Although the generalized deterministic inputs, noisy "and" gate model (G-DINA; de la Torre, 2011) is a general cognitive diagnosis model (CDM), it does not account for the heterogeneity that is rooted from the existing latent groups in the population of examinees. To address this, this study proposes the mixture G-DINA model, a CDM that…

Giving quizzes to get students to read may continue to be misunderstood, even grossly undervalued. Using a quiz to encourage (enforce) reading plays a significant role not only in students learning content of their chosen field, but also as the critical first step toward an awakening of the mind--or, at the very least, the mind being more…

With the increasing use of automated scores in operational testing settings comes the need to understand the ways in which they can yield biased and unfair results. In this paper, we provide a brief survey of some of the ways in which the predictive methods used in automated scoring can lead to biased, and thus unfair automated scores. After…

Although much research exists on digital reading, confusion about literacy terminology persists. Inspired by a recent article in "Reading Research Quarterly," the authors explore a multifaceted heuristic of digital reading developed by Julie Coiro. The heuristic, which offers a way to systematically organize, label, and define complex…

Reading comprehension is not a skill someone learns and can then apply in different reading contexts. It is one of the most complex activities that readers engage in on a regular basis, and the ability to comprehend is dependent upon a wide range of knowledge and skills. Despite a common view about comprehension, several lines of enquiry have…

The concept of emergent literacy presents the view that from the time they are born, young children develop their knowledge about language and literacy through their sociocultural interactions with others. Emergent literacy encompasses knowledge about the alphabet, letter sounds, words, and language, and such skills are predictive of future…

The purpose of this article is to discuss issues of language, specifically African American Vernacular English (AAVE), as it relates to the reading performance of African American children. Previous research on the science of reading provides a research-based framework that is a starting point for evidence-based research that can be used to…

Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education began collecting literacy screening assessment data from schools and districts participating in certain state grants in order to analyze patterns of performance to inform improvement efforts. These assessments, which were selected from a list…

This technical assistance paper provides policy and guidance to individuals with test administration responsibilities in adult education programs. There are four important reasons for creating a data-driven accountability system for adult education programs: (1) WIOA mandates that states develop a data-driven accountability system to establish and…

Full-information item analysis provides item developers and reviewers comprehensive empirical evidence of item quality, including option response frequency, point-biserial index (PBI) for distractors, mean-scores of respondents selecting each option, and option trace lines. The multi-serial index (MSI) is introduced as a more informative…

In 2012, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that learning to read is a fundamental human right and failure to provide appropriate education for students with reading disabilities is discriminatory (Moore v. British Columbia, 2012). In Ontario, Canada's most populous province, the Human Rights Commission's inquiry in 2022 found the province's…

Group differences in test scores are a key metric in education policy. Response time offers novel opportunities for understanding these differences, especially in low-stakes settings. Here, we describe how observed group differences in test accuracy can be attributed to group differences in latent response speed or group differences in latent…

The task of college admissions officers is to identify applicants who are likely prepared to succeed at their institution. While student preparation is the domain of the continually changing K-12 educational landscape, it is left to college admission officers to evaluate the extent of that preparation on a student-by-student basis. In the effort…

Educators use reading comprehension assessments to summarize academic achievement, make decisions in diagnostic evaluations, and identify intervention needs. A challenge, however, with using different assessments in practice is that student performance may change depending on which assessment is administered. This article guides educators in…

Reading comprehension is a critical skill for student success in school, the workplace, and daily life, yet many students display significant reading comprehension deficits. This article describes the impact effective strategy instruction can have on the reading outcomes of students with learning disabilities and related challenges. A discussion…