Evidence‐Based Strategies for Reading Instruction of Older Students with Learning Disabilities

TLDR

Reading proficiency gaps affect a large proportion of middle‑school and elementary students, especially those with learning disabilities, prompting national research efforts such as the Center on Instruction’s reports on adolescent struggling readers. The article outlines evidence‑based instructional features for older students who persistently struggle with reading across late elementary, middle, and high school. It presents recommendations grouped into five key domains—word study, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and motivation—to guide reading improvement.

Abstract

Over a quarter of 8th‐grade students and more than one‐third of 4th graders do not read well enough to understand important concepts and acquire new knowledge from grade‐level text. For students with learning disabilities, the numbers are more troubling. This article describes features of evidence‐based instruction for students who continue to struggle with reading in late elementary, middle, and high school. Recommendations are organized into 5 areas that are critical to the reading improvement of older struggling readers: (1) word study, (2) fluency, (3) vocabulary, (4) comprehension, and (5) motivation. Much of the content in this article reflects our efforts with the Special Education and Reading Strands at the National Center on Instruction, funded by the Office of Special Education Programs and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. Two reports, both available at http://www.centeroninstruction.org/ , have particular relevance— Interventions for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Meta‐Analysis with Implications for Practice and Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents: A Guidance Document from the Center on Instruction.