Purpose: Norm-referenced, standardized measures are tools designed to characterize a child's abilities relative to their same-age peers, but they also have been used to measure changes in skills during intervention. This study compared the psychometric properties of four types of available scores from one commonly used standardized measure, the…

Recently, the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (Smarter Balanced) released a document that established initial performance levels and the associated threshold scale scores for the Smarter Balanced assessment. The report included estimated percentages of students expected to perform at each of the four performance levels, reported by grade…

In this response to Spaulding et al.'s examination of state education agency (SEA) guidance on severity ratings, these authors contend that Spaulding et al. provided an incomplete view of current practices in public schools. These authors state that, ultimately, school speech-language pathologists (SLPs) must follow all state regulations and local…

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a rapidly expanding network of public charter schools whose mission is to improve the education of low-income children. As of the 2012-2013 school year, 125 KIPP schools are in operation in 20 different states and the District of Columbia (DC). Ultimately, KIPP's goal is to prepare students to enroll and…

This study used a mixed methods methodology to investigate the reliability and validity of the Ounce Scale, an authentic, observational assessment of infants' and toddlers' development from birth through 42 months of age. Quantitative cross-sectional data were collected from 287 children and 124 teachers in seven urban Early Head Start programs;…

The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive validity of early literacy curriculum-based measurement on high-stakes reading tests administered in grades 3, 4 and 5. This study will examine curriculum-based measurement subtests kindergarten Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Letter-Naming Fluency (LNF) and 1st grade…

Describes a criterion-referenced testing program in the elementary schools of Evanston, Illinois. (IRT)

Two forms of a test of consumer competency, developed as valid, reliable, normed tests in consumer education, were given to Illinois public school students in grades 8-12. A comparison of mean scores indicated that students who had completed a consumer education course scored higher on both test forms than those who had not. Test results are shown…

Since the implementation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, the impact upon America's schools has been signicant in many areas. In a positive sense, NCLB has caused schools and school districts to examine the performance and academic achievement of subgroups, often for the first time. This examination has certainly highlighted…