Classroom Observations and Effects of Reading Interventions for Students at Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

* The academic deficits of students exhibiting severe problem behavior including students eligible for emotionally and/or behaviorally disordered (EBD) classification (2%6%) are well documented (Kauffman, 2001; Reid, Gonzalez, Nordness, Trout, & Epstein, 2004; Ruhl & Berlinghof^ 1992). Long-term educational outcomes for students with this greatest risk are bleak as they are more likely than their peers to be held back and later to drop out of school altogether (Rylance, 1 997). The consequences and implications of poor educational outcomes are enormous. Posthigh school students with EBD face the highest levels of unemployment, poorest work history, and more social adjustment problems than any other disability group (Wagner, 1995). Of the contributing factors to this academic crisis, a long-standing concern has been the reading failure of students with or at risk for EBD (Hinshaw, 1992; Mastropieri, Scruggs, Bakken, & Whedon, 1 996).Coleman and Vaughn (2000) reviewed the literature on reading interventions for students specifically identified with EBD and found only eight studies. From these studies, a range of encouraging outcomes related to explicit instruction and peer-tutoring interventions were found. The review indicated that wellstructured interventions that provide multiple opportunities to respond, include mastery criteria, and use correction procedures are promising practices for students with EBD. However, they also reported that there is a clear lack of experimental studies addressing academic, including reading, intervention studies for these students. Since the Coleman and Vaughn review, the evidence base has been building for specific reading interventions for students at risk and with EBD (BartonArwood, Wehby, & Falk, 2005; Falk & Wehby, 2001; Harris, Oakes, Lane, & Rutherford, 2009; Nelson, Stage, Epstein, & Pierce, 2005). Although an evidence base for effective reading interventions is slowly building with the EBD population, more studies are needed to understand the learning environments and contextual variables that support effective academic interventions.Trout, Nordness, Pierce, and Epstein (2003) recently reviewed the literature from 1961 to 2000, including 65 studies describing the academic status of students with EBD. Their findings suggest that students with EBD continue to be academic underachievers. This is congruent with other meta-analysis reports of low overall achievement for this group compared with students without disabilities (Reid et al., 2004). Trout et al. called for a broader knowledge base for interventions for these students: "Given the increasing trend toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom, understanding the academic performance of these students is critical for accommodation planning, implementation, and ongoing evaluation" (p. 208).Observational studies are one rich source of information to aid in our understanding of key classroom components such as instructional formats, teacher-student interactions, and student performance related to students learning to read. Vaughn, Levy, Coleman, and Bos (2002) reviewed 1 1 reading observation studies conducted in elementary schools with 50% of the sample including students with learning disabilities or EBD. Among their findings were the following: (a) There is a lack of reading observation studies focusing on students with EBD; (b) large-group and undifferentiated instruction are predominant across both general and special education classes; (c) "students spend too much time waiting to be taught" (p. 1 1 ) and doing worksheets; (d) students spent only 6 to 1 0 min reading silently and 3 to 1 3 min reading aloud each day; (e) there is a lack of evidence-based interventions used including systematic, direct instruction as well as explicit strategy instruction; and (f) it remains unclear whether the instructional needs of students with EBD differ from those of students with learning disabilities. …