This article introduces the thematic special series on intersection of mathematics education and special education. This special series will include four research papers and one commentary. The four research papers rooted in a working group from the annual conferences of the International Group of the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME) as well as its North American Chapter (PME-NA).
The Common Core Mathematics Standards have raised expectations for schools and students in the United States. These standards demand much deeper content knowledge from teachers of mathematics and their students. Given the increasingly diverse student population in today’s classrooms and shortage of qualified special education teachers, computer-assisted instruction may provide supplementary support, in conjunction with the core mathematics instruction, for meeting the needs of students with different learning profiles. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential effects of the Please Go Bring Me-Conceptual Model-Based Problem Solving (PGBM-COMPS) intelligent tutor program on enhancing the multiplicative problem-solving skills of students with learning disabilities or difficulties in mathematics.
Mathematical reasoning is important in conceptual understanding and problem solving. In current reform-based, discourse-oriented mathematics classrooms, students with learning disabilities (LD) encounter challenges articulating or explaining their reasoning processes. Enlightened by the concept of conversational repair borrowed from the field of linguistics, this study designed an intervention program to facilitate mathematical reasoning of students with LD. Conversational repair, an ability to repair communicative breakdowns or inaccuracies, was designed in an implicit–explicit continuum to elicit self-explanation from students with LD in the context of mathematics word problem solving. Using a multiple-baseline across participants design, the study found that the intervention was effective for improving students’ mathematical reasoning and problem-solving ability measured by their self-explanation and word problem–solving performance. It provided implications for future studies concerning the use of conversational repair in mathematics classroom discourse for individuals with LD.
Although many students struggle with fractions, students with mathematical learning disabilities (MLDs) experience pervasive difficulties because of neurological differences in how they process numerical information. These students make errors that are qualitatively different than their typically achieving and low-achieving peers. This study builds upon a quantitative study of fraction comparison errors and a qualitative study of students’ understandings to explore why students with MLDs make errors on the easiest fraction comparison problems. A detailed analysis of videotaped individual tutoring sessions with two adult students with MLDs revealed that both students understood mathematical representations in atypical ways, which may help explain the unique and persistent error patterns identified in students with MLDs. This study illustrates how building upon both quantitative and qualitative studies can provide a more nuanced understanding of student errors, which in turn can directly connect to implications for instructional interventions.
Documenting how students with learning disabilities (LD) initially conceive of fractional quantities, and how their understandings may align with or differ from students with mathematics difficulties, is necessary to guide development of assessments and interventions that attach to unique ways of thinking or inherent difficulties these students may face understanding fraction concepts. One way to characterize such conceptions is through the creation of a framework that depicts key understandings evidenced as students work with problematic situations. The present study extends current literature by presenting key understandings of fractions, documented through problem-solving activity, language, representations, and operations, evidenced by students with LD and mathematics difficulties as they engaged with equal sharing problems. Clinical interviews were conducted with 43 students across the second, third, fourth, and fifth grades. Results of the study suggest that students with LD hold similar informal notions of key understandings of fractions as students with mathematics difficulties and that many of the students evidenced rudimentary understandings of fractional quantities. Researchers discuss implications of the findings in relation to considerations for designing interventions to support and extend students’ initial conceptions of fractional quantity.
Recent educational policy has raised the standards that all students, including students with disabilities, must meet in mathematics. To examine the strategies currently used to support students with learning disabilities, the authors reviewed literature from 2006 to 2014 on mathematics interventions for students with learning disabilities. The 12 articles reviewed contain various instructional focuses, including systematic instructions, problem-based instruction, and visual representation. This review includes discussion of the interventions used, including the success of interventions used for both students with disabilities and students without disabilities. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed, including the need for continued research on middle and high school interventions to address a variety of mathematical skills and concepts.
A sizable body of literature exists studying various technologies and pedagogical practices for teaching secondary mathematics curriculum to students with a learning disability in mathematics. However, with the growing footprint of computer-based technologies in today’s classrooms, some areas of study, such as the use of virtual manipulatives, lack sufficient exploration. Although concrete manipulatives were studied for many decades for students with a learning disability and are considered a best practice, the research base for virtual manipulatives is notably less. With a specific focus on algebraic instruction, this study sought to compare the benefits of both forms of manipulatives to assist secondary students with a learning disability in mathematics to solve single-variable linear equations using a single-subject alternating treatment design. Over the course of 30 sessions of intervention, three students exhibited over 90% average accuracy solving problems using both virtual and concrete manipulatives, while the concrete manipulative earned higher scores for two of the three students.
