One of the most significant policy effects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of January 2002 and the subsequent state waivers of this Act, has been an awareness and intolerance of the gaps in student achievement among subgroups of students throughout the United States. Specifically, secondary students with learning disabilities and English Language Learner (ELL) students significantly lag behind non-disabled and English proficient students. In Wisconsin, the NCLB waiver developed by the Department of Public Instruction outlines accountability reform measures, one of which measures each school's progress in closing achievement gaps. At the secondary level, where the numbers of students in these subgroups continue to rise while proficiency levels in reading continue to reveal large gaps, educators are desperate for effective reading intervention programs. The National Institute for Literacy (2002) asserts that "it is clear that much research is needed in this under-studied area...experimental and quasi-experimental studies of instructional methods modes for effective reading instructional delivery in middle and high school and specific interventions for struggling readers are needed.". Educational decisions about effective reading interventions must be fully justified and logically compelled by data. Curriculum directors and secondary principals are desperate for assistance in selecting and implementing the most effective literacy initiatives. The purpose of this study is to provide further information on the attributes of reading intervention programs that have led to improved reading proficiency among students with learning disabilities and English Language Learners. The study specifically provides the perspective of the students enrolled in interventions and the teachers delivering them. Research Questions: 1. From the perspective of students and teachers, what are the attributes of two alternative intensive reading interventions that contribute to improved reading proficiency among secondary English Language Learners (ELL) and students with learning disabilities (LD)? 2. What factors contribute to the successes or challenges of implementing these interventions at secondary schools? [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]