Teachers' perceptions of students' reading abilities: An examination of the relationship between teachers' judgments and students' performance across a continuum of rating methods.

Teacher perceptions about students' academic abilities are important for several reasons (e.g., instructional decision making, special education entitlement decisions). Not surprisingly, researchers have investigated the accuracy of teachers' decisions. Although some data reveal that teachers are relatively good judges of academic performance, other findings have suggested otherwise. A likely explanation for conflicting findings is the varying assessment methods (e.g., direct vs. indirect, norm-referenced vs. peer-independent) and different data analysis procedures that have been used across studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate a continuum of teacher-perception assessment methods as they corresponded to students' oral reading fluency performance. Participants included 10 teachers and 87 first, second, and third grade students from a suburban school in the northeast. Overall results suggested that teachers were generally accurate when estimating students' performance when students had strong oral reading fluency skills, but teachers had more difficulty judging students with average to low oral reading fluency. Further, data interpretation of teachers' judgment accuracy differed somewhat depending upon the statistical method employed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research related to this study are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curriculum-based measurement in reading: A comparison of similar versus challenging material.

Although research has demonstrated that long-term goals based on the student's instructional match are most sensitive to student gains, there have been few studies investigating whether probe material should be selected from material in which the student is currently instructed or from material in which the student is expected to be instructional after 1 year. The purpose of this study was to determine whether similar material or challenging material would be the most sensitive for progress monitoring of student oral reading fluency. The oral reading fluency of 20 students reading on a 2nd grade level was monitored concurrently with similar and challenging material. The results of this study suggested that the measures were equally sensitive. However, both types of measurement appear to have significant error associated with the data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Story retell: A fluency-based indicator of reading comprehension.

This article presents a fluency-based measure of reading comprehension. A part of the Vitals Indicators of Progress (VIP) system, the measure outlined here represents an alternate form to the retell-fluency measure in the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy System (DIBELS). Measures of retell fluency provide an efficient, fluency-based tool for teachers to use in identifying the handful of children whose oral reading fluency may not adequately represent comprehension. When used in tandem with oral fluency measures, retell measures provide a vehicle for more reliably targeting classroom and school-level resources and for maximizing the efficiency and effectiveness of early reading instruction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repeated reading intervention: Outcomes and interactions with readers' skills and classroom instruction.

This study examined effects of a repeated reading intervention, Quick Reads, with incidental word-level scaffolding instruction. Second- and third-grade students with passage-reading fluency performance between the 10th and 60th percentiles were randomly assigned to dyads, which were in turn randomly assigned to treatment (paired tutoring, n = 82) or control (no tutoring, n = 80) conditions. Paraeducators tutored dyads for 30 min per day, 4 days per week, for 15 weeks (November-March). At midintervention, most teachers with students in the study were formally observed during their literacy blocks. Multilevel modeling was used to test for direct treatment effects on pretest-posttest gains as well as to test for unique treatment effects after classroom oral text reading time, 2 pretests, and corresponding interactions were accounted for. Model results revealed both direct and unique treatment effects on gains in word reading and fluency. Moreover, complex interactions between group, oral text reading time, and pretests were also detected, suggesting that pretest skills should be taken into account when considering repeated reading instruction for 2nd and 3rd graders with low to average passage-reading fluency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher expectations: Self-fulfilling prophecies, perceptual biases, and accuracy.

Students' performance may confirm teachers' expectations because teacher expectations create self-fulfilling prophecies, create perceptual biases, or accurately predict, without influencing, student performance. Longitudinal data obtained from 27 teachers and 429 students in 6th-grade math classes assessed the extent of self-fulfilling prophecies, perceptual biases, and accuracy. Results revealed modest self-fulfilling-prophecy effects on student achievement and motivation, modest biasing effects on the grades teachers assigned students, and that teacher expectations predicted student performance more because they were accurate than because they caused student performance. Results provide more support for perspectives emphasizing limitations on expectancy effects than for perspectives emphasizing the power of expectancies to create social reality. They also provide more evidence of accuracy in social perception than of error and bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“Progress monitoring in oral reading fluency within the context of RTI”: Correction.

Reports an error in "Progress monitoring in oral reading fluency within the context of RTI" by Amy-Jane Griffiths, Amanda M. VanDerHeyden, Mary Skokut and Elena Lilles (School Psychology Quarterly, 2009[Mar], Vol 24[1], 13-23). The slopes reported in text were incorrect. The correct information is as follows: The average slope across the four measurement occasions for students who had a successful RTI on the familiar passage was 8.98 wc/min per week and on the novel passage was 2.06 wc/min per week. The average slope for students who had an unsuccessful RTI was 4.6 wc/min per week on the familiar passage and -1.5 wc/min per week on the novel passage. These values were correctly depicted in Figure 1. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-03189-002.) Selecting appropriate measures to make decisions about child response to intervention is a key concern. The most commonly used assessment tool in response to intervention (RTI) models is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). However, an issue related to the use of CBM is the identification of measures that are of similar difficulty. To the degree that variation in performance across measurement occasions can be attributed to anything other than student learning, errors in judgment about student RTI may be made. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy and efficiency of using a single CBM passage for progress monitoring at key intervals during individual reading intervention compared to using several passages that had been individually equated. Results indicated that decisions made based on a standard passage did not differ from decisions made based on scores obtained on the individually equated passages but were much more cost efficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effective teacher behavior as a function of learner ability.

