To provide timely and effective supports for students reading below grade level, schools require methods for quickly and accurately identifying those students in need. One method for identifying those students is through universal screening. Assessments such as oral reading fluency (ORF) and Maze reading comprehension are commonly used as…

Concerns about the ability-achievement discrepancy method for specific learning disability (SLD) determination led to alternative research-based methods, such as failure to respond to intervention. Neither of these "regulatory" methods address the "statutory" SLD definition, which explicitly includes a deficit in "basic…

Three standardized measures of short-term memory (STM) were compared to determine their relative efficacy in predicting reading achievement for 36 primary-grade students over a two-year period. A letter sequences test was found to be the most frequently associated with reading performance. A memory-for-sentences task also showed a significant…

The predictive validity and factor structure of the ABC Inventory were analyzed by comparing scores obtained by preschoolers on this test with scores on the Metropolitan Reading Test. The correlational and factor analyses results reveal significant empirical and conceptual relationships between the two tests. (Author/PC)

The mean IQ on the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT) was substantially higher than expected based on the earlier Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) scores. Sampling error and examiner error were excluded as explanations. Results suggest that the PPVT and SIT yield different scores and lack comparability. (Author)

Students (N=738) from grades one-five who exhibited behavior problems were assessed for behavioral disturbance using the Teacher's Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist. Data were analyzed to assess the form's internal consistency, accuracy in discriminating disturbed and nondisturbed students, and validity in terms of grade repetition and…

Predictive validity of a school readiness test (Preschool Screening System (PSS)) was investigated through a teacher rating scale (Rhode Island Pupil Identification Scale) to six groups of kindergarten children of both sexes (N=245). The most powerful predictor in every group was the "Information Processing" score of the PSS. (Author)

WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale in Children-Revised) Verbal and Performance scores were correlated with WRAT-R Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised scores. The verbal score was found to predict reading, spelling, and arithmetic. The performance score did not add significantly to the predictions. Results were consistent with earlier studies.…

Results of the Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Mathematics Concepts subtests of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were analyzed for sex bias. On the whole, little evidence for sex bias was found for the four subtests and three grade levels examined. (Author)

Used Light's Retention Scale totals, along with measures of achievement, and self-concept to predict academic, emotional, and social status at the end of the repeated first grade. Results suggest that Light's Retention Scale is neither reliable nor valid as a psychometric device. (Author/JAC)

Administered System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) to 700 White, 700 Black, and 700 Hispanic elementary school students. Ten years later, again tested 1,184 of original 2,100 students with SOMPA in high school. Results suggest that some subtests of the SOMPA may have some validity for predicting school achievement for students…