The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has a partnership with NWEA for the development of the 2024 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Tests. Teachers from across the State work with NYSED in a variety of activities to ensure the validity and reliability of the New York State Testing Program (NYSTP). The 2024 Grades 3 and 4 English Language…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study explores how teachers described their perceptions within a mandated reading program, as the program supported reading comprehension skills for students in second, third, and fourth grade at three public elementary schools in Upstate New York. The theoretical foundation of this study was established…

Screening and monitoring student reading progress can be costly and time consuming. Assessment embedded within the context of online instructional programs can capture ongoing student performance data while limiting testing time outside of instruction. This paper presents two studies that examined the validity of using performance measures from a…

Much research has been conducted on reading levels of elementary school students. Teachers search for learning experiences that lend inclusion to all genders and levels. How does this all lay out for the students? The initial trial of the study looks into the impact and differences of gender and/or reading level on areas such as school enjoyment,…

This study involved examination of the validity evidence of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills-Next Edition (DIBELS Next) for a sample of 85 third-and fifth-grade students, in reference to the "simple view" of reading. Tests administered included DIBELS Next, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IV (PPVT-IV), Group Reading…

Reading comprehension--the ability to understand the meaning of text--is a foundational ability that enables children to learn in school and throughout life. Children who struggle with reading comprehension in the third or fourth grade are at high risk for dropping out of school, with detrimental effects on their future employment, income, and…

Students not reading proficiently by the end of 3rd grade are four times more likely than proficient readers to drop out of high school. This fact and other recent research on the importance of early literacy skills have culminated in an intense focus on improving 3rd-grade reading proficiency. The challenges of improving literacy are, in turn,…

A fundamental assumption in the identification of specific learning disabilities (SLD) has been that the presence of a severe discrepancy between ability and academic achievement is a valid marker for the presence of a SLD. This assumption is based on the notion that discrepant low achievers constitute a unique group of children who are different…

The effects of tutor- or computer-assisted word recognition were assessed in a sample of third grade children. At pre-test, students' reading accuracy and fluency were evaluated on a training word list, generalization word list, and reading passages. Students were then randomly assigned to one of three group conditions--control (students practiced…

A study was conducted to address the need for the public school system to provide an enriched curriculum for classroom teachers with "at-risk" students. It also examined whether students who had been exposed to a variety of supporting and related techniques of letter recognition through systematic instruction would be able to…