The complexity of text has a number of implications for educators in the areas of instruction and assessment. Text complexity is particularly important in formative assessments, which utilize repeated, alternate, equivalent forms to capture student growth towards a general outcome. A key assumption of such tools is that alternate forms of the assessment are of equal complexity. Consequently, there is a need to better understand what variables contribute to text complexity and how they impact student performance. This study was designed to evaluate features of text that are not typically included in readability estimates but may contribute to the text complexity: text cohesion and genre. Currently, text complexity of oral reading fluency measures is often quantified using readability estimates. It is hypothesized that a factor generally excluded from readability estimates, text cohesion&mdashthe extent to which the text functions as a cohesive, meaningful whole&mdashcontributes to text variability and variability in student performance. This research evaluated the role of a type of text cohesion (referential cohesion) in text complexity by manipulating the cohesion of passages otherwise assumed to be of equal difficulty. Genre was also considered, as research suggests that genre may impact complexity ratings of texts. Passages were strategically selecting to capture four conditions&mdash1) informational text/low cohesion, 2) informational text/high cohesion, 3) narrative text/low cohesion, and 4) narrative text/high cohesion. Data were collected on reading rate, accuracy, and passage-specific reading comprehension Results were analyzed using two-way, univariate ANOVA with dependent observations. Results indicate effects for each of the dependent variables included in the design. For rate and accuracy, results indicate significant interactions between genre and referential cohesion; scores were significantly higher for high cohesion narrative text than low cohesion narrative text and high cohesion informational text. There was a significant main effect of genre on comprehension, with students performing significantly better on the comprehension measure for narrative texts than informational texts. Altogether, these results indicate direct effects of genre and referential cohesion on student reading performance and provide evidence that text cohesion may be a meaningful component of text complexity. / 2015-10-10

This study examined the relation and predictive validity of the three seventh-grade reading curriculum-based measurements (CBMs), (a) passage reading fluency, (b) vocabulary, and (c) comprehension, on student performance on the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills Reading (OAKS-R). This question was examined using extant data collected from 857 seventh-grade students in a Pacific Northwest school district during spring quarter. Of the total sample of 857, only 557 students' records were analyzed: 499 general education students and 58 students with learning disabilities who met the a priori participation criteria of having scores on all three spring easyCBM Reading measures (PRF, VOC and MCRC) and an OAKS-R score. Correlational analysis revealed different outcomes for the two groups. For the general education population, the highest correlation coefficient was between CBM vocabulary and OAKS-R (r = .65). Follow-up regression analysis also indicated that CBM Vocabulary (&beta = .44) was the best predictor for students in the general education population. However, for students with learning disabilities, CBM comprehension was the most strongly correlated to OAKS-R (r = .60), and regression analysis showed comprehension (&beta = .40) as the best predictor of students' OAKS-R performance. When specific nonacademic variables were added to the regression model for general education, CBM vocabulary (&beta = .41) and CBM comprehension (&beta = .43) were still the best predictors for students in general education and students with learning disabilities, respectively. Practical implications of the predictive validity of the CBM reading measures for practitioners are discussed in relation to assessment, instruction, and resource allocations. Finally, suggestions for future research in the areas of improving CBM utility as a predictor of success on statewide assessments in reading at the middle school level are discussed.

This study examined how Math-Curriculum Based Measurement (M-CBM) benchmark assessment scores predict fifth grade math Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment scores.  Three school districts participated in the study by providing student data on math benchmark assessments and fifth grade math SOL assessment scores. Scores were organized and analyzed to determine the level of prediction between the two data sets. The results of the study indicated that M-CBM benchmark assessments were good predictors of fifth grade math SOL assessment scores. A second purpose of the study was to measure the differences in the capacity of three different M-CBM benchmark assessments in predicting fifth grade math SOL assessment scores. The three school districts used M-CBM benchmark assessments that varied in the method of creation and the type (commercial, teacher created, released test item) to develop the assessments. The findings show the M-CBM benchmark assessments created by teachers were better predictors of student scores on the fifth grade math SOL assessment followed by released test items and the commercially developed assessments. The third goal of the research study was to determine if there were differences in costs associated with three different M-CBM benchmark assessments. The reported costs for each of the three assessment types were analyzed but the gross cost per student did not accurately reflect the total costs involved in creating, operating, and/or maintaining the M-CBM benchmark assessment systems in any of the three districts. A literature review identified contributions in the field in the areas of assessment, Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM), and predicting student performance. The research design was quantitative and the school district data collected was over the 2009-2010 school year.  Recommendation for future research was to focus on the implementation methods and utilization of M-CBM benchmark assessments by teachers to modify instruction. Possible research on how the benchmark data can be utilized or converted into a practical classroom predictor of SOL assessment outcomes was recommended also. / Ed. D.

