A group of 21 adults with moderate intellectual disabilities were administered language assessment, reading, spelling, informal writing, and phonics tests. Most had difficulties with oral language, memory, and psycholinguistic or psychomotor skills. Opportunities to talk with skilled language users about written text were important to developing…

Summarizes educators' and researchers' concerns regarding the use and misuse of standardized reading tests. Suggests a different model for reading assessment. (RS)

A total of 413 students in grades 1-6 were administered the Basic Academic Skills Samples, the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests, and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. Although the relationships among the three tests were reasonably strong, it appeared that the measures did not identify identical populations of at-risk students. (Author/JDD)

Investigates whether the vocabulary of written comprehension questions is an independent factor in determining students' reading comprehension performance. Finds that academic vocabulary in comprehension questions significantly decreased question-answering performance. Computes simple, multiple, and semipartial correlations between vocabulary…

Offers a preliminary assessment of the new Arizona Student Assessment Program (ASAP). Uses James Squire's model for analyzing reading and writing processes to analyze how well the tests assess reading processes. Includes some sample ASAP forms. Finds that the problems are minor in terms of evaluating the overall effectiveness of the new…

Investigated alternative reading monitoring measures in addition to time-consuming oral reading fluency assessment. Examined measures suitable for automatic data collection and scoring using computers and acceptable as measures of reading comprehension. Assessed criterion validity of four such measures and identified subset of measures. (Author/NB)

Examines variables including handwriting, English mechanics, number of words written, average T-unit length, type of correct answers, and unrelated responses on which male and female adolescents in grades 7 and 10 were hypothesized to differ when producing constructed responses. Results suggest that further studies need to define and separate the…

Examined the validity and reliability of the 1995-96 reading/language arts portfolio assessment developed in the Dallas (Texas) public schools for prekindergarten through second grade. Ratings by 42 teachers show that portfolio contents do not provide a valid sample of student work and the assessment reliability is low. (SLD)

Examines the incremental validity of Differential Ability Scales (DAS) factor scores in predicting standardized achievement scores in Word Reading, Basic Number Skills, and Spelling by using a nationally representative sample stratified on gender, ethnicity, geographic region, parental education, and educational classification. Results show that…

Examines the reliability, validity, and sensitivity of experimental measures developed to assess three areas of early literacy: phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and fluency in letter naming. Results indicate which measures display adequate psychometric properties for kindergartners not yet reading. Experimental measures were less…

Evaluates the Dutch Text Comprehension Test, developed to help improve the education of secondary school minority students in the Netherlands. Finds the test proved reliable for both L1 students and L2 students. Suggests, although classification results were not optimal, the test can be used for diagnostic purposes provided a relatively large…

The interrelation of 4 achievement tests was investigated with 202 students (mean age 11) with specific learning disabilities. Although, in general, achievement subtests claiming to measure the same academic construct were moderately to strongly related, significant mean differences were present on several measures claiming to measure the same…

Considers how the topic of accountability and high-stakes testing has become more critical given the heightened visibility and importance of tests and test results. Notes that trends indicate that scrutiny of public schools and assessment will increase and that students need and deserve to have the best information available regarding effective…

Presents a cognitive theory of learning to read and examples of how its theoretical constructs can be measured. Measures of five phonological processing constructs were administered to 161 kindergarten children. Phonological awareness, naming speed, and letter recognition were the most frequent significant predictors of reading achievement in…

Discusses the move from whole language to phonics instruction in Los Angeles schools in an effort to rescue plummeting reading scores. (Author/VWL)