Examining Alphabet Writing Fluency in Kindergarten

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia S. Puranik ◽  
Melissa M. Patchan ◽  
Mary M. Sears ◽  
Kristen L. McMaster
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Writing Fluency ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Writing Assessments ◽  
School Year ◽  
Curriculum Based Measures ◽  
Student Skill ◽  
Task Measure ◽  
Fluency Task

Curriculum-based measures (CBMs) are necessary for educators to quickly assess student skill levels and monitor progress. This study examined the use of the alphabet writing fluency task, a CBM of writing, to assess handwriting fluency—that is, how well children access, retrieve, and write letter forms automatically. In the current study, the alphabet writing fluency task was administered at both the beginning and end of the kindergarten school year. Scores were calculated for two time increments, 15 and 60 s, and compared with an alphabet writing, untimed task. All three scores were compared with criterion measures of writing, including both standardized writing assessments and compositional CBMs of writing. Results indicate that measuring alphabet writing fluency using either timed tasks (15- or 60-s) at the beginning or the end of kindergarten may not be a useful or valid endeavor. In contrast, the alphabet writing, untimed task measure showed stronger correlations to criterion writing measures in comparison with the 15- and 60-s alphabet writing fluency tasks and also showed greater concurrent and predictive validity. Limitations and further areas of study are discussed.

Factorial and Predictive Validity of First Graders' Scores on the Early Reading Screening Instrument

1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Perney ◽  
Darrell Morris ◽  
Stamey Carter
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Reading Skills ◽  
First Graders ◽  
Early Reading ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Screening Instrument ◽  
Moderate Amount ◽  
School Year

The factorial and predictive validity of the Early Reading Screening Instrument was examined for 105 first grade students. Analysis indicated that the test is unidimensional and can predict first grade reading skills at the end of the school year with at least a moderate amount of accuracy. A previous study indicated predictive validity coefficients of .66 and .73 when the criteria were word recognition and reading comprehension. The current study yielded predictive validity coefficients of .67 and .70 for these criteria.

Distance Education: Applications in a Masters and Doctoral Program

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lois Ann Hesser ◽  
George Kontos
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Mail ◽  
Doctoral Program ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Compressed Video ◽  
Electronic Library ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Electronic Classroom ◽  
Bulletin Boards ◽  
Student Skill ◽  
Study Student

This article examines two graduate programs, one masters and one doctoral, that rely heavily on technological delivery systems. These systems include the use of audiobridge, videotapes, electronic mail, and compressed video. In addition, the programs utilize electronic library access, bulletin boards, and a special tool that was developed in-house, the Electronic Classroom. Included is a survey of “National Cluster” students in the doctoral program. The survey was used to assess the influence that technology, especially telecommunications, has had on the students' ability to complete their course of study, their career, and/or work status, and their personal interaction with friends and colleagues. Preliminary analysis of the survey data indicate that the instruction that these students received enabled them to perform in a positive way throughout their study. Student skill levels were increased, and the carryover to their work place was evident.

Relative Efficacy of Teacher Rankings and Curriculum-Based Measures as Predictors of Performance on High-Stakes Tests

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-167
Author(s):  
Maya A. Mingo ◽  
Sherry Mee Bell ◽  
R. Steve McCallum ◽  
D. Lakmal Walpitage
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Power ◽  
Area Under The Curve ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Risk Status ◽  
School Year ◽  
Student Reading ◽  
Reading And Math ◽  
Curriculum Based Measures

Data from 403 third graders were analyzed to determine relative and combined efficacy of group-administered Curriculum-Based Measures (CBMs) and Teacher Rankings of student reading and math performance taken early in the school year to predict end-of-year achievement scores. Teacher Rankings added to the power of CBMs to predict reading ( R2change = .18) and math ( R2change = .22). Combined CBMs and Teacher Rankings predicted at-risk status in reading (82%) and math (86%), based on logistic regression, and yielded strong area under the curve (AUC) statistics, defining risk status .88 (reading) and .82 (math). Surprisingly, Teacher Rankings yielded higher correlations with end-of-year scores than CBMs. Findings support using rankings as a simple, efficient strategy to add to the predictive power of CBMs readily available within a response to intervention (RTI) context and depicts a methodology school personnel can use to determine the relative/combined predictive power of CBMs and rankings. Of note, predictions based on Teacher Rankings vary across end-of-year performance levels.

