This study examined the technical adequacy of Picture Word, a type of Writing Curriculum-Based Measurement, with 73 English learners (ELs) with beginning to intermediate English language proficiency in Grades 1, 2, and 3. The ELs in this study attended schools in one midwestern U.S. school district employing an English-only model of instruction…

Purpose: Analysis of narrative language samples is a recommended clinical practice in the assessment of children's language skills, but we know little about how results from such analyses relate to overall oral language ability across the early school years. We examined the relations between language sample metrics from a short narrative retell,…

We investigated influences of non-alphanumeric rapid naming on decoding skill growth for regularly and irregularly spelled English words. In a longitudinal study, 52 at-risk and 69 not-at-risk readers were tracked from Grade 1 to Grade 3. Non-alphanumeric rapid naming ability measured in Grade 1 accounted for unique variance in irregular word…

Universal screening for emotional and behavioral risk in schools facilitates early identification and intervention for students as part of multitiered systems of support. Early identification has the potential to mitigate adverse outcomes of emotional and behavioral disorders. The purpose of this study was to extend existing research on the…

Traditional measures of reading ability designed for younger students typically focus on componential skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary), and the items are often presented in a discrete and decontextualized format. The current study was designed to explore whether it was feasible to develop a more integrated, scenario-based assessment of…

Traditional measures of reading ability designed for younger students typically focus on componential skills (e.g., decoding, vocabulary) and the items are often presented in a discrete and decontextualized format. The current study was designed to explore whether it was feasible to develop a more integrated, scenario-based assessment of…

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity evidence of first-grade Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) scores for predicting third-grade reading comprehension scores. We used the "simple view" of reading as the theoretical foundation for examining the extent to which DIBELS subtest scores predict…

This study contributes to a growing body of literature focused on the role of the teacher's "invisible hand" in managing students social relationships. The authors focus on one specific aspect of attunement, teachers' social network knowledge, which they conceptualize as the completeness and accuracy of the teacher's social network…

Early childhood professional organizations support teachers as the best assessors of students' academic, social, emotional, and physical development. This study investigates the predictive nature of teacher ratings of first-grade students' performance on a standards-based curriculum-embedded performance assessment within the context of a state…

This study used data from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS; Good & Kaminski, 2002) oral reading fluency (ORF) probes to examine variation among different ORF score types (i.e., the median of three passages, the mean of all three passages, the mean of passages 2 and 3, and the score from passage 3) in predicting…

Analyses were conducted, using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class (ECLS-K) database, to compare teachers' judgment of reading skill with direct measures of reading performance for kindergarten, first grade, and third grade students. Teacher judgments of kindergarten students' reading skill significantly predicted first and…

Universal screening measures are an integral component of any tiered system of instructional delivery. Recent studies of screening measures have often excluded examinations of bias in predictive validity. The present study examined a common screening instrument for evidence of bias in predictive validity across the four disaggregation categories…

The current study examined the predictive validity of oral reading fluency measures across first, second, and third grades for two reading achievement measures at the end of third grade. Oral reading fluency measures were administered to students from first grade to third. The "Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills" and the…

Response to intervention (RTI) holds great promise for the early identification and prevention of reading disabilities. The success of RTI rests in part on the accuracy of universal screening tools used within this framework. Despite advancements, screening instruments designed to identify children at risk for reading disabilities continue to have…

The purpose of this study is to determine the predictive validity of early literacy curriculum-based measurement on high-stakes reading tests administered in grades 3, 4 and 5. This study will examine curriculum-based measurement subtests kindergarten Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Letter-Naming Fluency (LNF) and 1st grade…