Word problems are prevalent on high-stakes assessments, and success on word problems has implications for grade promotion and graduation. Unfortunately, English Language Learners (ELLs) continue to perform significantly below their native English-speaking peers on mathematics assessments featuring word problems. Little is known about the instructional needs and performance of ELLs at risk of mathematics difficulty (MD). In the present study, an exploratory quasi-experimental design was used to investigate word-problem instruction for ELLs in a culturally and linguistically diverse public elementary school. Specifically, we studied the efficacy of a word-problem intervention for ELLs with MD (N = 9) that combined culturally and linguistically responsive practices with schema instruction (CLR-SI). The study is unique in that it combines research on effective instruction for ELLs and students with MD; CLR-SI has not been investigated for either ELLs or students with MD. Results have implications for teachers, administrators, and researchers of ELLs with MD.
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.
Decreasing the well-documented research-to-practice gap in special education is thought to partially depend on practitioner access to quality evidence-based interventions. Practitioner journals are one such resource for obtaining this information. The current study is a systematic review of articles published over the last 25 years (1990–2014) in a prominent special education practitioner journal, Intervention in School and Clinic. Findings from review of 925 articles showed that 64% focused specifically on information related to students with learning disabilities (LD) or other mild disabilities. Forty-three percent of articles focused on educational practices based on intervention research for students with LD or other mild disabilities. Another 32% focused on information relevant for teachers of these students including strategies for managing other non-instructional teaching responsibilities, practices in general education settings, and changes in special education law and policy. Overall, this journal provides a wide range of resources for teachers of students with LD.
As a result of the upcoming Federal reauthorization of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA), practitioners and researchers have begun vigorously debating what constitutes evidence-based assessment for the identification of specific learning disability (SLD). This debate has resulted in strong support for a method that appraises an individual’s profile of cognitive test scores for the purposes of determining cognitive processing strengths and weaknesses, commonly referred to as patterns of strengths and weaknesses (PSW). Following the Fuchs and Deshler model, questions regarding the psychometric and conceptual integrity of the PSW model are addressed. Despite the strong claims made by many PSW proponents, the findings by this review demonstrate the need for additional information to determine whether PSW is a viable alternative to existing eligibility models and worthy for large scale adoption for SLD identification. Implications for public policy and future SLD research are also discussed.
This study examines the effect of 30 min of small group explicit instruction on reading outcomes for first-grade Spanish-speaking English learners (ELs) at risk of reading difficulties. Participants were 78 ELs from seven schools who were receiving Spanish only, or Spanish and English, whole group reading instruction in first grade. Students were rank-ordered within schools and then randomly assigned to a treatment condition (n = 39) or a comparison condition (n = 39). Students in the treatment condition received instruction on transition elements that supported their transfer of skills from Spanish to English. Students in the comparison condition received Business as Usual instruction from a variety of commercially available programs. Findings indicated that ELs in both conditions made significant gains from pretest to posttest on all reading outcomes even though instruction in the treatment condition focused significantly more on higher order skills (i.e., vocabulary, comprehension, and transition elements) whereas instruction in the comparison condition focused significantly more on lower order skills (i.e., phonics, word work, and sentence reading). Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
This is the first study examining the association between victimization by bullying and attachment to both parents and teachers among students who report Learning Disorders (LD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A total of 1,691 seventh- and eighth-grade students in six junior high schools completed questionnaires about LD/ADHD diagnosis, victimization, and attachment to mother, father, and teacher. A regression analysis was conducted to estimate the probability for victimization (infrequent and frequent) through the various variables. Only students who reported both LD and ADHD (but not one of them) were at greater risk of frequent victimization compared with students who did not report LD/ADHD. In addition, having a secure attachment pattern to mother was associated with a decrease in the likelihood of being frequently bullied. Attachment patterns to father and teacher were not significantly associated with victimization group membership. Results suggest that children’s perception of support and attachment to mother is important above and beyond their report on LD/ADHD diagnosis.
