Thesis (Specialist in Ed.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], v, 62 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 43-45).

Thesis (Ed. S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Educational Psychology, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-39).

abstract: The current study analyzed existing data, collected under a previous U.S. Department of Education Reading First grant, to investigate the strength of the relationship between scores on the first- through third-grade Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills - Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS-ORF) test and scores on a reading comprehension test (TerraNova-Reading) administered at the conclusion of second- and third-grade. Participants were sixty-five English Language Learners (ELLs) learning to read in a school district adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border. DIBELS-ORF and TerraNova-Reading scores were provided by the school district, which administers the assessments in accordance with state and federal mandates to monitor early literacy skill development. Bivariate correlation results indicate moderate-to-strong positive correlations between DIBELS-ORF scores and TerraNova-Reading performance that strengthened between grades one and three. Results suggest that the concurrent relationship between oral reading fluency scores and performance on standardized and high-stakes measures of reading comprehension may be different among ELLs as compared to non-ELLs during first- and second-grade. However, by third-grade the correlations approximate those reported in previous non-ELL studies. This study also examined whether the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a receptive vocabulary measure, could explain any additional variance on second- and third-grade TerraNova-Reading performance beyond that explained by the DIBELS-ORF. The PPVT was individually administered by researchers collecting data under a Reading First research grant prior to the current study. Receptive vocabulary was found to be a strong predictor of reading comprehension among ELLs, and largely overshadowed the predictive ability of the DIBELS-ORF during first-grade. Results suggest that receptive vocabulary scores, used in conjunction with the DIBELS-ORF, may be useful for identifying beginning ELL readers who are at risk for third-grade reading failure as early as first-grade. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2011

xi, 111 p. / Matching reading deficits to appropriate intervention programs is a challenge given the number of treatment options available to educators. The Fast ForWord (FFW) computerized intervention series has been marketed as a way to treat underlying causes of poor reading skill; i.e., substandard levels of basic language skill, phonemic awareness, and/or phonics application. If the programs work as claimed, then completion of Fast ForWord should improve the next reading subskill developed after phonics, oral reading fluency. Part 1 of this study involves a treatment ( n = 72) versus comparison ( n = 84) group two by two ANOVA to evaluate that hypothesis. No effect for FFW is found ( p = .84). Application of decision rules from Response to Intervention (RTI) models classifies positive changes in risk category at a greater rate for the comparison group ( n = 31) than for the FFW group ( n = 20) ( X 2 = 3.81, (1), p = .05). Pre-intervention language scores for the FFW group are compared to assist with intervention placement decisions. Differences in mean language scores are not significant ( p = .85) between the two groups [positive response ( n = 19) versus low response ( n = 57)]. In a binary logistic regression of quartile membership for language scores, no score ranges predict membership ( X 2 = 4.75, (8), p > .05). Measuring treatment effect with ORF is not recommended. The use of pre-intervention language and ORF scores below the 25th percentile as indicators of a positive change in oral reading fluency following FFW treatment also is not recommended. However, future research that considers language scores along with other curriculum-based measures of prereading skill either as pre-intervention indicators or outcome measures is recommended. / Committee in charge: Dr. Paul Yovanoff, Chair; Dr. Keith Hollenbeck, Member; Dr. Joseph Stevens, Member; Dr. Jeffery Sprague, Outside Member

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between oral reading fluency (ORF) and Maze, two common Curriculum-Based Measures (CBMs), and the statewide large-scale assessment of reading in Oregon, the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills- Reading (OAKS-R). A sample of three cohorts of eighth-grade students in an Oregon school district was used to examine concurrent validity, predictive validity, and the relation between demographic characteristics, disability status, and socio-economic status and the ability to predict performance on the OAKS-R. Findings of the concurrent validity analysis revealed a moderately strong positive correlation between the OAKS-R and both ORF and Maze measures, with ORF demonstrating a slightly stronger correlation with the OAKS-R. Multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the predictive relationship between ORF and Maze and scores on the eighth-grade OAKS-R. Both ORF and Maze were statistically significant predictors of OAKS-R, demonstrating moderately positive relationships with scores on the state reading test. Although no interaction effect was found between disability classification or eligibility for free or reduced-price meals and the different CBMs, in relation to the OAKS-R, student disability status was negatively related to performance on the OAKS-R. The relationship between OAKS-R performance and low socio-economic status, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch status, was not consistent across the cohorts. This finding is promising, as it indicates that there may be factors that schools can take advantage of to ameliorate the relationship between poverty and reading outcome measures for eighth-grade students. In light of study results, suggestions for future research, as well as implications for the field, are discussed. This study adds to the research literature documenting that ORF and Maze assessments provide schools with valuable information to predict student performance on statewide large-scale assessments of reading. With CBM data available early in the school year, schools can provide additional intervention as needed, potentially leading to improved end-of-year student performance on the OAKS-R.

