- Behavior Modification, Applied Research, Educational Psychology, Reading Fluency, Positive Behavior Support, Phonological processing, and 7 moreReading Comprehension, Early Literacy, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, School Psychology, Eye Tracking (in reading), Early Intervention, and Psychologyedit
ABSTRACT Academic demands are central to the lives of children living in the information age and in industrial societies. Schools are the workplaces of children and are the gateways into adult work for most adolescents. Historically,... more
ABSTRACT Academic demands are central to the lives of children living in the information age and in industrial societies. Schools are the workplaces of children and are the gateways into adult work for most adolescents. Historically, academic concerns are the most common reason that children are referred for special education services within schools and are central to many requests for outpatient services (Lloyd, Kauffman, Landrum, & Roe, 1991). The synergy between children's academic and social/emotional functioning creates a complex interrelationship in which mental health problems can adversely affect children's educational attainment and academic success affects mental health (Johnson, McGue, & Iacono, 2006). Children who suffer from depression, anxiety, or Attention-Deficit/Hyper-activity Disorder (ADHD) are at an apparent disadvantage in attending to, completing, and profiting from instruction. Similarly, children who are at risk for or exhibit conduct problems are at increased risk for poor academic achievement that may result from the interaction of diverse factors (Montague, Enders, & Castro, 2005). The synergy also exists when examined from the opposite perspective. Children who repeatedly fail at school are more likely to exhibit anxiety, depression, negative self-esteem, and conduct problems (Jimerson, Carlson, Rotert, Egeland, & Sroufe, 1997). When phenomena co-occur, the question of causation naturally arises. Are the client's academic difficulties the result of psychopathology such as a depressive disorder, is the depressive disorder the result of frustration and chronic failure at school, or are both concerns the result of a third factor? The limitations of correlational and epidemiological research likely preclude a strong determination of a causal connection between psychopathology and academic performance. Additionally, the ways psychopathology and academic attainment interact may be substantively idiographic. For some children, psychopathology may create substantive barriers to academic achievement; for others, psychopathological symptoms may be largely the result of chronic negative environmental events resulting from academic failure that are nearly inescapable due to mandatory school attendance. Although parents and teachers may view psychopathology as causing academic concerns, for some children academic concerns may be an important stressor contributing to psychopathology (Jimerson et al., 1997; Kelley, Reitman, & Noell, 2002).
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The overarching purpose of the proposed study is to examine whether as a function of condition (with- or without-text access) there is a difference in students' (a) reading behavior on text, questions, and multiple-choice response... more
The overarching purpose of the proposed study is to examine whether as a function of condition (with- or without-text access) there is a difference in students' (a) reading behavior on text, questions, and multiple-choice response options ( b) response accuracy, and (c) speed and accuracy in locating a sentences within the passage when words in the passage are replaced with X's and O's. Students will read a passage and then respond to multiple choice questions either with- or without-access to text dependent on the condition to which they were assigned. Regardless of condition, after answering all multiple-choice questions, students will be asked to highlight where in the passage a phrase is located. The letters of all words that make up the passage for this final part of the experiment will be replaced with X's and O's, so that only the structure of the passage remains. Students will be asked to perform this task for two separate phrases for each passage. All st...
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Page 1. Curriculum-Based Measurement of Oral Reading: Standard Errors Associated With Progress Monitoring Outcomes From DIBELS, AIMSweb, and an Experimental Passage Set Scott P. Ardoin University of Georgia Theodore J. Christ University... more
Page 1. Curriculum-Based Measurement of Oral Reading: Standard Errors Associated With Progress Monitoring Outcomes From DIBELS, AIMSweb, and an Experimental Passage Set Scott P. Ardoin University of Georgia Theodore J. Christ University of Minnesota Abstract. ...
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The time students spend actively engaged with instruction is positively correlated with their academic achievement (Dotterer and Lowe in J Youth Adolesc 40:1649–1660, 2011). Conversely, the time spent transitioning between activities is... more
The time students spend actively engaged with instruction is positively correlated with their academic achievement (Dotterer and Lowe in J Youth Adolesc 40:1649–1660, 2011). Conversely, the time spent transitioning between activities is inversely related to the time spent in productive learning activities, thus limiting opportunities for student engagement (Cameron et al. in J Sch Psychol 43:61–85, 2005; Codding and Smyth in J Educ Psychol Consult 18:325–345, 2008). As such, there is a need for behavioral interventions that facilitate effective and efficient transitions. In this applied study, teachers and students implemented an interdependent group contingency to decrease durations of between-class transitions in 4 elementary school classrooms. The treatment package included explicit timing, visual performance feedback, and progressive performance criteria (Brogan et al. in Behav Modif 41:405–421, 2017) in which each class had to outperform its prior shortest transition time to earn rewards. Treatment effects were examined using an ABAB design. Classes demonstrated high implementation fidelity and teachers generally reported high acceptability of the intervention, although correspondence between indirect and direct measures of social validity varied.
