Kristen L McMaster
Biographic Data
| ID | 5835593 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kristen L McMaster |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kristen L |
| FAMILY NAME | McMaster |
| SIGNATURE | MCMASTER K L |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9656-4158 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Turning Up the Volume on Reading in Middle Childhood: A Systematic Review of Shared Reading Practices With Children Aged 7–11
Although numerous studies provide extensive evidence of the benefits of shared reading in the home, little is known about how this practice is sustained into middle childhood. The aim of this systematic review is to outline what is currently known about shared reading with children aged 7–11 years old. Thirty‐three studies identified for inclusion in the review were synthesized to explore the nature of shared reading practices in middle childhood…
Instructional Decision-Making for Students With Intensive Early Writing Needs: Student Growth in Sentence-Level Curriculum-Based Measurement
Instructional decision-making is a defining feature of data-based individualization (DBI) for students with intensive learning needs, yet its added value in facilitating growth in writing remains underexplored. This study examined sentence-level writing growth among 38 elementary students with early writing needs who received DBI support. Students completed weekly progress monitoring over 14 weeks, and teachers made instructional decisions at Wee…
Technical Features of Sentence-Level Curriculum-Based Measures and Language Sample Analysis for Students With Writing Difficulties
Given oral language’s role in writing proficiency and to address measurement issues in oral and written language, we trialed complementary scoring metrics in language sample analysis (LSA) with the sentence-level Picture Word Writing Curriculum-Based Measure (CBM-W). Using the Picture Word CBM-W samples of 123 Midwestern U.S. students with writing difficulties, we investigated (1a) alternate form reliability, (1b) criterion-related validity with …
Reading Development by Language and Disability Status: The Role of Response to Intervention
Understanding reading development requires attention to both student characteristics and school contexts. Using ECLS-K:2011 data, we investigated how language and disability status—and their interaction—relate to reading outcomes from kindergarten through fifth grade; how school-level Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation relates to reading growth; and whether RTI implementation moderates the associations between student characteristics a…
Revisiting Special Educators’ Usability and Feasibility of Data-Based Instruction
Data-based instruction (DBI) has a strong empirical base for supporting the intensive academic needs of students who do not respond to standard treatment protocols. However, teachers use DBI infrequently in practice. In a previous study, teachers reported supports such as coaching facilitated DBI implementation, whereas access to materials and external factors presented challenges. For this partial replication study, we adapted the previous study…
Reading growth across 1st grade: Is there a Matthew effect in Icelandic schools
Despite historically high literacy rates, there has been declining reading proficiency amongst students in Iceland. This decline has caused concern and created a need to better understand foundational reading growth in the Icelandic school context. This study aimed to evaluate reading growth patterns in letter sound fluency, nonsense word fluency, sight word fluency, and oral reading fluency across 1st grade by initial at-risk status, gender, and…
Supporting Teachers’ Data-Based Individualization of Early Writing Instruction: An Efficacy Trial
In a multiyear, multisite, randomized control trial, we examined the effects of comprehensive professional development designed to support teachers’ data-based instruction (DBI) for students with intensive early writing needs. Teachers ( N = 154; primarily special educators or intervention specialists) were assigned randomly to a treatment group ( n = 76), in which they received tools, learning, and coaching to support their DBI implementation ov…
Exploring Predictors of Teachers’ Sustained Use of Data-Based Instruction
The purpose of this logistic regression study was to identify predictors of teacher-reported sustained use of data-based instruction (DBI) during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the extent to which the identified predictors explained teachers’ sustained use after completing programmatic support for intensive early writing instruction. We surveyed 58 teachers who participated in a professional development efficacy trial regarding their sustained …
Data based individualization in early writing: The importance and measurement of implementation fidelity
In this paper we describe the process of monitoring fidelity of implementation for a teacher-implemented early writing intervention. As part of a large, federally funded project, teachers who worked with students in grades 1 through 3 in schools across two states in the US were recruited and then randomly assigned to implementation and control conditions. Using Data-Based Individualization (DBI) as a framework for best practice in assessment and …
Efficacy of a Technology-Based Early Language Comprehension Intervention: A Randomized Control Trial
We examined the efficacy of a Technology-Based Early Language Comprehension Intervention (TeLCI) designed to teach inferencing in a non-reading context. A group of Grades 1 and 2 students from 2 elementary schools in the U.S. Midwest identified as at risk of comprehension difficulties were assigned randomly to a business-as-usual control group or to use TeLCI over an 8-week period. TeLCI comprised three learning modules per week that involved (a)…
