This paper reports the results of a two-year project designed to reorganize basal reading instruction to stress fluent reading and automatic word recognition. The reorganized reading program had three components: a redesigned basal reading lesson that included repeated reading and partner reading, a choice reading period during the day, and a home…

Although most principals do not teach reading, it is critical that they know how reading should be taught, especially in the primary grades. A growing body of research gives an increasingly clear picture of effective reading programs. It indicates that most young children need instruction in five reading areas: phonemic awareness, phonics,…

A computerized program, Headsprout, was investigated as an intervention for beginning reading instruction with 3 students identified with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A multiple-baseline design, across subjects, was implemented to investigate the program's effects on oral reading fluency and task engagement. Results of the…

A multiple-baseline design across word lists was used to investigate the effects of a modified taped-words intervention on Dolch word reading of a fifth-grade student who speaks English as a second language. The student completed a daily self-managed intervention in which he listened to lists of 30 sight-words while reading along, attempting to…

This study examined the relationship between scores on "speeded" cognitive and academic tests and the need for the accommodation of extended test time for normally achieving students (NA) and students with learning disabilities (LD). Often, in postsecondary settings the decision to provide the accommodation of extended test time is based…

The vast majority of students with learning disabilities at the postsecondary level demonstrate reading decoding, reading fluency, and writing deficits. Identification of valid and reliable psychometric measures for documenting decoding and spelling disabilities at the postsecondary level is critical for determining appropriate accommodations. The…

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a series of fluency-based measures designed to assess early literacy skills. These fluency-based measures function as predictors of future reading performance and target critical component skills required to learn to read. This study was conducted to establish the convergent…

In this technical report, the authors describe the development alternate forms of Word and Passage Reading Fluency measures as part of a comprehensive progress monitoring literacy assessment system developed in 2006 for use with students in Kindergarten through fourth grade. They begin with a brief overview of the two conceptual frameworks…

President Bush says that the No Child Left Behind Act is working, pointing to student-achievement results from a single subsection of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and tentative Reading First data. But the evidence available to support his claim is questionable. The data Mr. Bush cited are from just the "long-term…

Examines effective ways of practicing reading that facilitate the development of efficient reading skills in beginners. Indicates that increases in reading efficiency depend largely on the amount of independent, computer-aided practice with speech feedback, a method that seems promising as a means of improving reading skills in beginners. (JK)

"Reading Mastery" is a direct instruction program designed to provide explicit, systematic instruction in English language reading. Reading Mastery is available in two versions, "Reading Mastery Classic" levels I and II (for use in grades K-3) and "Reading Mastery Plus," an integrated reading-language program for…

This report describes a program for improving reading fluency in the classroom. The researchers worked with their students to increase their word recognition rate and accuracy within a text. The emphasis was on their ability to appropriately and consistently model reading with expression and intonation. The targeted population consisted of first…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project that explored the effectiveness of strategies for teaching reading comprehension to English language learners with learning disabilities who are failing to acquire the comprehension skills to learn from print. A series of studies was conducted over a 3-year period that…

Two studies with poor readers in grade 4 (total N=68) examined the relationship between word identification speed and story reading fluency. Benefits were found for single-word practice prior to reading stories containing those words, even for children who were particularly poor namers. Results are related to theoretical links between fluency and…

A study investigated the multiyear effects of evidence-based literacy practices and a program to prevent early reading failure in one elementary school. Results indicate teachers did implement new evidence-based practices, use of these practices resulted in increases in silent reading, and growth in reading fluency was substantial overall.…