Education has continued to follow a traditional teaching model which may not prepare students with needed workforce skills. Social networking has been viewed as a technology tool useful for enhancing communication at both the business and educational level. The theory of connectivism underscores the need for social group interaction to provide…

This mixed method study investigated the schema strategy uses of fourth-grade boys with reading challenges; specifically, their ability to understand text based on two components within schema theory: tuning and restructuring. Based on the reading comprehension scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (Form 2010), four comparison groups were…

Health literacy, defined as an individual's capacity to process health information in order to make appropriate health decisions, is the focus of increasing attention in medical fields due to growing awareness that suboptimal health literacy is associated with poorer health outcomes. To explore this issue, a number of instruments, reported to have…

The ability of nonexperimental estimators to match impact estimates derived from random assignment is examined using data from the evaluation of two interdistrict magnet schools. As in previous within-study comparisons, nonexperimental estimates differ from estimates based on random assignment when nonexperimental estimators are implemented…

Early reading acquisition skills have been linked to verbal short-term memory (STM) capacity. However, the nature of this relationship remains controversial because verbal STM, like reading acquisition, depends on the complexity of underlying phonological processing skills. This longitudinal study addressed the relation between STM and reading…

This article develops a simple model of teacher value-added to show how efficient use of information across subjects can improve the predictive ability of value-added models. Using matched student-teacher data from North Carolina, we show that the optimal use of math and reading scores improves the fit of prediction models of overall future…

Despite growing use of CBM Maze in universal screening and research, little information is available regarding the number of CBM Maze probes needed for reliable decisions. The current study extends existing research on the technical adequacy of CBM Maze by investigating the number of probes and assessment durations (1-3 min) needed for reliable…

The impact of uncertainty about item parameters on test information functions is investigated. The information function of a test is one of the most important tools in item response theory (IRT). Inaccuracy in the estimation of test information can have substantial consequences on data analyses based on IRT. In this article, the major part (called…

This article introduces two new classification consistency indices that can be used when item response theory (IRT) models have been applied. The new indices are shown to be related to Rudner's classification accuracy index and Guo's classification accuracy index. The Rudner- and Guo-based classification accuracy and consistency indices are…

Little is known about the relationship of reading speed and early visual processes in normal readers. Here we examined the association of the early P1, N170 and late N1 component in visual event-related potentials (ERPs) with silent reading speed and a number of additional cognitive skills in a sample of 52 adult German readers utilizing a Lexical…

The factors determining foreign language abilities have received copious attention from foreign language studies, and these research findings provided highly converging pedagogical implications for language teachers. However, not many studies have focused on non-academic learners especially with respect to their literacy skills. To fill this gap,…

Humans are fragile beings easily influenced by the verbal behaviors of others. Spoken words can have a multitude of effects on an individual, and the phrases and statements teachers use in their classrooms on a daily basis have the potential to be either detrimental or inspirational. As increasing numbers of students arrive at schools from broken…

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of peer-mediated versus teacher-directed reading intervention on the reading performance of high school sophomores. Participants (n = 57) from the lowest 25th percentile of their sophomore class in reading were assigned randomly to peer-mediated or teacher-directed intervention. Fifteen to…

This study investigated the differences in the type and frequency of strategy use by four proficient and four less-proficient readers. Thirty female senior undergraduates majoring in TEFL at a university in Iran were given a reading comprehension test. Based on the results of their reading test, eight were chosen based on a nonrandom purposive…

The validation of ability scales describing multidimensional skills is always challenging, but not impossible. This study applies a multistage, criterion-referenced approach that uses a framework of aligned texts and reading tasks to explore the validity of the ACTFL and related reading proficiency guidelines. Rasch measurement and statistical…