Recent research seeks to develop more comprehensive learner models for adaptive learning software. For example, models of reading comprehension built using data from students' use of adaptive instructional software for mathematics have recently been developed. These models aim to deliver experiences that consider factors related to learning beyond…

Modeling reading comprehension processes is a critical task for Learning Analytics, as accurate models of the reading process can be used to match students to texts, identify appropriate interventions, and predict learning outcomes. This paper introduces an improved version of the Automated Model of Comprehension, namely version 4.0. AMoC has its…

Text reading fluency (TRF) is a common reading intervention target in second and third grade. TRF requires the integration of several skills that result in several pathways to dysfluent reading. However, when applying the drill-down approach to intervention targeting, practitioners are guided to consider students' rate and accuracy when reading…

Motivation for reading is important to comprehension and has been studied extensively in offline reading contexts. However, we know little about the role of motivation in online reading, a new and increasingly important context for reading. This is largely because we lack valid and reliable instruments to estimate a student's motivation for online…

Many seem to believe that researcher-made tests are unnecessary, if not inappropriate, for evaluating reading comprehension interventions. We suggest that this view reflects a zeitgeist in which researcher-made (proximal) tests that align with the researchers' interventions are closely scrutinized and often devalued, whereas commercially developed…

Response times have often been used as ancillary information to improve parameter estimation. Under the dual processing theory, assuming reading comprehension requires an automatic process, a fast, correct response is an indicator of effective automatic processing. A skilled, automatic comprehender should be high in response accuracy and low in…

Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading fluency (CBM-R) is used as an indicator of reading proficiency, and to measure at risk students' response to reading interventions to help ensure effective instruction. The purpose of this study was to compare model-based words read correctly per minute (WCPM) scores (computerized oral reading…

Purpose: Our aim was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the online administered format of the Test of Narrative Language--Second Edition (TNL-2; Gillam & Pearson, 2017), given the importance of assessing children's narrative ability and considerable absence of psychometric studies of spoken language assessments administered online.…

This paper describes an on-going project to develop a formative, inferential reading comprehension assessment of causal story comprehension. It has three features to enhance classroom use: equated scale scores for progress monitoring within and across grades, a scale score to distinguish among low-scoring students based on patterns of mistakes,…

Originally designed for students in Grades 3 through 5, MOCCA (formerly the Multiple-choice Online Causal Comprehension Assessment), identifies students who struggle with comprehension, and helps uncover why they struggle. There are many reasons why students might not comprehend what they read. They may struggle with decoding, or reading words…

To better understand the impact of using e-books on students' reading outcomes, we conducted a meta-analysis of 14 studies with students in grades K-12 published between 2007 and 2018. Findings revealed an average effect size across all studies and reading outcomes of 0.9 that did not differ significantly from zero. There was also no statistically…

Despite research demonstrating the importance of language comprehension to later reading abilities, curriculum based measures to assess language comprehension abilities in preschoolers remain lacking. The Assessment of Story Comprehension (ASC) features brief, child-relevant stories and a series of literal and inferential questions with a focus on…

The construct of reading comprehension has changed significantly in the 21st century, however, some test designs have not evolved sufficiently to capture these changes. Specifically, the nature of literacy sources and skills required has changed (wrought primarily by widespread use of digital technologies). Modern theories of comprehension and…

Reasoning skills have been clearly related to achievement in introductory undergraduate biology, a course with a high failure rate that may contribute to dropout from undergraduate STEM majors. Existing measures are focused on the experimental method, such as generating hypotheses, choosing a research method, how to control variables other than…

In this study, we developed a Reading for Meaning special education teacher observation rubric that details the elements of evidence-based comprehension instruction and tested its psychometric properties using many-faceted Rasch measurement (MFRM). Video observations of classroom instruction from 10 special education teachers across three states…