This research synthesizes studies that used a Digitalized Interactive Component (DIC) to assess K-12 student mathematics performance during Computer-based-Assessments (CBAs) in mathematics. A systematic search identified ten studies that categorized existing DICs according to the tools that provided language assistance to students and tools that…

Despite historical emphasis on "specific" learning disabilities (SLDs), academic skills are strongly correlated across the curriculum. Thus, one can ask how specific SLDs truly are. To answer this question, we used bifactor models to identify variance shared across academic domains (academic "g"), as well as variance unique to…

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…

Learners at-risk for disabilities in the classroom often require explicit instruction and practice to master skills. Problem solving involves skills that students encounter in every subject area during the school day. The development of problem solving interventions such as Talk Aloud Problem Solving (TAPS) came from a need to help students with…

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 are…

Arithmetic word problem (AWP) solving is a highly demanding task for children with learning disabilities (LD) since verbal and mathematical information have to be integrated. This study examines specifically how syntactic awareness (SA), the ability to manage the grammatical structures of language, affects AWP solving. Three groups of children in…

The purpose of this study was to compare subgroups of students with various forms of learning difficulties (< 25th percentile) on cognitive and mathematics characteristics. Students with mathematics difficulty (MD, n = 105), reading difficulty (RD, n = 65), both (MDRD, n = 87), or neither (NoLD, n = 403) were evaluated on an array of cognitive…

This article provides a quantitative synthesis of the published literature on word problem solving intervention studies for children with math disabilities (MD). Seven group and eight single-subject design studies met inclusion criteria. Mean effect sizes ("ES"s) for solution accuracy for group design studies were 0.95 (SE = 0.19) for…

This dissertation focuses on interdisciplinary problem-solving teams used to address the academic needs of elementary students struggling with reading. Use of teams has a strong theoretical base and wide endorsement by educational leaders, but limited empirical base. Three studies explore teams that convene students of differing academic status:…

The purpose of this article is to describe research-based reading intervention within a Response-to-Intervention (RTI) model, using prevention science as a context. First, RTI is defined and a rationale is provided for its use in improving the reading performance of all students, particularly those students identified as at risk for…

This study examined whether and, if so, how word-problem features differentially affect problem difficulty as a function of mathematics difficulty (MD) status: no MD (n = 109), MD only (n = 109), or MD in combination with reading difficulties (MDRD; n = 109). The problem features were problem type (total, difference, or change) and position of…

Within the Response-to-Intervention framework, students who fail to profit from high-quality general education instruction, accommodations, and supplemental instruction progress to a more intensive intervention program, sometimes referred to as "Tier III." This article describes a problem-solving approach to designing such intensive, data-based,…

Reading Recovery (RR) is a widely used first grade intervention program for students who are struggling with literacy skills. With its component strategies, teacher training, high degree of fidelity of treatment, specified timeline, and cut-off score defining which students have succeeded, RR fits the problem-solving approach of the…

This article synthesizes some of the published literature that selectively compares the cognitive functioning of children with math disabilities (MDs) with average-achieving children and poor readers (children with reading disabilities [RDs] or comorbid disabilities [RDs + MDs]). All studies in the synthesis report reading, IQ, and math scores for…

A majority of studies on learning disabilities have focused on elementary grades. Although problems with learning disabilities are life-affecting only a few studies focus on deficits in adults. In this study adults with isolated mathematical disabilities (n = 101) and adults with combined mathematical and reading disabilities (n = 130) solved…