Two commonly used test types to assess vocabulary knowledge for the purpose of reading are size and levels tests. This article first reviews several frequently stated purposes of such tests (e.g., materials selection, tracking vocabulary growth) and provides a reasoned argument for the precision needed to serve such purposes. Then three sources of…

Many seem to believe that researcher-made tests are unnecessary, if not inappropriate, for evaluating reading comprehension interventions. We suggest that this view reflects a zeitgeist in which researcher-made (proximal) tests that align with the researchers' interventions are closely scrutinized and often devalued, whereas commercially developed…

This research is based on a casual-comparative design which determined the effect classroom structure had on the Black males' reading achievement. The quantitative study investigated potential differences between self-contained and departmentalized classroom organization on Black males' Grade 4 language scores on the Mississippi Curriculum Test,…

The Content Proximity Project was designed to improve the content validity of the MAP® Growth™ assessments while retaining the ability for the test to adapt off-grade and meet students wherever they are in their learning. Two main features of the project were the development of an enhanced item selection algorithm, and a spring pilot study…

Although there is an abundance of research on the association of school poverty (or socioeconomic status) and test score level, there is very little rigorous longitudinal evidence on the cumulative effects of exposure to differing school contexts. Drawing from methods used first in epidemiology and then in neighborhood effects research, we use…

This meta-analysis included experimental or quasi-experimental intervention studies conducted between 1980 and 2020 that aimed to improve reading outcomes for Grade K-5 students with or at risk for dyslexia (i.e., students with or at risk for word reading difficulties, defined as scoring at or below norm-referenced screening or mean baseline…

Vocabulary knowledge is one of the most important elements of reading comprehension. Text coverage is the proportion of known words in a given text. We hypothesize that text comprehension increases exponentially with text coverage due to network effects and activation of prior knowledge. In addition, the lexical threshold hypothesis states that…

Despite a growing focus on access to and use of emergent literacy assessment in early childhood, little is known about early childhood teachers' data practices and their associations with children's emergent literacy skills. A questionnaire was used to confirm and elaborate findings from prior qualitative work (Schachter & Piasta, 2022)…

One of the ways to acquire scientific knowledge is by reading science comics. This study aims to investigate the attitudes (e.g., reading habits, interest, motivation) of university students toward reading science comics, and how they read science comics for acquiring scientific knowledge reflected by an eye tracker. Sixty-five undergraduates were…

Measuring and identifying risk for reading difficulties at the kindergarten level is necessary for providing intervention as early as possible. The purpose of this study was to examine concurrent validity evidence of two kindergarten reading screeners, Acadience Reading and Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI), as well as diagnostic accuracy at…

Researchers suggest that claims about the meaningfulness of test score interpretations and consequences of test use should be backed by evidence that stakeholders understand the definition of the construct assessed (meaningfulness) and score reports (consequences). Evaluation of stakeholders' actual uses and interpretations of score reports in…

Two potential pathways for improving reading outcomes for students with reading disabilities are presented: (a) systematically integrating self-regulation instructional practices within reading interventions and (b) aligning small-group reading intervention with core reading instruction to reduce the pressure on the executive system. Two separate…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the story map on elementary school firstgrade students' listening and reading comprehension levels and their attitudes towards reading in literacy teaching process. It was conducted on 69 students studying in the first-grade in an elementary school in the Western Black Sea region and assigned…

To investigate the impact of universal testing accommodations on a computer-based reading comprehension test, accessibility, reliability, and validity were evaluated. Tests with and without accommodations were administered to 131 twelfth-grade students in three U.S. schools. Scores on Curriculum-Based Measurement probes determined groups of…

Contextual factors have been identified as greatly influencing students' reading performance. However, the collaborative influence of key contextual factors on students' reading performance is still elusive and warrants further exploration. Based on Walberg's educational productivity theory and Bronfenbrenner's ecological system theory,…