This quasi-experimental study examined the effects of a strategy for making text-dependent inferences—with and without embedded self-regulation skills—on the reading comprehension of 24 middle-grade students with disabilities. Classes were randomly assigned to receive the inference intervention only (IO), inference + individual goal setting (IIG), or inference + group goal setting (IGG). The Kruskal–Wallis one-way analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between groups on overall reading comprehension performance, but students in the IGG group significantly outperformed the IO and IIG groups on evaluation items, 2 (2, N = 24) = 13.18, p = .001. Paired samples t tests indicated all groups significantly improved their comprehension performance from pre- to posttest, IO: t(8) = 2.76, p < .05; IIG: t(6) = 3.97, p < .01; IGG: t(7) = 4.35, p < .01. The IGG group wrote significantly more valid inferences in Lessons 3 to 7 than the IO or IIG groups; 2 (2) ranged from 7.26, p < .05, to 16.16, p < .001.
Minority students at risk for math difficulties (MD) struggle with word problems for various reasons beyond procedural or calculation challenges. As a result, these students require support in reading and language development in addition to math. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a math comprehension strategy based on a dynamic assessment (DA) framework, which provided scaffolding support based on the student’s reading and language levels. A multiple baseline design was used to assess eight third-grade minority students at risk for MD. As compared with the baseline phase, the strategy increased problem-solving ability for all participants. All students maintained performance levels during follow-up sessions. Results suggest that the intervention facilitated word-problem-solving performance.
This study investigated the effects of explicit, strategic intervention with iPad application practice on the multiplication fact performance and strategy use of elementary students with learning disabilities (LD) using a single-case, multiple probe design across participants. Four fifth-grade students with LD received 15 1:1 intervention sessions in multiplication facts. Results indicated that all students made significant growth in multiplication fact performance across the study and maintained the intervention gains 2 weeks following the intervention. Overall, students increased their use of a doubling strategy taught during intervention and were able to retrieve facts automatically after intervention sessions. Social validity interview results indicated that participants had positive perspectives about the intervention. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.
The present study seeks to evaluate a hybrid model of identification that incorporates response to instruction and intervention (RTI) as one of the key symptoms of reading disability. The 1-year stability of alternative operational definitions of reading disability was examined in a large-scale sample of students who were followed longitudinally from first to second grade. The results confirmed previous findings of limited stability for single-criterion-based operational definitions of reading disability. However, substantially greater stability was obtained for a hybrid model of reading disability that incorporates RTI with other common symptoms of reading disability.
The purpose of this review was to update previous reviews on factors related to students’ responsiveness to early literacy intervention. The 14 studies in this synthesis used experimental designs, provided small-group or one-on-one reading interventions, and analyzed factors related to responsiveness to those interventions. Participants were students who required intervention supports, with the majority identified as at-risk learners. Factors identified as consistently predictive included word identification, alphabetic principle, fluency, and phonemic awareness. Intellectual functioning and memory were inconsistently predictive. Factors identified as generally not predictive included vocabulary, language, and demographics. Findings of this review may provide guidance to researchers in identifying students who require more intensive intervention supports.
We describe findings from a series of longitudinal studies utilizing a response to intervention framework implemented over 3 years with students in Grades 6 through 8 with reading disabilities and poor reading comprehension. Students were identified based on reading comprehension scores in Grade 5 (n = 1,083) and then randomized to treatment or comparison conditions. Beginning in sixth grade, students assigned to intervention were provided treatment for 1, 2, or 3 years based on their response to instruction in each preceding year. Screening procedures, progress monitoring tools, tiers of instruction, and findings from each year of the study are reported. Additional studies investigating reading and behavioral outcomes through multi-level, growth modeling, and studies of the cognitive and neural correlates of inadequate response are also reported.
The purpose of this study was to use a mixed methods approach to learn about inadequate response to a year-long multi-tier response to intervention (RTI) model that allowed first-grade students to move up and down tiers. Participants were 156 students who received supplemental intervention services during a larger multi-tier RTI study involving classrooms and 522 students across 10 schools. Findings from an all-subset regression indicate letter word reading, the fluency composite, and blending words explained the most variance (15%) in response among initial skills. Adding additional teacher ratings of behavior and academics accounted for a small amount of additional variance (3%) in-group membership. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated 87.5% of students were correctly classified, yielding a sensitivity of 85.3 and a specificity of 65.0. Findings from qualitative observations of intervention sessions suggest inadequate responders demonstrated physical and verbal task avoidance and displayed emotions of hopelessness and shame. Implications for practice are discussed.
