Research that has examined the achievement of children with behavior disorders has demonstrated a relationship between externalizing behavior disorders and academic underachievement, particularly in the area of reading. This study compared the early literacy skill development of 10 kindergartners and 10 first graders who were teacher-identified as presenting with difficult classroom behavior to that of 17 typical classroom peers. A systematic diagnostic assessment, using broad and narrow-band rating scales and structured interviews, was completed by parents and teachers to confirm the at-risk status of the identified children. Data were collected on early literacy skill development using the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), which provided information on skill development over time. Parents taped home parent-child reading sessions, and tapes were coded to look at specific reading strategies. Parents were interviewed about home literacy factors including amount of time spent in parent-child reading, reading materials in the home, reading strategies used, and parental reading habits. Teachers were interviewed about classroom variables including type of curriculum and time spent on early literacy instruction. Findings included significant differences on oral reading fluency slopes for the first grade at-risk and comparison groups. Limitations of the study, implications for professional practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) has become an increasingly popular instrument/methodology for reading assessment. In part, its popularity derives from promises of formative assessment (i.e., progress monitoring). However, a review of the literature suggests CBM formative assessment applications may lack the requisite reliability evidence. Furthermore, available research provides support and direction to improve the accuracy and stability of formative assessment outcomes. The primary purpose of this research was to evaluate and compare the effects of a controlled set of reading passages on student performance. Researchers developed a controlled set of Curriculum Like Measurement (CLM) reading passages from a sample of unfamiliar grade-specific reading curriculums. Each grade-specific passage-set was controlled for passage-difficulty using the Spache and Dale-Chall readability formulas. Analysis compared CBM and CLM formative assessment outcomes. A second purpose of this study was to compare short-term (10-week) assessment outcomes with the negatively accelerating developmental trends that have been documented with long-term assessment (i.e., 36-week). Analysis tested for differences in stability of growth-estimates [SE(b)], accuracy of predictions (SEE), and observed growth-rates/slope (b). 99 students in grades second to fifth participated over 10 weeks. Results suggest CLM progress monitoring outcomes are more stable and accurate than CBM. Results did not demonstrate the negatively accelerating curvilinear relationship between grades. Results and implications are discussed.

Children with communication disorders are often at risk of literacy difficulties, especially students that present with autism and/or speech sound disorders. This quasi-experimental study was designed to examine the effects of a 10-week "hybrid" intervention for preschool students with and without communication disorders in an integrated classroom. The classroom intervention targets both vocabulary and phonological awareness, two critical components of literacy that are strongly correlated with one another. The objectives of this study were (1) to provide empirical evidence that classroom-based pre-literacy intervention can be effective for students with communication disabilities, allowing for more time with their peers in a potentially least-restrictive environment and (2) to demonstrate that typically-developing preschool children also benefit from classroom-based pre-literacy training.

The Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (CCSS-ELA) call for a greater focus on informational reading and nonfiction writing during high school instruction. The ELA standards assume that teaching reading and writing will become a shared responsibility within a school and include standards for teachers of science and social studies as well as English. However, not all teachers may be prepared to incorporate informational reading and nonfiction writing into their curriculum and instruction. Using a basic qualitative research methodology, this study examined how educators in one Maryland school district—including English, science, and social studies teachers and school administrators—made sense of the CCSS-ELA and how these educators worked, or did not work, to incorporate more informational reading and nonfiction writing into their classrooms. Educators’ understanding of the CCSS-ELA was shaped, in part, by their district’s curriculum frameworks and a district-required literacy project. This study found (a) that while most of the educators interviewed supported the Common Core, teachers were generally overwhelmed with multiple competing or conflicting polices that made it difficult to focus on implementing the standards; (b) educators had mixed responses to the district-offered supports intended to help them implement the CCSS-ELA; (c) the departmentalization inherent in most high school structures limited collaboration around the standards among teachers of different subjects (d) improving student writing proved to be particularly difficult. The study suggests a need for increased policy alignment at the district and state levels to facilitate implementation of key aspects of the Common Core. Another implication is the continued need for differentiated professional development and other implementation supports based on the subject taught and level of teacher experience.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Janette Pelletier.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-135). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (PH. D.)--Michigan State University. Educational Psychology & Educational Technology, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Sept. 8, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 126-131). Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 44-48).

Many adult literacy and adult basic education learners struggle with various forms of negative emotions. Self-doubts are often a result of resistance to earlier schooling experiences and how they processed those experiences. Adults need to shed emotions that interfere with progress and develop the self-confidence needed to persist with academic work. There is a need for a strategy to help learners become more self-confident, persistent, and self-directed. The purpose of this study was to develop, pre-test, field-test, post-test, and refine a training program designed to help students move closer to self-directed learning. The data was collected through formative and summative evaluation strategies that revolved around a series of critical dialogues with learners. Findings related to the unlearning process revealed movement by the participants towards several enabling outcomes. These outcomes included unlearning the "blaming-the-victim" mentality; working through the shame issue of returning to school as an adult; resisting the self-fulfilling prophecy that they are incapable of academic work; giving themselves credit for overcoming barriers; and moving towards developing a stronger sense of critical awareness. This study also found that: (1) learners can benefit from reflecting on their earlier schooling experiences and surrounding circumstances; (2) learners want their critical voices heard; and (3) critical reflection and critical pedagogy are important processes in helping learners overcome negative emotions and getting at those voices. In conducting the evaluation, several problems in the design were easily rectified, but others were left unsolved. Empowerment and participatory practices are not easy, and program staff may find some of the results too critical, difficult to deal with, and unpleasant. What characteristics make for a good facilitator? Should a practitioner from the learning center be present during the critical dialogues? The participants not only endorsed the program, but had recommendations for practitioners who might consider participating in a similar program designed specifically for them.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between culturally matched and unmatched materials on the reading comprehension of African-American students in grades 3 through 5. The study also sought to explore potential relationships amongst variables such as background knowledge, academic self-concept, and comprehension. The results obtained suggest that after adjusting for background knowledge, oral reading fluency and reading comprehension scores did not vary as a function of reading culturally matched and unmatched materials. In other words, reading passage content did not facilitate fluency and reading comprehension for African-American students enrolled in grades 3 through 5. In addition, academic self-concept scores did not vary as a function of reading culturally matched and unmatched materials. Therefore, the results obtained fail to support the cultural model's hypothesis of reading achievement in the African-American community.