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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.

The problem of this study was performance on selected mathematics and reading assessment tests as predictors of achievement in remedial mathematics. The purpose of the study was twofold. The first was to determine the internal consistency of a locally developed remedial mathematics placement test and the mathematics section of the Pre-TASP Test. The second was to determine the predictive validity of performance on (a) the local remedial mathematics placement test, (b) the mathematics section of the Pre-TASP Test, and (c) the Descriptive Tests of Language Skills, Reading Comprehension Test in combination with demographic variables for mid-semester achievement, end-of-semester achievement, and course success in three levels of remedial mathematics at Richland College, Dallas, Texas.

Increased accountability in contemporary public elementary schools requires that teachers provide evidence they are using research-based strategies that reinforce skills assessed on standardized tests. There is a need to provide empirical evidence that literature circles can reinforce skills assessed on these tests. A literature circle is a research-based strategy that is common in language arts classrooms. This study investigates the connection between these skills and student discussion that takes place during literature circles. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of skill-focused minilessons on students' independent use of reading skills. The study investigated whether application of skill-focused minilessons prior to literature circles would have an effect on students' independent use of reading skills within student discussions during literature circles. Sixteen students participated in the study. The study also investigated the impact that minilessons prior to literature circles had on students' scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) in reading. Students were randomly assigned to the researcher's fifth grade class in the 2008/2009 school year. All students read the same material and received the same treatment. During the course of the study, students first took the FCAT diagnostic in reading and then engaged in five literature circle meetings, each preceded by a minilesson. Students then engaged in five literature circles with a different book and without skill-focused minilessons, followed by the administration of the reading FCAT. The data, which included content analyses of transcriptions of students' discussion and the collection of FCAT scores, yielded several findings. / The two skills most commonly used by students in independent literature circles were analyzing character and discussing plot. The two least commonly used skills were describing conflict and using context clues. Each skill within student discussion.The way in which students transferred the use of these skills to literature circles not preceded by skill focused minilessons varied. Multiple modes of transfer were identified for each skill. A dependent t-test for the FCAT scores did not indicate a statistically significant increase in the use of the five skills identified for this study when minilessons preceded literature circles. / by Gail Kennedy. / Abstract page (p. v) has author's name as Gail Sigelakis. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

‘Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand.’ (Chinese proverb) Why is it that children in Year 6 have the ability to construct stories independently, yet at the start of Year 7 the same children have difficulties recalling this knowledge and understanding? Transfer from primary to secondary education has been widely debated for a number of decades. Despite this, Evans et al.’s (2010) evaluation of transition concluded that for over 20% of transferring children, the process remains problematic, leading to inconsistent progress, both academically and socially. Transition research has focused significantly on process and procedures, accumulating data from a wealth of stakeholders, but largely neglecting the voice of the child experiencing this process. My research centres on the child, documenting their learning journey through their transition from primary to secondary school. Galton et al (1999b) identify three elements supporting a child’s continuation of learning post- transfer: enthusiasm for learning; confidence in themselves as learners; and a sense of achievement and purpose. A significant contribution to these qualities is the socio- constructivist view that ‘talk drives learning.’ Clear differences in progress, learning and teaching are contained within the microsystems of classroom life. Therefore, to deepen understanding of contexts of transition it is essential to focus research on language and relationships within such systems. Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological framework (1979) provides a basis for an analysis of the contribution of microsystem relationships and sub- cultures to the social matrix of different and progressive classroom environments. My research used an exploratory multi-case study approach (Merriam, 1988a; Yin, 2009). Three distinct models of transfer were identified and examined in depth. Within each of these cases, the learning of a group of children was observed and key points discussed with them throughout the transition process. Therefore, my research explored transition in the broadest sense, through the child’s experiences. The research moved beyond myth and procedures in order to understand the tools a child needs to transfer into secondary school to ensure sustainable progress and enjoyment of learning. Each of the cases had their own model of transfer. The first, Case1, considered children transferring from the more ‘traditional’ primary school into a ‘secondary’ school. In the second, Case 2, children transferred within an ‘all-through’ school within the same building. The third, Case 3, operated within the experience of Case 2, but transferred from their primary setting into the all-through school (the same school as Case 2). The study expected Case 2 as being the best model of transfer and provider of seamless progression of learning for children in Years 6 and 7. However, each model had case-dependent issues that affect a child’s progress within the wider contexts of transition. As a result, the study acknowledged the impact of previous research and further considered this study’s impact on learning in meso and microsystems. Three main, associated arose across the case studies. The first considered teacher provision during the transition period identifying: • the importance of learning roles and relationships between the child and their teacher, and the child and their peers. • structures of accountability generated by Statutory Assessment Tests (SATs). Within a culture of test-based curriculum structures, the study discusses the impact on children’s learning within continual testing and reporting frameworks. It does not discourage the importance of developing basic skills, but considers the purpose of continually tracking and monitoring children throughout their transition period. The importance of standardised test scores is questioned, as these routines are not followed through post-SATs. • children encouraged to participate in new learning routines and contexts. However, the study identifies an absence of sufficient communication between schools that diminishes consistency of learning opportunities during transfer. In addition, the study highlights differing definitions of independent learning between individual school and classroom contexts. The second considered barriers to the continuous development of independent learning. It further identified the distorting influence of SATs, firstly on a child’s development of independent learning, and secondly, on differences of definition between primary and secondary contexts. It suggested that skills recognised in independent learning are situated within almost singular contexts of primary school. When transferring to secondary school, there is an increased challenge for children to transfer these skills into multifarious contexts. Finally, the study identified the differing challenges of language demands on a child’s continuous learning, specifically • inconsistencies of curriculum terminology between primary and destination schools. • differing language clusters that children develop during group work. I observed that these clusters were transferred within each independent learning activity, but were not recognised in the analysis of my secondary classroom observations. This raised the issue of teacher expectations, questioning whether on transfer teachers expect all children to be classified as ‘workers’, rather than consultant, leader, engineer or technician within group and learning activities. • the role of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ learning relationships between effective partnerships of ‘novice’ and ‘expert’, concluding that weak novice-to-novice relationships affected the continuity of learning. Findings common across all three cases exposed wider implications for transition. These were compared to the ORACLE studies (Galton et al, 1999b; Hargreaves and Galton, 2002). Recommendations offered were to: • ensure the continuity of learning progression, • promote active participation in learning, • improve the quality of children’s work during the transition period.