This study investigates the impact of The Personal Strengths Program (PSP) on seven college students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (LD/ADHD) using a multiple baseline design. Students with LD/ADHD experience increased challenges in school settings and decreased post-secondary outcomes when compared with their peers without disabilities. Research has indicated that students who are able to transition into post-secondary settings successfully often have higher levels of self-determination than those who do not transition as successfully. PSP is grounded in effective teaching practices for students with LD/ADHD, self-determination, and positive psychology. It utilizes guided cognitive strategy instruction to assist students in identifying and using their strengths to achieve their goals related to their academic classes. Results were mixed, but do suggest there is some effect from participating in PSP on self-determination levels. Implications for students with LD/ADHD and researchers conducting intervention studies are discussed.
This study examined the changing role and longitudinal predictive validity of curriculum-embedded progress-monitoring measures (CEMs ) for kindergarten students receiving Tier 2 intervention and identified as at risk of developing reading difficulties. Multiple measures were examined to determine whether they could predict comprehensive latent first- and second-grade reading outcomes and whether their predictive validity changed concurrent with reading development. CEMs of phonemic, alphabetic, and integrated tasks were given 3 times during the kindergarten year to 299 students. Structural equation modeling indicates that CEMs explained a significant amount of variance on first- (54%–63%) and second-grade (34%–41%) outcomes. The predictive validity of specific measures varied over the kindergarten year with sound and letter identification measures being predictive early and segmenting and word reading becoming important as reading abilities progressed. Findings suggest that CEMs may be viable and helpful tools for making data-driven instructional decisions in a response to intervention framework.
The Council for Learning Disabilities’ Research Committee hosted a "Must Read" session at the 35th Annual International Conference in which they discussed influential articles published between August 1, 2012, and July 31, 2013. Articles were selected in six areas relevant to learning disabilities research and practice: response to intervention, reading assessment, math assessment, reading instruction, math instruction, and research methods. The six articles presented by the panel are summarized and explained with respect to why they are considered a "Must Read."
This study compared emotional and coping resources of two parent groups with children ages 8 to 12 years—children with learning disabilities (LD) versus with typical development—and explored how mothers’ and fathers’ emotional resources (low anxious/avoidant attachment, low negative affect, and high positive affect) may explain differences in parents’ coping resources (active/avoidant coping with a child-related problem, sense of coherence). Parents (N = 410) comprised 107 couples with LD children and 98 couples with typically developing children. Significant group differences emerged on parental coping strategies, and significant sex differences emerged too, more so in the LD group. As hypothesized, parental emotional resources contributed to coping resources, although this differed partially between groups. Discussion focuses on the unique value of emotional resources for coping resources in both populations.
The production of an effective mathematics curriculum begins with a scientific development, evaluation, and revision framework. The purpose of this study was to conduct an initial investigation of a recently developed Tier 2 mathematics curriculum designed to improve the outcomes of first grade students at risk for mathematics difficulties (MD). The curriculum, which is anchored to a scientific design framework and a well-specified theory of change, centers on the careful integration of foundational concepts of whole number and validated-design principles of explicit and systematic instruction. Four instructional groups, with each consisting of five first grade students with MD and one interventionist, participated in the study. Data related to the feasibility, usability, and promise of the curriculum to improve student mathematics achievement were collected using multiple methods. Results provide preliminary evidence in terms of these curriculum development and evaluation areas. Implications for instruction and design research are discussed.
A key issue in fostering transition to postsecondary education for students with disabilities is documentation verifying the nature of the disability and supporting the need for services and reasonable accommodations. Documentation guidelines assist postsecondary disability service providers in making decisions about eligibility and reasonable accommodations. However, documentation is often varied in scope, comprehensiveness, and quality, requiring a great deal of professional judgment during the review process. This study examined service provider decision-making when presented with documentation of learning disability with varying levels of information. Results indicated service providers’ value comprehensive Objective Evidence, but importance of the data used in decision-making varied by demographic variables, such as years of experience and type of training in reviewing disability documentation. Implications for practice are addressed.
For many students at risk of reading difficulties, effective, early reading instruction can improve reading outcomes and set them on a positive reading trajectory. Thus, response-to-intervention models include a focus on a student’s Tier I reading instruction as one element for preventing reading difficulties and identifying students with a learning disability. The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of time kindergarten students at risk of reading difficulties actively engaged in reading print during Tier I reading instruction, and the extent to which time in reading print was related to end-of-year reading achievement. Findings revealed the amount of time students were engaged in reading print predicted end-of-year reading achievement, although time engaged in reading print during Tier I was limited overall. Student- and teacher-level factors and their relationship to the amount of time students engage in reading print is also examined.
