The Grade 5 Informational Text Reading Inventory (ITRI) was developed to address the specific reading challenges that grade 5 students encounter when reading their textbooks and other informational text. In fifth grade, students are expected not only to comprehend difficult passages, but also to extend their comprehension through drawing…

Federal policy on alternate assessment based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MAS) inspired this research. Specifically, an experimental study was conducted to determine whether tests composed of modified items would have the same level of reliability as tests composed of original items, and whether these modified items helped reduce…

This study investigated the effects of using modified items in achievement tests to enhance accessibility. An experiment determined whether tests composed of modified items would reduce the performance gap between students eligible for an alternate assessment based on modified achievement standards (AA-MAS) and students not eligible, and the…

This report presents the deliberations of the Midwest Regional Advisory Committee (MW RAC), one of 10 RACs established under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. sections 9601 et. seq.) to assess the educational needs of the region. The committee's report outlines the educational needs across the seven states of Illinois,…

Research was conducted to evaluate how well the "Indiana Reading Assessment--Kindergarten" evaluates various reading skills of kindergarten students. Multiple analyses were conducted; while the results of all the analyses were encouraging, the results derived from the concurrent validity study were most significant. All correlations were…

The materials included in this manual are organized according to the Indiana's Kindergarten Academic Standards for English/Language Arts. In each section teachers will find: (1) Indiana's Kindergarten Academic Standards for English/Language Arts Assessments: Black Line Masters of diagnostic/practice pages for skill areas, checklists, and rubrics;…

The materials included in this manual are organized according to the Indiana Grade 1 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts. In each section teachers will find: (1) Indiana Grade 1 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts; (2) Assessments: diagnostic/practice pages for skill areas, checklists, and rubrics; (3) Classroom Activities:…

The materials included in this manual are organized according to the Indiana Grade 2 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts. In each section teachers will find: (1) Indiana Grade 2 Academic Standards for English/Language Arts Assessment Tools: diagnostic/practice pages for skill areas, checklists, and rubrics; (2) Classroom Activities:…

The Informational Text Reading Inventory (ITRI) was created when the Center for Innovation in Assessment (CIA) observed that students in grade four experience a significant drop in performance in all of their subject areas. CIA researched solutions and identified the critical issue as the students' struggle to apply the reading skills they have…

Research was conducted to evaluate how well the "Indiana Reading Assessment--Grade 1" evaluates various reading skills of grade one students. Multiple analyses were conducted; while the results of all the analyses were encouraging, the results derived from the concurrent validity study were most significant. All the correlations were…

Research was conducted to evaluate how well the "Indiana Reading Assessment--Grade 2" evaluates various reading skills of grade two students. Multiple analyses were conducted; while the results of all the analyses were encouraging, the results derived from the concurrent validity study were most significant. Correlations were either…

At the heart of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the call for all students to be "proficient" in reading and mathematics by 2014. Yet the law expects each state to define proficiency as it sees fit and design its own tests. This study investigated three research questions related to this policy: (1) How consistent are various…