I will be accepting doctoral students for the Fall 2023 semester. If you are interested in studying anything related to dyslexia or other forms of reading difficulty, I encourage you to reach out and consider applying to our doctoral program at The University of Texas at Austin. Apply here
My research and teaching focuses on improving instruction, intervention, and assessment for children and adolescents with dyslexia and other forms of reading difficulties. More specifically, I study the development of word reading skills in early elementary school (and how difficulties with word reading skills arise), reading comprehension among older students, improving educators' and researchers' use of assessment data to better understand their the unique needs and progress of their students. Overall, I conduct research to better understand interventions, key practices, and assessments that are effective for students with the most intensive learning difficulties.
In addition to my research and teaching activities at The University of Texas at Austin, I also work with teachers, administrators, and parents on ways to improve intervention and assessment for students with dyslexia and other forms of reading difficulty. I am trained and certified as a school psychologist but I also have extensive experience in direct intervention. I can bring this skill set to help schools in a variety of ways.
I joined the Department of Special Education in 2016. Prior to arriving at The University of Texas, I was an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at Texas A&M University. I received my Ph.D. in school psychology from Lehigh University in 2009.
Blog: decodingreading.com
Twitter: @DrNathanClemens
Ph.D. in School Psychology, Lehigh University, 2009
I work to improve interventions for students with dyslexia and other forms of significant reading difficulty, better understand assessment and assessment practices that best inform instruction, and improve educators' ability to make data-based decisions.
Some of my representative publications are listed below. For a full list of my published research and other work, please see the links above for my CV or my Google Scholar page.
(*indicates student co-author)
Clemens, N.H., & Fuchs, D. (2021). Commercially-developed tests of reading comprehension: Gold standard or fools gold? Reading Research Quarterly, Advance online publication.
Austin, C., Vaughn, S.R., Clemens, N.H., Pustejovsky, J., & Boucher, A. (in press). Relative effects of instruction linking word reading and word meaning compared to word reading instruction alone on the accuracy, fluency, and word meaning knowledge of 4th-5th grade students with dyslexia. Scientific Studies of Reading.
Clemens, N.H., * Lee, K., *Henri, M., Simmons, L., Kwok, O., & Al Otaiba, S. (2021). Growth in sublexical fluency during early reading instruction and its relation to decoding acquisition. Journal of School Psychology.
Capin, P., Roberts, G., Clemens, N.H., & Vaughn, S.R. (in press). When Treatment Adherence Matters More: Interactions Among Treatment Adherence, Instructional Quality, and Student Characteristics on Reading Outcomes. Reading Research Quarterly.
Barnes, M.A., Clemens, N.H., Fall, A.M., Roberts, G., Klein, A., Starkey, P.,
& Flynn, K. (in press). Cognitive Predictors of Difficulties in Math and Reading in Pre-Kindergarten Children at High Risk for Learning Disabilities. Journal of Educational Psychology.
Clemens, N.H., Oslund, E., Fogarty, M., Kowk, O., Davis, J., & Simmons, D. (2019). Skill moderators of the effects of a reading comprehension intervention. Exceptional Children, 85, 197-211.
Clemens, N.H., Hsaio, Y., Simmons, L., Kwok, O., *Greene, E., *Soohoo, M., *Henri, M., Luo, W., *Prickett, C., Rivas, B., & Al Otaiba, S. (2019). The predictive validity of kindergarten progress monitoring measures across the school year: An application of dominance analysis. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 44, 241-255.
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, 174-187.
Oslund, E.L., Clemens, N.H., Simmons, D.C., & Simmons, L.E. (2018). A multicomponent model of adolescent reading comprehension: Comparing struggling and adequate comprehenders. Reading and Writing, 31, 355-379.
Clemens, N.H., *Soohoo, M., *Wiley, C.P., *Hsiao, Y., *Estrella, I., *Allee-Smith, P.J., & Yoon, M. (2018). Advancing stage 2 research on measures for monitoring kindergarten reading progress. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 51, 85-104.
Clemens, N.H., *Lai, M., Burke, M., & Wu, J. (2017). Interrelations of growth in letter-name and sound fluency in kindergarten and implications for subsequent reading fluency. School Psychology Review, 46, 272-287.
Forgarty, M., Clemens, N.H., Simmons, D., Simmons, L., Anderson, L., Oslund, E., Davis, J., & Smith, A. (2017). The impact of a technology-mediated intervention on adolescents reading comprehension. Journal of Research in Educational Effectiveness, 10, 326-353.
Clemens, N.H., & Simmons, D., Simmons, L., *Wang, H., & Kwok, O. (2017). The prevalence of reading fluency and vocabulary difficulties among adolescents struggling with reading comprehension. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 35, 785-798.
Panelist and discussant, Summit on Intensive Intervention, Office of Special Education Programs and Institutes for Education Sciences(2015)
Editorial review board, Assessment for Effective Intervention(2014 - Present)
Editorial review board, Journal of School Psychology(2012 - Present)
Associate Editor, Assessment for Effective Intervention(2011 - 2014)
Editorial review board, School Psychology Review(2011 - Present)
Editorial review board, Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment(2009 - Present)
Cohesive Integration of Behavior Support Within a Process of Data-Based Intervention Intensification
Clemens, N.H., Vaughn, S.R., Roberts, G., & Doabler, C. (submitted 2017). Cohesive Integration of Behavior Support Within a Process of Data-Based Intervention Intensification. U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences. Budgeted $4,000,000 for five years (2018-2023), 25% FTE. Status: Funded, study ongoing.
