Samples of entering first-grade students were used to examine the predictive validity of the group administered Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) and the individually administered Meeting Street School Screening Test (MSSST). The advantage of the latter was found to possibly outweigh the advantage of efficiency in group administration. (Author/GK)

A study was conducted to determine whether informal group assessment instruments could be used effectively to provide the same type of reading achievement information as that secured from informal individual instruments. The researchers developed group instruments comparable to individual instruments, including a group reading inventory for grades…

The Second Year Communication Skills Program (SYCSP) consists of instructional materials and procedures designed to improve the reading skills of first-grade children. The reading achievement of students was measured in 10 classrooms using the SYCSP. The Second Year Program Test, used to judge the effectiveness of the program, was administered to…

This study compared the causal attribution by sex for academic failures of 38 learning disabled and 38 nondisabled elementary school students. The relationship between different attributional tendencies and a reading persistence task were also examined. (BS)

A continuous pupil progress monitoring system was implemented in two elementary schools; 552 students and 38 educational personnel were involved. The monitoring system employed was initially designed to evaluate students receiving special services and their progress toward individual education plan reading goals. The model emphasized direct…

Legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act mandates testing accommodations in order to ensure that examinations accurately reflect the abilities of a person. This document describes different types of testing for hearing impaired and visually impaired. Individualized testing accommodations such as changes to the test directions,…

Basic Achievement Skills Individual Screener (BASIS) was designed by the Psychological Corporation to yield criterion-referenced information as well as normative scores. The constraints imposed by this dual purpose were increased by the requirements inherent in an individually-administered format and the short testing time consistent with test use…

Examines the validity of estimates of instructional reading level produced by the Reading Comprehension Test of the 1986 Metropolitan Achievement Tests (MAT). Compares reading level estimates provided by the MAT, basal reader placement tests, an informal reading inventory, and classroom teachers' judgments. Suggests that each method, because of…

This technical note describes part of the work done to develop student achievement tests in reading and mathematics for use in a later phase of the Beginning Teacher Evaluation Study. While the achievement battery consists primarily of group-administered multiple-choice test items, several individual-testing studies were conducted to examine the…

A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF THE ORAL READING OF FIRST-, SECOND-, AND THIRD-GRADE CHILDREN IS REPORTED. THE STUDY TREATS READING AS A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC PROCESS WHICH IS CUED OR MISCUED DURING THE CHILD'S INTERACTION WITH WRITTEN LANGUAGE. THE SUBJECTS WERE 100 CHILDREN ATTENDING THE SAME SCHOOL IN A DETROIT INDUSTRIAL SUBURB. EVERY SECOND CHILD ON AN…

A study of institutionalized educable mentally handicapped children (EMR's aged 6-7 to 12-6) was designed to evaluate the use of subtest combinations and learning tasks as predictors of achievement compared to single individual and group tests. Fifty-one subjects received a pretest battery of six individual tests, one group test, three learning…

The Pre-Reading Assessment Inventory (PRAI) was designed to fill a need for a wide-range, individually administered diagnostic test of a child's prereading skills (especially auditory blending and segmenting), knowledge, encoding and decoding strategies, and understandings about the reading task. The test development was based upon the research…

As part of the evaluation of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I Migrant Program, this study investigated whether teacher judgment of oral language proficiency could be used as a covariate in analyzing the reading test scores of migrant children, so that their possible lack of English proficiency could be taken into account…

Noting that accurate procedures for predicting reading ability in school settings are necessary for a variety of purposes, this paper reviews methods for predicting reading ability and presents a new, more precise model for use at the second grade level. First, the paper defines reading expectancy as an informed estimate of the level of reading…

Use of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests (WRMT), individually administered wide ranging reading tests, was explored, using Title I evaluation Models A1 and A2. Attention was focused on: (1) relationship of the Title I curriculum to the WRMT and the SRA Reading Test; (2) comparative reading achievement gains on both tests, using Model A1; and (3)…