse and growing rapidly in Massachusetts and across the nation (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2013; NCELA, 2011; Orosco, De Schonewise, De Onis, Klingner,…

A persistent achievement gap exists between the steadily growing population of adolescent English language learners (ELLs) in K-12 public schools and their native English-speaking peers. Unsurprisingly, the underachievement of this population of students is linked to an excessively high dropout rate among adolescent ELLs across the nation. Current…

The lack of effective reading programs for middle school students has become a focal point for many school systems. Previous research in this area has been focused on elementary grade levels (1st through 5th), but few studies have explored the impact of reading interventions for adolescent students. The purpose of this study was to examine the…