Study Administration
Once a participating district was identified, Scholastic, AIR, and the district entered into a memorandum of understanding for the study. All parties were in compliance with the standard requirements for data sharing and secured Institutional Review Board approval for procedures and all materials used. Information regarding the study was provided to all school staff and students’ families and all participants had the opportunity to refuse participation without repercussions. A school district in the Southeast with more than 30,000 enrolled students participated in the Scholastic Reading Measure reliability and validity study. Starting in kindergarten, all students in this school district receive a digital device from the district. The student-teacher ratio averages 13:1, and the high school graduation rate is 80%. According to the U.S. Census, the racial/ ethnic composition of the district is 87.1% White, 9.6% Black or African American, and 4.6% Hispanic or Latino. The district administers the Scantron Performance Series ® assessment to students in Grades 1–10 for progress monitoring in the fall, winter, and spring, and currently uses it as the state summative assessment. This is a CAT that can be used to measure proficiency as well as determine program placement.³ As part of the output, the Scantron Performance Series assessment provides a Lexile measure for students in all grades. This Lexile measure was provided as part of the study and used to conduct validity analyses for students in Grades 1–6 who participated in the Reading Measure study.
Technology Audit
Prior to the Reading Measure reliability and validity study, a Scholastic team visited two schools in the district to use the Reading Measure on the district’s technology and network to ensure the best possible experience for students during the study. Student accounts were created specifically for the audit and used on district issued laptops connected to school wireless Internet. The team mimicked research conditions at two schools on multiple accounts. At the end of the audit, both Scholastic and the district were satisfied with the outcome and confident that students would have a seamless experience using the Reading Measure during the reliability and validity study.
3 The Scantron Performance Series assessment is a Web-based CAT that provides scaled scores to measure proficiency and national norming information. The assessment can be used to personalize learning, measure growth over time, serve as a universal screener, and/or determine program placement. For more information on the assessment, please visit www.performanceseries.com.
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SCHOLASTIC RESEARCH & VALIDATION
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