Sustained use of data-based writing instruction before and during the Covid-19 pandemic
Longitudinal effects of data-based instructional changes for students with intensive learning needs: A piecewise linear–linear mixed-effects modeling approach
Teacher Predictors of Student Progress in Data-Based Writing Instruction: Knowledge, Skills, Beliefs, and Instructional Fidelity
Teacher-level factors are theoretically linked to student outcomes in data-based instruction (DBI; Lembke et al., 2018). Professional development and ongoing support can increase teachers’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs related to DBI, as well as their instructional fidelity (McMaster et al., 2020). However, less is known about how each of these teacher-level factors influences student progress during an intervention. The purpose of this study wa…
What We Know and Need to Know about Literacy Interventions for Elementary Students with Reading Difficulties and Disabilities, including Dyslexia
The purpose of this paper is to describe what we know and what we still need to learn about literacy intervention for children who experience significant difficulties learning to read. We reviewed 14 meta‐analyses and systematic reviews of experimental and quasi‐experimental studies published in the last decade that examined the effects of reading and writing interventions in the elementary grades, including research focused on students with read…
A Longitudinal Investigation of Directional Relations Between Domain Knowledge and Reading in the Elementary Years
The present study tested the postulation that “knowledge begets reading, which begets knowledge.” Using Random Intercepts Cross‐Lagged Panel Models (RI‐CLPM), we analyzed a U.S. nationally representative data set to examine the directionality and magnitude of the longitudinal relation between domain knowledge (operationalized as science domain knowledge) and reading throughout the elementary years (from kindergarten to fifth grade), while account…
Teacher–researcher partnership in the translation and implementing of Pals (Peer‐Assisted Learning Strategies): An international perspective
Peer‐Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is a class‐wide structured supplementary paired reading programme to support learners with their reading (Fuchs et al., 1997). What remains at the core of implementing PALS in any given location is the co‐creation with teachers to ensure PALS fits with that educational context. This paper discusses the involvement of teachers as co‐creators in the process of adapting PALS in England, United Arab Emirates (…
Professional Development to Support Teachers’ Implementation of Intensive Reading Intervention: A Systematic Review
Many educators are unprepared to meet the needs of students with the most intensive reading intervention needs. The purpose of this review was to identify how researchers have provided professional development (PD) to support educators’ implementation of intensive reading interventions, the extent to which these approaches included essential PD elements, and how researchers have measured implementer outcomes. In the 26 studies reviewed, implement…
Exploring the Relation Between Teacher Factors and Student Growth in Early Writing
Data from a small randomized control trial of teachers’ use of Data-Based Instruction (DBI) for early writing were analyzed to determine the influence of teacher knowledge, skills, and treatment fidelity on student Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) slope. Participants included 11 elementary grade teachers who delivered intensive intervention in early writing and their students ( n = 31), all identified as either at risk for or with disabilities …
Supporting teachers’ use of data-based instruction to improve students’ early writing skills
We examined the effects of a professional development (PD) system designed to support teachers’ use of data-based instruction (DBI) to improve early writing outcomes for children with intensive needs. The PD system, called DBI-TLC, provided tools for early writing assessment and intervention, learning modules including face-to-face workshops followed by classroom application, and ongoing coaching to support DBI implementation. Special education t…
Technical Characteristics of Curriculum-Based Measurement With Students Who Are Deaf
This study compared the reliability and validity of student scores from paper–pencil and e-based assessments using the “maze” and “silent reading fluency” (SRF) tasks. Forty students who were deaf and hard of hearing and reading between the second and fifth grade reading levels and their teachers (n = 21) participated. For maze, alternate form reliability coefficients obtained from correct scores and correct scores adjusted for guessing ranged fr…
Commentary: Innovations, Insights, and Impact: Expanding Frontiers in Learning Disabilities Research
In this commentary, I highlight key insights from research on learning disabilities (LD) reported in this special issue. Authors of each article describe innovative work that is expanding frontiers of LD knowledge, by focusing on vulnerable and understudied populations, using multiple methodologies and data sources, and building and refining theory. Insights that emerge from this work relate to defining and identifying LD; estimating prevalence r…
Handbook of Evidence-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents
Biology 100: A Task-Centered, Peer-Interactive Redesign
A Longitudinal Investigation of Directional Relations Between Domain Knowledge and Reading in the Elementary Years
