The Office of Shared Accountability (OSA) in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) conducted a linking study to examine the relationship of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment with the Common Core Consortia Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment in the 2014-2015 school year. This is the…

Because of the increased emphasis on standardized testing results, scores from a high-stakes, end-of-year test (Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program [TCAP] Reading Composite) were used as the standard against which scores from a group-administered, curriculum-based measure (CBM), Monitoring Instructional Responsiveness: Reading (MIR:R), were…

There is significant debate over the value and ethics of IQ testing for children, including those from diverse cultural groups, particularly in light of studies examining performance on various subtests that are uncovering important processing differences between cultural and linguistic groups (Sotelo-Dynega, Ortiz, Flanagan, & Chaplin, 2013).…

This study examined the usefulness and predictive validity of a dynamic screening of phonological awareness in two samples of kindergarten children. In one sample (n = 90), the predictive validity of the dynamic assessment was compared to a static version of the same screening measure. In the second sample (n = 96), the dynamic screening measure…

This study compared the validity of progress monitoring slope of nonsense word fluency (NWF) and word identification fluency (WIF) with early first-grade readers. Students ("N" = 80) considered to be at risk for reading difficulty were monitored with NWF and WIF on a 1-2 week basis across 11 weeks. Reading skills at the end of first…

Literacy development is one of the most accurate predictors of academic success with motivation to read being a central component of that development. The documented decrease in reading motivation in adolescence is concerning for educators because of the strong association between reading motivation and reading performance. This motivational…

Discussions of the barriers to completion in community colleges have largely focused on student success in introductory college-level math and English courses, and rightfully so, since these courses are typically required for degrees. However, there is a much broader range of courses that also serve as "gatekeepers" in the sense that they are…

First-year students are still failing at an alarming rate. This is an international issue that universities face and there is currently no clear indication of the cause of the problem as universities move from being elite to providing mass education. This article examines the possible correlation between students' high school performance and…

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…

A longitudinal study determined if children's invented spelling served as a viable predictor of reading achievement and compared the predictive value of assessing children's invented spelling relative to other notable predictors, such as letter names, letter sounds, a concept of a word, and phonemic awareness. Subjects, 52 kindergarten children…

Compares the Bond and Tinker, and the Harris reading expectancy formulas, using 113 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders. Finds that the use of both formulas is desirable in clinical situations, but that the Harris formula is preferable if gains on standardized tests are the only criteria of success. (RL)

Teacher-Student Congruence was quantified by comparing 52-item descriptive profiles of 38 at-risk students, completed by both kindergarten teachers and receiving first-grade teachers, and reading achievement scores. Congruence in terms of student readiness, language, and perceptual/motor descriptors evidenced predictive validity. (Author/JDD)

English language assessment of non-native speakers of English (NNS) who apply for undergraduate study in the United States is examined. The analysis focuses on: the assessment of reading in light of its importance across the undergraduate curriculum, and the establishment of a base-line level of reading proficiency to which the proficiency of NNS…

To determine the most accurate means of estimating the expected grade or reading level of 61 sixth grade students, three expectancy formulas were compared to a custom regression equation from a user friendly microcomputer program. The expectancy formulas, based in part on student I.Q. and chronological age, and the regression equations were…