An Examination of Third Grade Reading Achievement for Students Identified as SLD, Tier 2, or Tier 3

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Date

2020-09-24

Authors

Fee, Kira

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Publisher

University of Oregon

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine formative reading and vocabulary achievement results for third grade students recently found eligible for special education (SpEd) within specific learning disability (SLD) reading eligibility versus other third grade students not identified with SLD. The participant sample crossed four consecutive school years, and students were assigned to four different groups according to SLD status and Fall overall easyCBM© risk including: (a) students not in SpEd with a Fall designation of Low Reading Risk Group (non-SpEd low risk), (b) students not in SpEd with a Fall designation of Some Reading Risk Group (non-sped some risk), (c) students not in special education with a Fall designation of High Reading Risk Group (non-SpEd high risk), and (d) students in special education with a Fall designation of High Reading Risk Group (SLD high risk). The SLD high risk group was comprised of 90 students, so 90 students were randomly selected and assigned to each of the other three groups. Fall, Winter, and Spring easyCBM© passage reading fluency and vocabulary progress monitoring data were collected. Data were analyzed using a mixed effects model, including omnibus tests and pairwise comparisons. Specifically, the pairwise comparisons found SpEd High Group’s mean PRF scores were significantly lower from all other groups and, importantly, significantly lower than the non-SpEd High group in Fall (p = .01), Winter (p < .00), and Spring (p < .00). Vocabulary pairwise comparisons for the SpEd High Group versus the non-SpEd High Group found no significant difference in Fall (p = .45), but significant differences in Winter (p < .00) and Spring (p < .00). Implications of my findings focus on district policy regarding: (a) the use of CBMs for risk labels, (b) Response to Intervention (RtI) as an effective framework, and (c) reading achievement growth for students with SLD are discussed

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Keywords

Reading Intervention, Response to Intervention, Special Education, Specific Learning Disability, Tiered Support

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