We present an aggregation scheme that increases power in randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiments when the intervention possesses a robust and well-articulated theory of change. Intervention studies using longitudinal data often include multiple observations on individuals, some of which may be more likely to manifest a treatment effect…

The Grade 3 Informational Text Reading Inventory (ITRI) was developed to address the specific reading challenges that grade 3 students encounter as they move from reading largely narrative textbooks in grade 2 to being expected to read and comprehend more dense and content-driven text in grade 3. This booklet contains all of the information…

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…

This article reviews the development of the Early Grade Reading and Mathematics Assessments (EGRA and EGMA), which are locally tailored, timely assessments designed to directly inform policy and instruction for learning improvement, particularly for countries on the lower end of the income spectrum. The history of the design and implementation of…

Language-use strategies are considered potentially effective approaches that learners select to accomplish a second- or foreign-language task. In the past three decades, there has been a proliferation of research concerned with learners' strategy use at different levels of language ability and the influence of L1 learner strategies on L2 language…

The purpose of this study was to improve the utility of retell protocols by more clearly identifying the testing conditions under which students demonstrate better performance. The research questions concern whether the wording of the initial prompt, the inclusion of a follow-up prompt, or the opportunity to silently re-read the passage is related…

A well-established principle in the literature on learning, which maintains that variability of practice enhances long-term retention, served as the foundation of a summer program intended to ameliorate reading skills in incoming freshmen. During a 4-week period, students received reading instruction in the context of four areas: humanities,…

Provides a critical and comparative analysis of the major commercially produced informal reading inventories. Offers recommendations for those who are considering purchasing or using one of the inventories. (FL)

Compared the rate of literacy acquisition in orthographically transparent Welsh and orthographically opaque English using reading tests that were equated for frequency of written exposure. Year 2 English-educated monolingual children were compared with Welsh-educated bilingual children, matched for reading instruction, background, locale, and math…

Argues that giving students a reading test that is above or below their levels of achievement will yield inaccurate information. (FL)

Noting that in recent years testing has fallen into disrepute, this paper demonstrates how the construction, use, and validation of tests, if adequately conceived, can increase the level of knowledge about the intricate nature of the reading processes. The first section of the paper discusses the measurement process and the process of test…

Two experiments were conducted to determine the emergent reading levels of elementary school students. In the first experiment, 27 third grade and 27 sixth grade students of average reading ability from rural schools in central Florida were given pretest and posttest cloze passages on science materials two readability levels above their grade…

Reviews research dealing with test wiseness and concludes that teachers and others who administer tests and those who review results should consider the degree to which test wiseness characteristics might have been operative had a planned effort been undertaken to provide special instruction. (FL)

Discusses what the term "High-Stakes Testing" means; concerns about high-stakes testing; whether testing is an important part of good educational design; why using tests for high-stakes decisions causes problems; whether test scores improve when high-stakes assessment is mandated; and ways to help states monitor student success in the curriculum.…