The Effects of a Multitiered System of Language Support on Kindergarten Oral and Written Language: A Large-Scale Randomized Controlled Trial.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this randomized controlled trial was to examine the effects of a multitiered system of language support (MTSLS) on kindergarteners' narrative retelling, personal stories, writing, and expository language. METHOD: Participants were 686 kindergarten students from four school districts in the United States. Twenty-eight classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 337 students) or control (n = 349 students) conditions. The treatment group received 14 weeks of oral narrative language instruction using Story Champs, a multitiered language program. Classroom teachers delivered large group (Tier 1) instruction for 15-20 min a day for 4 weeks. After this short-duration whole-class instruction, speech-language pathologists began small group Story Champs (Tier 2) intervention with a random sample of students who did not make adequate progress from the large group instruction (n = 49). These students received Tier 2 intervention for 20 min twice a week in addition to continued Tier 1 instruction. RESULTS: Results indicated that the students in the treatment group had significantly higher scores on all outcome measures compared to the students in the control group. Analyses of outcomes from the 49 students who received Tier 2 intervention compared to a matching sample of at-risk control students revealed that the treatment group had significantly higher scores on narrative retells, personal stories, and expository retells. When compared to matched average-performing and advanced-performing control peers, the students who received Tier 2 intervention had significantly higher narrative retell scores and no longer had significantly lower personal story, expository, or writing scores. CONCLUSION: This effectiveness study demonstrated that MTSLS can lead to meaningful improvements in kindergarteners' oral and written language skills, even helping at-risk students catch up to high-achieving peers.

Overview of the Common Core State Standard initiative and educational reform movement from the vantage of speech-language pathologists.

Educational reform is sweeping the country. The adoption and the implementation of the Common Core State Standards in almost every state are meant to transform education. It is intended to update the way schools educate, the way students learn, and to ultimately prepare the nation's next generation for the global workplace. This article will describe the Common Core State Standard initiative and the underlying concerns about the quality of education in the United States as well as the opportunities this reform initiative affords speech-language pathologists.

Universal Design for Learning: speech-language pathologists and their teams making the common core curriculum accessible.

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework was named in the supporting documents for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as a means of helping all students, especially those with disabilities, to meet and exceed the rigorous expectations. This article will describe the principles of UDL, show how educational teams use the framework to design instruction to teach the CCSS with examples from science and English language arts, and finally explore how the implementation of UDL provides an opportunity for speech-language pathologists to play a critical role in school improvement and instructional design and support.

Evidence-based systematic review: effects of different service delivery models on communication outcomes for elementary school-age children.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to conduct an evidence-based systematic review (EBSR) of peer-reviewed articles from the last 30 years about the effect of different service delivery models on speech-language intervention outcomes for elementary school-age students. METHOD: A computer search of electronic databases was conducted to identify studies that addressed any of 16 research questions. Structured review procedures were used to select and evaluate data-based studies that used experimental designs of the following types: randomized clinical trial, nonrandomized comparison study, and single-subject design study. RESULTS: The EBSR revealed a total of 5 studies that met the review criteria and addressed questions of the effectiveness of pullout, classroom-based, and indirect-consultative service delivery models with elementary school-age children. Some evidence suggests that classroom-based direct services are at least as effective as pullout intervention for some intervention goals, and that highly trained speech-language pathology assistants, using manuals prepared by speech-language pathologists to guide intervention, can provide effective services for some children with language problems. CONCLUSION: Lacking adequate research-based evidence, clinicians must rely on reason-based practice and their own data until more data become available concerning which service delivery models are most effective. Recommendations are made for an expanded research agenda.

Reaching for the stars: SLPs shine on literacy teams.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who work with school-age children have the opportunity to contribute to the literacy development of specific students as well as the literacy instruction and intervention programs in their district. These efforts are made in collaboration with other professionals and parents and may be referred to as participation on literacy teams. This article describes successful literacy teams in elementary schools including the variety of possible members as well as common characteristics of successful literacy teams. We describe how SLPs participate by developing collegial relationships with their team, using best practices for literacy, and supporting children as they progress in the general curriculum. Finally, we discuss some strategies for SLPs to take stock of their own literacy team participation, identify new goals, and map out a plan to reach new heights in literacy as integral members of literacy teams.