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The purpose of this study was to examine the simple view of reading (SVR) and contributions of verbal proficiency and reading fluency to reading comprehension for fourth-, seventh-and ninth-grade readers (N 5 271). The SVR explained a significant proportion of variance in reading comprehension for all grades with decreasing explained variance in higher grades. The variance explained by decoding decreased from fourth grade to higher grades. The variance explained by listening comprehension increased from fourth-to seventh-grade, but did not change from seventhto ninth-grade. In all grades, verbal proficiency and reading fluency contributed substantial additional variance to reading comprehension beyond the SVR. Changes in the predictive relation between listening and reading comprehension and factors influencing reading comprehension in each grade are discussed.

This article reviews research examining technical features of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in written expression. Twenty-eight technical reports and published articles are included in this review. Studies examining the development and technical adequacy of measures of written expression are summarized, beginning with research conducted at the Institute for Research on Learning Disabilities at the University of Minnesota and followed by extensions of this work. Differences in technical features of writing tasks, sample durations, and scoring procedures employed within and across elementary and secondary levels are highlighted. Gaps in research addressing the technical adequacy of CBM in written expression are identified, and implications for future research and practice are discussed.

First graders (N = 323) participated in an evidence-based classwide reading program (Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies; PALS). Adual-discrepancy approach was used to identify 56 children whose reading performance and growth rates were substantially below those of average readers, indicating they were not responding sufficiently to PALS. This approach reliably distinguished among unresponsive at-risk, responsive at-risk, and average-performing readers. Nonresponders were assigned randomly to one of three increasingly individualized treatments: PALS, Modified PALS, or tutoring by an adult. No statistically significant between-group differences on reading-related measures were found. Effect sizes (between .30 and .50) comparing groups and proportions of nonresponders following treatment suggest that tutoring was most promising for reducing unresponsiveness.