The purpose of the current study was to examine academic and cognitive profiles of first graders who responded adequately and inadequately to intensive small-group reading intervention (Tier 2), as well as assess how these profiles differ based on the criteria used for classification of unresponsiveness. Nonresponders were identified using two different methods: (a) reading composite with weighted standardized scores for untimed word identification and word attack, timed sight word reading and decoding, and reading comprehension at the end of first grade (n = 23; 18.4%), and (b) local norms on first grade word identification fluency (WIF; n = 31; 24.8%). Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to assess the difference between responders and nonresponders on four separate profiles (i.e., academic and cognitive profiles, with groups identified using reading composite and WIF criteria for unresponsiveness). Significant level effects were found using the first-grade reading composite and the WIF criteria, indicating that the groups differ from one another across domains. Interestingly, there were only significant shape effects found when using the WIF criteria, suggesting relative strengths and weaknesses distinguish the groups. These findings suggest potentially important considerations related to identification and placement of students in appropriately intensive and targeted interventions.
This purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a curriculum-based measure of word problem solving (CBM-WPS) as an indicator of performance and progress in a sample of 136 third-grade students at risk for mathematics difficulties (MDs) instructed in a standards-based mathematics curriculum. Students completed the CBM-WPS measure every 2 weeks across 12 school weeks. Results indicated that the CBM-WPS measure was reliable and significantly correlated with measures of arithmetic WPS, number combinations fluency, and a standardized test of mathematics achievement. Results of growth modeling indicated that students showed significant growth on the CBM-WPS measure, with an average increase of 0.33 problems correct per week. Additional analyses revealed that students identified as high at-risk demonstrated similar growth as students identified as low at-risk. Furthermore, the CBM-WPS growth slopes were a significant predictor of students’ spring performance on a standardized test of mathematics achievement, demonstrating their predictive validity. Implications for practice and future research for assessing mathematics skill development are discussed.
The authors report the effects of a single-case, multiple-probe design investigation for students with learning disabilities (LD) in Grades 4 and 5. Seven students classified as LD and with persistent difficulty with informational-text comprehension from two elementary schools participated. The study compared social studies learning across two conditions: a text-based summarization baseline and a treatment that used graphic organizers and explicit instruction. Results suggest the manifestation of a functional relation for all students on daily content quizzes and minimal performance overlap between conditions. On a pre/post social studies measure, students at both schools improved, but students at School B made greater gains at posttest. Results suggest that treatment components that have been effective for students in secondary school are promising for enhancing learning with social studies text in students with LD in Grades 4 and 5.
The current study examined a solution to high false positive reading risk classification rates in early kindergarten by investigating a method of identifying students with possible false positive risk classifications and returning them to general classroom instruction. Researchers assessed kindergarten students (N = 105) identified as at risk who were participating in a full-year Tier 2 reading intervention program. Students with very strong initial curriculum mastery (n = 9) were identified as having possible false positive risk classifications and returned to general classroom Tier 1 instruction. Very strong responders who were exited from intervention (i.e., exited strong responders) scored above the risk range across multiple reading measures at the end of the year and performed similarly to a historical comparison cohort who remained in intervention services for the entire year (i.e., treated strong responders). Results suggest that kindergarten students with false positive risk classifications can be identified after a period of intervention services and successfully returned to general classroom instruction.
This study investigates how state Departments of Education address the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students as they relate to the identification of students with a specific learning disability (SLD). A qualitative research design of directed content analysis was used to examine each state’s regulatory criteria for SLD, as well as state guidance documents on SLD, response to intervention, referral processes, and English Language Learners. States varied regarding the degree to which they provided legislation and/or guidance for practices of identifying SLD in CLD students. Findings were organized around four promising practices: (1) assessment, (2) personnel, (3) instruction and intervention, and (4) systemic integration of general education, special education, and English as a Second Language. Implications for policy, practice, and future research are discussed.
This study examined the impact of independent practice of multiple-criteria text that targeted high-frequency words, decodability, and meaningfulness. Second-grade students, including at-risk students, were randomly assigned within classroom to a treatment group that read multiple-criteria text (n = 34), or contrast group that read authentic literature (i.e., children’s books without intentionally imbedded scaffolds; n = 28) during daily 30-min independent reading sessions for 10 weeks. Pre–post data analysis indicated no statistically significant group differences, though a moderate effect size of .67 was found for the word reading of developing decoders in the treatment group. HLM analyses also provided preliminary evidence that practice with multiple-criteria text may be more effective than practice with authentic literature for developing decoders but not advanced decoders.
