Merging the related but typically distant fields of reading education and special education, this book is for teachers, teacher educators, and administrators at all grade levels and in all subject areas who want to know what the fields of reading and special education say about teaching and reaching high-risk learners. Chapters in the book discuss current research, theories, and practices to present a balanced view of students at risk in reading and how they can be taught. Chapters of the "Overview and Research" section are: (1) "Reading and Special Education in the Twenty-First Century: Time to Unify Perspectives" (Bob Algozzine and Karen D. Wood); (2) "Providing Reading Instruction to Mildly Disabled Students: Research into Practice" (Linda P. Blanton and William E. Blanton); and (3) "What Research in Special Education Says to Reading Teachers" (Lawrence J. O'Shea and Dorothy J. O'Shea). Chapters in the "Characteristics of High-Risk Learners" section are: (4) "Changes in the Identification and Instruction of High-Risk Readers" (Mary Beth Marr and Richard L. Allington); and (5) "Characteristics of Students with Disabilities and How Teachers Can Help" (John Beattie). Chapters in the "Current Views of Assessment" section are: (6) "What Research in Special Education Assessment Says to Reading Teachers" (Susan S. Evans and others); and (7) "Current Practices in Reading Assessment" (James F. Baumann and Bruce A. Murray). Chapters in the "Effective Practices for High-Risk Learners" section are: (8) "Teacher Effectiveness Research into Reading Practice" (Dorothy J. O'Shea); (9) "Reading Recovery: Widening the Scope of Prevention for Children at Risk of Reading Failure" (Janet S. Gaffney); (10) "Instructional Techniques for Making Subject Area Materials More Comprehensible for Readers at Risk" (Robert B. Cooter, Jr., and D. Ray Reutzel); (11) "Peer-Mediated Instruction for High-Risk Students" (Larry Maheady and others); (12) "Motivating High-Risk Learners to Think and Act as Writers" (Nancy Farnan and others); (13) "Using Cooperative Learning to Meet the Needs of High-Risk Learners" (Karen D. Wood and Bob Algozzine); and (14) "Teaching Reading to High-Risk Learners in the Twenty-First Century" (Karen D. Wood and Bob Algozzine). (RS)