This Spotlight will help readers investigate one state's plan to improve literacy with daily summer reading instruction; review how teachers can better support struggling older readers; gain expert insights into strategies for boosting reading proficiency; evaluate the merits of audiobooks for improving reading engagement; explore how short bursts…

The purpose of this report is to provide formative and summative feedback to the Utah State Board of Education (USBE) regarding evidence of implementation and impact for the Interventions for Reading Difficulties Pilot Program. The report, while addressing the effects of the Interventions for Reading Difficulties Pilot Program, is also designed to…

Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) frameworks are designed to directly support students with, and at risk for, disabilities by providing timely, aligned, and coordinated supports, with the goal of preventing or ameliorating the effects of early risk. Yet developing and implementing MTSS in beginning reading is a complex process. Many schools…

The topic of special education can be confusing and frightening for parents who suspect their child has a disability or has difficulty learning. Parents in this situation want to know how to get help for their child. This guide is intended as a reference for people who have questions about special education for a child. It summarizes the basic…

According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), just over 70 percent of students nationally arrive in high school with reading skills that are below "proficient"--defined as demonstrating competency over challenging subject matter. Of these students, nearly half do not exhibit even partial mastery of the knowledge…

This report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established Reading First (RF) and mandated its…

The purpose of this bulletin is to help teachers, supervisors, administrators, and other educators improve the quality of reading done by junior high school pupils. Interest in ways to teach developmental and remedial reading in the junior high school is nationwide. Junior high school principals and teachers of various subjects are particularly…

This legislative report presents the results of a pilot project conducted in eight suburban California school districts as part of an effort to develop a testing program identifying kindergartners with potential reading problems. The project was also intended to evaluate the program's effectiveness and gauge the feasibility of statewide…

Reading Recovery is an early intervention program that helps low-achieving first-grade children to become independent readers who need no further remediation. Reading Recovery was introduced by Marie M. Clay who, in the mid 1970s, developed procedures with teachers and tested the program in New Zealand. In 1984, the success of the program in New…

Various federal and state laws, regulations, and policies influence whether a low-achieving reader is categorized as "disadvantaged" or "disabled," and consequently what instructional interventions are provided. Low-achieving readers are being referred to special education at high rates while the number of eligible students…

This guide contains the recently revised 1998 Texas procedures concerning dyslexia and related disorders and provides school districts and parents with additional information on the state's dyslexia law and its relationship to the federal laws, Section 540 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The…