The goal of this study was to describe and measure the effects of continuous, as-needed intervention in reading for 92 children in Grades 1-2, to determine whether the severity of reading disability (RD) could be significantly reduced in the catchment schools. The authors hoped that this kind of professional development would help to discriminate…

This work investigates the relationship between the programmatic and classroom instructional factors of schools and students' reading and writing achievement in 14 high-poverty schools. The study finds that schools which rated higher on a scale of collaborative leadership showed greater student growth in reading fluency and writing. Classroom…

Investigated role of word identification skills, text phrasing, auditory analysis, and digit-naming speed on oral reading fluency and expressiveness of poor and average fifth-grade readers. Found that poor readers were less fluent and expressive than average readers; parsing contributed to fluency in average but not poor readers; and digit-naming…

This study examined the effectiveness of repeated reading and assisted nonrepetitive strategies such as echo reading, cloze reading, and unison reading on reading and error rate, comprehension, and fluency with sixth-grade Chapter 1 students. Findings indicated equivalent benefits for both methods, with significant comprehension improvement over…

Now in a revised and expanded second edition, this invaluable book provides teachers and coaches with the information and tools they need to get started on the complex process of reading assessment. Grounded in a solid scientific framework, the book presents practical strategies that enable teachers to recognize "good reader" behaviors, assess…

A multiple probe design was employed for this study to assess the effectiveness of the "Corrective Reading" program (Engelmann et al., 1999) on students' reading fluency and behavior during reading-related instruction. Direct observations assessed the effect on students' behavior in both general and special education classrooms. Reading fluency…

Conducted as part of the 1992 Integrated Reading Performance Record (IRPR), a study investigated the oral reading proficiency of a subgroup of students participating in the 1992 reading assessment conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Subjects, 1,136 fourth graders, read aloud one passage and were audiotaped as they…

This study describes a program designed to increase student achievement in reading. The targeted population consisted of two first grade classes and one second grade class in a small central Illinois community. The median household income was in the lower range. Evidence of the existence of the problem included the April 2000 standard testing…

The importance of all children achieving adequate reading outcomes by the end of third grade cannot be overstated. Awareness is growing nationwide of the dividends of early reading success and the dire consequences of early reading failure. Schools need a prevention-oriented assessment and intervention system to prevent reading difficulties from…

This study tested the effects of a fluency-based home reading program called Fast Start. Thirty beginning first-grade students, representing a wide range of early reading abilities, were randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions for a period of 11 weeks. Parents and students in the experimental group received Fast Start training,…

The purpose of this followup study was to determine the long-term predictive validity of theoretically coherent reading measures administered during fall and winter of kindergarten. Seventy-nine children were screened using measures representing letter identification, phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatized naming.…

This action research report describes a program to increase students' reading comprehension and fluency through the use of guided reading. The targeted population consists of second and fourth grade students in a northwest suburban area of a large city located in the Midwest. The problems of low reading comprehension and fluency scores were…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a home repeated-reading intervention on the reading achievement of eight low-performing second-grade children in an urban school by taking into consideration their need to develop automaticity and the role their parents play in this process. Specifically we posed the following…

This concise report presents excerpts from the two full reports of the 1992 Integrated Reading Performance Record (IRPR), which examined the reading habits and oral reading of a subgroup of fourth graders who participated in the 1992 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) study. The report presents major findings of the two full…

Students enrolled in technical programs prefer hands-on activities over reading and writing. While hands-on learning works well for conveying technical skills, most technical jobs will also require good reading, writing, and oral communication skills. Effective reading includes more than just "mouthing the words"--it calls for understanding and…