A growing body of research suggests that growth in early literacy skills, including letter sound fluency, is predictive of later reading outcomes. In turn, educators and school psychologists use measures of letter sound fluency to monitor student response to early reading instruction. Limited research has evaluated whether decision-making…

Recent research suggests using multiple screening measures to identify students at risk for academic difficulties may decrease the number of students incorrectly identified as such. Gated frameworks in which students that score below a cut-score on an initial measure are assessed with a follow-up measure have been recommended. Researchers have…

This direct replication study compared the use of dichotomized likelihood ratios and interval likelihood ratios, derived using a prior sample of students, for predicting math risk in middle school. Data from the prior year state test and the Measures of Academic Progress were analyzed to evaluate differences in the efficiency and diagnostic…

The current study evaluated whether goal-setting practices that account for seasonal developmental patterns of reading growth decreased the number of weeks data needed to be collected in order to yield accurate response to intervention decisions for a sample of 224 third-grade students. The extent to which more complex decision-making practices…

The accuracy of decision rules for progress monitoring data is influenced by multiple factors. This study examined the accuracy of decision rule recommendations with over 4,500 second-and third-grade students receiving a tier II reading intervention program. The sensitivity and specificity of three decision rule recommendations for predicting…

The current study evaluated the degree to which novice visual analysts could discern trends in simulated time-series data across differing levels of variability and extreme values. Forty-five novice visual analysts were trained in general principles of visual analysis. One group received brief training on how to identify and omit extreme values.…

Common universal screening methods for determining math risk in middle school grades may not result in optimal diagnostic accuracy. We evaluated current screening practices and several potential modifications for predicting math proficiency on an end-of-year state test in a suburban school district. Previously, the district used the Measures of…

Single-case designs provide an established technology for evaluating the effects of academic interventions. Researchers interested in studying the long-term effects of reading interventions often use curriculum-based measures of reading (CBM-R) as they possess many of the desirable characteristics for use in a time-series design. The reliability…

School psychologists regularly use decision rules to interpret student response to intervention in reading. Recent research suggests that the accuracy of those decision rules depends on the duration of progress monitoring, the number of observations available, and the amount of measurement error present. In this study, we extended existing…

We used existing reading (n = 1,498) and math (n = 2,260) data to evaluate state test scores for screening middle school students. In Phase 1, state test data were used to create a research-derived cut score that was optimal for predicting state test performance the following year. In Phase 2, those cut scores were applied with future cohorts.…

Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) is a repeatable and efficient method of behavior assessment that is used to document teacher perceptions of student behavior in the classroom. Time-series data can be graphically plotted and visually analyzed to evaluate patterns of behavior or intervention effects. This study evaluated the decision accuracy of novice…

Several states have changed their statewide achievement tests over the past 5 years. These changes may pose difficulties for educators tasked with identifying students in need of additional support. This study evaluated the stability of decision-making accuracy estimates across changes to the statewide achievement test. We analyzed extant data…

We examined the diagnostic accuracy and efficiency of three approaches to universal screening for reading difficulties using retrospective data from 1,307 students in Grades 3 through 5. School staff collected screening data using the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a curriculum-based measure (CBM), and running records (RR). The criterion…

Educators, school psychologists, and other professionals must evaluate student progress and decide to continue, modify, or terminate instructional programs to ensure student success. For this purpose, progress-monitoring data are often collected, plotted graphically, and visually analyzed. The current study evaluated the impact of three common…

The current study explored multiple ways in which middle schools can use and integrate data sources to predict proficiency on future high-stakes state achievement tests. The diagnostic accuracy of (a) prior achievement data, (b) teacher rating scale scores, (c) a composite score combining state test scores and rating scale responses, and (d) two…