Publication Date

5-2014

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Carl Myers (Director), Jie Zhang, Janet Applin, Nedra Atwell

Degree Program

Educational Leadership Doctoral Program

Degree Type

Doctor of Education

Abstract

The current study explored the relationship between the reading tests of the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), a screening test, and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, Third Edition (WJ-III), a diagnostic academic achievement test. By examining the relationship between these two tests, more reliable instructional decisions within a Response to Intervention (RTI) framework can potentially be established. Reading scores were collected for 234 students who completed the MAP three times per year both in first and second grades. One hundred of those students were randomly selected and administered the five reading subtests of the WJ-III in the spring of their second grade year. Results indicate that first and second grade MAP scores were significantly and positively correlated at a moderate to strong level with the Basic Reading, Reading Comprehension, and Reading Fluency scores of the WJ-III. The area from the WJ-III with the highest correlation with the MAP scores was Reading Comprehension. For the area of Reading Comprehension, cutoff scores at the 20th percentile and adjusted cutoff scores determined through regression analysis were evaluated using sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. Results indicate that adjustments increased specificity, but sensitivity values remained poor. Results of the study should be regarded with caution, as they could be potentially skewed due to the small sample size. It is recommended that this study be replicated using a larger sample size to verify the findings.

Disciplines

Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Methods | Elementary Education and Teaching

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