This article outlines the impact of an eight-week Precision Teaching (PT) intervention on the sight vocabulary, reading fluency and reading attainment scores of a group of Irish primary school pupils. This study also sought to evaluate the role of PT in facilitating formative assessment of pupils' progress. Employing a mixed-method approach, this…

In recent years, the Education for All movement has focused more intensely on the quality of education, rather than simply provision. Many recent and current education quality interventions focus on literacy, which is the core skill required for further academic success. Despite this focus on the quality of literacy instruction in developing…

We explored the usefulness of 1st and 2nd grade reading measures and responsiveness criteria collected within a Response-to-Intervention (RtI) framework for predicting Reading Disability (RD) in 3rd grade. We used existing data from 387 linguistically diverse students who had participated in a longitudinal RtI study. Model-based predictors of RD…

This article reviews published experimental studies from 2000 to 2012 that evaluated the effects of providing reading interventions to English learners who were at risk for experiencing academic difficulties, including students with learning disabilities. Criteria included: (a) the study was published in a peer-referred journal, (b) the study was…

Reading fluency is one of the most important signs of language proficiency both for native and foreign language speakers (Grabe, 2010; Macalister, 2010; Winston, 2010; Hasbrouck, 2008; Rasinski, 2004; Oakley, 2003; Waldman, 1985; Cited in: Sayenko, 2010, Introduction Para 1). This paper is in the area of reading fluency and tries to investigate…

This vital resource offers classroom teachers and literacy coaches practical assessments that can be used to evaluate key areas in students' reading performance. These assessments will provide information that can be directly used for planning instruction. Specific instructional techniques and activities are linked to each of the assessments so…

Despite recent findings that show fluency deficits in developmental readers, the field of developmental reading remains remiss in fluency instruction. This article provides a summary intended to increase college reading teachers' understanding of reading fluency and fluency instruction. In addition, included are the step-by-step procedures of…

Reading fluency beyond decoding is a limitation to many children with developmental reading disorders. In the interest of remediating dysfluency, contributing factors need to be explored and understood in a developmental framework. The focus of this study is orthographic processing in developmental dyslexia, and how it may contribute to reading…

A previous study reported that, similar to young and adult skilled readers, Italian developmental dyslexics read pseudowords made up of a root and a derivational suffix faster and more accurately than simple pseudowords. Unlike skilled readers, only dyslexic and reading-matched younger children benefited from morphological structure in reading…

Aphasia causes significant disability and handicap among stroke survivors. Language therapy is recommended for aphasic patients, but not always available. Piracetam, an old drug with novel properties, has been shown to have mild beneficial effects on post-stroke aphasia. In the current study, we investigated the effects of 6 months treatment with…

Preschool parent interventions may produce downstream benefits if initial intervention gains are sustained and improve later socialization experiences. This study explored associations between initial effects of the REDI (Research-based Developmentally Informed) Parent program and later benefits. A randomized trial involving 200 Head Start…

Given that many schools have limited resources and a high proportion of students who present with deficits in early literacy skills, supports aimed at preventing reading failure must be simple and efficient and generate meaningful changes in student learning. We used a randomized group design with a wait-list control to extend the work of Volpe,…

Reading speed is commonly used as an index of reading fluency. However, reading speed is not a consistent predictor of text comprehension, when speed and comprehension are measured on the same text within the same reader. This might be due to the somewhat ambiguous nature of reading speed, which is sometimes regarded as a feature of the reading…

Experts widely consider decoding and fluency as the basis of reading comprehension, while at the same time consistently documenting problems in these areas as major characteristics of students with learning disabilities. However, scholars have developed most of the relevant research within phonologically deep languages, wherein decoding problems…

When students experience reading difficulties--or even before they do--teachers can use specialized knowledge to help them achieve success. This overview of the International Dyslexia Association's "Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading" describes those reading and literacy standards and provides resources for teacher…