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School-based professionals often use curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R) to monitor the progress of students with reading difficulties. Much of the extant CBM-R progress monitoring research has focused on its use for making... more
School-based professionals often use curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R) to monitor the progress of students with reading difficulties. Much of the extant CBM-R progress monitoring research has focused on its use for making group-level decisions, and less is known about using CBM-R to make decisions at the individual level. To inform the administration and use of CBM-R progress monitoring data, the current study evaluated the utility of 4 progress monitoring schedules that differed in frequency (once or twice weekly) and density (1 or 3 probes). Participants included 79 students (43% female; 51% White, 25% Hispanic or Latino, 11% Black or African American, 1% other, 12% unknown) in Grades 2 (n = 45) and 4 (n = 34) who were monitored across 10 weeks (February to May). Consistent with a focus on individual-level decision making, we used regression and mixed-factorial analysis of variances (ANOVAs) to evaluate the effect of progress monitoring schedule frequency, schedule density, grade level, and their interaction effects on CBM-R intercept, slope, SE of the slope (SEb), and SE of the estimate (SEE). Results revealed that (a) progress monitoring schedule frequency and density influenced the magnitude of SEb, (b) density had a significant but negligible impact on SEE, and (c) grade level had a significant effect on slope and intercept. None of the interaction effects were statistically significant. Findings from this study have implications for practitioners and researchers aiming to monitor students’ progress with CBM-R.
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Strategic Incremental Rehearsal (SIR) is a recently developed flashcard intervention that blends Traditional Drill with Incremental Rehearsal (IR) for teaching sight words. The initial study evaluating SIR found it was more effective than... more
Strategic Incremental Rehearsal (SIR) is a recently developed flashcard intervention that blends Traditional Drill with Incremental Rehearsal (IR) for teaching sight words. The initial study evaluating SIR found it was more effective than IR for teaching sight words to first-grade students. However, that study failed to assess efficiency, which is important to consider when evaluating and selecting interventions. Therefore, the current study evaluated both the efficiency and effectiveness of SIR compared with IR for teaching sight words to 4 general education students (3 in second grade and 1 in first grade) who were enrolled in 1 of 2 schools. An alternating treatments single-case design was used to compare the effects of SIR and IR interventions implemented 4 days per week across 4 or 5 weeks. Students’ accuracy with words that were introduced during the week was assessed on Fridays, and maintenance of these words was assessed the following Friday. Results indicated that both interventions were effective for teaching students sight words, but that SIR was slightly more effective and efficient than IR for 3 of the 4 students. Findings have implications for the selection of flashcard interventions for teaching sight word vocabulary to early elementary students.
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For most individuals, the field of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) evokes thoughts related to the use of assessment procedures to evaluate the causes of aberrant behavior, the use of reinforcement to produce modifications in social... more
For most individuals, the field of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) evokes thoughts related to the use of assessment procedures to evaluate the causes of aberrant behavior, the use of reinforcement to produce modifications in social behavior, and/or teaching of basic skills to individuals with disabilities. The principles of ABA, however, also apply to assessing the academic needs of students, selecting appropriate academic interventions, and evaluating individual students’ response to intervention (RTI). In this chapter, the authors describe ABA as a foundation of RTI models. The chapter begins with a description of differences between traditional assessment and behavioral assessment and how those differences necessitate a change in the manner by which schools determine why a student is struggling behaviorally and/or academically. The authors then discuss the fundamental principles of ABA and how those principles can guide schools in better selecting both behavioral and academic targets for change, selecting and developing appropriate interventions, and finally measuring intervention effectiveness.
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Repeated readings (RR) and listening passage preview (LPP) are commonly used reading fluency interventions. However, relatively little is known about the behavioral changes that occur in children's reading in response to these... more
Repeated readings (RR) and listening passage preview (LPP) are commonly used reading fluency interventions. However, relatively little is known about the behavioral changes that occur in children's reading in response to these interventions and what reading behavior, if any, students engage in during LPP. As such, in the current study, 57 third-grade students were randomly assigned to either a RR or LPP + RR condition. Intervention effects were evaluated by measuring students' oral reading fluency and eye-movement (EM) behaviors. Results revealed similar outcomes across measures. Students in both conditions significantly increased their words read correctly per minute and decreased the number of errors made in reading, total fixation time, frequency of fixations, and percentage of words fixated. EM measures indicated students' reading improved particularly on low-frequency words because of a reduction in time spent on high-level text processing. Results have implications...
