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Despite a long-standing awareness of academic language as a pedagogically relevant research area, the construct of academic-language proficiency, understood as a more comprehensive set of skills than just academic vocabulary, has remained vaguely specified. In this study, we explore a more inclusive operationalization of an academic-language proficiency construct, core academic-language skills (CALS). CALS refers to a constellation of highutility language skills hypothesized to support reading comprehension across school content areas. Using the Core Academic Language Skills Instrument (CALS-1), a theoretically grounded and psychometrically robust innovative tool, we first examined the variability in students' CALS by grade, English proficiency designation, and socioeconomic status (SES). Then, we examined the contribution of CALS to reading comprehension using academic vocabulary knowledge, word reading fluency, and sociodemographic factors as covariates. A linguistically and socioeconomically diverse cross-sectional sample of 218 students (grades 4-6) participated in four assessments: the CALS-1, a standardized reading comprehension assessment (Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test), an academic vocabulary test (Vocabulary Association Test), and a word reading fluency test (Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency). General linear model analysis of variance revealed that CALS differed significantly by grade, English-proficiency designation, and SES, with students in higher grades, English-proficient students, and those from higher SES backgrounds displaying higher scores, on average. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses identified CALS as an independent predictor of reading comprehension, even after controlling for academic vocabulary knowledge, word reading fluency, and sociodemographic factors. By specifying a set of language skills associated with reading comprehension, this study advances our understanding of school-relevant language skills, making them more visible for researchers and educators.

This article reviews published experimental studies from 2000 to 2012 that evaluated the effects of providing reading interventions to English learners who were at risk for experiencing academic difficulties, including students with learning disabilities. Criteria included: (a) the study was published in a peer-referred journal, (b) the study was an intervention for English learners at risk or with a learning disability in Grades K–12, (c) data were disaggregated by English learner status if all participants were not English learners, and (d) information about fidelity of implementation was reported. Twelve studies met these criteria. Results of seven studies conducted in kindergarten and first grade indicated significant moderate-to-large effect sizes (ES range, 0.58–0.91) for interventions targeting beginning reading skills. Findings in five of the 12 studies suggested significant moderate-to-large effects in reading or listening comprehension (ES range, 0.47–2.34). The interventions in these studies included explicit instruction, and 10 used published intervention programs. Moderator variables, such as group size, minutes of intervention, and type of personnel delivering the intervention, were not significant predictors of outcomes.

To reflect the new Course of Study, the Japanese Common Test for University Admission, which began in the 2021 academic year, introduced a multiple-text reading format (MTRF) to the English test that did not exist in previous tests. Given that integrating and understanding multiple English texts is a common real-world occurrence, the introduction of MTRF is reasonable. However, there is limited research analyzing the actual state of MTRF in the Common Test for University Admission. This study aimed to fill this gap in the literature. In this study, we analyzed 12 test forms, including trial, main, and makeup tests. The analysis focused on the relationship between the text used and the types of questions asked. The results showed that the MTRF of the Common Test for University Admission has the characteristics of both TOEIC and Cambridge English Qualifications, which are large-scale high-stakes English tests that use the MTRF. In addition, the complexity of the MTRF questions tended to increase over time owing to changes in the Course of Study. This study makes theoretical and pedagogical contributions, for example, by clarifying the skills of examinees and the nature of assessment tasks.

Stakeholders are debating the value of cognitively focused instruction for students who have not benefited from a skills-based approach. Much of the discussion, however, is occurring without recognition of research that has been conducted in the past 2 decades. In this article, we reviewed the research. Electronic databases and hard copies of scholarly journals were searched; 239 references were identified; and 50 pertinent studies were analyzed to determine the effects of cognitively focused instruction—delivered alone or in combination with academic instruction—on students described as demonstrating poor academic achievement, learning disabilities, or specific cognitive deficits. Findings suggest that several cognitive interventions accelerated low-achieving students academic progress. Nevertheless, when the research is taken as a whole—when the pertinent studies and the interventions they describe are considered with regard to their content, quality, and results—we conclude that it does not support the use of cognitively focused instruction at this time. Implications for future research are discussed.

Gough and Tunmer’s ( 1986 ) simple view of reading (SVR) proposed that reading comprehension (RC) is a function of language comprehension (LC) and word recognition/decoding. Braze et al. ( 2007 ) presented data suggesting an extension of the SVR in which knowledge of vocabulary (V) affected RC over and above the effects of LC. Tunmer and Chapman ( 2012 ) found a similar independent contribution of V to RC when the data were analyzed by hierarchical regression. However, additional analysis by factor analysis and structural equation modeling indicated that the effect of V on RC was, in fact, completely captured by LC itself and there was no need to posit a separate direct effect of V on RC. In the present study, we present new data from young adults with sub-optimal reading skill ( N  = 286). Latent variable and regression analyses support Gough and Tunmer’s original proposal and the conclusions of Tunmer and Chapman that V can be considered a component of LC and not an independent contributor to RC.

