Jessica Toste, Ph.D.

Research Interests and Expertise

Reading intervention research; data-based decision making; intensive intervention for students with persistent reading challenges, including dyslexia

Current Research Projects and Grants

Collaborative Teacher Expertise in Evidence-Based Decision Making for Reading Intervention: Development of The EXPERT Training Program | Institute of Education Sciences, 2019–2023 (principal investigator)*
Cohesive Integration of Behavior Support Within a Process of Data-Based Intervention Intensification | Institute of Education Sciences, 2018–2023 (co-investigator)*
STAMP of Success in Doctoral Education: Student Training, Advising, and Mentorship Practices | The University of Texas at Austin, Provost’s Teaching Fellow, 2018–2020 (principal investigator)

*MCPER projects

Boards, Committees, and Associations

Associate editor, Assessment for Effective Intervention
Principal member, Institute of Education Sciences grant review panel
Editorial review boards: Journal of Learning Disabilities, Intervention in School and Clinic, Assessment for Effective Intervention, Elementary School Journal
Associations: Council for Exceptional Children, Council for Learning Disabilities, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading
Member of Research Committee, Division of Learning Disabilities, Council for Exceptional Children
Member of Professional Development, Standards, & Ethics Committee, Division of Learning Disabilities, Council for Exceptional Children

Community Service

National Board of Directors, GLSEN
Board of Directors and vice-chair, Disability Rights Texas
Advisory Board, UT University Charter System

Recent Awards

Texas 10, The Alcade magazine, The University of Texas at Austin, 2017
Pat Clifford Award for Early Career Research in Education, Canadian Education Association, 2012
Governor General’s Gold Medal, McGill University, 2011

Representative Publications

*Didion, L. A., Toste, J. R., & *Filderman, M. J. (in press). Teacher professional development and reading achievement of K–12 students: A meta-analytic review of the effects. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness.

Lemons, C. J., & Toste, J. R. (in press). Professional development and coaching: Addressing the “last mile” problem in educational research. Assessment for Effective Intervention.

Cho, E., Toste, J. R., *Lee, M., & *Ju, U. (2019). Motivational predictors of struggling readers’ reading comprehension: The effects of mindset, achievement goals, and engagement. Reading and Writing, 32(5), 1219–1242.

Toste, J. R., *Capin, P., *Williams, K. J., Cho, E., & Vaughn, S. (2019). Replication of an experimental study investigating the efficacy of a multisyllabic word reading intervention with and without motivational beliefs training for struggling readers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 52(1), 45–58.

Toste, J. R., Vaughn, S., Martinez, L. R., & Bustillos-SoRelle, D. (2018). Content-area reading comprehension and teachers’ use of instructional time: Effects on middle school students’ social studies knowledge. Reading and Writing. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s11145-018-9925-7

*Filderman, M. J., Toste, J. R., *Didion, L. A., Peng, P., & Clemens, N. H. (2018). Data-based decision making in reading interventions: A synthesis and meta-analysis of the effects for struggling readers. Journal of Special Education, 52(3), 174–187.

*Filderman, M. J., & Toste, J. R. (2018). Decisions, decisions, decisions: Using data to make instructional decisions for struggling readers. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 50(3), 130–140.

Toste, J. R., *Capin, P., Vaughn, S., *Roberts, G. G., & Kearns, D. M. (2017). Multisyllabic word reading instruction with and without motivational beliefs training for struggling readers in the upper elementary grades: A pilot investigation. The Elementary School Journal, 117(4), 593–615.

Toste, J. R., *Williams, K. J., & *Capin, P. (2017). Reading big words: Instructional practices to promote multisyllabic word reading fluency. Intervention in School and Clinic, 52(5), 270–278.

Toste, J. R., Heath, N. L., Connor, C. M., & Peng, P. (2015). Reconceptualizing teacher-student relationships: Applicability of the working alliance within classroom contexts. The Elementary School Journal, 116, 30–48.

Toste, J. R., Bloom, E. L., & Heath, N. L. (2014). The differential role of classroom working alliance in predicting school-related outcomes for students with and without high-incidence disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 48(2), 135–148.

Toste, J. R., Compton, D. L., Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., Gilbert, J. K., Cho, E., . . . Bouton, B. D. (2014). Understanding unresponsiveness to Tier 2 reading intervention: Exploring the classification and profiles of adequate and inadequate responders. Learning Disability Quarterly, 37(4), 192–203.

*Student co-authors