This study examined the relationship between scores on "speeded" cognitive and academic tests and the need for the accommodation of extended test time for normally achieving students (NA) and students with learning disabilities (LD). Often, in postsecondary settings the decision to provide the accommodation of extended test time is based…

Oral reading fluency is a good predictor of performance on state reading assessments. The present study addressed the issue of bias by examining whether oral reading fluency scores differentially predict performance on a state reading assessment and the Metropolitan Achievement Tests, 7th Edition (MAT/7) across economic and racial groups.…

Literacy is a term that has been defined many ways, with definitions ranging from those that are very narrow to those that are very broad. Among the more wide sweeping was that of the 1991 National Literacy Act, which defined literacy as a wide range of language tasks associated with everyday life, including those "necessary to function on…

Anyone who has worked as a teacher or principal in an elementary school understands the value of reliable and valid assessments of early reading progress. In order to implement an effective reading program, schools should have a coordinated plan for using screening, progress monitoring, diagnostics and outcome measures to guide instruction and to…

Reading is the most basic of skills. Reading provides access to other skills and knowledge, facilitates life-long learning, and opens doors to opportunity. The National Institute for Literacy is authorized by the U.S. Congress to collect and disseminate information on the components of reading and the findings from scientific research. The…

Despite a body of evidence that curriculum-based measurement of reading (R-CBM) is a valid measure of general reading achievement, some school-based professionals remain unconvinced. At the core of their argument is their experience with word callers, students who purportedly can read fluently, but do not understand what they read. No studies have…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has increased the role of assessment in K-12 education. Designed to ensure that all students meet high academic standards, the law currently requires states receiving Title I funds to test all children annually in reading and math in grades 3 through 8 and report student performance disaggregated by poverty,…

This technical report provides data on the extent to which progress monitoring measures explain reading achievement. The four progress monitoring measures discussed are: letter sounding, phonemic segmentation, oral reading fluency, and comprehension given in either oral or written form. These measures were administered to first grade students in…