This paper started with the examination of the effect of mobile-based reading test on EFL test-takers of different attitudes from their perception of metacognitive strategy use and the knock-on impact on test results. Then other possible factors of such impact are explored and corresponding solutions are presented. Quantitative analysis of questionnaire and reading test data indicated that test-takers with low acceptance of mobile-based reading test might be adversely affected in their metacognitive strategy use of planning, monitoring, and evaluating, as well as their test results. Qualitative analysis of the relevant literature and the interview data, combined with the quantitative results, revealed that, besides the inferiority of metacognitive regulation on screen, the negative effects might also involve other complicated and intertwined factors, such as reading proficiency, psychology, attitudes, adaptability, habits, and personality, as well as text and question presentation form, which could, in turn, lead to poor performance in this new test form. Therefore, metacognitive training, psychological preparation, guided practice, elaborated feedback, constructive advice, personalized dynamic assessment, optimization of the text and question presentation form, and overcoming of screen inferiority are necessary for better assessment ecology so that test-takers could gain more benefit and convenience brought by this new assessment medium.

Currently, learning disabilities (LD) are diagnosed on the basis of the discrepancy between students' IQ and reading achievement scores. Students diagnosed with LD often receive remedial instruction in resource rooms. The available evidence suggests that the educational policy based on this discrepancy model has not yielded satisfactory results. This has led researchers to try other paradigms, such as the component model and response to intervention, for dealing with children with reading disabilities. The component model of reading (CMR) described in the present article identifies the reading component that is the source of reading difficulty and targets instruction at that component. Study 1 describes the CMR and reports on its validity. Study 2 describes the successful outcome of a 7-year CMR-based reading instruction program. Compared to the discrepancy model, the CMR has demonstrated several advantages.

Standardized assessment tools are essential for informed, data-driven decision-making. Reading speedily is a crucial early skill that all students should have the opportunity to develop in inclusive classrooms. To facilitate classroom-based reading diagnostics in this area of reading, we developed a flash reading test that reliably measures the performance of students with and without learning disabilities and intellectual disabilities. This test can be administered in the classroom and completed independently by students, taking only a few minutes, without requiring them to read aloud. The test is designed to provide an accurate assessment of the speed of lexical recall for all students. To evaluate the difficulty-generating-item characteristics of the new instrument, 400 primary and special school students participated in the test. The results indicate that students with low abilities and disabilities are particularly differentiated by the combination of a short display duration and short words. We provide information for test developers interested in designing similar assessments and teachers who can use this instrument to make informed decisions in the classroom.

This study aimed to determine the efficacy of a content knowledge and reading comprehension treatment implemented by eighth-grade general education social studies teachers among students with disabilities included in the classes. Data on students with disabilities across 2 years of study were combined for the analysis presented here. Students in the treatment conditions (n = 72) scored statistically higher than students in the comparison conditions (n = 58) on knowledge acquisition (effect size [ES] = .26) and content reading comprehension (ES = .34) but not standardized reading comprehension. Findings are interpreted as demonstrating support for the treatment in improving both knowledge acquisition and reading comprehension within content area instruction among students with disabilities served in the general education social studies classroom.

In this century, the value of information has become more significant; reflecting this change, focus has shifted to preparing pupils for the functional use of reading. Therefore, the latest international assessments of reading literacy are set up to address this kind of knowledge. Significant numbers of individuals are performing below the minimum level in these assessments in Hungary, signalling lower capacity for participation in the community. When attempting to eliminate functional illiteracy, it is crucial to analyse the present support system, and the efficiency of recognising reading problems in the early stages, in order to improve the provision of education systematically. When examining the probable causes of the struggle to comprehend texts, one of the prerequisites of understanding written language is appropriate decoding. This research focuses on investigating the access to intervention programmes of 5th-grade children with poor reading skills. The speed and accuracy of the aloud reading of 957 pupils attending mainstream classrooms were measured and compared to the data regarding the participation in rehabilitation programmes. The most relevant finding of the research was that only less than half of the children with poor reading skills receive help to improve their performance; 55% of slow readers and 60% of non-accurate readers were left without support, even though their performance is significantly worse than that of their peers. This finding indicates the need to revise the screening system and necessitates more extensive and less diagnosis-based access to intervention programmes.