This study investigated the extent to which class-specific parameter estimates are biased by the within-class normality assumption in nonnormal growth mixture modeling (GMM). Monte Carlo simulations for nonnormal GMM were conducted to analyze and compare two strategies for obtaining unbiased parameter estimates: relaxing the within-class normality…

In "Progress in International Reading Literacy Study" (PIRLS) educational inequalities are measured, amongst others, through the relationship between students' reading achievements and the home resource for learning (HRL) scale. By applying the partial credit model and using the WLE estimates for the person parameters it is accepted that…

A group of 50 skilled readers and a group of 50 less-skilled readers of Grade 5 matched for age and intelligence and selected on the basis of their proficiency in reading comprehension were tested for their competence in word reading and the processes of attention, simultaneous coding, successive coding and planning at three levels, i.e.,…

This article explores the relationship between reading strategy use and reading proficiency among 121 adult ESL learners. Reading strategy use was measured by the SORS, and reading proficiency was determined by the CASAS Reading Test and BEST Literacy Test. Findings of the study reveal that (a) adult ESL learners are active strategies users; (b)…

In this study, we tested the outcomes of access to a response to intervention (RtI) model in kindergarten or in first grade on end-of-Grade-2 reading achievement and placement in special education. Across five schools, 214 students who began having access to Tier 2 intervention in kindergarten or first grade were compared in Grades 1 and 2 with…

This study determined the relationship of state funding to student performance on state mandated assessments in South Dakota between the years of 2003-2009. A cohort group of 40 school districts between 200 ADM and 600 ADM who had not reorganized were selected. Data was collected using the Dakota STEP assessment portal on the South Dakota…

In this study, we tested the outcomes of access to a Response to Intervention (RtI) model in kindergarten or in first grade on end-of-Grade-2 reading achievement and placement in special education. Across five schools, 214 students who began having access to Tier 2 intervention in kindergarten or first grade were compared in Grades 1 and 2 with…

This experimental study aims to investigate the effects of using cooperative learning to enhance the English reading comprehension and learning motivation of EFL freshmen by comparing the cooperative learning instruction and traditional lecture instruction. This experiment was implemented in a Freshman English Reading course, a two credit course,…

The release of the latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) garnered all the usual headlines about America's lackluster performance and the rise of competitor nations. To be sure, the findings--that America's fifteen-year-olds perform in the middle of the pack in both reading and math--are disconcerting for a…

Reading deficits among students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) are well documented. One approach to addressing these deficits has been providing students with intensive and explicit reading instruction. In this study, 31 students with E/BD and reading deficits in self-contained settings were provided with 8 weeks of…