This study explored beginning special education teacher quality and the role that knowledge and skill for teaching reading plays in defining quality. The authors examined the relationship between beginning teachers' knowledge for teaching reading and their classroom practices during reading instruction and, further, relationships between classroom practices and student achievement gains on various reading measures. Findings revealed special education beginning teachers were somewhat knowledgeable about teaching reading, but this knowledge did not contribute a significant portion of variance to classroom practice. Practices in classroom management, decoding practices, and providing explicit, engaging instruction accounted for a significant portion of variance in student reading gains. Implications for further research and the preparation and induction of beginning teachers are provided.

Little research exists to help us understand why some beginning special education teachers of reading engage in more effective classroom practices than others. Factors that may influence these differences include personal attributes, preparation, and school environment. This mixed-methods study examined beginning special education teachers (N = 25) who taught reading to elementary students. Teachers were identified as most accomplished, moderately accomplished, and least accomplished, as defined by an overall classroom practice score. Interviews, observational field notes, and survey data on preparation and work environment revealed that the most accomplished beginners were consistently reflective, resourceful, and relentless and used these attributes to improve instruction, whereas others varied in this regard. Furthermore, while adequately prepared in special education, beginners reported inadequate preparation in reading. The interplay of personal attributes, preparation, and school environment seems to be a powerful determinant of a teacher's level of accomplishment.

The purpose of this followup study was to determine the long-term predictive validity of theoretically coherent reading measures administered during fall and winter of kindergarten. Seventy-nine children were screened using measures representing letter identification, phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatized naming. Reading achievement was measured at the end of grades 1 through 4 on passage comprehension, oral reading fluency, sight-word recognition, and phonemic decoding. A multivariate screening model incorporating letter identification, phonological awareness, and rapid automatized naming emerged as the most parsimonious model for predicting long-term reading achievement. This screening model yielded the highest correlations with oral reading fluency as the outcome measure. There was no practical significance between the fall and winter screening over the four-year period using this model. Results are interpreted as confirming the importance of a multivariate screening approach using letter identification, phonological awareness, and rapid automatized naming at the earliest time frame in kindergarten.

The purpose of this study was threefold: (a) to identify a combination of predictive measures that correlate with reading achievement, (b) to examine the predictive accuracy of these measures, and (c) to determine the most accurate time frame for test administration in kindergarten. One hundred and three kindergarten students from three schools participated over a period of two years. Measures representing letter identification, phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatized naming were administered in the fall and winter of the kindergarten year. Reading achievement was measured at the end of grade 1 using measures that included passage comprehension, fluency, sight-word recognition, and phonemic decoding. Five predictive models representing a combination of the predictive constructs were analyzed. The model combining letter identification, phonological awareness, and rapid automatized naming was identified as the best predictor of early reading achievement. There was no practical, significant difference between the fall and winter testing time frames. These findings hold important implications for predictive research by clarifying the importance of administering standardized measures that reflect the reading process. Most important, the results can provide practitioners with information for identifying the children most in need of early reading interventions.

Researchers conducted a study that examined the classroom reading practices of beginning special education teachers and each teacher's ability to promote student engagement. The researchers observed 14 beginning special education teachers over a 6-month period and identified the teachers as most engaging, highly engaging, moderately engaging, or low engaging. Through qualitative data analysis, researchers identified 4 themes related to instructional engagement that differentiated the teachers: instructional quality, responsiveness to student needs, socioemotional climate of the classroom, and student autonomy. Although the most engaging and highly engaging teachers were relatively consistent in demonstrating these themes, most other teachers were not. This article discusses these findings in light of previous research on beginning teachers and makes suggestions for additional research.