In a 3-year longitudinal study, the authors examined the effect of Direct Instruction (DI) on students' reading achievement, teacher perceptions, nature of the classroom, and special education referral rate. Urban and suburban students completed the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests in the fall of Grade 1 and spring of Grades 1, 2, and 3. Teachers…

The authors present results of a 2-year mixed-methods evaluation study of Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID; 2006), an academic intervention initiative supported by the Advanced Placement (AP) Incentive Program that targets middle-achieving students who have been underrepresented in advanced classes and 4-year colleges and that aims…

Sixteen Hispanic Spanish/English bilingual children (6 boys and 10 girls) participated in a single-subject design study. Their chronological ages ranged from 8 to 9.5 years. The classroom teacher identified all the children as "academic at risk" on the basis of a history of poor academic performance in spelling and low scores on the…

The author reported results of 2 sequential and interrelated studies that examined the efficacy of combining 2 models of reading strategy instruction -- reciprocal teaching and direct explanation. The studies were implemented in a high school in the Midwest. The literature documents that even mainstream high school students have serious deficits…

The authors examined a model of instruction for English-language learners (ELLs) who were learning academic English while they tried to meet content standards required by the nation's education reform movement. In previous work (J. Echevarria, M. E. Vogt, & D. Short, 2000), the authors developed and validated a model of instruction (Sheltered…

The purpose of this study was to determine if the DISTAR Reading I Program was more effective than a basal reading program in increasing school-based language ability for 80 first-grade Black students. (Author/IAH)

Reports a study that assessed the effects of reciprocal teaching on the comprehension of poor reading comprehenders who read nonfiction material in a regular classroom. Heterogeneous reading groups from two elementary classes participated in reciprocal teaching. Data analysis showed there were significant improvements in comprehension that were…

Describes a Camden (New Jersey) study that assessed the effects of student mobility and stability on achievement and examined interactions between the instructional program and student mobility. Results indicated direct instruction was as effective as traditional instruction that was aligned with a specific standardized test, and it produced…

In this article, the authors examined the effects of 1 year of supplemental instruction on first-grade children considered struggling readers on their phonics and reading comprehension achievement, along with second-grade children considered struggling readers on their reading comprehension achievement. This study included 196 children in 17…

The authors analyzed mathematics achievement data from a longitudinally matched student cohort from a large southwestern U.S. school district to investigate school context and practice effects on the academic performance and growth of middle school students. Investigation of the degree to which aspects of the school environment related to…