Research Interests: Psychology and Medicine
Research suggests that students spend a substantial amount of time transitioning between classroom activities, which may reduce time spent academically engaged. This study used an ABAB design to evaluate the effects of a computer-assisted... more
Research suggests that students spend a substantial amount of time transitioning between classroom activities, which may reduce time spent academically engaged. This study used an ABAB design to evaluate the effects of a computer-assisted intervention that automated intervention components previously shown to decrease transition times. We examined the effects of the intervention on the latency to on-task behavior of 4 students in 2 classrooms. Data also were collected on students' on-task behavior during activities and teachers' use of prompts and praise statements. Implementation of the intervention substantially decreased students' latencies to on-task behavior and increased on-task behavior overall. Further, the 2 teachers used fewer prompts to cue students to transition and stay on task and provided more praise during intervention phases. We discuss how automating classroom interventions may affect student and teacher behavior as well as how it may increase procedural fidelity.
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Curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are assessment tools widely employed for universal screening in schools. Although a large body of research supports the validity of CBM-R, limited... more
Curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are assessment tools widely employed for universal screening in schools. Although a large body of research supports the validity of CBM-R, limited empirical evidence exists supporting the technical adequacy of MAP or the acceptability of either measure for universal screening. Purposes of the current study were to replicate and extend prior research by (a) examining the extent to which CBM-R performance measures more than word reading skills, (b) evaluating the concurrent validity of MAP with CBM-R, (c) determining the potential benefit of administering MAP with CBM-R for universal screening, and (d) examining teachers’ acceptability of MAP and CBM-R. Participants included 802 students in Grades 1 to 5 who were administered three CBM-R probes and the MAP during universal screening and 86 elementary teachers who completed a universal screening assessments survey. Results provide evidence of th...
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Abstract. Repeated readings is a frequently studied and recommended intervention for improving reading fluency. Typically, researchers investigate generalization of repeated readings interventions by assessing students' accuracy and... more
Abstract. Repeated readings is a frequently studied and recommended intervention for improving reading fluency. Typically, researchers investigate generalization of repeated readings interventions by assessing students' accuracy and rate on researcher-developed high word overlap passages. Unfortunately, this methodology may mask intervention effects given that the dependent measure is reflective of time spent by students reading both practiced and unpracticed words. Eye-tracking procedures have the potential to overcome this limitation. The current study examined the eye movements of participants who were (a) not provided with any intervention (n = 28), (b) provided with repeated readings on a single passage containing a set of target words (n = 28), or (c) provided the opportunity to read four different passages each containing the same set of target words (n = 28). Students' reading of a novel passage containing the target words provides evidence to support recommendations that schools use repeated readings.
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Although extensive research supports repeated readings (RR) as an intervention for improving reading fluency, it largely ignores reading prosody, which is a key component of reading fluency. The current study extends the RR literature by... more
Although extensive research supports repeated readings (RR) as an intervention for improving reading fluency, it largely ignores reading prosody, which is a key component of reading fluency. The current study extends the RR literature by examining the impact of RR on prosody and whether the content of directions and feedback might impact what components of fluency are improved. Elementary students (N = 76) were randomly assigned to either a rate- or prosody-focused RR intervention. The study differs from existing RR research in that (a) students were average as opposed to struggling students, (b) prosody was evaluated, and (c) measures of prosody were objective as opposed to subjective. Results support previous research suggesting that RR improves fluency but indicate that the nature of the instruction and performance feedback provided to students influences the components of reading fluency (i.e., rate or prosody) that are improved.
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ABSTRACT Fluency and rate-based assessments, such as curriculum-based measurement, are frequently used to screen and evaluate student progress. The application of such measures are especially prevalent within special education and... more
ABSTRACT Fluency and rate-based assessments, such as curriculum-based measurement, are frequently used to screen and evaluate student progress. The application of such measures are especially prevalent within special education and response to intervention models of prevention and early intervention. Although there is an extensive research and professional literature on the development and evaluation of such measures, there is much left to learn with ongoing and future research. This special series presents a series of papers that explore newer topics and plant the seeds for future innovations.
