In this multi-year study, we taught English/Language Arts teachers of students with Learning Disabilities in middle school to incorporate 15 minutes of daily vocabulary activities with students in their intact special education English/Language Arts classes. During Year 1, teachers taught 48 words to their sixth grade students, who learned and…

Few studies have considered academic vocabulary interventions for students who have learning disabilities (LD) and also are English Learners (EL). This research explored the effects of the third year of the CHAAOS (Creating Habits that Accelerate the Academic Language of Students) vocabulary intervention for eighth grade students who received…

Articles in this issue examine (1) the primary sources of variability in reading and language achievement among Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) in the United States, (2) the extent to which poor performance at the end of grade 2 is identifiable in developmental trajectories beginning in kindergarten, (3) the relations among core reading…

Under federal law, parents have the right to decline, or waive, English language support services when their child is identified as an English learner (EL) in school. In this study, we focus on this important subgroup of ELs--referred to as waived ELs--at the understudied intersection of EL status and special education (SPED) status. Using…

This study uses Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data to examine latent profiles of engagement in reading, numeracy, writing, and computer skills-use for U.S. adults with low literacy skills. Additionally, we examine how these profiles relate to overall literacy performance and demographic heterogeneity.…

The purpose of this study was to measure the mathematics-vocabulary performance of 3rd graders to determine if performance differences existed among English learners (ELs) and non-ELs with and without mathematics difficulty (MD). Using screening data from a large-scale intervention study, we categorized students into four groups based on equation…

Adolescents with disabilities have great difficulty with academic content in middle school, and their teachers have difficulty teaching them to understand and use academic language. We taught teachers of 6th grade students with Learning Disabilities, over half of whom were also English Language Learners (ELL), to implement about 15 minutes of…

We examined dynamic assessment's (DA's) added value over traditional assessments for identifying Spanish-speaking English learners' (ELs') risk for developing mathematics disabilities, as a function of the language of test administration (English vs. Spanish), type of math outcome, and EL's language dominance. At the start of 1st grade, ELs (N =…

This article presents the application of the interactive dynamic literacy (IDL) model (Kim, 2020a) toward understanding difficulties in learning to read and write. According to the IDL model, reading and writing are part of communicative acts that draw on largely shared processes and skills as well as unique processes and skills. As such, reading…

This policy brief examines the prevalence and characteristics of English learner students with disabilities in Oregon. The analysis compares data for students currently classified as English learners (current ELs), students ever classified as ELs (ever ELs; the combined group of current and former ELs), and students never classified as ELs (never…

Word problems require students to read a language-based problem, identify necessary information to answer a prompt, and perform calculation(s) to develop a problem solution. Solving word problems proves particularly challenging for students with mathematics difficulties because skill in reading, interpretation of language, and mathematics is…

We discuss a component-based, developmental view of text writing fluency, which we tested using data from children in Grades 2 and 3. "Text writing fluency" was defined as efficiency and automaticity in writing connected texts, which acts as a mediator between text generation (oral language), transcription skills, and writing quality. We…

This article provides suggestions for teachers and practitioners on vocabulary activities that can help kindergarteners attain the vocabulary standards proposed by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The activities and examples included in the paper stem from an efficacy study I recently conducted with Dr. Michael Coyne and colleagues with…

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of a phonological awareness (PA) intervention, designed for Tier 2 instruction in a Response to Intervention (RTI) model, delivered to small groups of preschoolers. Method: A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention on…

This four-year longitudinal research was designed to study special education determinations of students who participated in Tier 2 intervention in a Response to Intervention (RtI) model focused on reading across Grades 1 through 4. We compared identification rates for learning disabilities and student characteristics of 381 students the year prior…