Title: The Effects of Collaborative Strategic Reading Instruction on the Reading Comprehension of Middle School Students: Year 1

Background/context: Description of prior research, its intellectual context and its policy context. Collaborative strategic reading (CSR; Klingner, Vaughn, Dimino, Schumm & Bryant, 2001) is a fully developed, feasible intervention, with evidence of its efficacy established through quasi-experimental research studies. CSR was designed to improve the reading comprehension of struggling readers, including English language learners and students with reading disabilities (Klingner et al., 2001). Built on a foundation of reciprocal teaching (Palincsar & Brown, 1984) and many features associated with effective instruction (e.g., collaborative group work, interactive dialogue, procedural strategies), CSR addresses three prevailing educational challenges: (a) how to teach text comprehension strategies that improve students’ reading comprehension, (b) how to adequately include struggling readers in text-related learning using grade-level text, and (c) how to provide opportunities for English language learners to interact effectively with peers and enhance their achievement. The following studies provide initial support for the use of CSR. Study 1. In this experimental study, students were assigned randomly to one of two