Data from a large racially representative sample of school children show that the trend toward placing minority students into special education classes in disproportionate numbers has been complicated by the introduction of the learning-disability (LD) category. While the proportion of blacks in classes for the mentally retarded has decreased with the recent emphasis on protection in evaluation, the increased proportion of blacks in LD classes has been so great that the result has been an increasingly disproportionate number of blacks in special education classes overall. This is in spite of national efforts to the contrary.
Curriculum-based assessment for instructional design and curriculum-based measurement both involve measurements of reading fluency, which are often interpreted through comparisons to local norms. However, local norms are not always available and some scholars argue for a criterion-referenced approach when making instructional decisions. The current study examined the relationship between reading fluency and comprehension by having 49 third-and fourth-grade students orally read four passages from standardized reading assessment tools with an incremental increased percentage (0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%) of scrambled words. The number of words read correctly/minute and percentage of comprehension questions correctly answered were recorded. A suggested criterion of approximately 50 words/minute was found using the mean fluency rate of the highest passage in which students demonstrated adequate comprehension, but a wide range of normalcy was also noted. Suggestions for future research are included.
The use of Gickling's model of Curriculum-Based Assessment (CBA) has been shown to increase student achievement. However, data are lacking to support the psychometric adequacy of the procedure. This study examined the interscorer, alternate-form, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of CBA for reading using 93 elementary school aged children. The data were expressed as a percentage of words known and as conversions to the independent, instructional, and frustrational level based on Gickling and Rosenfield (1995). Results suggested reliability coefficients that exceeded recommended levels for screening instruments and were consistent with the fluency model of CBA. Recommendations for practice and further investigation are included.
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