Universal screening in elementary schools often includes administering curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R); but in first grade, nonsense word fluency (NWF) and, to a lesser extent, word identification fluency (WIF) are used because of concerns that CBM-R is too difficult for emerging readers. This study used Kane's argument-based…

Offers a procedure that will allow classroom teachers to use standardized reading achievement test scores in order to make appropriate decisions about placing students in instructional programs. (FL)

This study compares test battery results through carefully planned analysis of actual Title I evaluation data. The goal of the study is to derive practical recommendations regarding the results of commonly used test batteries which would be helpful at the local level. A criticism of the comparability assumption underlying the Title I evaluation…

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

Growth in Test of Cognitive Skills (TCS) scores and Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) reading, math, and total achievement scores from 3rd to 10th grade was studied in 328 public school students in a middle-class suburban community. Surprisingly, groups differing in ability and achievement in 3rd grade made parallel progress over time,…

Reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) and compares the use and misuse of the test as revealed through published surveys. Finds problems in the use of the NDRT to diagnose the specific reading needs and deficiencies of low-achieving students and to measure individual growth. (CBC)

This critique brings together psychometric theory, reading theory, and social critique to analyze reading assessment and to consider the assumptions that underlie reading assessment as practiced. The chapters are: (1) "What Counts as Evidence of Reading?"; (2) "Evidence, Validity, and Assessment"; (3) "Multiple-Choice Standardized Reading Tests in…

The state-by-state comparisons of results on the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) present the literacy community with some good news and a bit of a puzzle: scores have improved, but the results cannot provide answers as to why one grade or state is doing better or worse than in the past. State-by-state results show that…

Behaviorally disturbed students were administered portions of a test battery including the Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT), and the Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test (SDMT). Results on the predictive validity of the instruments for mathematics and reading are given. (Author/ABB)

A pilot study systematically collected classroom assessment data in reading and compared that data to the students' test scores on the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP). A total of 61 teachers in 18 New York City public elementary schools gathered the data for 268 students in grades 2 through 6. Teachers identified the books their children could…

This paper describes New Jersey's High School Proficiency Test (HPST) in reading, one of three tests given to all 11th graders as a state graduation requirement. Each reading passage represents one of four test types (narrative, informational, persuasive/argumentative, and workplace). Each passage is followed by multiple-choice items and at least…

Describes an alternative method of placing students in reading groups which reduces reliance on achievement tests, yet remains manageable enough for large groups of students. Describes the six formal and informal measures used in placement: achievement test scores, IQ scores, attitude scores, current placement, grade in reading, and teacher…

Assessed correlations between 415 first graders' scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT), and their scores on standardized achievement tests in mathematics and reading in grades 3, 6, 9, and 10. Concluded that the MRT has potential for contributing to readiness decisions in early grades. (MM)

Aspirations for the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988 and more recent accountability efforts for the central office indicate that the Chicago Public School (CPS) system needs a credible system for charting academic improvement. The annual systemwide reports of student test scores are crude and sometimes seriously biased indicators for making…

A study compared teachers' assessments of students based on alternative evaluation techniques to student assessments based on standardized tests. Teachers in seven kindergarten classrooms evaluated their students (approximately 130 each year) in each of 3 successive years according to how well they had mastered a set of criteria which the teachers…