The present study tested the postulation that “knowledge begets reading, which begets knowledge.” Using Random Intercepts Cross‐Lagged Panel Models (RI‐CLPM), we analyzed a U.S. nationally representative data set to examine the directionality and magnitude of the longitudinal relation between domain knowledge (operationalized as science domain knowledge) and reading throughout the elementary years (from kindergarten to fifth grade), while account…
Biology 100: A Task-Centered, Peer-Interactive Redesign
Biology 100: A Task-Centered, Peer-Interactive Redesign
Handbook of Evidence-Based Interventions for Children and Adolescents
Commentary: Innovations, Insights, and Impact: Expanding Frontiers in Learning Disabilities Research
In this commentary, I highlight key insights from research on learning disabilities (LD) reported in this special issue. Authors of each article describe innovative work that is expanding frontiers of LD knowledge, by focusing on vulnerable and understudied populations, using multiple methodologies and data sources, and building and refining theory. Insights that emerge from this work relate to defining and identifying LD; estimating prevalence r…
Exploring the Relation Between Teacher Factors and Student Growth in Early Writing
Data from a small randomized control trial of teachers’ use of Data-Based Instruction (DBI) for early writing were analyzed to determine the influence of teacher knowledge, skills, and treatment fidelity on student Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) slope. Participants included 11 elementary grade teachers who delivered intensive intervention in early writing and their students ( n = 31), all identified as either at risk for or with disabilities …
Supporting teachers’ use of data-based instruction to improve students’ early writing skills
We examined the effects of a professional development (PD) system designed to support teachers’ use of data-based instruction (DBI) to improve early writing outcomes for children with intensive needs. The PD system, called DBI-TLC, provided tools for early writing assessment and intervention, learning modules including face-to-face workshops followed by classroom application, and ongoing coaching to support DBI implementation. Special education t…
Technical Characteristics of Curriculum-Based Measurement With Students Who Are Deaf
This study compared the reliability and validity of student scores from paper–pencil and e-based assessments using the “maze” and “silent reading fluency” (SRF) tasks. Forty students who were deaf and hard of hearing and reading between the second and fifth grade reading levels and their teachers (n = 21) participated. For maze, alternate form reliability coefficients obtained from correct scores and correct scores adjusted for guessing ranged fr…
Professional Development to Support Teachers’ Implementation of Intensive Reading Intervention: A Systematic Review
Many educators are unprepared to meet the needs of students with the most intensive reading intervention needs. The purpose of this review was to identify how researchers have provided professional development (PD) to support educators’ implementation of intensive reading interventions, the extent to which these approaches included essential PD elements, and how researchers have measured implementer outcomes. In the 26 studies reviewed, implement…
Teacher–researcher partnership in the translation and implementing of Pals (Peer‐Assisted Learning Strategies): An international perspective
Peer‐Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) is a class‐wide structured supplementary paired reading programme to support learners with their reading (Fuchs et al., 1997). What remains at the core of implementing PALS in any given location is the co‐creation with teachers to ensure PALS fits with that educational context. This paper discusses the involvement of teachers as co‐creators in the process of adapting PALS in England, United Arab Emirates (…
Teacher Predictors of Student Progress in Data-Based Writing Instruction: Knowledge, Skills, Beliefs, and Instructional Fidelity
Teacher-level factors are theoretically linked to student outcomes in data-based instruction (DBI; Lembke et al., 2018). Professional development and ongoing support can increase teachers’ knowledge, skills, and beliefs related to DBI, as well as their instructional fidelity (McMaster et al., 2020). However, less is known about how each of these teacher-level factors influences student progress during an intervention. The purpose of this study wa…
What We Know and Need to Know about Literacy Interventions for Elementary Students with Reading Difficulties and Disabilities, including Dyslexia
The purpose of this paper is to describe what we know and what we still need to learn about literacy intervention for children who experience significant difficulties learning to read. We reviewed 14 meta‐analyses and systematic reviews of experimental and quasi‐experimental studies published in the last decade that examined the effects of reading and writing interventions in the elementary grades, including research focused on students with read…
A Longitudinal Investigation of Directional Relations Between Domain Knowledge and Reading in the Elementary Years
The present study tested the postulation that “knowledge begets reading, which begets knowledge.” Using Random Intercepts Cross‐Lagged Panel Models (RI‐CLPM), we analyzed a U.S. nationally representative data set to examine the directionality and magnitude of the longitudinal relation between domain knowledge (operationalized as science domain knowledge) and reading throughout the elementary years (from kindergarten to fifth grade), while account…
Data based individualization in early writing: The importance and measurement of implementation fidelity
