Literacy improves lives--and with the right instruction and supports, "all students" can learn to read and write. That is the core belief behind this teacher-friendly handbook, your practical guide to providing comprehensive, high-quality literacy instruction to students with significant disabilities. Drawing on decades of classroom…

In recent years, robots have increasingly been implemented as tutors in both first- and second-language education. The field of robot-assisted language learning (RALL) is developing rapidly. Studies have been published targeting different languages, age groups, and aspects of language and using different robots and methodologies. The present…

The authors have worked with teachers across the country as they have exposed social studies students to primary source texts only to find consistent challenges with: (1) Academic language gaps (lack of content knowledge to contextualize or interpret texts); (2) Comprehension gaps (inability to accurately derive meaning from text); (3) Inaccurate…

Reading ability is profoundly important, for individuals and for the societies of which they are a part. Research indicates that we should be successfully teaching 95% of children to read, yet, in reality, high rates of reading failure are common in western, industrialized nations. In large part, this reflects a failure to translate into practice…

The ability to read independently is essential for success in high school, college, and most careers. Students with disabilities must be able to comprehend literally and inferentially to meet the demands of the general education curriculum and navigate the complex political, social, and economic environment of the 21st century (King- Sears &…

According to the Multiple Deficit Model, comorbidity results when the genetic and environmental risk factors that increase the liability for a disorder are domain-general. In order to explore the role of domain-general etiological risk factors in the co-occurrence of learning-related difficulties, the current meta-analysis compiled 38 studies of…

In his campaign for Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio positioned himself as the candidate most determined to break with the legacy of the outgoing Michael Bloomberg administration. Voters responded enthusiastically, handing de Blasio a nearly 50-point margin of victory in the November 2013 election. De Blasio, a Democrat, interpreted the win…

El Dorado Middle School, Kansas, is using MAP® Skills™ from NWEA® to ensure every single student is getting instruction where they need it most, and it is having a huge impact on student growth and achievement, including special education students. Besides empowering students to monitor their own learning, MAP Skills enables teachers to move…

Developing literacy competencies has become a central component of educational policy in British Columbia (BC), with policies calling for province-wide assessment and school accountability. Based on the critical policy analysis (Blaikie & Soussan, 2000) of provincial and school district documents, complemented by semi-structured interviews of…

Two studies were conducted of students with and without persisting Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs-WL) in Grades 4 to 9 (M = 11 years, 11 months) that supported the hypotheses that CELF 4 parent ratings for listening (language by ear), speaking (language by mouth), reading (language by eye), and writing (language by hand) were correlated with…

This report outlines the results of an evaluation of the Freedom Schools project as it was implemented in Charlotte, North Carolina, during the summer of 2017. The evaluation study was a collaborative project between the Center for Adolescent Literacies (CFAL) and the Center for Educational Measurement and Evaluation (CEME). Both centers are…

The present study investigated the relation among reading skills and attributions, naming speed, and phonological awareness across a wide range of reading skill. Participants were 1,105 school-age children and youths from two understudied populations: African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Individual assessments of children ranging in age from…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Fair & Effective Education Policy." Contents include: (1) What Students…

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) was created to support teachers in implementing college and career readiness standards in order to teach literacy skills throughout the content areas. Teachers work collaboratively with coaches to further develop their expertise and design standards-driven, literacy-rich writing assignments within their…

Students who exhibit giftedness alongside a learning disability (GLD) often display asynchronous academic development, and a combination of strengths that mask areas of struggle. Early identification and intervention may offset students experiencing low self-confidence and motivation, ineffective self-efficacy, or a loss of love for learning…