Assessment for Effective Intervention

Despite a growing body of research, the ability to accurately identify which young children are at risk of developing reading disabilities remains elusive. The purpose of this article is to describe the issues that complicate early identification and to suggest possible avenues for exploration. Major issues facing early identification efforts include the type of measures used for screening, timing, definition of classification accuracy, and the criteria for "at risk" and "reading disabled" status. As a possible solution, we propose that the addition of growth measures may yield more accurate classification.

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) bridges traditional psychometric and classroom-based observational assessment paradigms to forge an innovative approach to measurement, with several advantages over traditional and other forms of classroom assessment. This article provides a framework for extending CBM in two ways. First, the authors explain how CBM may be used effectively and efficiently to fulfill the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) accountability requirement of No Child Left Behind and how such an approach may be linked to special education accountability. Second, with the goal of tracking AYP across the elementary school grades, the authors introduce a system of CBM indicators that extends the CBM passage reading fluency task down to the beginning of kindergarten and up through the end of sixth grade. Across these two extensions to CBM, the goal is to provide a seamless approach to progress monitoring in reading across the elementary grades and across general and special education.

Most students who receive special education services have significant difficulties with reading. Because teachers are considered the major source of referral for special education services, they must know the characteristic reading behaviors that distinguish students with reading disabilities. The purpose of this study was to validate literature-based reading behaviors by professionals who work with students with reading disabilities (RD) and to identify those behaviors that predict reading disabilities. Utilizing a rating scale developed from the neuropsychological and learning disability literature, 391 professionals were asked to identify reading behaviors in their poor readers identified as having learning disabilities (LD). Findings from t-test analyses revealed statistically significant differences between students with LD who had reading disabilities and students with LD without reading disabilities, affirming the literature-based group of behaviors that constitute reading disability. Additionally, reading rate was found to be most predictive of reading disability in the LD group with reading disabilities. Implications include characteristic reading behaviors that can be used with other reading measures during screening and diagnosis and that can be considered when planning remedial intervention programs.

Dimensions of instruction and assessment were manipulated within a tertiary prevention to examine their effects on word and text reading development. In this article case studies of two children who demonstrated significant and sustained lack of adequate response to treatment are profiled. Results indicated that reducing group size, using formative assessment, and implementing mastery learning criteria produced positive trends on indicators of oral reading fluency. Students' reading outcomes provide evidence of the importance of timely data-based instructional adjustments.

Generally, experts agree on what good readers do to comprehend text—they connect new text with past experiences, interpret, evaluate, synthesize, and consider alternative interpretations. Yet, traditional measures of reading comprehension only provide a general indicator of how well a student understands text. They do not provide information about how the student uses cognitive and metacognitive processes or explain why a student may be struggling. This article discusses various traditional and innovative reading comprehension assessment measures, including standardized norm-referenced tests, informal reading inventories, interviews and questionnaires, anecdotal records and observations, oral retelling, freewriting, and think-aloud procedures. For each technique relative strengths and weaknesses are described.