This randomized study evaluated two evidence-based reading interventions with 121 middle school students who presented with reading fluency deficits. One intervention was teacher-directed and utilized numerous evidence-based strategies; the other intervention, the Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies for Small Groups Program, provided a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of literature circles on the reading comprehension and attitudes toward reading of gifted students in an elementary school. Using a quasi-experimental design, this action research compared two groups of gifted fourth grade students in the reading programs. The experimental group included…

How hard should the books be in elementary small-group reading? This study explored text difficulty for bilingual students reading below grade level in third grade. Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, I used qualitative methods to analyze students' engagement and discussion during small groups and single case design to evaluate…

This paper provides a secondary analysis of the May, Sirinides, Gray, and Goldsworthy (2016) evaluation of the Reading Recovery scale-up. We extend their findings to include analysis of the six subscales of the "Observation Survey (OS) of Early Literacy Achievement" (Clay, 2013) that the What Works Clearinghouse has previously used to…

Research has shown that early intervention can help change a student's trajectory, helping them become more successful in school and decreasing the likelihood that they will leave school before receiving their high school diploma. Because African-American students fare worse than their peers on early reading assessments, they are the focus of this…

This study examined the application of evidence-based tutoring for oral reading fluency (ORF) to a natural setting, using teachers as parent trainers. Three teachers were trained in a 3-h workshop to develop individualized tutoring programs with parents. Following training, the teachers trained four parents to use individualized tutoring programs.…

Poorly developed word recognition skills are the most pervasive and debilitating source of reading challenges for students with learning disabilities (LD). With a notable decrease in word reading instruction in the upper elementary grades, struggling readers receive fewer instructional opportunities to develop proficient word reading skills, yet…

The current study used a multiple-baseline design to examine the effect of providing performance feedback on comprehension strategy use and reading comprehension. The participants were four seventh grade students with comprehension difficulties. The students were taught the reciprocal teaching comprehension strategies of generating questions,…

This essay describes the struggle to get one second grade reader who was in need of fluency practice to overcome his resistance to rereading familiar texts. This was done through the use of videos which were sent to parents on a weekly basis after the texts had been practiced several time with an eye toward all aspects of fluency--phrasing,…

Students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) struggle to attain grade-equivalent literacy skills and require education interventions to improve. Recent literature reviews have revealed the need for high-quality intervention research for the following areas of reading: vocabulary development, reading comprehension, reading fluency, and…

Many English language learners (ELLs) experience difficulties with basic English reading due in part to low language proficiency. The authors examined the relationship between English language proficiency and growth during reading interventions for ELLs. A total of 201 second- and third-grade students with a variety of home languages participated.…

Video self-modeling (VSM) is a relatively new technique used to improve reading fluency. At this point, VSM has primarily been used to supplement evidence-based reading interventions such as repeated readings (RR). There is limited to no research evaluating the independent effects of VSM in comparison to interventions such as RR. The goal of the…

Although letter naming fluency (LNF) and letter sound fluency (LSF) measures are widely available to educators for assessing early literacy skills of kindergarten children, better understanding of the contributions of these skills to reading development can help improve the interpretation of LNF and LSF data for instructional decisions. This study…

This study evaluated the classification accuracy of a second grade oral reading fluency curriculum-based measure (R-CBM) in predicting third grade state test performance. It also compared the long-term classification accuracy of local and publisher-recommended R-CBM cut scores. Participants were 266 students who were divided into a calibration…

This study explored the effects of literacy-rich sociodramatic guided play on kindergarten student literacy performance and behavior. Kindergarten students of varying socioeconomic status attending two elementary schools in the same school district participated in this repeated measures, counterbalanced design study. Students received the mandated…