Educational stakeholders are keen to know the magnitude and importance of different interventions. However, the way evidence is communicated to support understanding of the effectiveness of an intervention is controversial. Typically studies in education have used the standardised mean difference as a measure of the impact of interventions. This…

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the difference in pro-social behavior, self-regulation, overall reading performance, Lexile levels, and teachers' perception of classroom climate of kindergarten students who received the Ready to Learn (RTL; Brigman, Lane, & Lane, 2008) classroom guidance program (treatment group: n = 173)…

Though the immediate effect of Reading Recovery (RR) is both strong and well established, the longer term or sustained effect has been less studied and the evidence regarding it has been less conclusive. Michigan Reading Recovery students (n = 328) were compared to control students (n = 264) while in first (2009-2010), third (2011), and fourth…

A controlled quasi-experimental design was used to evaluate the effects of the use of MindPlay Virtual Reading Coach on participants' reading and spelling achievement. After attrition, participants included 170 students enrolled in eight second-grade classrooms (four classrooms in each school) in two public elementary schools in the southwestern…

It has been well established that poor reading skills in the first grades of primary school can lead to poor reading skills in all coming years. A reading acceleration program (RAP) known to improve reading skills in adults and children with and without reading difficulties (RD) was tested for its effect on children in second grade with standard…

Efficacy of an intensive reading intervention implemented during the nonacademic summer was evaluated in children with reading disabilities or difficulties (RD). Students (ages 6-9) were randomly assigned to receive Lindamood-Bell's "Seeing Stars" program (n = 23) as an intervention or to a waiting-list control group (n = 24). Analysis…

Research Findings: The goal of the present study was to provide empirical evidence for the importance of mastering reading fluency in early schooling. Study participants were 1,322 students in 3rd grade in 42 schools in a northwestern state. These students were assessed using a battery of reading skill tests as well as comprehensive tests of more…

Reading achievement scores for adolescents with disabilities are markedly lower than the scores of adolescents without disabilities. For example, 62% of students with disabilities read "below" the basic level on the NAEP Reading assessment, compared to 19% of their nondisabled peers. This achievement gap has been a continuing challenge…

We evaluated the effects of a summer reading intervention with a sample of low-income Black and Hispanic students who were struggling readers. In the summer before their 2nd- or 3rd-grade school year, 14 rising 2nd graders and 18 rising 3rd graders received 15 hr of a scripted, explicit phonics-based program in dyads from credentialed elementary…

Two primary purposes guided this quasi-experimental within-teacher study: (a) to examine changes from baseline through 2 years of professional development (Individualizing Student Instruction) in kindergarten teachers' differentiation of Tier 1 literacy instruction; and (b) to examine changes in reading and vocabulary of 3 cohorts of the teachers'…

The present study examined the impact of the Simultaneous Multisensory Institute for Language Arts (SMILA) approach on the reading proficiency of 39 students between the ages of 7-11 participating in a summer reading program. The summer reading clinic draws students from the surrounding community which is located in a large urban district in the…

The Early Reading First (ERF) program provided grants to transform preschools into centers of education excellence with the ultimate goal of preventing later reading difficulties (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001). The intent of ERF grants was to provide preschoolers with the necessary cognitive, early language, and literacy skills for success in…

Read-aloud is a technique predominantly utilized at the elementary level. This study was designed to research the effectiveness of this technique at the middle school level, specifically students who were not receiving special education or additional reading intervention services. For the current investigation, students in two middle schools…

This article aims to evaluate the whole-class reading program Language And Reading Skills (LARS) and its effects on the decoding, reading comprehension, and language abilities of 1st-language (L1) and 2nd-language (L2) German 2nd graders. The program consisted of teacher training and differentiated reading materials adapted to the needs of both L1…

To compare the efficacy of instructional programs for adult learners with basic reading skills below the 7th-grade level, 300 adults were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 supplementary tutoring programs designed to strengthen decoding and fluency skills, and gains were examined for the 148 adult students who completed the program. The 3 intervention…