Reading fluency has been a tenacious problem in our schools. Studies have addressed the national decline in reading fluency in elementary schools. Tennessee's data outlines a similar pattern of findings. Approximately one third of Tennessee students complete third grade without becoming fluent readers (Tennessee Department of Education, 2023). New…

A critical aspect of reading fluently is the ability to respond to sight words quickly and accurately. Current interventions for sight word fluency include flashcards and taped words (TW). While effective, these interventions require extensive personnel resources and one-on-one implementation. This study evaluates a group-wide intervention, the…

The Matthew Effect is an educational theory that children who begin their academic careers with lower reading scores do not catch up to their peers, instead falling farther and farther behind as their schooling progresses. This study includes a hierarchical multiple-regression analysis of within-year benchmark data for the presence of Matthew…

This study analyzes the relationship between phonemic proficiency and orthographic learning in first and second-grade students. It is established in the empirical literature that phonemic skills play a crucial role in word-level reading. What is not thoroughly understood is why some children learn and remember words more efficiently than others.…

Foundational reading skills are key to the mastery of early literacy skills. While the process of reading is characterized by a combination of both word decoding skills and language comprehension, there are many reading skills that contribute to students being able to proficiently read text. In addition to mastery of skills, good school attendance…

Little is known about what contributes to individual differences in reading fluency after accounting for accuracy. Previous research has shown individual differences in the relative growth in word and nonword reading, specifically a pattern in which students who start lower on reading grow more in word than nonword reading ability. The purpose of…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy levels of kindergarten through second-grade teachers in their ability to provide reading instruction to students with a focus on the five foundational areas of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. In addition, the study sought to make recommendations…

Reading performance in third grade has significantly declined across the United States in recent years, suggesting a critical problem that was addressed in this study. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of K-3 teachers working in a rural elementary school district regarding a decline since 2018 in the…

The purpose of this quantitative study is to examine what impact volunteer tutoring has on improving the reading standardized test scores of K-2nd elementarystudents in East Baton Rouge Parish public schools. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) multiple regression was conducted to analyze the extent in which Volunteers in Public Schools' (VIPS)…

The purpose of this experimental study was to examine the impact of English language learner (ELL) instructional extension strategies on African American K-2nd grade students with low-literacy proficiency. DIBELSO 8th edition literacy assessment for K-2nd grade was used to determine literacy proficiency during the study. The study included 74…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to determine whether the supplemental phonics program, Fundations, improved reading skills over time. Ehri's theory of orthographic mapping served as the theoretical framework for this study. Archival data from 254 second grade students who did, or did not, participate in the…

Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) is commonly thought of as one of the best predictors of reading achievement when compared to phonological awareness and letter name knowledge (Norton & Wolf, 2012). However, only one previous study has demonstrated significant growth following a RAN intervention (Vander Stappen & Reybroeck, 2018). This…

The state of Texas requires a reading inventory for all kinder, first, and second grades students, as well as the state assessment in reading for third grade. Educators face numerous challenges when attempting to teach children and meet the rigor on state assessments. In order for students to be successful on state assessments, teachers must…

The academic success of dual language learners (DLLs) has been studied extensively, but few studies have investigated the effectiveness of the Scott Foresman Reading Street (SFRS) program on DLL struggling readers. The purpose of this quantitative study, grounded in the linguistic interdependence theory, was to compare the Measure of Academic…

This study investigated the effect of font style and character spacing on reading performance of 25 second graders, measured by an oral reading fluency test. The effect of font type and character spacing on reading performance was analyzed with ANOVA. Font style did affect reading performance. Character spacing may be relevant for longer reading…