What happens to students with learning disabilities who receive interventions after 3rd grade?

Students with learning disabilities who receive interventions after 3rd grade often show improvement in literacy skills, particularly in reading accuracy. The key aspect here is that while these students may be able to improve their ability to decode and recognize words correctly (accuracy), they typically do not make comparable gains in reading fluency, which involves the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression.

This phenomenon can occur for several reasons. Interventions may focus on fundamental skills necessary for reading, such as phonemic awareness or vocabulary acquisition, which can lead to enhanced reading accuracy. However, fluency is also significantly impacted by practice and exposure to reading varied texts, which may not always be sufficiently addressed in interventions designed for older students. Therefore, the discrepancy in the levels of improvement between accuracy and fluency is a common outcome for these learners and reflects the ongoing challenges they face.

The other options suggest outcomes that are generally not observed. Some imply a level of success in fluency or comprehension that is often not the case for students with learning disabilities receiving interventions at a later stage. As a result, the focus typically remains on helping these students improve foundational skills rather than achieving parity with their peers.