Academic competence and school performance are important to the successful adjustment of pupils. Unfortunately, along with social-emotional deficits, a primary characteristic of behaviorally disordered pupils is an inability to learn from academic instruction. The purpose of this article is to review the research on the academic status of behaviorally disordered adolescents and to identify future research needs and issues. The research needs identified involve sampling techniques, the selection of dependent measures including curriculum-based assessment, the assessment of the learning strategy, abilities of students with behavioral disorders, and instructional variables affecting the achievement of adolescents with social-emotional disorders.

Textbooks are the most predominant instructional medium used in America today. Recent research indicates that the issue of textbook readability is complex, extending beyond traditional text evaluation based on readability formulas. In this study, 10 eighth-grade texts were evaluated with respect to factors such as global coherence, local coherence, questioning techniques, and vocabulary development. Results are discussed in terms of instructional implications.

Many students who experience reading failure are inappropriately placed in special education. A promising response to reducing reading failure and the overidentiÞcation of students for special education is Response to Intervention (RTI), a comprehensive early detection and prevention system that allows teachers to identify and support struggling readers early, before they fail. A key component of RTI is the implementation of evidence-based reading practices within a multitiered framework. School psychologists are increasingly being asked to lead or be members of RTI building teams. As such, they can play an important role in assuring that evidence-based practices in reading are implemented with integrity. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for judging the extent to which early reading instruction within a multitier RTI system is evidence based. Key evidence-based practices related to the content, design, and delivery of early reading instruction are described. C 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Increased concern over the academic proficiency of American students has led to a variety of proposals to reform the U.S. educational system. A part of these calls for reform has been an increased emphasis on homework. As students with behavior disorders are more frequently included in general education classrooms, a better understanding of their homework skills is needed. The present study examines the homework problems of secondary school students with behavior disorders as compared to secondary school students with no disabilities—as rated by their teachers and parents—using the Homework Problem Checklist. Analyses of both parent and teacher responses reflected significant differences between the two student groups on virtually every checklist item. Suggestions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.

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