xiii, 83 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / The present study examined the stability (i.e., 4-month and 12-month test-retest reliability) of six selected school-based indices of adequate reading progress. The total sampling frame included between 3970 and 5655 schools depending on the index and research question. Each school had at least 40 second-grade students that had complete Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) data for the time periods in question. Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) scores were used to examine school-wide adequate reading progress. The stability of those indices from semester-to-semester and from year- to-year across the 2005-2006, 2006-2007, and 2007-2008 school years was examined. Adequate progress was defined as students improving their instructional recommendation (i.e., reducing their level of risk) or remaining at benchmark (i.e., remaining on track) over a specified period of time. The six indices were as follows: (1) outcome percent established, (2) percent adequate progress, (3) intensive percent adequate progress, (4) strategic percent adequate progress, (5) barely benchmark percent adequate progress, and (6) school-wide high rates of adequate progress. The indices were intended to provide a snapshot of how well a school's reading instruction is meeting student needs. Based on the analysis, the stability coefficients ranged from .10 to .90 indicating that certain indices had higher stability coefficients than others. Overall, the year-to-year indices tended to be more stable that the semester-to-semester indices. Between 143 and 203 schools had school-wide high rates of adequate progress over a two- and three-year period. These findings indicate that schools can be generally effective in helping their students achieve high rates of adequate reading progress and that schools are able to maintain and support high rates of adequate progress for consecutive cohorts of second- grade students. Results are discussed within a broader framework of school effectiveness indices and response to intervention. / Committee in charge: Roland Good, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Edward Kameenui, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Kenneth Merrell, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Sara Hodges, Outside Member, Psychology

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xiii, 137 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Research suggests that development of the alphabetic principle is a critical factor in learning to recognize words and becoming a successful reader. The alphabetic principle encompasses both the understanding that relationships exist between letters and sounds and the application of these relationships to reading words. This study investigated the degree to which different measures of the alphabetic principle were predictive of later reading development. These measures were examined in the context of Ehri's phase theory of sight word development to investigate how different behaviors associated with the alphabetic principle fit within a developmental framework. Two cohorts of students (109 kindergarteners, 212 first graders) participated in this study from spring of 2007 until late fall of 2008 (58 second graders, 121 third graders). The predictive powers of single and combined measures of the alphabetic principle were analyzed using sequential regression. Results indicated that each measure explained significant between-student variation in performance on measures of word reading fluency, oral reading fluency (ORF), vocabulary, and reading comprehension. A measure of letter-sounds embedded in nonsense words appeared to have more utility for the prediction of reading outcomes than a measure of letter-sounds presented in isolation. Additionally, including a measure of nonsense words with a measure of letter-sounds embedded in nonsense words increased the predictive power of the model over and above the predictive power of letter sounds alone. Growth on ORF served as an additional criterion for the purpose of investigating the methodology of measuring growth. Two conceptualizations of growth were explored: raw score change over time and individual rates of growth over time (slope). Correlations and sequential regression were used to evaluate the relationship between raw score change and measures of the alphabetic principle. Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to model individual slopes on Lexile measures of ORF (LORF). In general, raw score change appeared largely unrelated to measures of the alphabetic principle. HLM analyses revealed that individual differences in slope on LORF were minimal and not very reliable, making the prediction of these differences difficult. Recommendations for future research and implications for practice are discussed. / Committee in charge: Roland Good, Chairperson, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Kenneth Merrell, Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences; Leanne Ketterlin Geller, Member, Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy and Management

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The current research study investigates the predictive value of two frequently-used benchmark reading assessments: Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). With an increasing emphasis on high-stakes testing to measure reading proficiency, benchmark assessments may assist in predicting end-of-year performance on high-stakes testing. Utah's high-stakes measurement of end-of-year reading achievement is the English Language Arts Criterion-Referenced Test (ELA-CRT). A Utah urban school district provided data for students who completed the DRA, DIBELS, and ELA-CRT in the 2005-2006 school year. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the accuracy to which the Fall administrations of the DRA and the DIBELS predicted performance on the ELA-CRT. Supplementary analysis also included cross-sectional data for the DIBELS. Results indicated that both Fall administrations of the DRA and the DIBELS were statistically significant in predicting performance on the ELA-CRT. Students who were high risk on the benchmark assessments were less likely to score proficiently on the ELA-CRT. Also, demographic factors did not appear to affect individual performance on the ELA-CRT. Important implications include the utility of data collected from benchmark assessments to address immediate interventions for students at risk of failing end-of-year, high-stakes testing.

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