Selection and implementation of evidence-based reading interventions is a complex process that requires careful consideration of factors such as intervention effectiveness and social validity. Social validity refers to how key stakeholders, including teachers, students, and parents, perceive the goals, methods, and outcomes of an intervention.…

This case report describes a decoding intervention that was developed for and implemented with a 15-year-old female with significant word-level reading challenges. The intervention integrated multiple evidence-based approaches to improve decoding, including instruction in (a) phonemes-graphemes (sounds-symbols) that the participant did not know at…

There are many adolescent readers who, for a variety of reasons, find it difficult to connect with written words and have fallen behind on their foundational reading skills. Thankfully, it's never too late to give these necessary skills a boost and help students find joy in reading and learning. Armed with equity, empathy, evidence-based research,…

Phonemic awareness is a key building block for later reading and spelling development. Students at risk for reading difficulties may have difficulties with phonemic awareness and need additional instruction or intervention to develop these skills. This column discusses evidence-based phonemic awareness instruction and the implementation of…

Motivating today's adolescents to read is a challenge. This article discusses the kinds of literacy instructional practices that leverage what we know about adolescent motivation. It also reviews several evidence-based literacy interventions designed to engage and motivate adolescent readers that can potentially lead to improvements in student…

Motivating today's adolescents to read is a challenge. Martha Abele Mac Iver, Marcia H. Davis, and Douglas J. Mac Iver discuss the kinds of literacy instructional practices that address what we know about adolescent motivation. They also review several evidence-based literacy interventions designed to engage and motivate adolescent readers that…

More than twenty years have passed since the National Reading Panel (NRP) (2000) report attempted to answer the question: What works best in reading instruction? According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), reading scores (2022) show that a significant number of fourth and eighth graders are still struggling with reading…

The use of Evidence-based Practices (EBPs) in schools is heavily emphasized in educational research and policy; however, many teachers do not use EBPs for reading instruction and intervention. Previous research on the limited use of EBPs in classrooms has primarily focused on teacher characteristics, such as their attitudes or beliefs toward these…

We situate education, and the science of reading (SOR) specifically, in the midst of a broad, evidence-based revolution involving an array of disciplines focused on improving the health and well-being of individuals and populations. Low and stagnant levels of reading proficiency, massive reading disparities, and a robust SOR knowledge base suggest…

For students with moderate and severe intellectual disability (ID), reading instruction has focused on teaching sight words. However, research supports a shift in focusing instruction on reading skills such as phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to focus on the research completed with…

Despite the generally highly individualised educational needs of children, when it comes to reading, three collective patterns of concern tend to arise. Research explicitly highlights the disparity that at-risk children and children with a disability may face in the classroom, as well as the longstanding ripple effects of early language and…

Students identified with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders (EBD) often exhibit behavioral challengtablees that negatively affect their academic performance. One of the weaker academic areas for these students lies in reading. Although numerous research on interventions to improve their reading outcomes has been conducted, some students continue to…

Teacher preparation programs (TPPs) can equip preservice teachers (PSTs) with skills to implement evidence-based interventions in reading with fidelity by engaging PSTs in carefully designed clinical experience opportunities. Providing PSTs with extensive feedback through coaching is one method to strengthen support for PSTs' implementation of…

Students with learning disabilities in word-level reading typically require explicit, systematic, and intensive phonics intervention. Teachers' capacity to provide effective intervention depends largely on their depth of understanding of language and their proficiency with evidence-based instructional methods. This article outlines the key…

I conducted a single instrumental case study to address the problem of practice in which approximately one-third of students entering the ninth grade for the 2019-2020 school year in the study school district were reading below grade level proficiency. I chose an instrumental case study method because it allows for an in-depth examination of a…