Project Connect-IT (Connecting Text by Inference and Technology): Development of a Text-Integration Intervention for Middle School Students with Comprehension Difficulties
Barnes, M., Clemens, N.H., Roberts, G., Vaughn, S., & Fogarty, M. (submitted 2015). Project Connect-IT (Connecting Text by Inference and Technology): Development of a Text-Integration Intervention for Middle School Students with Comprehension Difficulties. U.S. Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences (CFDA: 84.324). Grant # R324A160052. Total Award Requested: $1,500,000 for three years (2016-2019). Status: Funded, project ongoing.
Research to Practice: Intensive Intensive Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities and Emotional/ Behavioral Disorders.
Bryant, D.P., Vaughn, S.R., & Clemens, N.H. (submitted 2017). Research to Practice: Intensive Intensive Interventions for Students with Learning Disabilities and Emotional/ Behavioral Disorders. Doctoral training/personnel preparation grant submitted to U.S. Department of Education, OSERS-OSEP: Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Leadership Personnel (CFDA Number 84.325D). Budgeted $1,948,525 for five years. Status: Funded, project ongoing.
Development of and Intervention to Improve Reading Efficiency for Students with or At-Risk for Word Reading Disability
This four-year project will develop an intervention to improve word- and text-reading efficiency for students in grades 2 through 4 with word-level reading difficulties (i.e., with or at-risk for dyslexia).
Investigating the Technical Adequacy of Progress Monitoring Measures for Kindergarten Students at-risk for Reading Disabilities
Clemens, N.H., Hagan-Burke, S., Al-Otaiba, S., Kwok, O., & Simmons, D. (submitted 2012). Investigating the Technical Adequacy of Progress Monitoring Measures for Kindergarten Students at-risk for Reading Disabilities. U.S. Department of Education, Institute Education Sciences (CFDA: 84.324A). Grant# R324A130214. Budgeted $1,599,401 for 4 years (2013-2017). Status: Funded; study and project complete.
Investigating Measures for Monitoring the Growth of Kindergarten Reading Skills
Clemens, N.H. (submitted 2011). Investigating Measures for Monitoring the Growth of Kindergarten Reading Skills. Society for the Study of School Psychology, Early Career Award. Budgeted $12,248 for two years (2011-2013). Status: Funded, project complete.
Deans Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Endowed Faculty Fellows Fund, The University of Texas at Austin, College of Education (2020)
Fellow, Audrey Rogers Myers Centennial Professorship in Education, The University of Texas at Austin, College of Education (2018)
Article of the Year Honorable Mention, School Psychology Review, National Association of School Psychologists (2018)
Mollie Villeret Davis Professorship in Learning Disabilities, The University of Texas at Austin, College of Education (2016)
Lightner Witmer Award for outstanding early-career scholarship, American Psychological Association, Division 16 (2015)
Distinguished Achievement Award for Teaching, College-Level Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University (2015)
Early Career Scholar, School Psychology Research Collaboration, Society for the Study of School Psychology (2011)
Outstanding Dissertation Award, American Psychological Association, Division 16 (2010)
Irwin Hyman Memorial Scholarship Recipient, American Academy of School Psychology (2008)
Clinton E Moore (Supervisor)Clint Moore is a PhD student studying special education at the University of Texas and is currently working as an interventionist for the Meadows Center. He has almost a decade of experience working in special education classrooms ranging from the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired to American YouthWorks, and in the Marfa and Lake Travis school districts. Prior to his work in education he obtained a JD with a focus on criminal...
| Year | Semester | Course |
|---|
| 2024 | Spring | SED 695SB: Professional Seminar |
| 2023 | Fall | SED 695SA: Professional Seminar |
| 2023 | Spring | SED 695SB: Professional Seminar |
| 2023 | Spring | SED 395D: Seminar Lrning Disab: Reading |
| 2022 | Fall | SED 695SA: Professional Seminar |
| 2022 | Spring | SED 695SB: Professional Seminar |
| 2021 | Fall | SED 695SA: Professional Seminar |
| 2021 | Spring | SED 395D: Seminar Lrning Disab: Reading |
| 2021 | Spring | SED 695SB: Professional Seminar |
| 2020 | Fall | SED 695SA: Professional Seminar |
| 2020 | Spring | SED 695SB: Professional Seminar |
| 2019 | Fall | SED 695SA: Professional Seminar |
| 2019 | Spring | SED 695SB: Professional Seminar |
| 2019 | Spring | SED 395D: Lrning Disablties: Reading |
| 2018 | Fall | SED 695SA: Professional Seminar |
| 2018 | Spring | SED 695SB: Professional Seminar |
| 2017 | Fall | SED 695SA: Professional Seminar |
| 2017 | Spring | SED 383: 10-Intrvntns: Reading Disablts |
Decoding Reading
My blog about translating research and theory about reading into better reading instruction and assessment.
