Beginning second-grade students (N = 60) were administered a researcher-developed, dictated spelling test. Spelling errors of students were analyzed by grade-level spelling patterns and linguistic characteristics: phonological, orthographic, orthographic image, transposition, and morphological. Results revealed that morphological spelling pattern…

Spelling is a language skill supported by several linguistic knowledge sources, including phonemic, orthographic, and morphological knowledge. Typically, however, spelling assessment procedures do not capture the development and use of these linguistic knowledge sources. The purpose of this article is to describe a new assessment system, the…

Research and development of measures to document ongoing learning within the content areas are in the beginning stages. As such, the current study adds to efforts in the development of the vocabulary-matching measure. Using a modified format of the previously studied vocabulary-matching measure, 63 middle school students completed alternate forms…

In a response-to-intervention framework, schools typically employ a direct route approach to screening, in which students identified as at risk by a screening process are directly placed into intervention. Direct route approaches require screening decisions to be highly accurate, but few studies examining the predictive validity of reading…

College students with disabilities represent an increasing population of nontraditional students that often experience difficulty in achieving in higher education. This difficulty appears to be related to students with disabilities needing to request accommodations in higher education, unlike in elementary and secondary education where…

The current study examines the predictive relationship of "Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills" oral reading fluency (DORF) scores to high-stakes test performance. Data were collected from 423 students. The participants were divided into three groups based on the level of progress that was made from the fall to the spring benchmark…

Recent occurrences of violence on high school and college campuses have led to increased interest among education professionals, parents, students, and community leaders in the identification of potentially violent students. Many school districts have implemented school-wide violence prevention plans to meet the safety needs of their students, and…

The purpose of the present study was to extend validity research on a content area general outcome measurement tool known as vocabulary matching. Previous research has reported moderately strong to strong correlations between the group-administered vocabulary-matching measure and a standardized assessment instrument. The present study extended the…

This article reviews the "Developmental Reading Assessment--Second Edition" (DRA2), a teacher-administered assessment that identifies students' instructional level, along with their strengths and weaknesses in reading. Once teachers calculate and interpret scores, the data can purportedly be used to inform, and possibly individualize, instruction.…

The purpose of this study was to examine whether spelling performance in preschool children varied as a function of the method of assessment and letter writing ability. The authors manipulated the motoric element and memory demands of the task by having children spell single words using letter tiles, orally, and by writing. The authors also…

Implementing a Response to Intervention (RTI) system could improve overall student achievement and the way in which students with disabilities are identified. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of an RTI system (i.e., "Is our RTI system accomplishing its stated goals?"), a set of data-based indicators are needed. This paper will describe a set…

This article summarizes the results of a study involving 42 educational diagnosticians from North Texas. The study was conducted to determine diagnosticians' perceived understanding of early literacy development and their ability to effectively choose and interpret assessments of phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and reading fluency. The…

A new professional credential, the Nationally Certified Educational Diagnostician (NCED), was established in 2006 for assessment specialists known as educational diagnosticians. The first cohort of 511 diagnosticians from 11 states received NCED certificates in January 2008. Discussed in this article are several issues of concern related to…

The psychometric integrity of the "Foreign Language Attitudes and Perceptions Survey" for college students was investigated. Two hundred and seventy-eight college students were administered a modified version of the survey (FLAPS-C). Internal consistency reliabilities, as determined by Cronbach's alpha, were 0.74, attitudes; 0.80, perceptions; and…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the kindergarten Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI; Texas Education Agency and the University of Texas System, 2004-2006) Mid-Year screeners with a sample of 180 students. The TPRI screeners were designed to determine which students are not at risk for later reading failure. Results…