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Reading failure in elementary school is highly correlated with future academic and social problems. Schools commonly use Tier 2 reading interventions in Response to Intervention (RtI) frameworks to help close the gap between at-risk readers and their peers who read on grade-level. This dissertation presents the findings of a quasi-experimental research study of the effects of three Tier 2 reading interventions in an urban Title I elementary school's RtI framework. A regression discontinuity design (RDD) with two cutoff points was used to assign 320 students in grades 1-6 to two types of Tier 2 reading interventions administered by paraeducators: direct instruction (DI) and computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Students were assigned using normal curve equivalent reading composite scores on the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement II, Brief Form (KTEA-II BFR). Students scoring below a lower cutoff were assigned to a DI reading intervention, while students scoring at or below an upper cutoff and above the lower cutoff were assigned to CAI reading interventions. January and May posttest iterations of the KTEA-II BFR served as outcome measures for all students. Results of the analysis indicated that the DI intervention was more effective than the CAI interventions at the lower cutoff (p < .01). Participation in CAI interventions was not any more or less effective than business-as-usual reading activities (p > .10). These findings suggest that that CAI programs may not be as helpful in closing the achievement gap between struggling students and their peers as DI interventions, and should be implemented with deliberation.

This researcher aimed to determine how data collected from computer-based assessment programs, specifically EasyCBM and AIMSweb, was used in data-driven instruction and used to identify risk levels in math and reading areas proficiency. Data from intervention programs were collected from six participating high schools. The data collection included math and reading universal screening scores and levels of risk indicators from Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels of their response to intervention (RTI) programs. Section A included math data within a baseline score and a risk indicator level. Section B had reading scores with a baseline score and a risk indicator level. A descriptive quantitative study was conducted to determine if significant differences in EasyCBM and AIMSweb exist in student universal screener scores over an academic calendar year. Independent variables included: math and reading universal screener scores, tier level identifiers, and level of risk indicators. Factors that influenced the rates of effectiveness included: interventionist utilization of data, student entry tier levels, and time spent in intervention from the fall to winter benchmarking period.

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Research shows that having an excellent reading teacher in the classroom is key to preventing reading difficulties. However, teachers often feel unprepared to work with students experiencing reading difficulties. This can be problematic in a school that uses a multi-tiered system of support for students in which the classroom teacher is responsible for core instruction and early reading interventions. This qualitative study examined the influences on elementary teachers' instructional and assessment decisions when teaching reading to students who are experiencing reading difficulties. Data were collected through both survey and interviews and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Five themes were identified that suggest teachers' literacy instructional decisions are influenced by administrators, their knowledge of reading instruction, professional development, their beliefs about using data for instruction, and collaboration. Findings from this study provide evidence that teacher decisions are more heavily influenced by forces when teachers lack a deep understanding of their students or of effective literacy instruction. When this happens, teachers' efficacy is also affected, which research shows can affect student outcomes. Teacher decision-making is supported through professional development on effective literacy instruction and use of data for planning. Teacher efficacy improves with opportunities to work with and learn from colleagues and from having administrators who work alongside them when making literacy decisions. Recommendations for administrators, teacher educators, and teachers are included as well as suggestions for future research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aligning supplemental reading instruction with core classroom reading instruction on struggling second-grade students’ proficiency in phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Alignment was defined as core classroom and supplemental instruction that are congruent in philosophy, goals, instructional materials, instructional methods, student activities, and reading strategies that follow the same scope and sequence. This study employed a two-group, pre-post true experimental design. Second-grade students (N = 153) scoring in the lowest quartile on the fall Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Oral Reading Fluency assessment were randomly assigned to either an aligned or nonaligned supplemental reading instructional condition received instruction over a 20-week period. Reading specialists in 11 schools provided the supplemental instruction. iv The DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) and the Woodcock Reading Mastery-Revised (WRMT-R III) assessments were used to assess student reading growth in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary. Each student received one score from the DIBELS ORF and six scores from the WRMT-R III. Seven separate nested analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were conducted to examine differences in group means at posttest while accounting for nesting of reading specialists within schools. Pretest measures for each of the dependent variables were used as covariates to adjust posttest scores at the end of the study. After controlling for pretest score differences and accounting for the variance associated with reading specialists nested within schools, statistically significant differences were found favoring the aligned supplemental condition for posttest scores on all measures. Effect sizes ranged from small to moderate, with largest effect sizes being found for vocabulary and comprehension. The results of the study suggest that at-risk second-grade students benefitted from supplemental instruction that is aligned to the classroom core reading program.

Improving educational outcomes involves many variables, including identifying effective interventions and ensuring that they are effectively implemented in schools. Within a "response to intervention" model, treatment integrity of academic interventions has become increasingly important. However, recent research has suggested that ensuring treatment integrity by instructional staff may require intensive coaching, including daily or weekly performance feedback. This system may be unsustainable in typical schools because of limited resources for supervision. Some studies have found that treatment integrity can be achieved with intense prior training that includes extensive practice followed by feedback in the training setting. Fluency-based instruction has the advantage of providing multiple practice opportunities in a relatively short amount of time. A fluency training package for paraprofessionals using the Corrective Reading: Decoding curriculum was evaluated in a multiple baseline design across individuals. The primary dependent variables included paraprofessionals' presentation rate and praise rate. Additional dependent variables included paraprofessionals' accuracy in presenting error correction procedures, ratio of positive to negative comments, students' on-task behavior, and word reading accuracy. Participants included five paraprofessionals delivering supplemental reading instruction to students in small groups, and one student from each of the paraprofessionals' groups. We provided five hours of fluency training to paraprofessionals over five days in a group setting. Following fluency training we observed paraprofessionals during a maintenance phase. Paraprofessionals generally increased their presentation rates, praise rates, and percentage of accurate error correction steps with fluency training. Three paraprofessionals with variable positive-to-negative comments ratios decreased this variability during fluency training. We subsequently provided performance feedback if a paraprofessionals' presentation rate or praise rate did not maintain at criterion levels. Four of the five paraprofessionals required performance feedback on at least one skill. Performance feedback had mixed effects on paraprofessionals' skills. Most students maintained adequate word reading accuracy throughout the study, with no clear effects when interventions for paraprofessionals were introduced and withdrawn. Students' on-task behavior was variable throughout the study, with decreases in variability for three students corresponding with fluency training for paraprofessionals.

Response to Intervention (RD) has been shown to be an effective method for the identification and remediation of poor readers especially in the early grades. Given the extensive advantages of RTI school districts across the country are interested in adopting such a model however very little research in this area has been completed. This case study sought to discover how one school district in California successfully completed the task of adopting and implementing an RTI program with relatively few complications. Themes from interviews and documents revealed that adoption and implementation of the RTI model closely followed Rogers Diffusion of Innovation theory. Among other findings it is also suggested that teachers are more likely to support innovation when they consider themselves part of a team and when they feel their students will benefit from the innovation. Several practical implications regarding the adoption of and implementation of an RTI program are discussed. These include the development of teams to research and garner support for the program as well as administrative techniques such as allowing staff to modify the program to make it their own.

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