Examined relations between the size of a process–product correlation and teacher behavior, student ability, and subject area taught, using 15 elementary reading classes and 6 elementary arithmetic classes. Frequency measures were obtained from the observation records on 22 behaviors identified by classroom teachers as indicators of teaching competence. Expected achievement gains of high- and low-ability students were estimated from their standardized achievement test scores. Expected gains of both types of students in each subject area were correlated with each of the 22 indicators of competence to identify patterns of effective teacher behavior. Results show that 20 of the 88 correlations were significant. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that a different pattern of teacher behavior was maximally effective in each context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers as leaders: A moderator variable approach.

A review of research on teachers as leaders shows that current approaches have produced unclear and inconsistent results. A new approach—viewing teachers in a situational context—is suggested. 155 students filled out 2 questionnaires; the 1st (administered during the 5th wk of class) contained measures of teacher leadership behavior and student role clarity, and the 2nd (administered during the 10th wk) measured overall student satisfaction with the class. Student performance was also assessed at the 10th wk. It was found that (a) student performance significantly correlated with teacher supportiveness and directiveness under low role clarity but not high role clarity, and (b) the differences in these correlations were statistically significant. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of test familiarity and student disability status upon teachers' judgments of students' test performance.

Two questions motivated this study: (a) Does test familiarity influence teachers' judgments of their students' test performance? and (b) Does the disability status of students influence their teachers' judgments? Teachers (n=19) judged item performances for one student with disabilities and one student without disabilities (n pairs=19) from their fourth-grade classrooms. Teachers made judgments using (a) a mathematics test from the research version of the TerraNova CTBS Multiple Assessments edition, which is similar to the large-scale achievement test administered in numerous states, and (b) classroom-based math tests. Judgment accuracy was higher (a) on classroom tests and (b) for students without disabilities. Among less accurate judgments, teachers consistently underestimated the performances of students with disabilities. Students with disabilities performed lower on both types of tests. Student test performance accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in teacher judgment accuracy. Implications of these findings for future research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selecting at-risk first-grade readers for early intervention: Eliminating false positives and exploring the promise of a two-stage gated screening process.

The purposes of this study were (a) to identify measures that when added to a base 1st-grade screening battery help eliminate false positives and (b) to investigate gains in efficiency associated with a 2-stage gated screening procedure. We tested 355 children in the fall of 1st grade and assessed for reading difficulty at the end of 2nd grade. The base screening model included measures of phonemic awareness, rapid naming skill, oral vocabulary, and initial word identification fluency (WIF). Short-term WIF progress monitoring (intercept and slope), dynamic assessment, running records, and oral reading fluency were each considered as an additional screening measure in contrasting models. Results indicated that the addition of WIF progress monitoring and dynamic assessment, but not running records or oral reading fluency, significantly decreased false positives. The 2-stage gated screening process using phonemic decoding efficiency in the 1st stage significantly reduced the number of children requiring the full screening battery. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generalizability of oral reading fluency measures: Application of G theory to curriculum-based measurement.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the use of Generalizability (G) theory as an alternative method of validating direct behavioral measures. Reliability and validity from a classic test score theory are explored and rephrased in terms of G theory. Two studies that used oral reading fluency measures within a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) approach are examined with G theory. Results indicate that CBM oral reading fluency measures are highly dependable and can be reliably used to make both between individual (nomothetic) and within individual (ideographic) decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Collaborative teacher roles: special and general educators

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the perceptions of a national sample of elementary-level learning disabilities resource teachers (n = 83) and elementary general education teachers (n = 64) in regard to actual and ideal performance of collaborative roles. Resource teacher perceptions of constraints on their performance of collaborative roles also were examined. Results indicated significant differences between teacher perceptions of actual and ideal performance of collaborative roles. Constraints on resource teachers' collaborative role performance were identified.     

Self-serving bias in the classroom: Who shows it? Who knows it?

Two studies were conducted to explore student and teacher attributions for success and failure. In the first study, college students were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 roles (student, teacher, or observer). The teacher constructed a written lesson for the student to study. Both teachers and students made self-serving attributions taking credit for success, but not for failure. Although their attributions differed, participants in each role were aware of how participants in the other roles would make their attributions. A second study surveyed college teachers, students, and staff concerning actual previous high and low grades. The results replicated those of the first study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling oral reading fluency development in Latino students: A longitudinal study across second and third grade.

