This meta-analysis summarizes research on the effects of a comprehensive, interactive web-based software (AXXX) on the development of reading competencies among kindergarteners and elementary students. Findings from seven randomized control trials and quasi-experimental studies undertaken in a variety of contexts across Canada, Australia and Kenya…

This article presents findings of an efficacy trial examining the effect of a multitiered instruction and intervention model on first grade at-risk students' reading outcomes. Schools (N = 16) were randomly assigned to the treatment or control condition. In the fall of Grade 1, students were assigned to an instructional tier on the basis of…

Summer setback, which is defined as a decline in academic achievement over the summer months, occurs in many academic areas but seems especially problematic in reading. We assessed students from a midwestern parochial school serving predominantly students from a low--socioeconomic status background for their reading achievement before they left…

Despite the emerging evidence base on response to intervention, there is limited research regarding how to effectively use progress-monitoring data to adjust instruction for students in Tier 2 intervention. In this study, we analyzed extant data from a series of randomized experimental studies of a kindergarten supplemental reading intervention to…

This study examines the effect of 30 min of small group explicit instruction on reading outcomes for first-grade Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) at risk of reading difficulties. Participants were 78 ELs from seven schools who were receiving Spanish only, or Spanish and English, whole group reading instruction in first grade. Students were…

In this article, the authors focus on homework as an adjunct for learning in secondary school classrooms. Four types of students are profiled, with detail on how the students respond to homework assignments when they do not understand the content. The authors then review three changes in homework practices that can engage students, including…

Keyboarding skill is an important target for adult education programs due to the ubiquity of computers in modern work environments. A previous study showed that novice typists learned key locations quickly but that fluency took a relatively long time to develop. In the present study, novice typists achieved fluent performance in nearly half the…

The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship of initial skill and rate of progress on a measure of the alphabetic principle, Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF), to first-grade reading outcomes as measured by Oral Reading Fluency (ORF). In addition, we describe a scoring approach to NWF where the predominant decoding strategy (i.e.,…

Purpose: To describe and compare behavioral profiles associated with auditory processing disorder (APD) and specific language impairment (SLI) in school-age children. Method: The participants in this cross-sectional observational study were 64 children (mean age 10.1 years) recruited through clinician referrals. Thirty-five participants had a…

Approximately 40% of U.S. fourth-grade students are nonfluent readers. In response to the need for fluency-based instructional programs for elementary-aged students, the Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategies (HELPS) Program was developed by integrating eight evidence-based fluency-building instructional strategies into a systematic…

The intention of this study was to establish if the third grade English Language Learners improved reading fluency when using the computerized Waterford Early Reading Program. This quantitative study determined the effectiveness of the Waterford Early Reading Program at two Title I elementary schools. Students not meeting Grade Level Expectations…

As the ability to read proficiently is essential for success both in and out of the school setting, literacy has become an area of particular focus in today's classrooms. While recent assessments indicate that students are making progress in the area of reading (e.g., National Assessment of Educational Progress [NAEP], 2011), there continues to be…

The main purpose of this study was to bridge the gap between the literature on cognitive variables related to English literacy learning skills, as suggested by the simple view of reading, and the literature on sociocultural variables, specifically acculturation. The sample consisted of 94 Chinese immigrant adolescents from grades 7-12 in Waterloo…

The purpose of this research is to share the reading assessments that graduate students selected for their clinical practice with struggling readers. After a careful look at assessments, their place in the recent shift to Response to Intervention (RTI), specifically regarding reading instruction and the preparation of reading…

This study evaluated the effectiveness of high school tutors' implementation of "Great Leaps Reading" (Campbell, 1998), a reading fluency supplementary instructional program. The program consists of three sections: phonics, sight word phrases, and story passages. Daily 15-minute tutoring sessions involved repeated 1-minute timings of…