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... An Effective Tool to Assess Adult Literacy Students? by Melissa A. Snyder A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Mount Holyoke College ... has to offer. Karen Hollis. Thank you for your attention to detail and your amazing written... more
... An Effective Tool to Assess Adult Literacy Students? by Melissa A. Snyder A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Mount Holyoke College ... has to offer. Karen Hollis. Thank you for your attention to detail and your amazing written comments. Janice Gifford. ...
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Research and policy have established that data are necessary to guide decisions within education. Many of these decisions are made within problem solving and response to intervention frameworks for service delivery. Curriculum-Based... more
Research and policy have established that data are necessary to guide decisions within education. Many of these decisions are made within problem solving and response to intervention frameworks for service delivery. Curriculum-Based Measurement in Reading (CBM-R) is a widely used data collection procedure within those models of service delivery. Although the evidence for CBM-R as a screening and benchmarking procedure has been summarized multiple times in the literature, there is no comprehensive review of the evidence for its application to monitor and evaluate individual student progress. The purpose of this study was to identify and summarize the psychometric and empirical evidence for CBM-R as it is used to monitor and evaluate student progress. There was an emphasis on the recommended number of data points collected during progress monitoring and interpretive guidelines. The review identified 171 journal articles, chapters, and instructional manuals using online search engines and research databases. Recommendations and evidence from 102 documents that met the study criteria were evaluated and summarized. Results indicate that most decision-making practices are based on expert opinion and that there is very limited psychometric or empirical support for such practices. There is a lack of published evidence to support program evaluation and progress monitoring with CBM-R. More research is required to inform data collection procedures and interpretive guidelines.
Research Interests: Program Evaluation, Psychology, Decision Making, Psychometrics, Educational Measurement, and 15 moreSchool Psychology, Reading, Evidence, Benchmarking, Databases, Curriculum, Schools, Students, Humans, Child, Academic achievement, Data Collection, Decision rules, Educational Status, and Curriculum Based Assessment
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Extensive research has documented the effectiveness of self-evaluation on the behavior and academic performance of students with and without disabilities. Components of self evaluation that have not been fully examined include the... more
Extensive research has documented the effectiveness of self-evaluation on the behavior and academic performance of students with and without disabilities. Components of self evaluation that have not been fully examined include the accuracy and sensitivity of students' ratings ...
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ABSTRACT Abstract:Functional behavioral assessments can consist of indirect, descriptive and experimental procedures, such as a functional analysis. Although the research contains numerous examples demonstrating the effectiveness of... more
ABSTRACT Abstract:Functional behavioral assessments can consist of indirect, descriptive and experimental procedures, such as a functional analysis. Although the research contains numerous examples demonstrating the effectiveness of functional analysis procedures, experimental conditions are often difficult to implement in classroom settings and analog conditions often lack ecological validity. This has led some authors to recommend additional research be conducted to evaluate assessment procedures that are appropriate for classroom settings. This article presents a quantitative review of functional analyses procedures implemented in school settings. Results support previous statements that the literature demonstrating functional analysis procedures in classroom settings is not adequate to guide practice. Practitioners require additional research demonstrating assessment procedures that are appropriate for classroom settings.
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... Brian K. Martens, Tanya L. Eckert, Tracy A. Bradley, and Scott P. Ardoin Syracuse University ... This may become apparent within a relatively short time, with some research demonstrating improvements within four days (McCullough,... more
... Brian K. Martens, Tanya L. Eckert, Tracy A. Bradley, and Scott P. Ardoin Syracuse University ... This may become apparent within a relatively short time, with some research demonstrating improvements within four days (McCullough, Cornell, McDaniel, & Mueller, 1974). ...
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Page 1. School Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 1, 2005, pp. 1-22 Accuracy of Readability Estimates' Predictions of CBM Performance Scott P. Ardoin and Shannon M. Suldo University of South Carolina Joseph Witt Louisiana... more
Page 1. School Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 20, No. 1, 2005, pp. 1-22 Accuracy of Readability Estimates' Predictions of CBM Performance Scott P. Ardoin and Shannon M. Suldo University of South Carolina Joseph Witt Louisiana State University ...
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Page 1. THE RESPONSE IN RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION: EVALUATING THE UTILITY OF ASSESSING MAINTENANCE OF INTERVENTION EFFECTS SCOTT P. ARDOIN University of South Carolina Extensive evidence ...
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Page 1. http://jpa.sagepub.com Assessment Journal of Psychoeducational DOI: 10.1177/073428290502300405 2005; 23; 362 Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment Scott P. Ardoin, Joseph C. Witt, James E. Connell and ...