Disability Identification and Educational Accommodations: Lessons From the 2019 Admissions Scandal

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Lovett
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Objective Data ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Identification Methods ◽  
Unequal Treatment ◽  
Student Skill ◽  
Disability Identification ◽  
Educational Accommodations

A recent, widely publicized scandal involved students who obtained fraudulent diagnoses of learning disabilities in an effort to get accommodations on college admissions tests. Although the exact circumstances of the scandal are unusual, the methods used to obtain diagnoses and accommodations illustrate widespread problems with current policies. These problems include certain disability identification methods that overemphasize performance on diagnostic tests, a lack of attention to the unfair advantages that unwarranted accommodations can provide, and a lack of commonly used guidelines for making accommodations decisions based on credible, objective data. The scandal was a rare consequence of these problems, but far more frequent consequences involve unequal treatment of students from different backgrounds and test scores that fail to reflect actual student skill levels.

Methods for Improving the Design of Experiments Outcome in an ME Curriculum

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy C. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Design Of Experiments ◽  
Electronics Cooling ◽  
Thermal Design ◽  
Experiment Planning ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Technical Literature ◽  
Skill Levels ◽  
Actual Design ◽  
Sufficient Degree ◽  
Student Skill

To do a design of experiments project with a sufficient degree of realism can require a large block of class time. It would be valuable for the students to practice uncertainty analysis, selection of instruments, experiment planning, and application of engineering analysis. It would also be useful for them to learn about test codes and standards, to examine descriptions of similar test rigs found in the technical literature, and to operate within constraints on time, materials and fabrication costs. Time and student skill levels limit the number of these "ideals" that can be achieved, and compromises have to be made. The hope is that these limitations will not cause the project to degenerate to the "design without much analysis the night before the project is due" mentality that many students equate with "design" This paper describes methods for improving the "design of experiments" outcome in the ME curriculum. The design of a rig for testing electronics cooling heat sinks is the project. Activities in several prerequisite courses are coordinated to provide supporting background knowledge. A heat sink thermal design project in the co-requisite heat transfer course is linked to the design of experiments project. These efforts allow more time for the actual design activity. Several techniques for bringing realistic constraints into the project and for improving the efficiency of some traditionally time consuming activities are presented. Instead of simplifying the objective, students are given more assistance in overcoming the problems that they are least able to solve due to their inexperience. In this way, the project maintains a higher level of realism.

An Analysis of First-Grade Writing Profiles and Their Relationship to Compositional Quality

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 336-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Coker ◽  
Kristen D. Ritchey ◽  
Ximena Uribe-Zarain ◽  
Austin S. Jennings
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
First Grade ◽  
State Standards ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Writing Achievement ◽  
Writing Assessments ◽  
School Year ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

To help all students meet the writing expectations of the Common Core State Standards, researchers need a deeper understanding of the characteristics of struggling writers. The purpose of this study was to explore the writing profiles of students including those who have or are at risk for writing disabilities. First-grade students ( N = 391) were assessed at the end of the school year using three writing assessments (spelling, sentence writing fluency, writing achievement). The researchers used latent profile analysis to identify students as fitting into one of five profiles (At Risk, Low Fluency, Low Writing, Average, and Above Average). Students also wrote narrative and descriptive texts that were scored multiple ways. The researchers used confirmatory factor analysis to identify four common factors: quality/length, spelling, mechanics, and syntax. Students in the At Risk profile wrote narratives and descriptions that scored lower on all aspects of writing when compared to students in the Average and Above Average profiles. These findings provide further evidence of the distinct difference among writers as early as first grade, and they offer insight into the characteristics of at-risk writers. The implications of these findings for instruction and assessment and directions for future research are described.

Teaching Badminton Based on Student Skill Levels

Strategies ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 14-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianyu Wang ◽  
Jeff Moffit
Keyword(s):  
Skill Levels ◽  
Student Skill

Predictive Validity of Curriculum-Embedded Measures on Outcomes of Kindergarteners Identified as At Risk for Reading Difficulty

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 712-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric L. Oslund ◽  
Shanna Hagan-Burke ◽  
Deborah C. Simmons ◽  
Nathan H. Clemens ◽  
Leslie E. Simmons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Predictive Validity ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Kindergarten Students ◽  
Formative Assessments ◽  
Reading Difficulty ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
School Year ◽  
Embedded Measures

This study examined the predictive validity of formative assessments embedded in a Tier 2 intervention curriculum for kindergarten students identified as at risk for reading difficulty. We examined when (i.e., months during the school year) measures could predict reading outcomes gathered at the end of kindergarten and whether the predictive validity of measures changed across the kindergarten year. Participants consisted of 137 kindergarten students whose reading development was assessed four times from October to February. Measures aligned with content taught in the curriculum and assessed a range of phonologic, alphabetic, and word-reading skills. Results from structural equation modeling indicate that 36.3% to 65.2% of the variance was explained on the latent decoding outcome and 62.0% to 86.8% on the latent phonological outcome across the four time points. Furthermore, the predictive validity of specific skills increased over the kindergarten year, with more complicated tasks (e.g., word segmentation) becoming more predictive at subsequent measurement occasions. Results suggest that curriculum-embedded measures may be viable tools for assessing and predicting reading performance.

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