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One way to provide intensive intervention for students with severe and persistent reading difficulties is to use a systematic data-based decision-making process called data-based individualisation (DBI). DBI is a process for identifying needs and aligning them with specialist support. Meta-analyses of DBI studies by university-based researchers have shown positive effects, but university research studies do not involve many of the implementation science-related factors that affect success. This study addresses the dearth of data from practice-based studies that incorporate DBI and was done as a researcher-practitioner collaboration, developed with based on the theory that the collaborators' combined knowledge and skills could produce positive outcomes. Mixed methods were used to examine whether there was evidence of success in implementation DBI conducted through a researcher-practitioner partnership in New York City Public Schools, the largest public school system in the United States. Specifically, data were collected concerning the quality of DBI implementation and changes in teachers' and administrators' perspectives about the value of implementing intensive intervention. Results indicated that district-level implementation met many criteria for effective DBI, that school teams (N = 6) implemented DBI with an overall high level of fidelity (mean score of 4.1 on a 5-point scale) and that teachers and school administrators changed their thinking about intensive intervention as a result of participation in DBI. Stakeholder interview data indicated a high level of social acceptability for DBI implementation. Features of the research-practice partnership thought to have contributed to the success of the project are discussed.

Purpose: Nearly 50 years ago, Durkin (1978–1979) conducted a seminal observation study on reading comprehension teaching in Grades 3 through 6. She reported that teachers rarely taught reading comprehension (less than 1% of instructional time). Since then, we have gained substantial knowledge about teaching reading comprehension. We aimed to comprehensively review direct observation studies of reading instruction to understand the extent to which recommended comprehension practices are implemented in schools. Method: A systematic search of the extant literature identified 66 observation studies of reading comprehension instruction for children in K–12 schools, including a total of 1,784 teachers. We employed a mixed-method systematic review to address the research questions. Results: Integrated analyses revealed that reading comprehension instruction infrequently aligned with research-based practices. Findings revealed that, on average, 23% of instructional time during reading/language arts instruction was dedicated to reading comprehension. Like Durkin's study (1978–1979), the results indicated that teachers spent much of this time engaging in initiation-response-evaluation conversation patterns rather engaging students in extensive discussion of text or teaching knowledge or practices (e.g. text structure, reading comprehension strategies) that support reading comprehension. However, analyses suggested that studies conducted after 2000 reported more research-based reading comprehension practices than earlier studies. Conclusions: These findings suggest a substantial gap persists between the reading comprehension practices identified as research-based and those observed in typical practice. There is a need for renewed efforts to prioritize reading comprehension instruction in policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment fidelity data (descriptive and statistical) are critical to interpreting and generalizing outcomes of intervention research. Despite recommendations for treatment fidelity reporting from funding agencies and researchers, past syntheses have found treatment fidelity is frequently unreported (e.g., Swanson, "The Journal of Special Education," "47," 3-13, 2011) in educational interventions and fidelity data are seldom used to analyze its relation to student outcomes (O'Donnell, "Review of Educational Research," "78"(1), 33-84, 2008). The purpose of this synthesis was to examine how treatment fidelity is supported, measured, and reported in reading intervention studies conducted with students at risk or with reading difficulties in grades K-3 from 1995 through 2015. All studies (k = 175) were coded to extract and classify information related to (a) the characteristics of the intervention study (e.g., publication year, research design); (b) treatment implementer training and support; (c) treatment fidelity data collection procedures, dimensions (i.e., adherence, quality, receipt, dosage, and differentiation), and levels of treatment fidelity data; and (d) the use of fidelity scores in the analysis of treatment effects. Results indicated that less than half (47%) of the reading intervention studies synthesized reported treatment fidelity data (numeric or narrative). Exploratory analyses showed that several study features were associated with the prevalence of fidelity reporting. Studies reporting treatment fidelity largely measured treatment adherence, and scores were, on average, high. Other dimensions of treatment fidelity (e.g., treatment differentiation), and analyses relating fidelity data to outcomes, were consistently absent from the corpus of reading intervention studies reviewed. Recommendations for enhancing how treatment fidelity data in intervention studies are collected and reported are presented.

