PROJECTS
Dynamic Assessments of Decoding and Vocabulary
Publications/Presentations:
Cho, E., Fuchs, L. S., Seethaler, P. M., Fuchs, D., & Compton, D. L. (2020). Dynamic assessment for identifying Spanish-speaking English learners’ risk for mathematics disabilities: Does language of administration matter? Journal of Learning Disabilities. 53(5), 380-398. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219419898887
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Cho, E., Compton, D. L., & +Josol, C. K. (2020). Dynamic assessment as a screening tool for early identification of reading disabilities: A latent change score approach. Reading and Writing, 33, 719-739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-019-09984-1
Cho, E., Compton, D. L., Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., & Bouton, B. (2014). Examining the predictive validity of dynamic assessment of decoding to forecast response to Tier 2 intervention. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 47,409-423. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022219412466703 [IF = 2.34]
Cho, E., Kim, E. H., & Josol, C. K. (2021, July). Dynamic assessments of decoding and vocabulary: Preliminary investigation of their validity. Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading.
Funders: Dunn Family Foundation; Learning Disabilities Foundation of America
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Description:
More than half of Michigan third graders have not been able to develop reading proficiency as evidenced by the scores on the M-STEP. Recognizing the early elementary grades as a critical developmental window for building foundational reading skills, Michigan passed the Public Act 306, known as “Read by Grade 3” law in the fall of 2016. This law emphasizes the importance of early screening of risk for reading difficulties and early provision of extra instructional support for those at risk and who are not reading at their grade level. Similarly, many states passed the dyslexia laws that require early screening and identification of students with dyslexia in grades K-3.
Within this context, we developed a novel assessment approach, called a dynamic assessment, that can help early identify students at risk for developing learning disabilities in areas of word reading and reading comprehension.
A typical assessment asks students to perform independently. This approach measures mastery of past learning and is summative. In dynamic assessment, students are taught the skills and strategies to learn what is being tested through a series of structured instructional prompts. It is teaching while assessing at the same time! The purpose of integrating teaching and assessing as a unified activity is to better understand what students will be able to do in the future when support from more competent individuals is offered. Dynamic assessment is based on Vygotsky’s socio-cultural perspective on learning. The premise that learning is nurtured through social interactions (instruction) that push students through their zone of proximal development.
The goal of dynamic assessment closely aligns with a response to intervention (RTI) model in that it takes into account students’ response to instruction when assessing students' instructional needs. Therefore, its use in the RTI process has been highlighted in the literature as well as in our studies (Grigorenko, 2010; Wagner & Compton, 2012; Cho, Compton, et al., 2014).
We partnered with three local schools to develop dynamic assessments of decoding (learning letter-sound correspondence and blending) and vocabulary (making inferences about word meaning from contexts) for kindergarten students. Initial evidence indicates these novel assessments have adequate reliability and validity (Cho, Kim, & Josol, 2021).
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Examples of dynamic assessment materials.