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Purpose: The purpose of this feasibility study was to investigate an early dynamic measure of morphological awareness (MA) involving graduated prompts to measure early MA skill and determine whether this task relates to and predicts performance on other language and/or literacy measures in first-grade children with language abilities typically found in the classroom. Method: In addition to a battery of language and literacy measures, a dynamic assessment of MA was designed and administered to 74 first-grade children with a range of language abilities. Results: The dynamic measure of MA was found to be valid, reliable, and measured early school--age MA performance for children with typical language and those at risk for developmental language disorder. For children with typical language, the developed dynamic MA measure was related to and predictive of performance on other language and literacy measures above and beyond static phonological and MA measures. Conclusions: The results provide preliminary support for the use of dynamic assessment to measure MA in first-grade children with a range of language abilities.

We conducted a stimulus preference assessment to identify preference for praise delivered in English versus Spanish for bilingual students. Next, a concurrent-operant reinforcer assessment was used to evaluate the reinforcer efficacy of praise in each language. Participants showed limited to no preference for one language over another. One participant showed a slight preference for Spanish praise and Spanish praise functioned as a slightly more potent reinforcer. If a participant did not prefer a specific language of praise (i.e., undifferentiated preference or equal percentage of approaches), both languages were considered to be similarly reinforcing.

Purpose: As noted in this forum, more research is needed to support the work of school-based speech-language pathologists who are designing and implementing interventions for students with language disorders. This article presents the findings of a multiple-baseline, single-subject study that was conducted to assess the outcomes of an intervention designed to improve narrative discourse proficiency for children with language disorders. Method: Four school-age children with language disorders that included deficits in narration received an experimental version of a 3-phase narrative language intervention program called Supporting Knowledge in Language and Literacy (Gillam, Gillam, & Laing, 2014). Two additional children remained in baseline throughout the study and served as controls for history, testing, and maturation effects. Measures of story productivity (number of different words) and overall story complexity (Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language; Gillam, Gillam, Fargo, Olszewski, & Segura, 2016) were used to assess the children's self-generated narratives. Results: After the onset of treatment, all 4 children who received the narrative intervention made moderate-to-large improvements in narrative productivity (number of different words). Three of the 4 children also made moderate-to-large improvements in narrative complexity (Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language). The narrative abilities of the 2 children who did not receive intervention did not change over the course of the study. Conclusion: This study provides evidence for the feasibility of the Supporting Knowledge in Language and Literacy narrative instruction program for improving self-generated narratives by children with language disorders. Future research is needed to determine how gains in oral narration transfer to written narrative skills.

This study investigated the effect of a large group narrative intervention on diverse preschoolers' narrative language skills with aims to explore questions of treatment efficacy and differential response to intervention. A quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest comparison group research design was employed with 71 preschool children. Classrooms were randomly assigned to treatment and comparison conditions. Intervention consisted of explicit teaching of narrative structure via repeated story retell practice, illustrations and icons, and peer mediation. Children's narrative language and comprehension were assessed at Pretest, Posttest, and 4 weeks after treatment. Statistically significant differences between treatment and comparison groups were found on retell and story comprehension measures. A priori classification criteria resulted in 28 percent of the participants identified as Minimal Responders on the story retell measure and 19 percent as Minimal Responders on the story comprehension measure. Children who were dual-language learners did not have a different pattern of response than monolingual English speakers. Low-intensity narrative intervention delivered to a large group of children was efficacious and can serve as a targeted language intervention for use within preschool classrooms. A culturally and linguistically appropriate, dynamic approach to assessment identified children for whom intensified intervention would be recommended.

Visual analysis is the primary method of evaluating data in single-subject research. Few studies have evaluated interventions to teach visual analysis skills. The purpose of this study was to evaluate systematic instruction, delivered using computer-based intervention or a recorded lecture, on identifying changes in slope and level in AB graphs. Results indicated that both approaches were significantly more effective than a no-treatment control condition but were not different from each other. We discuss the implications of these results for training and directions for future research.

Paraprofessionals are widely employed in response to intervention (RTI) settings to provide instruction to students at-risk for reading disabilities. However, little research has addressed effective and efficient ways to train these paraprofessionals to deliver instruction with high fidelity. In addition, given the limited time and finances available in most districts, training needs to be as efficient as possible. This study assessed the effects of a 5-hour fluency training package on the presentation rates, praise rates, and error correction accuracy of five paraprofessionals providing supplemental reading instruction within an RTI system using a multiple baseline design across participants. Students' reading accuracy and percentage of intervals with on-task behavior were evaluated. Paraprofessionals generally increased their presentation rates, praise rates, and error correction accuracy. Students' behaviors were affected less. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)

The "best available evidence" is one of the three basic inputs into evidence-based practice. This paper sets out a framework for evaluating the quality of systematic reviews that are intended to identify empirically supported interventions as a way of summarizing the best available evidence. The premise of this paper is that the process of reviewing research literature and deriving practical recommendations is an assessment process similar to the assessment process that we use to understand student performance and derive educational recommendations. Systematic reviews assess the quality and quantity of evidence related to a particular intervention and apply standards to determine whether the evidence is sufficient to justify an endorsement of the intervention as "empirically supported". The concepts and methodological tools of measurement validity can be applied to the systematic review process to clarify their strengths and weaknesses. This paper describes ways in which these concepts and tools can be brought to bear on systematic reviews, and explores some of the implications of doing so. (Contains 3 tables.)

