This study examined the changing role and longitudinal predictive validity of curriculum-embedded progress-monitoring measures (CEMs ) for kindergarten students receiving Tier 2 intervention and identified as at risk of developing reading difficulties. Multiple measures were examined to determine whether they could predict comprehensive latent…

The present study seeks to evaluate a hybrid model of identification that incorporates response to instruction and intervention (RTI) as one of the key symptoms of reading disability. The 1-year stability of alternative operational definitions of reading disability was examined in a large-scale sample of students who were followed longitudinally…

This study examined the impact of independent practice of multiple-criteria text that targeted high-frequency words, decodability, and meaningfulness. Second-grade students, including at-risk students, were randomly assigned within classroom to a treatment group that read multiple-criteria text ("n" = 34), or contrast group that read…

The present review builds on earlier research that evaluated the curricular features of core math programs to improve the performances of students with or at risk for mathematics difficulties. In this review, three elementary math programs, at Grades 2 and 4, were evaluated for the presence of eight instructional principles. Math intervention…

This study explored the spelling skills of African American second graders who produced African American English (AAE) features in speech. The children (N = 92), who varied in spoken AAE use and word reading skills, were asked to spell words that contained phonological and morphological dialect-sensitive (DS) features that can vary between AAE and…

Fourth graders with learning disabilities in transcription (handwriting and spelling), LD-TD, and without LD-TD (non-LD), were compared on three writing tasks (letters, sentences, and essays), which differed by level of language, when writing by pen and by keyboard. The two groups did not differ significantly in Verbal IQ but did in handwriting,…

Responsiveness to Intervention (RtI) is recommended both as an essential step before identifying learning disabilities (LD) and as a mechanism for preventing learning difficulties. The use of evidence-based multi-tiered interventions is of critical importance when implementing RtI. This article presents the results of a study that examined the…

Using an extant database, we examined three grade 1 criteria for identifying response to intervention (RTI) in English language learners (ELLs): (a) set benchmark criteria with a standard score above 95 (37th %ile) on both decoding and comprehension measures and a raw score of 40 or more correct words per minute (CWPM) on oral reading fluency; (b)…

Attempts to evaluate the cognitive-motivational profiles of students with reading comprehension difficulties have been scarce. The purpose of the present study was twofold: (a) to assess the discriminatory validity of cognitive, motivational, affective, and psychopathological variables for identification of students with reading difficulties, and…

In this replication study, supplemental writing instruction in strategic planning was used to improve the story writing ability of young writers with learning disabilities (LD) and poor writing skills. Six 2nd-grade students with learning disabilities who experienced difficulty with story writing were taught a strategy for planning and writing…

This study examined the nature of student talk and the teacher's role during book discussions. The participants were 17 first- and second-graders with and without disabilities in an inner-city inclusion classroom. Applied conversation analysis techniques were employed to analyze two videotaped book discussions. Results indicated that…

This article first describes two types of assessment (problem solving and standard treatment protocol) within a "responsiveness-to-instruction" framework to identify learning disabilities. It then specifies two necessary components (measures and classification criteria) to assess responsiveness-to-instruction, and present pertinent findings from…