In response to ongoing concerns with student academic and behavior problems, antecedent strategies have garnered increasing attention. Antecedent intervention approaches focus on structuring the environment to prevent problems and enhance motivation. At the class-wide level, implementation of these strategies can create a structured and orderly environment to which most students are responsive. In the case of persistent behavior problems, specific events that precede problem behavior can be removed or modified to create individualized antecedent interventions. The empirical literature base supporting the value of this approach has witnessed rapid growth. In this article, we offer a rationale for the use of antecedent strategies and provide literature-based examples of applications within school settings at both the class-wide and individual levels. In addition, we discuss practical considerations for implementing antecedent interventions.
This study sought to better understand the prevalence of concurrent and specific difficulties in reading fluency and vocabulary among adolescents with low reading comprehension. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify a sample of 180 students in sixth through eighth grades with reading comprehension difficulties. A subsequent LCA identified subgroups of students with common patterns of strengths and weaknesses in reading fluency and vocabulary. Results indicated that more than 96% of the students demonstrated deficits in at least one area, with the largest subgroup exhibiting co-occurring difficulties in fluency and vocabulary. Difficulties in fluency were more common than difficulties in vocabulary. Students with low reading comprehension but adequate scores in reading fluency or vocabulary represented only a very small portion of the sample. Coupled with findings from prior studies, results indicate that large numbers of adolescents with reading comprehension difficulties are likely in need of intervention in foundational skill and knowledge areas, which may not be viewed as instructional priorities among secondary educators.
For students with persistent reading difficulties, research suggests one of the most effective ways to intensify interventions is to individualize instruction through use of performance data—a process known as data-based decision making (DBDM). This article reports a synthesis and meta-analysis of studies of reading interventions containing DBDM for struggling readers, as well as the characteristics and procedures that support the efficacy of these interventions. A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature published between 1975 and 2017 was conducted, resulting in 15 studies of reading interventions that incorporated DBDM for struggling readers in Grades K–12. A comparison of students who received reading interventions with DBDM with those in business-as-usual (BAU) comparison groups yielded a weighted mean effect of g = .24, 95% confidence interval (CI) = [.01 to .46]. A subset of six studies that compared students receiving similar reading interventions with and without DBDM yielded a weighted mean effect of g = .27, 95% CI = [.07, .47]. Implications for DBDM in reading interventions for struggling readers and areas for future research are described. In particular, experimental investigation is necessary to establish DBDM as an evidence-based practice for struggling readers.
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