Project Activities
Research plan
The PI utilized RDD to evaluate the effects of an intensive reading comprehension intervention on the reading and language outcomes of at-risk third and fourth grade ELs. A total of 321 ELs with and without reading difficulties completed the study at two high-poverty elementary schools. Participants were screened based on performance on a school-administered test of reading and the bottom 70 students in rank-ordered performance were assigned to an intensive reading intervention. The comprehensive intervention included systematic and explicit instruction in English word reading, reading fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension strategies. The intervention occurred four days per week for 45 minutes for a total of 19 weeks. Fidelity of implementation was acceptable. Outcomes included word reading, fluency, and reading comprehension in English. Traditional RDD and comparative RDD analyses were completed.
Career plan
Through a career development plan that included mentoring, directed readings, coursework in mediation and multi-level modeling, and professional conferences, the PI developed additional knowledge and expertise related to research on ELs at risk for reading disabilities as well as complex methodologies, including mediation and regression discontinuity analyses. This professional development plan resulted in multiple publications targeting or including ELs, multiple professional presentations, and multiple grant submissions.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this study, as reported by the principal investigator, are as follows:
- Across outcomes and analyses, there were not statistically significant differences for the intervention group.
- Results of primary and secondary analyses suggest that participating ELs demonstrated significant normative deficits across all component reading skills. The severity of these deficits, negligible effects of intervention, and stability of reading profiles across the instructional year suggest that ELs with similar reading deficits may require long-term intensive interventions to reduce normative deficits with ELs not at reading risk (Capin et al., 2021).
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Publications:
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Select publications:
Miciak, J., & Fletcher, J. M. (2020). The Critical Role of Instructional Response for Identifying Dyslexia and Other Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(5): 343–353. doi:10.1177/0022219420906801
Capin, P., Cho, E., Miciak, J., Roberts, G., & Vaughn, S. (2021). Examining the Reading and Cognitive Profiles of Students with Significant Reading Comprehension Difficulties. Learning Disability Quarterly, 44(3): 183–196. doi:10.1177/0731948721989973
Questions about this project?
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