The intense focus on standards and accountability is rapidly altering the education environment. Often the gauge for measuring school effectiveness is performance on high- stake state tests. In this retrospective cohort comparison study, I observe the relation between the use of curriculum-based measures (CBMs) for reading and change on a state test for reading after implementation of systematic decision making (SDM). Over a span of three years, two student cohorts in two elementary schools were observed. In each two-year cohort, students began in third and then moved to fourth grade: Cohort One (2009 - 2011) and Cohort Two (2010 - 2012). Both cohorts participated in fall, winter, and spring [F-W-S] benchmark screening for Passage Reading Fluency (PRF) and took a state test. Additionally, during the 2011-2012 academic year, SDM was implemented for Cohort Two using reading CBMs. This study addressed three questions: (a) What is the affect on reading growth (OAKS-Reading) in the context of SDM with CBMs? (b) What is the correlation between [F-W-S] PRF and OAKS Reading? and (c) What is the relation between within-year growth rates for students at risk and not at risk in the context of SDM with CBMs? I used an independent samples t-test to examine the across year change in reading for both cohorts (OAKS-Reading) to determine whether the implementation of SDM resulted in a significant difference between cohorts. For Cohort Two (using a SDM model), I correlated benchmark screening within-year measures (easyCBM) and OAKS Reading. Finally, I calculated growth rates for at-risk and not-at-risk students within a SDM model to examine whether that model demonstrated evidence of accelerated growth in at-risk students relative to their not-at-risk peers. Results did not indicate a strong relation between SDM and the large-scale, outcome assessment (OAKS-Reading). A Pearson product-moment correlation indicated a strong positive correlation between the formative measure PRF and the large-scale, outcome assessment OAKS-Reading. Results showed both risk categories had accelerated growth in reading fluency between fall and winter compared to between winter and spring. Implications for school practice and research are discussed.

Twenty percent of the 2013-2014 sophomore class at a Washington high school was failing high-stakes tests, making these students ineligible to graduate. In an attempt to help students identify their academic proficiency with respect to the Common Core Curricular Standards 9 months before the high-stakes exam, the high school recently introduced the adaptive diagnostic software i-Ready. Cognitive learning theories comprised the framework for this study, which posit that learning is dependent on previous knowledge and central to measuring performance levels. The purpose of this quantitative correlational project study was to examine whether 10th grade students' achievement on i-Ready math scores (N = 220) could predict the subsequent high-stakes mathematics scores on the End of Course Exam while controlling for gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The i-Ready emerged as a statistically significant predictor of the End of Course Exam scores with β = .64 (p < .001), explaining R2 = .43 of the criterion variance. Gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status had no significant moderating influence. The project deliverable as a result of this study was a position paper advising the use of the i-Ready as a predictor for the End of Course Exam at the high school under study. The implications for positive social change include allowing educators to use the i-Ready as an early warning system for students in danger of failing high-stakes exams. This study may help identify students at risk of not graduating who could benefit from instructional support.

xi, 89 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / One of the fastest growing populations of students in American schools today is that of Spanish speaking English language learners. Many of these students are taught in classrooms in which Spanish is the language of instruction for the development of early literacy skills. There is a need for valid and reliable progress monitoring measures for Spanish speakers in these classrooms, as many of the current measures in use were designed for and normed on English speaking populations of students. Phonological awareness is one of the strongest predictors of success in learning to read. Therefore, the purpose of this replication study was to determine the efficacy of five independent variables: (a) Letter Sounds, (b) Syllable Sounds, (c) Phonemic Segmentation, (d) Syllable Segmentation, and (e) Grade Level to predict scores on Spanish Word Reading and Sentence Reading Fluency assessments for 41 first-grade and 41 second-grade native Spanish speaking students whose early literacy instruction was in Spanish. Correlational and multiple regression analysis showed that, of these variables, performance on a test of Syllable Sounds was the best predictor of performance on both the Word Reading Fluency and Sentence Reading Fluency tests. Results show that, for students receiving early literacy instruction in Spanish, tests of syllable sounds demonstrated the most efficacy in accounting for the variance in predicting future reading success in Spanish. / Adviser: Gerald Tindal