This study introduces an innovative meta-analytic approach, two-stage multilevel meta-analysis that considers the hierarchical structure of single-case experimental design (SCED) data. This approach is unique as it is suitable to include moderators at the intervention level, participant level, and study level, and is therefore especially…

Schools must accurately implement effective interventions targeting deficits and/or learning challenges for secondary school-aged students with disabilities to fulfill their responsibility of preparing students for life after high school. School psychologists supporting this mission may be frustrated by the limited research conducted with…

Developed first in the late 1990s by the Centre for Applied Special Technology, the pedagogical framework known as "Universal Design for Learning" (UDL) has drawn increasing investment from K-12 and post-secondary institutions. The promoters of UDL often frame the approach as being "based in neuroscience," and further as an…

High prevalence of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the legislation movement impacted the placement of students with ASD in general education settings. Hence, the increase raised the need to conduct research for ASD populations, and to examine the effectiveness of these interventions. With the increase of single case-design…

Tools for evaluating the quality and rigor of single case research designs (SCD) are often used when conducting SCD syntheses. Preferred components include evaluations of design features related to the internal validity of SCD to obtain quality and/or rigor ratings. Three tools for evaluating the quality and rigor of SCD (Council for Exceptional…

Background: The use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in education has increased significantly over the last 15 years. However, their use has also been subject to sustained and rather trenchant criticism from significant sections of the education research community. Key criticisms have included the claims that: it is not possible to undertake…

Background: A key aim of educational research is for findings to inform practice, thereby bringing about improvements in teaching and learning. However, the relationship between research and practice is complex, and there is often no clear link between changes in practice and research findings. One of the challenges for research and practice is…

Tiered evidence initiatives are an important federal strategy to incentivize and accelerate the use of rigorous evidence in planning, implementing, and assessing social service investments. The Social Innovation Fund (SIF), a program of the Corporation for National and Community Service, adopted a public-private partnership approach to tiered…

Play is an important aspect of children's development and its value to education has been widely explored. However, play in children with disabilities and especially children with autism may be restricted when compared to that of their non-disabled peers of similar age and abilities. Moreover, play has been neglected to a certain extent in school…

We present the results of a study of local education agency (LEA)-based interventions to improve the reading outcomes of struggling readers in sixth grade. The sample included 1,076 intervention students and 3,644 comparison students. Regression discontinuity was used to evaluate intervention impact. The study contributes to the field by…

This manuscript reviews the empirical literature of the TouchMath© instructional program. The TouchMath© program is a commercial mathematics series that uses a dot notation system to provide multisensory instruction of computation skills. Using the program, students are taught to solve computational tasks in a multisensory manner that does not…

Purpose: The purpose of this supplement article is to provide a resource of pertinent information concerning implementation science for immediate research application in communication sciences and disorders. Method: Key terminology related to implementation science is reviewed. Practical suggestions for the application of implementation science…

The consequences of failing core academic courses during the first year of high school are dire. More students fail courses in ninth grade than in any other grade, and a disproportionate number of these students subsequently drop out (Herlihy, 2007). As shown in Chicago and elsewhere, academic performance in core courses during the first year of…

Algebra is considered a key gatekeeper for higher-level mathematics course-taking in high school and for college enrollment (Adelman, 2006; Gamoran & Hannigan, 2000). Yet, algebra pass rates are consistently low in many places (Higgins, 2008; Ham & Walker, 1999; Helfand, 2006), including Chicago Public Schools (CPS). This is of particular…