Abstract
The Computerized Monitoring of Early Reading Skills (CMERS) is a computer adaptive test designed to measure reading skills (alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency) in students in kindergarten through third grade. This test as well as conventional counterparts (CTOPP blending and sound matching; PPVT; WRMT word identification, word attack, and passage comprehension; WRAT spelling; DIBELS ORF, NWF, PSF measures; letter name and letter sound tests) and outcome measures (WRMT word identification, SAT-9, and FCAT-NRT) were given to 123 kindergarten students, 124 first grade students, and 119 third grade students in order to assess the validity of the CMERS measures. The results indicated that while the CMERS measures have good convergent validity there was little evidence for discriminant validity. The conventional measures always accounted for significantly more variance in the outcome measures than the CMERS or DIBELS measures. However, the classification rates of CMERS were similar to those for the conventional measures as well as the DIBELS measures. The results suggest that a) CMERS is a good first attempt at a computer adaptive test for reading given the convergent validity and b)CMERS could be used as a tool in the classroom for progress monitoring, but it is more time consuming for the student than current procedures.
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