Using data drawn from the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) conducted in 2009, the present study sought to examine the mediating effects of three kinds of variables in order to account for the relationships between gender and the digital reading performance of students. The three kinds of variables are (1) online reading…

Special education is a service mandated by law for students identified as having a disability. Students receive special education services through accommodations or modifications of the curriculum. A vocational program is one type of a secondary education opportunity. In vocational schools, students split their time approximately in half between…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether possible relationships might exist between the quality of reform-based science instruction and science and reading achievement in second grade. The study also examined separately possible interactions between quality of instruction and gender and race. The study involved an analysis of data…

This mixed-method phenomenological study was conducted in 2 concurrent phases. The quantitative phase consisted of a researcher designed questionnaire conducted with 103 public school kindergarten teachers in California. Thirty-five close-ended and 2 open-ended questions were included. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized to find…

Throughout the United States, school districts are integrating programs into their reading curricula in response to an increased focus on reading achievement. While many school districts are implementing successful remedial and after-school programs, their approach does not include providing literacy instruction for students during summer…

In the fall of 2008 Westside Community Schools - District 66, in Omaha, Nebraska implemented a one-to-one notebook computer take home model for all eighth-grade students. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a required yearlong one-to-one notebook computer program supported by high-speed Internet connectivity at school on (a)…

One of the most widely used commercially available systems incorporating benchmark assessment and training in differentiated instruction is the Northwest Evaluation Association's (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) program. The MAP program involves two components: (1) computer-adaptive assessments administered to students three to four…

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) is a period of time given to students to read self-selected materials during their school day. This study examines the effect of participation in a SSR program on reading attitudes and reading achievement of students as measured by the Adolescent Motivation to Read Profile (AMRP) and the Northwest Evaluation…

State and local assessment data from 117 students in one school in the California Central Valley were examined to determine how much participation in a kindergarten through second grade multitiered reading intervention model contributed to third grade reading achievement, over and above the demographic factors of ethnicity, socioeconomic status,…

The goal of Head Start is to develop the cognitive and social-emotional skills of children from low-income backgrounds to prepare them to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. Houston Independent School District (HISD) collaborates with four federally-funded Head Start agencies: AVANCE, Gulf Coast Community Services Association (GCCSA), Harris…

Children from low socioeconomic backgrounds (SES) are at increased risk of reading problems. Although phonological awareness consistently emerges as a critical literacy skill for children, little research exists regarding the effects of the acquisition of phonological awareness skills on decreasing the reading achievement gap between children of…

Many deaf students struggle with learning to read. This is the case nationally as well as at the Michigan School for the Deaf (MSD). In 2006, the elementary teaching staff began working together to implement a change in their reading instruction so their approach would be systematic and consistent across grade levels. With the diverse backgrounds…

The practice of matching texts to readers is one that many teachers use and yet one that can become rigid and cumbersome with everyday classroom use. Here we discuss concerns about leveling and propose that by observing and listening to the students in our classes we can develop more powerful ways with leveled texts.

The current investigation explored the diagnostic utility of reading fluency measures in the identification of children with reading disabilities. Participants were 50 children referred to a university-based clinic because of suspected reading problems and/or a prior diagnosis of dyslexia, where children completed a battery of standardized…

The current study examines the consistency of two response-to-intervention (RTI) decision-making models. Weekly progress monitoring data for 30 students participating in a Tier II intervention were collected for 30 weeks. The data were examined by comparing them to an aimline with a yearly goal and by computing a dual discrepancy (DD) using…