University of Kansas Center for Research, Inc.

This study will examine the initial efficacy of an intervention combining two existing evidence-based interventions, Check and Connect (C&C) and the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI), for students with disabilities who are at risk for school failure. The outcomes of interest in this study include both secondary school/transition outcomes (academic achievement, self-determination, and graduation) and postsecondary outcomes (access to and progress in postsecondary educa...

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of Promoting Communication: Tools for Advancing Language in Kids (PC TALK) on infants and toddlers with and at risk for developmental delay and disabilities. Given the pivotal role that experience with language plays in early vocabulary development, later reading, and school proficiency, ensuring that infants and young children have ample opportunities to learn language is of primary importance. Ongoing systemic inequities compounded by t...

The purpose of this project is to develop Math Words, an intervention designed to improve the understanding of mathematics vocabulary for third and fourth grade students with or at risk for disability in math. Success with math involves understanding the language of math, which may be through interpretation of numbers, symbols, and words but also through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Math vocabulary is complex because math terms may have multiple meanings across content areas (s...

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of aligned reading comprehension and vocabulary instruction across instructional settings for students with reading disabilities (SWRD) in grade 5. There has been a long-standing pattern of no or small effects in reading comprehension research for upper elementary SWRD. New approaches to improving reading comprehension require system-wide change that addresses instruction across the school day rather than in segmented, isolated interven...

The purpose of this project is to test whether Resources Aligned and Integrated for Student Equity (RAISE)-a systematic, data-informed decision-making process-improves the academic and behavioral outcomes of elementary school students with or at risk for disabilities. Emerging evidence shows that COVID-19 pandemic disruptions have exacerbated longstanding disability-based disparities in academic achievement and well-being. An intervention for intensifying instruction and support is necessar...

This project aims to (1) analyze existing data to determine how internalizing and externalizing behavior patterns, as well as referrals for special education eligibility, may have shifted over time with the pandemic, and (2) test Recognize. Relax. Record. (RRR). RRR is an intervention designed to reduce symptoms of anxiety, increase engagement, maximize learning recovery, and improve academic outcomes for students with and at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Due to the COVI...