Students with emotional disturbance (ED) experience a number of social, emotional, and behavioral challenges that interfere with their success in educational settings. Characterized by an inability to learn, students with ED often experience deficits in general content areas such as reading, writing, and arithmetic (Epstein, Kinder, & Bursuck, 1989; Hinshaw, 1992). Compared to students in other disabili- ty groups, students with ED show increased numbers of course failure and school dropout, lower graduation rates, and fewer numbers of college enrollment (Wagner, 1995). Longitudi- nal studies indicate that these educational and social problems, presented early in a student’s academic career, often persist throughout the student’s life (Hinshaw, 1992). Academic Status of Students with Emotional Disturbance Research reviews on the academic status of children with ED have found significant amounts of underachievement in reading and math across educational placement settings (Epstein et al., 1989; Trout, Nordness, Pierce, & Epstein, in press). In these reviews, several indicators of academic achievement, includ- ing below grade level scores on standardized measures of achievement and low student grades, were representative of children with ED. Moreover, the reviews revealed that, with age, students with ED fell further and further behind their peers without disabilities (Epstein et al., 1989; Trout et al., in press). Similar pat- terns of deficit were identified in Hinshaw’s (1992) review of externalizing behavioral dis- orders and the academic underachievement of aggressive students at risk for ED. Specifically, students displaying aggression, antisocial behavior, or hyperactivity-inattention showed significant underachievement regardless of placement setting or grade level. Evidence of academic failure was identified in school readiness skills associated with behavioral and reading deficits in formal measures of under- achievement (e.g., standardized scores, teacher ratings) as well as through measures of broad academic domains (e.g., grade reten- Behavioral Disorders, 28(3), 313–326 May 2003 / 313 Effects of a Reading Intervention for Kindergarten Students At Risk for Emotional Disturbance and Reading Deficits Alexandra L. Trout, Michael H. Epstein, William T. Mickelson, J. Ron Nelson, and Linda M. Lewis University of Nebraska at Lincoln ABSTRACT: Although students with or at risk for emotional disturbance present significant aca- demic challenges, few researchers have studied the outcomes of interventions designed to improve the reading skills of this population. In this study we assessed the outcomes of a supplemental daily Direct Instruction reading curriculum, Reading Mastery I, and fluency building program, Great Leaps, on the reading skills of students at risk for emotional disturbance and reading deficits. Over a period of 7 months, 6 students received a supplementary reading intervention and 12 students (6 control at-risk and 6 norm-referencing students without disabilities) received their regular classroom instruction. Curriculum-based measures assessing early phonemic awareness and basic reading skills (i.e., letter sounds, blends, and high-frequency sight words) were collected biweekly to assess student performance. The results of this study revealed that at-risk students receiving the Direct Instruction curriculum intervention met or outperformed their control at-risk and norm-referencing peers in all three reading measures. Implications of these findings and areas of future research are discussed. Trout.qxd 5/21/03 11:19 AM Page 313