Date of Award
5-2026
Culminating Project Type
Starred Paper
Styleguide
apa
Degree Name
Special Education: M.S.
Department
Special Education
College
School of Education
First Advisor
Dr. Brian Valentini
Second Advisor
Dr. Bradley Kaffar
Third Advisor
Dr. Cynthia Fitzthum
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
Reading comprehension, middle school, specific learning disability, English learner
Abstract
Despite the implementation of the science of reading, students who are dually identified continue to demonstrate a persistent gap in reading performance when compared to their non-disabled, English-speaking peers. This is important because the population of dually identified students continues to grow, while the achievement gap does not appear to be improving. This starred paper examined instructional strategies for reading comprehension in middle school students identified as English learners (EL) with a specific learning disability (SLD). The focus was to identify practices that may improve the reading comprehension of dually identified students. The paper included a review of research on evidence-based reading comprehension practices for students with reading difficulties, students with SLD, English learners, and dually identified students. Research limitations included variations in how students were identified across studies; some studies examined students with EL status and a learning disability, while others focused only on students with reading difficulties and excluded English learners. The findings from this paper highlight the need for explicit instruction using graphic organizers, vocabulary, and inferencing to better support the reading comprehension of dually identified students. Implications of the study suggest that instruction at the middle school level should remain explicit in order to support vocabulary, syntax, background knowledge, and inferencing skills.
Recommended Citation
Hedy, Molly M., "Reading Comprehension Challenges for Dually Identified English Learners with Learning Disabilities" (2026). Culminating Projects in Special Education. 243.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/sped_etds/243