The research to practice gap in education has been a long-standing concern. The enactment of No Child Left Behind brought increased emphasis on the value of using scientifically based instructional practices to improve educational outcomes. It also brought education into the broader evidence-based practice movement that started in medicine and has spread across a number of human service disciplines. Although the term evidence-based practice has become ubiquitous in education, there is no common agreement about what it means. In this paper, we offer a definition of evidence-based practice, provide a rationale for it, and discuss some of the main tenants of evidence-based practice. Additionally, we describe a decision-making model that features the relationships between the critical sources of influence and the chief responsibilities of evidence-based practitioners. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

The best available evidence is one of the three critical features of evidence-based practice. Best available evidence is often considered to be synonymous with extremely high standards for research methodology. However, this notion may limit the scope and impact of evidence based practice to those educational decisions on which high quality intervention research is plentiful and definitive leaving educators with little guidance on the majority of the decisions they face. If the mandate to use best available evidence is taken to mean that educators should use the best of the evidence that is available, then evidence-based practice can address virtually all educational decisions. This paper discusses three complementary approaches to identifying the best available evidence and deriving recommendations from research. These include (a) conducting systematic reviews to identify empirically supported treatments, (b) using methods other than systematic reviews to summarize evidence, and (c) considering research on "treatments" that are not multi-component packages. A conscientious combination of these approaches can increase the breadth of research that is relevant to educational decision-making. (Contains 1 table.)

This study examined the effects of online reading instruction for at-risk fourth-grade students in Philadelphia. The authors used a multiple baseline design to assess the extent to which the students increased their oral reading rate given systematic supplemental online reading instruction. Tutoring consisted of 4 sessions per week with 50-min lessons of instruction delivered over Adobe Connect[TM]. Analysis of the multiple baseline across participants revealed gains in oral reading fluency for all participants when placed into the synchronous online tutoring program. Participating students and tutors reported an awareness of increased reading skills and value of synchronous online instruction. Teachers and parents generally reported that students demonstrated increased reading skills after receiving instruction. (Contains 4 tables and 2 figures.)

All students, including those with significant cognitive disabilities, must participate in accountability testing under NCLB regulations. Each state must provide an alternate assessment for students unable to participate in general accountability testing. Carefully designed alternate assessment systems have the potential to go beyond meeting federal reporting requirements by providing meaningful information about student progress that can guide decision making at the classroom and district level. In this paper, we discuss issues related to alternate assessment, including (a) balancing standardization and individualization, (b) setting performance criteria, (c) establishing links with progress monitoring and instruction, and (d) addressing special challenges of rural school systems that must be considered in designing and implementing an alternate assessment system that can fulfill this vision. [Reprinted from "Rural Special Education Quarterly" v24 n1 Spr 2005.]

Narration, or storytelling, is an important aspect of language. Narrative skills have academic and social importance. This study evaluated the effects of a narrative intervention on story retelling and personal story generation skills of preschoolers with risk factors and narrative language delays. Narrative intervention was delivered in a small group arrangement, and materials, activities, and assistance were systematically adjusted within sessions to facilitate increasingly independent practice of oral narration. Participants were 5 preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start classroom who performed below average on two narrative language tasks. Participants made substantial gains in narrative retelling, demonstrated improved preintervention to postintervention scores for personal story generations, and maintained improvements when assessed following a 2-week break. These results have several implications for practice, including narrative intervention's versatility with a range of children from diverse backgrounds and its use of economic and efficient classroom-based small group formats for intervention. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

Alternate assessments are the means through which students with significant cognitive disabilities participate in accountability testing, thus measurement validity of alternate assessments is a critical aspect of state educational accountability systems. When evaluating the validity of assessment systems, it is important to take a broad view of validity that acknowledges its many facets. Evidence regarding six aspects of validity of Utah's Alternate Assessment (UAA) is presented in this paper. These six aspects are: (a) test content, (b) performance standards, (c) administration of the test, (d) reliability of scoring, (e) stability of scores, and (f) impact of use of UAA. Results of the validity study conducted on UAA are presented along with recommendations for improving the system based on these results. (Contains 4 figures and 5 tables.)

A recent report by Dr. Randall Ryder evaluated the use of Direct Instruction (DI) reading programs in 2 school districts in Wisconsin. In the report, Ryder claimed that students in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade who received Direct Instruction scored significantly lower on several standardized tests of reading than students who received more traditional reading instruction. This article examines the validity of the Ryder report. Examination of the report revealed that (a) the quality of implementation of Direct Instruction is highly suspect; (b) the group labeled "Direct Instruction" apparently included numerous students who received an undefined mix of DI and non-DI reading instruction; (c) the selection and assignment of classrooms and students to groups resulted in DI groups that performed substantially below the non-DI groups before the study began; (d) there are numerous ambiguities and contradictions regarding the number of students in various groups in each year of the study; (e) statistical reporting failed to include basic information such as degrees of freedom, means, and standard deviation for some or all analyses; (f) ANCOVA was assumed to control for systematically systematically biased assignment without consideration of the assumptions, limitations, and interpretive difficulties involved; and (g) Ryder fails to report results from subtests on which, in previous reports, the DI group outperformed the non-DI group by a statistically significant margin. As a result of these and other problems, no firm conclusions can be drawn from Ryder's report. We conclude that Ryder's report should be subjected to an independent peer review process, and the results of that process should be publicized as widely as the report has been. (Contains 7 tables.) ["A Critical Review of Randall Ryder's Report of Direct Instruction Reading in Two Wisconsin School Districts" was written with Gary L. Railsback, Scott A. Gallagher, Sarah A. McCright, Randy A. Uchytil, William W. Conlon, and James T. Davis.]

Defines four broad roles of measurement in Direct Instruction. Describes how to make effective use of assessments that are integrated into Direct Instruction programs and how to plan and implement evaluation of the broad outcomes for Direct Instruction programs. Discusses assessment, evaluation, and validity; formative evaluation; summative evaluation; scores for describing results; technical problems with grade/age equivalent and percentile scores; evaluation designs; interpreting results; and statistical summaries. (SG)