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…

North Carolina policymakers are interested in which screening and monitoring assessment scores in grades K-3 best predict reading proficiency at the end of grade 3 in order to help educators identify at-risk students, place them in interventions, and monitor their progress. Since 2013, the state has routinely administered screening and monitoring…

More than half of North Carolina's grade 3 students struggle with reading. The percentage of students scoring below proficient in reading at the end of grade 3 was 55 percent in 2017/18. That percentage has remained largely unchanged, at above 50 percent, since 2013/14, when North Carolina passed its K-3 Read to Achieve literacy act. Read to…

More than half of North Carolina's grade 3 students struggle with reading. The percentage of students scoring below proficient in reading at the end of grade 3 was 55 percent in 2017/18. That percentage has remained largely unchanged, at above 50 percent, since 2013/14, when North Carolina passed its K-3 Read to Achieve literacy act. Read to…

The authors used nationally based, random sample data from three different years (2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2014-2015) for nearly 20,000 first-grade students (n = 9,760, 3,657, and 3,121, respectively) to examine long-reported inadequacies of a commonly used early literacy assessment tool, the Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement…

Many adolescents struggle with reading comprehension, despite an emphasis on reading instruction over recent decades. Evidence suggests that informational text is particularly challenging for students. To implement assessments within a multi-tiered framework, schools must have psychometrically adequate tools. Using data of 473 students in Grades 6…

Educators need recommendations to improve screening practices without limiting students' instructional opportunities. Repurposing previous years' state test scores has shown promise in identifying at-risk students within multitiered systems of support. However, researchers have not directly compared the diagnostic accuracy of previous years' state…

The purpose of this study was to assess the added value of dynamic assessment (DA) beyond more conventional static measures for predicting individual differences in year-end 1st-grade calculation (CA) and word-problem (WP) performance, as a function of limited English proficiency (LEP) status. At the start of 1st grade, students (129 LEP; 163…

A valid screening system requires a screener that accurately predicts whether or not students are at risk given their current performance. To understand a screening measure's accuracy, predicted student performance data (i.e., screening data) must be compared with actual performance data. When these sets of data are compared in a setting where…

Examined construction of different predictive models for readiness for first grade, using data from prekindergarten screening. Found 45.6 percent to 75.9 percent of the children correctly classified. Results indicate that less emphasis should be given to collecting historical screening data and that many social/emotional problems may go undetected…

Data on the early prediction of learning problems was summarized by a meta analysis of 58 studies reporting correlations between measures administered in kindergarten or first grade and later reading achievement. The best single predictors of achievement were attention-distractibility, internalizing behavior problems, and language variables.…

This study sought to determine predictors of serious antisocial behaviors through use of multiple gating screening procedures. Kindergarten boys in 54 Montreal (Quebec, Canada) schools were assessed; then boys with high aggressiveness-hyperactivity-distractibility scores were observed for task-inappropriate behaviors and rated on inattention and…

Performance on the Mid-Primary Screening Battery (MPS) at the time of school-entry was found to be related to a student's eventual level of academic success in high school. Other related variables identified in a multiple regression analysis include the years of education of the father, the sex of the student, the years participating in the…

A program for early identification of children who are a high risk for failure in a primary French immersion program was undertaken in Ontario, Canada. As the last year of a three-year project, the investigation was designed to identify a set of variables predictive of success or failure in the primary program. The predictive validity of measures…

This study examined a new screening tool (Get Ready to Read) for assessing early reading skills in 73 three-year-old and 79 four-year-old children from low-income families and relating performance to more extensive assessments of phonological sensitivity and language skills (vocabulary and print knowledge) that have been found to be related to the…