Assessment Practices

Student and researcher conducting reading assessment

Research Brief: Predicting Dyslexia With Assessments of Foundational Reading Skills

By:

Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D.

Posted on: October 6, 2020

Recap of a study about predicting students with reading disabilities, which is crucial to providing needed supports as early as possible.

High school students taking writing test

Technically Speaking: Determining Test Effectiveness With Item Response Theory

By:

Seohee Park, M.A.

Adam Reeger, M.S.

Ariel M. Aloe, Ph.D.

Posted on: September 22, 2020

Learn more about how statistical modeling can tell us what makes a good literacy assessment item.

Technically Speaking: Understanding and Quantifying the Correlation of Two Reading Measures

By:

Laurentius Susadya, Ph.D.

Adam Reeger, M.S.

Ariel M. Aloe, Ph.D.

Posted on: February 11, 2020

Correlation and its limitations are explained in easy-to-understand language.

Research Brief: Does It Matter When Students Read the Items on a Comprehension Assessment?

By:

Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D.

Posted on: December 17, 2019

Researchers examined the common approach of having students read the questions before the text on a comprehension test to see how it impacted student performance compared to reading the questions after the text.

Through Professional Development and Comprehensive Support, Literacy Consultants Look to Boost Student Reading Achievement

By:

Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D.

Posted on: January 8, 2019

Green Hills Area Education Agency enlists Iowa Reading Research Center help in looking at data to evaluate impact of its literacy professional development.

Turning to Systematic Improvements to Boost Middle School Literacy Achievement

By:

Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D.

Posted on: October 23, 2018

Grant Wood AEA prepares school teams to facilitate literacy achievement for adolescents with training and assistance from the Iowa Reading Research Center.

Defining Fidelity Categories When Implementing Reading Interventions

By:

Jessica Sidler Folsom, Ph.D.

Sandy A. Schmitz, Ph.D.

Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D.

Posted on: July 31, 2018

When tracking teachers’ fidelity during implementation of a literacy intervention, both use of the intervention components and quality of intervention delivery should be measured, keeping an eye out for both global and lesson-specific components.

Example Fidelity Rubric

An example of a fidelity rubric that addresses both structural and procedural fidelity at the global and lesson-specific levels. Note that this example rubric is not intended to be used as an actual fidelity rubric because it does not correspond with a specific intervention.

Example Fidelity Rubric

Using Data, Professional Development, and Community Connections to Design a Successful Summer Reading Program

By:

Iowa Reading Research Center

Posted on: July 10, 2018

The Council Bluffs Community School District uses assessments and fidelity of implementation to design the best summer reading program, says Director Carly Gates in our Q&A.

Three teachers learning new literacy intervention

The Importance of Fidelity When Implementing Reading Interventions

By:

Jessica Sidler Folsom, Ph.D.

Sandy A. Schmitz, Ph.D.

Posted on: February 6, 2018

Effective implementation of a literacy initiative that includes interventions calls on teachers to do so as intended, with high fidelity.