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 investigated oral reading fluency development among Hispanic high school English-language learners. Participants included 11 males and 9 females from first-year, second-year, and third-year English language arts classes. The pre-post experimental study, which was conducted during a four-week ESL summer program, included a treatment and a control group. The treatment group received a combination of components, including modified repeated reading with self-voice listening and oral dictation output from a speech recognition program. Each day, students performed a series of tasks, including dictation of part of the previous day’s passage; listening to and silently reading a new passage; dictating and correcting individual sentences from the new passage in the speech recognition environment; dictating the new passage as a whole without making corrections; and finally, listening to their own voice from their recorded dictation. This sequence was repeated in the subsequent sessions. Thus, this intervention was a technology-enhanced variation of repeated reading with a pronunciation dictation segment. Research questions focused on improvements in oral reading accuracy and rate, facility with the application, student perceptions toward the technology for reading, and the reliability of the speech recognition program. The treatment group improved oral reading accuracy by 50%, retained and transferred pronunciation of 55% of new vocabulary, and increased oral reading rate 16 words-correct-per-minute. Students used the intervention independently after three sessions. This independence may have contributed to students’ self-efficacy as they perceived improvements in their pronunciation, reading in general, and reported an increased liking of school. Students initially had a very positive perception toward using the technology for reading, but this perception decreased over the four weeks from 2.7 to 2.4 on a 3 point scale. The speech recognition program was reliable 94% of the time. The combination of the summer school program and intervention component stacking supported students’ gains in oral reading fluency, suggesting that further study into applications of the intervention is warranted. Acceleration of oral reading skills and vocabulary acquisition for ELLs contributes to closing the reading gap between ELLs and native-English speakers. Fluent oral reading is strongly correlated with reading comprehension, and reading comprehension is essential for ELLs to be successful in school. Literacy support tools such as this intervention can play a role in ameliorating English acquisition faster than the rate attained through traditional practices.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effects, if any, of a supplemental phonics curriculum, Saxon Phonics, on the reading achievement of first-grade students in one mountain-west, semirural, school district. The design was casual-comparative and ex post facto, and answered the questions: (1) Do students taught using a traditional basal program and students taught using both the traditional basal program and a supplemental phonics program (control vs. treatment) differ on selected end-of-year reading achievement scores (i.e., portions of the DIBELS Next assessment—nonsense word fluency [NWF], oral reading fluency [ORF], and accuracy [ACC])? (2) do any possible interactions among selected variables (i.e., instructional program, gender, and beginning-of-year reading level) exist related to performance differences on end-of-year reading achievement scores among students receiving reading instruction with or without a supplemental phonics program? The independent variables were the instructional program Saxon Phonics, a traditional/basal reading curriculum and the reading levels of low, medium, and high. The dependent variables were oral reading fluency, accuracy and nonsense word fluency, measured by the DIBELS Next assessment. The 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 DIBELS Next data were collected from the school district database upon approval from the Institutional Review Board in January of 2017. A mixed effects model was utilized to explore the relationship between use of the selected supplemental phonics curriculum and selected reading achievement scores of first-grade students. Results revealed that there was no significant difference between the control and treatment groups, though there was a statistically significant improvement of low readers in the treatment group over the control group.

This study evaluated how measures of oral reading fluency (ORF) and silent reading fluency (SRF) compare as predictors of reading comprehension and how these predictors vary as a function of proficiency level for fourth- and fifth-grade students. Additionally, the study sought to examine the relationship between measures of oral reading fluency, silent reading fluency, reading comprehension, and the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) with these students. Participants were 175 fourth- and fifth-grade students from two randomly selected schools in Colorado. A correlational predictive design was used. Results indicated that measures of ORF and SRF were predictors of reading comprehension and that the relationship of measures of ORF and SRF with comprehension changes over time. Regression analysis results indicated that 45.0% of the variance in reading comprehension was accounted for by the ORF measure for the sample population, as compared to 53.0% of the variance accounted for by SRF measures. Thus, measures of SRF might be a better predictor for maturing readers to determine reading proficiency, monitor student progress, and guide instructional practices. A structural equation model (SEM) analyzed the relationship of the measure of SRF with reading comprehension as moderated by proficiency level. Analysis for the SRF measure by reading proficiency was conducted at the whole group level. The model accounted for 59.0% of the moderation. Results indicated that reading proficiency level and the SRF measure were both associated with reading comprehension. Reading proficiency level is a significant moderator of the relationship between measures of reading comprehension and SRF. A SEM mediation model was used to analyze the relationship of measures of ORF, SRF, reading comprehension, and TCAP. The direct effects of the ORF and SRF measures on TCAP were both predictive with 66.0% of the variance accounted for with SRF measure and 66.5% of the variance accounted for with ORF measure. Results indicated that as grade level increases, the relationship between measures of ORF, SRF, and reading comprehension changes. Additionally, SRF measures can be a viable alternative to ORF measures for upper elementary students as a predictor of reading comprehension and on the TCAP high-stake assessment.

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