Kristen McMaster

Learning to write is critical to students' overall literacy development. Writing provides students with the means to communicate what they know and is important for integrating knowledge and critical thinking. Beyond the K-12 school years, lack of writing proficiency can have a serious impact on postsecondary and employment opportunities. Improving student writing outcomes is particularly important for students with or at risk for disabilities that affect writing. Researchers found that only...

This project team will evaluate the efficacy of a supplemental instructional program called ELCII (Early Language Comprehension Individualized Instruction). ELCII, developed with prior IES funding, provides opportunities for supplemental early instruction in language comprehension skills, which are much needed to prevent long-term negative reading outcomes. Specifically, ELCII focuses on training a core language comprehension skill, inference making, in kindergarten. The project will examine...