The recently reported i3 Scale-Up of Reading Recovery (May et al., 2015) found an effect size of +0.69 in favor of Reading Recovery compared to the control group. We discuss four issues: (a) many of the lowest achieving students were excluded from participation in Reading Recovery; (b) the control group received a range of different experiences;…

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…

The Cultural Heritage Bilingual Program (CHBP) was developed for English Language Learner (ELL) students from language groups not served by current bilingual programs in the Houston Independent School District (HISD), which are designed for Spanish-speaking ELLs. The largest group of students in this category consists of ELLs whose home language…

Poor science achievement has been an educational issue for a number of years. Students with disabilities have traditionally fared worse. Research suggests that students with disabilities may respond better to instruction using an inquiry-based approach vs. traditional textbook instruction when measuring science achievement on standardized…

The Louisiana Striving Readers evaluation assessed the implementation and effectiveness of the Voyager "Passport Reading Journeys" (PRJ), a widely used supplemental literacy intervention for struggling adolescent readers that reflects the research-based practices recommended by the National Reading Panel (2000) and other more recent…

Children who struggle in mathematics may also lack cognitive awareness in mathematical problem solving. The cognitively-driven program IMPROVE, a multidimensional method for teaching mathematics, has been shown to be helpful for students with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD). Guided by cognitive theory, the purpose of this…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Mentoring Mathematical Minds (M3) units on gains in mathematics achievement and English proficiency of mathematically promising English language learners (MPELLs) in the third grade. The M3 program, developed by Gavin et al., was implemented for 1 year with treatment MPELLs (n = 86) but not…

A teacher's sense of self-efficacy has been consistently recognized as an important attribute of effective teaching and has been positively correlated to teacher and student outcomes. A number of studies show the impact of teachers with high levels of efficacy. Students of these teachers have outperformed students who had teachers with lower…

This study was an attempt to assist a rural county school system in central Georgia with instruction at the third grade level in reading skills development after voluntary and complete integration. Specifically it was to (1) determine the general nature of the integration process in the county and its topical relationships and effects upon…

THREE STUDIES UNDERTAKEN AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY ATTEMPTED TO ASSESS THE RELATIVE EFFICIENCY OF THE UNIVERSITY'S INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH AND A WHOLE-CLASS APPROACH TO TEACHING SPELLING IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES. THE FIRST-YEAR STUDY UTILIZED THESE TWO APPROACHES IN GRADES TWO THROUGH SIX. THE SECOND-YEAR PROJECT CONTINUED THE USE OF THESE…

In recent years, special educators' roles and responsibilities have undergone significant transformations deriving from both internal and external sources. This article initially reviews some of the reform movements that have sought to bring research-based practices into the classroom, particularly for students considered exceptional or at-risk.…

A study examined the effect of direct instruction on increasing students' reading competency. The study followed several studies done between 1977 and 1995 on the Direct Instruction Model for reading instruction, developed and implemented in the 1960s. The population of the 2-year study included 105 southwest Chicago area third-grade students from…

A study examined whether departmentalization affected the reading achievement of sixth-grade students attending a Chicago public school. A random sample of 30 students was chosen from a group of 53 who received instruction in a departmentalized program. A second random sample of 30 was selected from a total of 54 students who received instruction…

FOUR HYPOTHESES WERE CONSIDERED DURING THIS EVALUATION STUDY, NAMELY THAT THE TEACHING OF ARITHMETIC IN GRADES 4, 5, AND 6 BY THE MADISON PROJECT WILL--(1) PRODUCE AS GREAT AN INCREASE IN ACHIEVEMENT AS THE METHOD COMMONLY PRACTICED, (2) PRODUCE A GREATER INCREASE IN ALGEBRAIC APTITUDE, (3) PRODUCE A GREATER INTEREST IN MATHEMATICS, AND (4)…

The Language Vocabulary Acquisition (LVA) Approach is a revolutionary method of reading instruction for emergent and developing readers. It is an intense reading program with high levels of student participation, engagement, and interaction with print text, that yields high outcomes in phonological awareness, reading and writing fluency, and…