Visual stress is a perceptual dysfunction that appears to affect how information is processed as it passes from the eyes to the brain. Photophobia, visual resolution, restricted focus, sustaining focus, and depth perception are all components of visual stress. Because visual stress affects what is perceived by the eye, students with this disorder…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of grade retention and grade placement on student achievement in both reading and math over the course of five years. A comparison was drawn amongst two cohorts of students in 3rd through 5th grade: (a) students in each grade who were retained in the year 2006-2007 due to failing report card…

The present study examined the relationship between Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) scores and mathematics problem solving scores. The reading fluency scores were obtained from the Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy (DIBELS) assessment. The mathematics problem solving scores were obtained from the Indiana State Test of Education Progress Plus…

Although it seems reasonable to assume frequency of teacher absence affects student achievement, research has not consistently supported this assumption. This quantitative, non-experimental study investigated the relationship between teacher absenteeism and student achievement in mathematics and reading in one high-performing suburban elementary…

In 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was passed, emphasizing a stronger concentration on reading achievement. Research has shown that the family structure influences literacy development. The study was developed based on the social learning theories of Vygotsky and Skinner. Vygotsky's approach to sociocultural theory examines the…

Guided reading, as developed by Fountas and Pinnell (2001), has been a staple of elementary reading programs for the past decade. Teachers in the elementary school setting utilize this small group, tailored instruction in order to differentiate and meet the instructional needs of the students. The literature shows academic benefit for students who…

The gender gap has been a hotly debated issue, both nationally and internationally. In 2000, the then Department for Education and Schools commissioned a four-year study into raising boys' achievement. The commission worked with over 60 primary, secondary and special schools in England to identify and evaluate the strategies highlighted to be…

This randomized controlled study examines the effects of an intervention, Fusion Reading, on the reading achievement and motivation of adolescent struggling readers. Fusion Reading was implemented in grades 6 through 10 in four middle schools and three high schools from three districts in the southeast and western Michigan. Eligible struggling…

This action research is a quantitative study of personal goal setting and how it affects the academic performance of third grade students on weekly Math, Reading, and Language Arts assessments in a proactive effort to increase individual performance on standardized tests. The students' weekly performance was indicative of their expected…

This study assessed the effects of sampling breadth on technical features of word identification fluency (WIF), a tool for screening and monitoring the reading development of first graders. From a potential pool of 704 first-grade students, the authors measured both a representative sample (n = 284) and 2 other subgroups: those with low reading…

The authors report the effects of a yearlong, very small-group, intensive reading intervention for eighth-grade students with serious reading difficulties who had demonstrated low response to intervention (RTI) in both Grades 6 and 7. At the beginning of Grade 6, a cohort of students identified as having reading difficulties were randomized to…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships among proportion of instruction in Spanish, observed classroom quality, and preschool-aged children's academic skills. Study participants included 357 Spanish-speaking 4-year-old children who attended state-funded pre-kindergarten programs in 11 states that participated in one of…

This paper describes the technical adequacy and potential uses of an observation system used to measure the quality of literacy instruction in kindergarten classrooms. The Classroom Observations of Student-Teacher Interactions (COSTI) documents the frequency of four student-teacher interactions during beginning reading instruction: explicit…

Purpose: In this study, we examined (a) whether children who spoke Nonmainstream American English (NMAE) frequently in school at the beginning of 1st grade increased their use of Mainstream American English (MAE) through the end of 2nd grade, and whether increasing MAE use was associated with (b) language and reading skills and school context and…

Parental incarceration, poverty, urban violence, and drug use can be underlying factors of academic achievement gaps between Black urban males and their counterparts. These risk factors have the potential to position low-income urban students as struggling readers. Two qualitative case studies obtained from a larger mixed methods study illustrate…