Nathan Clemens

In the current study, we examined a multi-component model of reading comprehension in 796 6th-8th grade students. Direct and indirect relations among word ID, vocabulary, sentence comprehension and inference making on a comprehension outcome were examined by reader proficiency using path analysis. When comparing struggling versus adequate comprehenders, word identification was the strongest predictor in struggling comprehenders (.18 in struggling vs. .03 for adequate). In the adequate comprehenders, vocabulary was the strongest predictor (.40 in adequate vs. .14 in struggling); the differences in path coefficients was statistically significant. Across both struggling and adequate comprehenders, vocabulary had the largest total effect when considering its direct and indirect effects through inference making and sentence comprehension. The implications of these findings are that a) vocabulary continues to play a strong role both directly and indirectly in adolescent comprehension and ...

ABSTRACT Standardized measures are often used as an index of students’ reading comprehension and scores have important implications, particularly for students who perform below expectations. This study examined secondary-level students’ patterns of responding and the prevalence and impact of non-attempted items on a timed, group-administered, multiple-choice test of reading comprehension. The Reading Comprehension subtest from the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test was administered to 694 students in Grades 7 to 9. Students were categorized according to their test performance (low-, middle-, and high-achieving). Scores of the lowest achieving subgroup were affected significantly by high rates of non-attempted items, particularly on the later third of the test. Furthermore, the percentage of students who completed the assessment was far below that reported by the test authors. The results send a cautionary message to researchers and educators that, when text comprehension is the primary assessment target, to consider rates of non-attempted items and their impact on interpreting students’ text processing skills. Practical considerations are presented.

CHAPTER 10 Academic Assessment Edward S. Shapiro, Jaime Benson, Nathan Clemens, and Karen L. Gischlar Abstract The assessment of academic skills is an essential and critical component of the life of all schools. Like the assessment of other areas of functioning, assessment of ...

ABSTRACT In this experimental study, we examined the effects of a multicomponent reading comprehension intervention in sixth- to eighth-grade English language arts classes with a focus on factors to enhance treatment implementation. We tested the contribution of a theoretically derived fidelity framework that included adherence, quality, dosage, program differentiation, and student responsiveness. The study was conducted in three schools, involving 14 teachers and 859 students. English language arts classes were randomly assigned to the Comprehension Circuit Training intervention (n=30) or typical practice comparison (n=31) conditions, and all teachers taught in both conditions. Findings indicated that there was no reliable difference between the intervention and typical practice groups on standardized or researcher-developed proximal measures. To investigate the relationship between fidelity and student outcomes, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to determine the relation of the indicators to a latent fidelity factor. Results of the CFA revealed a single fidelity factor composed of the adherence, quality, dosage, student responsiveness, and program differentiation variables. The fidelity factor was statistically significantly related to outcomes on a standardized comprehension measure (γ=.86, p<.01) and a narrative measure (γ=.52, p<.01). Results underscore the need to consider the complexity of implementing multicomponent interventions in middle schools and the importance of measuring multiple dimensions of the implementation of fidelity.

ABSTRACT This study investigated four widely-used early literacy skills indicators in reflecting growth toward first-grade text reading skills. Examining the progress of 101 students across kindergarten and first grade, Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) and Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) were more accurate than Initial Sounds Fluency and Phoneme Segmentation Fluency in discriminating between students grouped according to successful or unsuccessful first-grade reading outcomes. LNF and NWF slope also discriminated between groups, but graphed observed scores suggested potential problems in identifying students with persistently low achievement. Results suggest the need for continued refinement of early literacy skills measures for instructional decision-making.

ABSTRACT The use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is supported by several decades of research regarding their technical adequacy, practical utility, and use with diverse populations. Questions remain regarding the measurement of growth using tri-annual reading CBM (R-CBM) assessment. Existing research on annual rates of growth is inconclusive with some studies suggesting that the most growth occurs from the fall to the winter and others finding growth accelerates from winter to spring. With a sample of students in third through fifth grades, consisting of a high percentage of English Language Learners (ELLs) and students exited from bilingual instruction, this study found that Non-ELL students demonstrated semester differences in R-CBM growth consistent with prior research in third and fourth grades, but not in fifth grade. However, this pattern was not always consistent for ELLs and students recently exited from bilingual instruction, suggesting that conclusions regarding semester differences in R-CBM growth rates should not be consistently extended to ELLs.

Early reading and spelling development share foundational skills, yet spelling assessment is underutilized in evaluating early reading. This study extended research comparing the degree to which methods for scoring spelling skills at the end of kindergarten were associated with reading skills measured at the same time as well as at the end of first grade. Five strategies for scoring spelling responses were compared: totaling the number of words spelled correctly, totaling the number of correct letter sounds, totaling the number of correct letter sequences, using a rubric for scoring invented spellings, and calculating the Spelling Sensitivity Score (Masterson & Apel, 2010b). Students (N=287) who were identified at kindergarten entry as at risk for reading difficulty and who had received supplemental reading intervention were administered a standardized spelling assessment in the spring of kindergarten, and measures of phonological awareness, decoding, word recognition, and reading fluency were administered concurrently and at the end of first grade. The five spelling scoring metrics were similar in their strong relations with factors summarizing reading subskills (phonological awareness, decoding, and word reading) on a concurrent basis. Furthermore, when predicting first-grade reading skills based on spring-of-kindergarten performance, spelling scores from all five metrics explained unique variance over the autoregressive effects of kindergarten word identification. The practical advantages of using a brief spelling assessment for early reading evaluation and the relative tradeoffs of each scoring metric are discussed.

This study compared the validity of progress monitoring slope of nonsense word fluency (NWF) and word identification fluency (WIF) with early first-grade readers. Students (N = 80) considered to be at risk for reading difficulty were monitored with NWF and WIF on a 1-2 week basis across 11 weeks. Reading skills at the end of first grade were assessed using measures of passage reading fluency, real and pseudoword reading efficiency, and basic comprehension. Latent growth models indicated that although slope on both measures significantly predicted year-end reading skills, models including WIF accounted for more variance in spring reading skills than NWF, and WIF slope was more strongly associated with reading outcomes than NWF slope. Analyses of student growth plots suggested that WIF slope was more positively associated with later reading skills and discriminated more clearly between students according to successful or unsuccessful year-end reading outcomes. Although both measures may be used to monitor reading growth of at-risk students in early first grade, WIF may provide a clearer index of reading growth. Implications for data-based decision-making are discussed.