This study used simulation techniques to evaluate the technical adequacy of three methods for the identification of specific learning disabilities via patterns of strengths and weaknesses in cognitive processing. Latent and observed data were generated and the decision-making process of each method was applied to assess concordance in…

We empirically examined the effect of reading comprehension on passage fluency in English and Spanish in the context of Cummins interdependence hypothesis (1979) and Perfetti's blueprint of the General Components of Reading (1999). Participants were 96 second-grade English learners being taught to read in Spanish and English. Measures in both…

The method of Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) incorporates aspects of both systematic direct observation and behavior rating scales to provide an efficient means to collect time series data. This study extended the development and evaluation of DBR Single-Item Scales (DBR-SIS) as a behavior assessment tool. Eighty-eight undergraduate students used…

The author was favorably impressed with the breadth, scope, and quality of the articles in this issue that dealt with the various aspects and correlates of social behavioral functioning as well as assessment and intervention considerations. Each of these articles dealt with a unique aspect of social behavioral functioning in children and youth and…

Number sense skills provide the foundation for the acquisition of higher order mathematical skills and concepts. However, there is disagreement over the definition of number sense, the specific skills that make up the construct, and the psychometric properties of measures used to assess these skills. In the current study, 10 brief tasks…

Beyond reliability and validity, measures used to model student growth must consist of multiple probes that are equivalent in level of difficulty to establish consistent measurement conditions across time. Although existing evidence supports the reliability of curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBMR), few studies have empirically evaluated…

Implementation of effective interventions relies on the use of assessment data to adequately describe the learning problem and offer potential solutions. The use of curriculum-based assessment and measurement when combined with the learning hierarchy could offer a paradigm for decision making based on a skill-by-treatment interaction.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the technical (psychometric) adequacy of office discipline referrals (ODRs) as a behavioral assessment tool for individual student, data-based decision making within a problem-solving model. Participants were 990,908 students in 2,509 elementary schools. Students were grouped into ODR cut points of 0-1,…

A "big idea" is a concept that gives meaning to discrete facts. In this article, the author proposes a small number of big ideas, as well as his own views on where he thinks the field needs to move to achieve its full promise in school-based behavioral and social-emotional assessment. The three big ideas he has selected include: (1) universal…

In the last several decades, investigators have made remarkable strides in developing and evaluating school-based prevention and intervention strategies for elementary school-age youth focused on the development of healthy social, emotional, and behavioral skills. Although there has been rigorous examination of the efficacy of some of these…

Flanagan, Ortiz, and Alfonso (2007) recently developed the Culture-Language Interpretive Matrices (C-LIMs) for the cognitive assessment of children and youth from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. To examine the utility of this new approach, we administered the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities to a sample of students…

Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading (CBM-R) is often used to benchmark growth in the fall, winter, and spring. CBM-R is also used to set goals and monitor student progress between benchmarking occasions. The results of previous research establish an expectation that weekly growth on CBM-R tasks is consistently linear throughout the…

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are brief measures of early literacy skills for students in Grades K-6 (University of Oregon, 2009; see Kaminski & Good, 1996). School psychologists and other educational professionals use DIBELS to identify students who are in need of early intervention. The purpose of this review was…

Using a longitudinal design, children were given a brief number sense screener (NSB) screener (N = 204) over six time points, from the beginning of kindergarten to the middle of first grade. The NSB is based on research showing the importance of number competence (number, number relations, and number operations) for success in mathematics.…

Treatment integrity (also referred to as "treatment fidelity," "intervention integrity," and "procedural reliability") is an important methodological concerning both research and practice because treatment integrity data are essential to making valid conclusions regarding treatment outcomes. Despite its relationship to validity, treatment…