Reading is a fundamental skill which changes the achievement trajectory of students, particularly in low-income communities. Children who cannot read proficiently by the upper elementary grades are at-risk for a multitude of poor outcomes, and disparities in the literacy performance of students from culturally and linguistically diverse…

The availability of psychometrically sound and usable universal screeners is a key component to successful early identification within a response-to-intervention model. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of oral reading fluency (ORF) and an informal reading inventory for identifying students considered at risk for…

Reading is typically considered a survival skill in our technology- and literacy-bound culture. Individuals who struggle with learning to read are at significantly elevated risk for a number of negative outcomes, including school failure, under- and unemployment, and special education placement. Thus, those who do not learn to read fluently will…

The important role of reading fluency in the comprehension and motivation of readers is well documented. Two reading rate intervention programs were compared in a cluster-randomized clinical trial of students who were considered at-risk for reading failure. One program focused instruction at the word level; the second program focused instruction…

This study compares native English, Spanish, Lao, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, and all other ELL students over one, two, three, and four-year spans to determine if certain groups appear to face more difficulties in developing early reading mastery by third grade. This study also examines whether socio-economic status impacts the…

A quasi-experimental pretest/posttest group design was used to determine whether computer-assisted fluency instruction is as effective as print-based, teacher-led fluency instruction in improving fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills in third grade students experiencing delayed fluency development. Fifty participants were randomly assigned…

Developmental dyslexia is characterized by severe reading and spelling difficulties that are persistent and resistant to the usual didactic measures and remedial efforts. It is well established that a major cause of these problems lies in poorly specified phonological representations. Many individuals with dyslexia also present impairments in…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact and sustainability of successfully discontinued first grade Reading Recovery students as compared to non-Reading Recovery students in reading achievement measures as third graders. Schools are facing the unprecedented challenge to ensure reading success for all students by the end of second…

Reading proficiency is the goal of many local and national reading initiatives. A key component of these initiatives is accurate and reliable reading assessment. In this high-stakes testing arena, the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) has emerged as a preferred measure for identification of students at risk for reading…

Problem: Some students are failing to develop acceptable reading skills; however, instructional time allocated to reading fluency can increase reading comprehension. The purpose of this study was to compare students who received repeated reading with pairs of students in a large-group setting with those who did not in terms of reading fluency,…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the implementation of a Response to Intervention framework had a positive impact on student reading achievement in urban elementary schools. This was a causal-comparative study that examined the reading performance of a sample of kindergarten through grade three students who experienced the Response to…

This study examined the heterogeneity within a sample of 140 urban second and third graders identified as at-risk for reading failure due to inefficient word and/or nonword reading. Cluster analyses were conducted using standardized factor scores from a four-factor structural equation model characterizing reading performance in this sample. These…

This longitudinal study examined the relationship between schooling, literacy development, and socioeconomic context, as reflected by a composite measure of socioeconomic status (SES). Reading, spelling, and phonological abilities were assessed from kindergarten to grade three in Canadian children in a school district with intensive literacy…

Just a few years ago, a set of tests known as "dibbles" would have elicited little more than a chuckle from educators or anyone else. Today, they're taking it seriously, because the acronym DIBELS has come to symbolize the standard for early-literacy assessment throughout much of the country. Teachers in Reading First schools in more…

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to explore the nature of elementary school children's metacognitive knowledge of strategies appropriate for before, during, and after reading; and (b) to determine whether children who had participated in Reading Recovery instruction in the first grade had similar understandings as their current third-…