The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, an arm of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded $30 million to four research centers to study what some researchers call the "fourth grade slump" where a split divides students who excel at reading with those who struggle. The term--attributed to the late Jeanne S. Chall, a professor and educational psychologist at Harvard University’s graduate school of education--describes the grade where reading goes beyond basic decoding into more fluency of texts and comprehension of the written word, according to a recent article on edweek.org. Solving reading difficulties early is critical to help struggling students catch up to their classmates, but unfortunately many never do. Research centers at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Florida State University, University of Houston, and the Baltimore-based Kennedy Krieger Institute, will participate in the studies of children with learning disabilities and reading comprehension issues. Although each center will have a unique look at the issues, all intend to develop solutions that can be used in the classroom setting. University of Colorado at Boulder Researchers to ID and characterize reading disabilities and ADHD. A twin and sibling study will follow students from elementary school through high school, looking at the role of genetics and the environment. Florida State University Researchers to compare approaches for defining, classifying, and preventing learning disabilities affecting decoding, reading comprehension, spelling, and written composition. They will also analyze the response-to-intervention (RTI) approach. Kennedy Krieger Institute Researchers to study the neurobiology and behavior of children with reading disabilities, and the effect of disabilities such as ADHD on reading. University of Houston Researchers to develop interventions to prevent learning disabilities in young studenets and to remediate such disabilities in older students, while investigating the neurobiology of learning disabilities and how the brain’s response changes with intervention. SOURCE: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development