This article synthesizes observation studies investigating reading instruction for students with learning disabilities (LD) in Grades K-12. A systematic search of the literature between 1980 and 2014 resulted in the identification of 25 studies. In addition to replicating and extending E. A. Swanson's synthesis, the research questions of studies from 1980 to 2014 were analyzed for trends and gaps in the research. Findings related to both E. A. Swanson's replicated questions and several new research questions revealed that (a) only four observation studies met inclusion criteria between 2006 and 2014, (b) greater detail in observation data related to five critical components of reading were reported in studies since 2005, (c) the most frequently used grouping structure was whole-group instruction, and (d) the research questions and purposes of observation studies tend to be related to examining prevailing practices following legislative reform.

Fluent word reading is hypothesized to facilitate reading comprehension by improving automatic word reading, thus releasing a reader's cognitive resources to focus on meaning. Many students with learning disabilities (LD) struggle to develop reading fluency, which affects reading comprehension. This synthesis extends Chard, Vaughn, and Tyler's (2002) review, synthesizing fluency intervention research from 2001 to 2014. The search yielded 19 studies examining reading fluency and comprehension outcomes of reading fluency interventions for students with LD in kindergarten through 5th grade. Results showed repeated reading (RR), multicomponent interventions, and assisted reading with audiobooks produced gains in reading fluency and comprehension. Providing a model of fluent reading and performance feedback, using easier level text, setting a performance criterion, and practicing RR with peers also contributed to improved outcomes. Findings suggest that RR remains the most effective intervention for improving reading fluency for students with LD. Limitations include sample size, only three group design studies, and infrequent use of standardized measures.

Spelling is one of the most challenging areas for students with learning disabilities (LD), and improving spelling outcomes for these students is of high importance. In this synthesis, we examined the effects of spelling and reading interventions on spelling outcomes for students with LD in Grades K through 12. A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 2004 and 2014 was conducted using electronic databases and hand searches of relevant journals. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to meet the following criteria: (a) Participants were identified with LD and were in Grades K through 12, (b) designs were either treatment/comparison or single case, (c) a reading or spelling intervention was implemented, (d) at least one spelling outcome was measured, and (e) instruction was in English. Ten studies met criteria for inclusion in the synthesis, and effectiveness ranged from ineffective to highly effective. Findings demonstrated that spelling outcomes for taught words were improved for students with LD with the use of explicit instruction or self-correction strategies.

Classroom discussion is often underutilized by teachers and students alike; however, it remains a viable pedagogical choice for actively engaging students in learning. The combination of Book Club discussions and intentionally designed simple strategies as tools in resource rooms or co-taught general education classrooms may increase the speaking and thinking skills of students linguistically at risk. In particular, strategic tools may safely scaffold students into engaging and experimenting with text and literary concepts while developing greater communicative competence. Although several tools were interwoven into a supportive learning environment, this article specifically focuses on the piggybacking tool. Piggybacking provides a simple word tool, scaffolding students into deeper discussions by cueing them to listen and link to each others' talk, thus extending, elaborating, or clarifying ideas, concepts, and personal experiences in text-based discussion. This article highlights one specific example of how Book Club discussions along with intentionally designed strategies as tools can engage middle school students and scaffold them toward greater communicative competence. The teacher's story also demonstrates how action research can powerfully inform a teacher's instructional decisions with regard to student learning and responsive scaffolding tools. (Contains 5 figures.)

This meta-analysis extends previous work on extensive Tier 3 type reading interventions (Wanzek & Vaughn, 2007; Wanzek et al., 2013) to Tier 2 type interventions by examining a non-overlapping set of studies addressing the effects of less extensive reading interventions for students with or at risk for reading difficulties in Grades K-3. We examined the overall effects of these interventions on students' foundational skills, language, and comprehension as well as the intervention features that may be associated with improved outcomes. We conducted four meta-analyses on 72 studies to examine effects on (1) standardized foundational skill measures (mean ES = 0.54), (2) not-standardized foundational skill measures (mean ES = 0.62), (3) standardized language/comprehension measures (mean ES = 0.36), and (4) not-standardized language/comprehension measures (mean ES = 1.02). There were no differences in effects related to intervention type, instructional group size, grade level, intervention implementer, or the number of intervention hours.