This research replicates an earlier study and extends it by shifting instructional responsibility from researchers to special education teachers, who implemented reading instruction that included multisyllabic word decoding, academic vocabulary, and three comprehension strategies (generating main ideas, comparing and contrasting people and events,…

This research replicates an earlier study (O'Connor, Beach, Sanchez, Bocian, & Flynn, 2015) and extends it by shifting instructional responsibility from researchers to special education teachers, who implemented reading instruction that included multisyllabic word decoding, academic vocabulary, and three comprehension strategies (generating…

To provide timely and effective supports for students reading below grade level, schools require methods for quickly and accurately identifying those students in need. One method for identifying those students is through universal screening. Assessments such as oral reading fluency (ORF) and Maze reading comprehension are commonly used as…

After the passing of the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004, many schools began to use a Response to Intervention (RtI) model instead of the discrepancy model when identifying students with specific learning disabilities (National Center on Response to Intervention, 2011). When elementary schools adopted the RtI model, it was shown to be…

Research has suggested that different strategies used when solving fraction problems are highly correlated with students' problem-solving accuracy. This study (a) utilized latent profile modeling to classify students into three different strategic developmental levels in solving fraction comparison problems and (b) accordingly provided…

The authors used a large data set (N = 1,011,549) to examine literacy growth over a single school year comparing general education (GenEd) students to three high-risk subgroups: English language learners (ELL), those with a specific learning disability (LD), and those identified as both LD and ELL (LD-ELL) in students in Grades 3-10. The authors…

Rapid automatized naming (RAN) is widely used to identify reading disabilities (RD) and has recently been considered a potential predictor of risk for mathematics learning disabilities (MLD). Here we longitudinally examine RAN performance from Grades K to 8, to view how growth on RAN response time differs for children with RD versus MLD. Across…

In Study 1, children in grades 4-9 (N = 88, 29 females and 59 males) with persisting reading and/or writing disabilities, despite considerable prior specialized instruction in and out of school, were given an evidence-based comprehensive assessment battery at the university while parents completed questionnaires regarding past and current history…

This study examined achievement gains in reading and math for Hispanic middle school students with specific learning disabilities in inclusive versus segregated settings in a large urban school district. The authors report learning gains for students with and without disabilities in inclusive versus segregated settings. Results indicate no…

The research examined whether an educational intervention could enhance the ability of learning disabled (LD) adolescents to recognize non-verbal emotional messages and thus their social functioning. Most LD children have problems recognizing non-verbal cues, particularly emotional ones, and have social difficulties. The study examined the…

Students with disabilities participate in high-stakes assessments to meet NCLB's newer proficiency standards. This study explored performance in reading and math on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), Pennsylvania's grade-level assessment, to provide a foundational baseline on performance and accommodations used by students with…

This mixed method study examined the use of repeated reading with eighteen, eighth grade special education and regular education students. The purpose was to study use of repeated reading's structured, systematic, oral reading intervention while also seeking to further analyze LaBerge and Samuels' "Theory of Automaticity"…

We describe findings from a series of longitudinal studies utilizing a response to intervention framework implemented over 3 years with students in Grades 6 through 8 with reading disabilities and poor reading comprehension. Students were identified based on reading comprehension scores in Grade 5 (n = 1,083) and then randomized to treatment or…

This experimental study reports findings on the effects from a year-long reading intervention providing daily 50-min sessions to middle school students with identified learning disabilities (n = 65) compared with similar students who did not receive the reading intervention (n = 55). All students continued to receive their special education…

Proficient reading is a necessary skill for a quality life. While educators would like to believe that most students master the art of reading and can understand what they read, national reports indicate that learning to read and becoming a skilled reader is not mastered by all (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001; NICHD, 2000a). One component of…