The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the use of specific vocabulary instructional strategies during a six-week summer program to determine if the iReady universal screener measured an impact on student vocabulary and reading comprehension. The study utilized a treatment group (n = 34) and a control group (n = 40) from…

This study explored the literacy engagement of Hispanic rising seventh grade adolescents during a summer literacy program. Using a participatory social justice mixed methods design (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2018), students' voices were used to design and refine an instructional model proposed to increase their level of engagement in literacy…

Problem Statement: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, students were negatively impacted academically and social-emotionally (Kuhfeld et al., 2020). Preexisting academic inequities were exacerbated, especially for students of color, students with disabilities, multilingual learners, and those from low-income backgrounds (Kuhfeld et al., 2022).…

In the United States, research on reading difficulties is predominantly carried out by scholars who project findings on L1 English reading difficulty to generalized difficulty in learning a second language (L2; e.g., Galuschka et al., 2020; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2020; cf. Sparks, 2023). This research extrapolation creates a negative feedback…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative exploration study was to determine if there was a statistically and practically significant effect of an educational program on summer learning loss in reading and mathematics in grades five and six students. Also, the study aimed to determine whether growth was impacted by demographic variables…

With so many students attending summer programs, it is remarkable that there is little research available aiming to investigate achievement differences in participants versus non-participants. This study examined the place of a summer program within a school district budget and curriculum. The study was designed to better understand the…

The purpose of this phenomenological bound case study was to explore the effect of acquiring sight words on reading fluency and comprehension skills for early literacy learners during a summer reading camp at one elementary campus in south Texas. Study findings indicated that through prescribed learning experiences with sight words that included…

The existence of an achievement gap in the academic performance among various subgroups of students is a well-documented phenomenon in American public education (Blackford & Khojasteh, 2013; "Education Week," 2004; Hayes & Grether, 1969; Hernandez, 2011; National Center for Educational Statistics, 2015). This is certainly the…

Many students with cognitive impairments are not afforded the opportunity to develop their potential as readers. A review of the literature reveals that few researchers have evaluated the effects of phonics instruction on the reading skills of students with cognitive impairments. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a…

This study explored rural middle-school students' participation in an online summer reading course. The research question explored the patterns and practices of the student's participation in an online reading course and the instructional moves made by the teacher. Data were gathered from a small group (n = 4) of rural middle school students…

Summer reading setback is a phenomenon that occurs over the summer break when students lose the skills they gained over the school year. While school-year gains are similar for disadvantaged and more-advantaged students, the achievement gap widens over the summer months. Lack of print access and less time spent reading result in greater summer…