In recent years, there has been increasing public concern regarding the poor reading achievement of many students nationwide (National Reading Panel, 2000). Of particular concern is the reading performance of students with disabilities, who make up a significant proportion of students with reading problems. According to the 29th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2007), nearly 15% of school-aged children received special education services in the 2006-2007 academic year. The current study investigated the reading achievement across time of students receiving special education services who struggle with reading. The mpact of instructional group size (individual, small group), teacher qualifications (experience, education, professional development) and child-instruction interaction (i.e., degree to which instruction is differentiated to address student skills) on reading achievement was examined using latent growth modeling. Teacher qualifications (experience, education, and professional development) did not predict reading growth. Frequency of small group instruction impacted reading comprehension but not fluency, whereas, frequency of individual instruction did not appear to impact either reading outcome. Results provided evidence that supports a positive association between degree to which instruction is aligned with student reading skill and reading growth. Thus, this study extends results from general education regarding the relationship between child-instruction interaction and reading growth (e.g., Connor, Jakobsons, Crowe, & Meadows, 2009) to a large sample of upper elementary students in special education.
Read
