Reading as an Access to Mathematics Problem Solving on Multiple-Choice Tests for Sixth-Grade Students

Importance of Middle School Mathematics on High School Students' Mathematics Achievement

“…We included a measure of English skills, the student's eighth-grade CTBS reading score, because prior research indicates that reading skills significantly affect mathematics word problem-solving ability (Helwig et al, 1999). We also included specific indicators of eighth-grade mathematics achievement: students' cumulative grade point average to measure general ability, and students' mathematics course grade.…”

“…Given that recent research has tlemonstrated that students with poor reading skills are at a disadvantage in their problem-solving skills when mathematics problems are word based (Helwig, Rozeck-Tedesco, Tindal, Heath, & Almond, 1999) and that ELLS have been shown to score significantly below students who speak fluent English across all racial and ethnic groups in mathematics (Wang & Goldschmidt, 1999), we included reading achievement scores to lest whether the joint effect of language competency and reading skills influences mathematics achievement.…”

Examining the Effectiveness of Test Accommodation Using DIF and a Mixture IRT Model

“…Complexity in these studies referred to quantitative features of the text within the items (e.g., word length, number of sentences, words per sentence, number of verbs). Common findings were that the benefits of accommodation varied according to academic competence and complexity of the item; for highly complex items, accommodation benefited only students with high academic competence (Bolt & Thurlow, 2007;Fuchs & Fuchs, 2002;Helwig, Rozek-Tedesco, Tindal, Heath, & Almond, 1999).…”

Exploring individual and item factors that affect assessment validity for diverse learners: Results from a large-scale cognitive lab

“…Specifically, language and cultural factors have been shown to play a significant role in mathematics assessment, where difficulties with understanding context and language can impede students' ability to understand and solve problems (Abedi & Lord, 2001;August & Hakuta, 1997;Cuevas, 1984;Cummins, Kintsch, Reusser, & Weimer, 1988;Kopriva, 2000;Kopriva & Saez, 1997;LeCelle-Peterson & Rivera, 1994;Mestre, 1988;Solano-Flores & Trumbull, 2003). Access is also an issue for native English speakers who are poor readers (Clements, 1980;Helwig et al, 1999;Newman, 1977) and those who have learning disabilities (Tindal, Heath, Hollenbeck, Almond, & Harniss, 1998). Research to date has tended to focus on broad grouplevel differences and on the effectiveness of various test modifications, including linguistic simplification and read-aloud options, for group members (Abedi, Lord, Hoffstetter, & Baker, 2000;Helwig et al, 1999;Homan, Hewitt, & Linder, 1994).…”

“…Access is also an issue for native English speakers who are poor readers (Clements, 1980;Helwig et al, 1999;Newman, 1977) and those who have learning disabilities (Tindal, Heath, Hollenbeck, Almond, & Harniss, 1998). Research to date has tended to focus on broad grouplevel differences and on the effectiveness of various test modifications, including linguistic simplification and read-aloud options, for group members (Abedi, Lord, Hoffstetter, & Baker, 2000;Helwig et al, 1999;Homan, Hewitt, & Linder, 1994). What is needed now for the improvement of test development and administration and test score interpretation is a more finely grained analysis of the interaction between individual and item factors.…”