In this paper we describe the process of monitoring fidelity of implementation for a teacher-implemented early writing intervention. As part of a large, federally funded project, teachers who worked with students in grades 1 through 3 in schools across two states in the US were recruited and then randomly assigned to implementation and control conditions. Using Data-Based Individualization (DBI) as a framework for best practice in assessment and …
Efficacy of a Technology-Based Early Language Comprehension Intervention: A Randomized Control Trial
We examined the efficacy of a Technology-Based Early Language Comprehension Intervention (TeLCI) designed to teach inferencing in a non-reading context. A group of Grades 1 and 2 students from 2 elementary schools in the U.S. Midwest identified as at risk of comprehension difficulties were assigned randomly to a business-as-usual control group or to use TeLCI over an 8-week period. TeLCI comprised three learning modules per week that involved (a)…
Sustained use of data-based writing instruction before and during the Covid-19 pandemic
Longitudinal effects of data-based instructional changes for students with intensive learning needs: A piecewise linear–linear mixed-effects modeling approach
Reading Development by Language and Disability Status: The Role of Response to Intervention
Understanding reading development requires attention to both student characteristics and school contexts. Using ECLS-K:2011 data, we investigated how language and disability status—and their interaction—relate to reading outcomes from kindergarten through fifth grade; how school-level Response to Intervention (RTI) implementation relates to reading growth; and whether RTI implementation moderates the associations between student characteristics a…
Revisiting Special Educators’ Usability and Feasibility of Data-Based Instruction
Data-based instruction (DBI) has a strong empirical base for supporting the intensive academic needs of students who do not respond to standard treatment protocols. However, teachers use DBI infrequently in practice. In a previous study, teachers reported supports such as coaching facilitated DBI implementation, whereas access to materials and external factors presented challenges. For this partial replication study, we adapted the previous study…
Reading growth across 1st grade: Is there a Matthew effect in Icelandic schools
Despite historically high literacy rates, there has been declining reading proficiency amongst students in Iceland. This decline has caused concern and created a need to better understand foundational reading growth in the Icelandic school context. This study aimed to evaluate reading growth patterns in letter sound fluency, nonsense word fluency, sight word fluency, and oral reading fluency across 1st grade by initial at-risk status, gender, and…
Supporting Teachers’ Data-Based Individualization of Early Writing Instruction: An Efficacy Trial
In a multiyear, multisite, randomized control trial, we examined the effects of comprehensive professional development designed to support teachers’ data-based instruction (DBI) for students with intensive early writing needs. Teachers ( N = 154; primarily special educators or intervention specialists) were assigned randomly to a treatment group ( n = 76), in which they received tools, learning, and coaching to support their DBI implementation ov…
Exploring Predictors of Teachers’ Sustained Use of Data-Based Instruction
The purpose of this logistic regression study was to identify predictors of teacher-reported sustained use of data-based instruction (DBI) during the COVID-19 pandemic and assess the extent to which the identified predictors explained teachers’ sustained use after completing programmatic support for intensive early writing instruction. We surveyed 58 teachers who participated in a professional development efficacy trial regarding their sustained …
Turning Up the Volume on Reading in Middle Childhood: A Systematic Review of Shared Reading Practices With Children Aged 7–11
Although numerous studies provide extensive evidence of the benefits of shared reading in the home, little is known about how this practice is sustained into middle childhood. The aim of this systematic review is to outline what is currently known about shared reading with children aged 7–11 years old. Thirty‐three studies identified for inclusion in the review were synthesized to explore the nature of shared reading practices in middle childhood…
Instructional Decision-Making for Students With Intensive Early Writing Needs: Student Growth in Sentence-Level Curriculum-Based Measurement
Instructional decision-making is a defining feature of data-based individualization (DBI) for students with intensive learning needs, yet its added value in facilitating growth in writing remains underexplored. This study examined sentence-level writing growth among 38 elementary students with early writing needs who received DBI support. Students completed weekly progress monitoring over 14 weeks, and teachers made instructional decisions at Wee…
Technical Features of Sentence-Level Curriculum-Based Measures and Language Sample Analysis for Students With Writing Difficulties
Given oral language’s role in writing proficiency and to address measurement issues in oral and written language, we trialed complementary scoring metrics in language sample analysis (LSA) with the sentence-level Picture Word Writing Curriculum-Based Measure (CBM-W). Using the Picture Word CBM-W samples of 123 Midwestern U.S. students with writing difficulties, we investigated (1a) alternate form reliability, (1b) criterion-related validity with …
Psychology (18 works) · Mathematics education (16 works) · Reading and Literacy Development (13 works) · Pedagogy (11 works) · Computer Science (8 works) · Developmental psychology (8 works) · Linguistics (7 works) · Learning disability (6 works) · Reading (process) (6 works) · Special education (6 works)