This study examines growth in oral reading fluency across 2nd and 3rd grade for Latino students grouped in 3 English proficiency levels: students receiving English as a second language (ESL) services (n = 2,182), students exited from ESL services (n = 965), and students never designated as needing services (n = 1,857). An important focus was to learn whether, within these 3 groups, proficiency levels and growth were reliably related to special education status. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the authors compared proficiency levels and growth in oral reading fluency in English between and within groups and then to state reading benchmarks. Findings indicate that oral reading fluency scores reliably distinguished between students with learning disabilities and typically developing students within each group (effect sizes ranging from 0.96 to 1.51). The growth trajectory included a significant quadratic trend (generally slowing over time). These findings support the effectiveness of using oral reading fluency in English to screen and monitor reading progress under Response to Intervention models, but also suggest caution in interpreting oral reading fluency data as part of the process in identifying students with learning disabilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Code-oriented instruction for kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties: A randomized field trial with paraeducator implementers.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of code-oriented supplemental instruction for kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties. Paraeducators were trained to provide 18 weeks of explicit instruction in phonemic skills and the alphabetic code. Students identified by their teachers meeting study eligibility criteria were randomly assigned to 2 groups: individual supplemental instruction and control. Students were pretested in December, midtested, and posttested in May-June of kindergarten. At posttest, treatment students significantly outperformed controls on measures of reading accuracy, reading efficiency, oral reading fluency, and developmental spelling. Treatment students had significantly higher linear growth rates in phonemic awareness and alphabetic knowledge during the kindergarten treatment. At a 1-year follow-up, significant group differences remained in reading accuracy and efficiency. Ethical challenges of longitudinal intervention research are discussed. Findings have policy implications for making supplemental instruction in critical early reading skills available. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of cognitive style on perceived satisfaction and performance among students and teachers.

Examined the influence of matched or mismatched cognitive styles on perceived satisfaction and performance among students and teachers in 8 classrooms with 192 9th–12th graders. Field-dependence/independence was assessed using the Group Embedded Figures Test; both satisfaction and performance were assessed with Likert-type questionnaire items. ANOVA revealed the predicted interaction effect (favoring matched styles) on student perceptions of satisfaction and a similar trend on perceptions of teacher effectiveness. Although field-independent students scored higher on standardized measures of academic ability, classroom grades were unrelated to student cognitive style. Field-dependent students, however, were perceived as exerting greater effort in class, thus indicating that teachers award grades according to a combination of student ability and perceived effort. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender difference as a factor in teachers' perceptions of students.

Elementary school teachers' perceptions of students were assessed by having teachers rate 157 boys and 127 girls in their 1st–6th grade classes on the School Behavior Check List. Multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between the student characteristics of sex, IQ, reading achievement, and grade level and teacher ratings of students on the Check List. This technique was used because sex, academic ability, and achievement are confounded variables in elementary school populations. Results show that student ability and achievement were more potent factors in teacher perceptions than gender per se. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships among attitudes about homework, amount of homework assigned and completed, and student achievement.

Students (n?=?709), parents, and teachers (n?=?82) completed a questionnaire concerning amount of homework assigned by teachers, portion of assignments completed by students, and attitudes about homework. Student achievement measures were also collected. Weak relations were found between the amount of homework assigned and student achievement. Positive relations were found between the amount of homework students completed and achievement, especially at upper grades (6–12). At lower grades (2 and 4), teacher-assigned homework was related to negative student attitudes. At upper grades, teachers with more positive attitudes toward homework and those whose students performed more poorly on standardized tests reported assigning more homework. A path analysis for lower grades indicated that class grades were predicted only by standardized test scores and the proportion of homework completed by students. At upper grades, class grade predictors also included parent, teacher, and student attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth on the evaluation of college instructors.

Examined the influence of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth as perceived by students and teachers on teacher evaluation. Male and female instructors in the same department were matched on the level of course taught. 22 pairs of courses evaluated by 838 college students were obtained. Twenty Instructional Improvement Questionnaire items that directly evaluate instructor performance were analyzed using a 3-factor analysis of variance and the .0025 level of significance. No interactions between faculty sex, student sex, and teacher warmth were found. When Ss rated their instructor's interest and warmth, teachers who were warmer and primarily interested in students received higher ratings in teaching effectiveness. When teachers rated themselves on warmth and interest, self-ratings interacted with faculty sex. Generally, female teachers received higher effectiveness ratings than did male teachers when they considered themselves low in warmth or interested in course content. Male teachers who rated themselves high in warmth or primarily interested in students received higher ratings than did male teachers who rated themselves low in warmth or primarily interested in course content, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The teacher and student as Pygmalions: Joint effects of teacher and student expectations.

Examined the effects of teachers' expectations about students and students' expectations about teachers on the performance and attitudes of both participants. 60 female undergraduates were designated as teachers and were led to expect a high- or low-ability student, and a further 60 Ss acting as students were independently led to expect a teacher of low or high competence. Teachers and students were then randomly paired in a teaching session. Results show that student performance was a function of the teacher's expectations. In addition, teachers' attitudes and rated competence were affected by their expectation regarding the student, and students' attitudes were affected by their expectation about the teacher. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)