Structured Abstract
Setting
This project will take place in public schools in four settings: a large Mid-Atlantic metropolitan area, a large city in the Northeast, a large city in the Southwest, and a small Midwestern city.
Sample
The assessment is being developed for and evaluated with both monolingual English speakers and English language learners. Between 300 and 1,200 students participate in each of the reliability, validity, and norming studies.
Research design and methods
During phases 1 and 2, the researchers will develop texts and items and pilot them for the underlying components of comprehension. Initial studies are being conducted to determine that subtests are developmentally sensitive, usable with English language learners, and related to other reading assessments that target similar constructs. During phase 3, the researchers are conducting a larger-scale validity study using a broader sample of students and relating performance on the DARC to performance on the Gray Oral, the state assessments, and textbook end-of-chapter assessments of text-based reading in the content areas. In phase 4, the researchers are norming the assessment and equating multiple forms.
Key measures
Both researcher-developed and standardized assessments are being used to assess student knowledge.
Data analytic strategy
Validity will be evaluated using item response methods and confirmatory factor analysis to compare performance on DARC sub-scores to other targeted assessments of the hypothesized comprehension processes, and by relating DARC scores to performance on standardized and state-prescribed reading assessments, as well as textbook specific end-of-chapter assessments.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.
Select Publications
Book chapters
Pan, B., and Uccelli, P. (2009). Semantic Development. In J. Berko-Gleason, and N. Bernstein Ratner (Eds.), The Development of Language (pp. 104-138). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Uccelli, P., and Snow, C.E. (2008). A Research Agenda for Educational Linguistics. In B. Spolsky, F. M. Hult (Ed.), The Handbook of Educational Linguistics (pp. 626-642). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
Journal articles
August, D., Francis, D., Hsu, H-Y.A., and Snow, C. (2006). Assessing Reading Comprehension in Bilinguals. Elementary School Journal, 107(2): 221-239.
Francis, D., Snow, C., August, D., Carlson, C., Miller, J., and Iglesias, A. (2006). Measures of Reading Comprehension: A Latent Variable Analysis of the Diagnostic Assessment of Reading Comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 10(3): 301-322.
Malabonga, V., Kenyon, D., Carlo, M. August, D., and Louguit, M. (2008). Development of a Cognate Awareness Measure for Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners. Language Testing, 24(4): 495-519.
Uccelli, P., and Páez, M. (2007). Narrative and Vocabulary Development of Bilingual Children From Kindergarten to First Grade: Developmental Changes and Associations Among English and Spanish Skills. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38: 1-13.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