This study examined the supporting documentation submitted by students with learning disability (LD) diagnoses. The participants were 210 students who were enrolled in a college support program for students with disabilities at a private liberal arts college. Findings showed that although most students submitted a psychoeducational evaluation, fewer than half submitted a complete evaluation that included an IQ test and a complete achievement battery that contained full cluster or composite scores and reported standard scores. Public school evaluators had completed larger numbers of incomplete evaluations than private clinicians. Above 20% of the evaluations had been completed more than 3 to 5 years earlier, and 12% were more than 5 years old. The findings from this study extend conclusions from other investigations to specialized support programs for students with LD, suggesting that the quality of documentation for LD submitted to these programs is often poor.
In this study, researchers operated from cognitive and situated perspectives to understand how individual qualities and contextual factors influenced elementary special education teachers’ learning in a multifaceted professional development (PD) project, Literacy Learning Cohort, focused on word study and fluency instruction. Grounded theory methodology was used to analyze qualitative interviews, cohort meetings, and classroom observations. Participants included five special educators who taught reading to students with disabilities in Grades 3 to 5. Results highlighted the central role of teachers’ ability to analyze their current instructional practice in developing integrated knowledge of word study and fluency instruction and crafting more integrated instruction. Teachers’ individual qualities, contextual factors, and PD components also worked in concert with teachers’ propensity to analyze instruction and ultimately influenced teacher learning (i.e., degree of integrated knowledge and practice demonstrated). Implications of these findings for designing effective PD efforts are discussed.
This study examined whether a large group of postsecondary students participating in a support program for students classified as having learning disabilities (LD) met criteria for five objective diagnostic models for LD: IQ-achievement discrepancy (1.0 SD, 1.5 SD, and >2.0 SD) models, a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) model, and an academic impairment model. The participants were 336 postsecondary students enrolled in a private liberal arts college who had been previously classified as having LD prior to entering the program. Results showed that the largest proportion of students met the 1.0 SD (48.8%) and the absolute academic impairment (40.2%) criteria. However, 40.5% of the participants were not classified as having LD by any of the five models. Participants exhibited remarkable variability in their aptitude and achievement scores, with mean composite achievement scores ranging from the very low to the average ranges in reading, mathematics, and writing, depending on the achievement test used. The findings of this study and others suggest that little information about a student’s academic skills is likely to be conveyed by a diagnosis of LD, leading to great heterogeneity in skill levels within LD support programs.
This article examines the efficacy of a multitiered systemic reading intervention for increasing the intensity and quality of explicit literacy instruction that teachers provide in first-grade classrooms. Schools (j = 16) were randomly assigned to the treatment or comparison condition. In both conditions, teachers (i = 42) provided 90 min of Tier I reading instruction to first-grade students (n = 883). In the treatment condition, Tier I classroom teachers were trained to enhance their core reading instruction by making instruction more explicit and intensive through standardized protocols and ongoing coaching support. At-risk treatment students (n = 240) also received an additional 30 min of Tier II supplemental reading intervention that was highly aligned with Tier I instruction. The focus of this study is on the Tier I portion of the multitiered intervention and the impact of the Tier I Enhancing Core Reading Instruction intervention on teacher practices. Results indicate positive effects of the Tier I intervention on the quality of explicit instruction and the frequency and accuracy of group practice opportunities provided to students.
The members of the Council for Learning Disabilities’ Research Committee convene annually to discuss what they have identified as "Must Read" articles published within the last year. For the 34th Annual International Conference, the members were asked to select articles that exemplified the conference theme: Learning Disabilities: Looking Back and Looking Forward—Using What We Know to Create a Blueprint for the Future. The six articles presented by the panel are summarized and explained with respect to why they are considered a "Must Read."
The purpose of this article was to describe an initial step developing a new scale to identify individuals with learning disabilities (LD) and test anxiety. Eighty-eight students answered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2). The participants were drawn from the following three groups: (a) adults with LD and test anxiety, (b) adults with LD but no test anxiety, and (c) adults with no LD and no test anxiety. Each answer of the MMPI-2 was assessed using one-way ANOVA, and 37 items were selected. Additional ANOVA with both Bonferroni and Tukey post hoc tests at the .01 significance level reduced the new scale to 18 items. The final step assessed the reliability and convergent validity of the new scale with 18 items, by comparing it with the Test Anxiety Inventory. The authors discuss the relationship between the conventional classification of test anxiety ("Worry" and "Emotionality") with the new scale.