Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading fluency (CBM-R) procedures have been developed to screen and evaluate student performance in reference to local norms and/or benchmarks. Recent changes in federal law have set the stage to use CBM-R data within a response to intervention model to guide high-stakes educational decisions (e.g.,…

This measurement study examined the construct validity of the retell component of the Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment (Texas Education Agency, University of Houston, & The University of Texas System, 2008a) within a confirmatory factor analysis framework. The role of retell, provided after a one-minute oral reading fluency measure, was…

When discussing issues relating to students in General Educational Development (GED) Option and pre-GED programs with educators, the contention exists that it is possible to make reasonably accurate predictions on the success or failure of a student by observing a number of items. Looking at their cumulative records shows their academic and…

Based on a mixed methods research design that included an examination of the impact of summer, case study analyses, and survey findings, English learners appear to have an advantage over their non-English learner peers in resisting summer loss and developing social competence. This study examined the effect of summer vacation on the oral reading…

This book is a wonderful blending of methodologies. This juxtaposition of art and literature serves as an instrument for teachers to inspire their students to create, critique, compare and predict, all higher-level intellectual behaviors, while composing across symbol systems. The work contains detailed classroom transcripts of strategies that…

Schools across the nation are responding to reading assessment mandates by turning to DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), a program endorsed by the Federal Reading First Grant Office, to assess fluency on a range of reading-related tasks. DIBELS makes strong claims regarding its usefulness in documenting reading progress…

The purpose of this review was to explore the effectiveness of teaching basic reading skills to adolescents. Studies that were published in the past 20 years from 1986 to 2006 were selected and reviewed on the basis of specific criteria for inclusion. Results indicated that there were 23 studies that met the criteria. Findings revealed that…

Reviews theory and research relating to fluency instruction and development. Found that fluency instruction is generally effective; assisted approaches seem to be more effective than unassisted approaches; repetitive approaches do not seem to hold a clear advantage over nonrepetitive approaches; and effective fluency instruction moves beyond…

The purpose of the study was (a) to examine the development of four sublexical fluency skills over the second semester of kindergarten and (b) to identify the predictors of fluency level (estimated at the end of kindergarten) and growth. Ninety-two kindergarten children enrolled in six full-day kindergarten classrooms participated. The students…

We evaluated the validity of DIBELS ("Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills") ORF ("Oral Reading Fluency") for predicting performance on the "Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test" (FCAT-SSS) and "Stanford Achievement Test" (SAT-10) reading comprehension measures. The usefulness of previously…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a multicomponent reading intervention implemented with middle school students with severe reading difficulties, all of whom had received remedial and/or special education for several years with minimal response to intervention. Participants were 38 students in grades 6-8 who had severe deficits in word…

Despite recent research findings that implicate a long list of student variables that predict reading success or failure, these predictor variables have not been considered in the context of contemporary models of multitiered schoolwide reading intervention. This longitudinal, retrospective study follows 668 kindergarten and first-grade students…

The purpose of this study was to examine (1) the stability of latent classes associated with reading disability (RD) and typical development (TD) across time, (2) the importance of speeded word recognition as a latent class indicator of RD and TD, and (3) possible early indicators of students with late-emerging RD. Analyses were based on a…

This study was conducted to ascertain if repeated reading or question generation was more effective at improving reading fluency and comprehension of fourth- through sixth-grade students with learning disabilities or reading problems. Adult tutors trained by the investigator conducted the interventions. Instructional components and training within…

Integrating experiences with music in the early childhood classroom supports English language learners' literacy development (Peregoy and Boyle, "Reading, writing, and learning in ESL." Pearson, Boston, 2008; Saricoban and Metin, "Songs, verse and games for teaching grammar." Internet "TESL J," 2000). This article describes the benefits of…