Since classroom climate is inherently a group level phenomenon, we argue that measures shown to be valid and reliable in multi-level settings are needed. We propose a brief, 5-item measure of classroom climate and demonstrate its reliability and validity in multi-level structural equation models. The measure demonstrated good reliability and we…

This 2-year exploratory study of Multilingual Learner's performance on literacy assessments is grounded in Culturally Responsive Teaching. By examining the protocols for universal screeners and progress monitoring at one midwestern elementary school, teachers and researchers learned more about language vs. literacy-related results and discovered…

Coding ability has become an essential digital skill for young children. The graphical programming environment is valuable carrier for cultivating children's coding ability. The purpose of this study is to develop a coding ability test for children, to conduct a graphic coding intervention, and to further explore the impact of multiple factors on…

Written-expression curriculum-based measurement (WE-CBM) is used for screening and progress monitoring students with or at risk of learning disabilities (LD) for academic supports; however, WE-CBM has limitations in technical adequacy, construct representation, and scoring feasibility as grade-level increases. The purpose of this study was to…

Aural preparation is operationally defined as hearing, performing, decoding, and creating rhythms or pitches aurally prior to the introduction of music notation. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of aural preparation on second grade students' music literacy rhythm skills (i.e. reading, performing, and dictation). The research…

Developmental learning difficulties are among the prevalent exceptionalities school learners have today. In this regard, identification and placement are among the facilitators of later successful intervention for these groups of learners (WestOlatunji, Shure, Pringle, Adams, Lewis & Cholewa, 2010). However, there are not enough resources such…

Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading (CBM-R) progress monitoring data is used to measure student response to instruction. Federal legislation permits educators to use CBM-R progress monitoring data as a basis for determining the presence of specific learning disabilities. However, decision making frameworks originally developed for CBM-R…

This study reports the psychometric properties of a Basic Number Processing Test (BNPT), which was developed in order to determine elementary school students at risk for Mathematical learning disorder. A total of 478 primary school students were selected from 12 different public schools with an attempt to get a representative sample. The…

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been mainly associated with adult language learners. Although FLA forms a serious problem in the foreign language learning process for all learners, the effects of FLA on children have been mainly overlooked. The underlying reason is that there is a lack of an appropriate measurement tool for FLA among children.…

Current assessment practices in the United States are not able to accurately capture the total linguistic, cognitive, and achievement abilities of bilingual learners. There are psychometric complexities involved when assessing and interpreting test results of bilingual students, which impact the validity of this practice. Further, the compromise…

Traditional measures of reading ability designed for younger students typically focus on componential skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary), and the items are often presented in a discrete and decontextualized format. The current study was designed to explore whether it was feasible to develop a more integrated, scenario-based assessment of…

Traditional measures of reading ability designed for younger students typically focus on componential skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary) and the items are often presented in a discrete and decontextualized format. The current study was designed to explore whether it was feasible to develop a more integrated, scenario-based assessment of…

We report findings of a validity study comparing two screening tools: the Student Risk Screening Scale-Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE) and the Social Skills Improvement System-Performance Screening Guide (SSiS-PSG; Elliott & Gresham, 2007). Participants were 1,680 kindergarten through sixth-grade elementary students from three…

The validity of two measures of English reading comprehension was examined across three different groups of English language learners (ELLs; 64 Portuguese, 66 Spanish and 65 Cantonese). All three groups were achieving within the average range in second grade. An exploratory principal components analysis of reading skills was carried out to…

The Psychological Processing Checklist (PPC) is a teacher-completed rating scale published by Multi-Health Systems in North Tonawanda, New York. The checklist was published in 2003 along with a technical manual (Swerdlik, Swerdlik, & Kahn, 2003). The 35-item PPC purports to measure difficulties with psychological processing among children in…