This study investigates the effect of Jordanian Eleventh grade students' self-assessment on their performance in reading in English. The sample of the study consisted of an experimental group and a control group; each group consisted of two eleventh grade sections (67 male and 69 female students). A reading test was developed and its validity and…

This study estimated normative reading trajectories for the population of English-proficient language minority students attending U.S. public elementary schools. Achievement of English-language learners (ELLs) was evaluated in terms of native English speakers' progress, and estimates were adjusted for the effects of socioeconomic status (SES). The…

The articles in this special issue of the "Journal of Applied Testing Technology" represent significant steps forward in the area of evaluating the validity of methods for assessing the educational achievement of students with disabilities. The studies address some of the most difficult student groups to assess--students with learning…

Several studies provide preliminary evidence that computer use is positively related to academic performance; however, no clear relationship has yet been established. Using a national database, we analyzed how students' school behavior (i.e., evaluated by English and math teachers) and standardized test scores (e.g., math and reading) are related…

The purpose of this study was to compare teacher and student perceptions of motivation for reading. Motivational constructs were theoretically derived from previous work on efficacy and task orientation. First-grade students and teachers were asked to complete parallel reading motivation questionnaires. Results suggest both first-grade teachers…

There is considerable interest and controversy in the community concerning how our students are faring in the task of mastering reading. Broad scale assessment, formerly at a State level and now at a National level (NAPLAN), is potentially valuable in helping answer this question in a broad sense. However, there are limitations to the value of…

This study investigated the usefulness of the bifactor model in the investigation of score equivalence from computerized and paper-and-pencil formats of the same reading tests. Concerns about the equivalence of the paper-and-pencil and computerized formats were warranted because of the use of reading passages, computer unfamiliarity of primary…

Tests of academic progress such as those enforced by No Child Left Behind Act are the only practical way to hold schools accountable for educating all children and are therefore essential to the twin aims of quality and fairness. Many of the complaints against the No Child Left Behind law pertain to the supposedly harmful influence of intensive…

This technical report describes the development of fifth grade progress monitoring measures in the area of Passage Reading Fluency. This measure was designed to target the fluency component of a developmental model of reading. Twenty alternate forms were written by graduate students and reviewed by the lead author. The passages were piloted and…

This study examined the relationships of 3 levels of reading fluency--the individual word, the syntactic unit, and the whole passage--to reading comprehension among 278 5th graders heterogeneous in reading ability. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that reading fluency at each level related uniquely to performance on a standardized reading…

Because parameter estimates from different calibration runs under the IRT model are linearly related, a linear equation can convert IRT parameter estimates onto another scale metric without changing the probability of a correct response (Kolen & Brennan, 1995, 2004). This study was designed to explore a new approach to finding a linear…

There is a cause-and-effect relationship between teaching practices and learners' success. A key challenge faced by elementary schools is finding effective ways to help all students develop the skills to be successful students. The use of tutorial instruction is often required for students to experience success in the classroom. The efforts…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of Whole Faculty Study Groups on student achievement and teacher practices in grades K-3 of a Nebraska school district. Whole-Faculty Study Groups (WFSG) are a type of professional learning community (PLC). Using a mixed method approach, both K-3 student scores on Dynamic Indicators of Basic…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between stress, coping resources, and academic achievement in fourth-grade urban youth. The intent was to examine if students' perceptions of their stress and coping resources could predict reading and math achievement. The data were collected from 24 low-income African American students…

In this technical report, we provide the results of a series of studies on the technical adequacy of the early reading measures available on the easyCBM[R] assessment system. The results from the two-level hierarchical linear growth model analyses suggest that the reliability of the slope estimates for the easyCBM[R] reading measures are strong,…