Identifying Struggling Readers in Middle School with ORF, Maze and Prior Year Assessment Data

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a framework with the primary purpose of early identification and prevention of learning problems. Screening procedures identify students in need of targeted intervention, but current screening research is limited to the elementary grades. This study explored the use of screening measures: prior year assessment data, oral reading fluency (ORF), and maze, to predict performance on Georgia’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT-8) for 236 eighth grade students from one district in Georgia. Logistic regression analyses compared the accuracy of the predictor variables. Overall classification accuracy was 96.6% for ORF and maze and 97.1% for CRCT-7; however, this was primarily due to the low base rate of poor performance on the CRCT-8 in the sample. A combination of screens did not significantly improve classification accuracy. A screening process that used CRCT-7 data followed by fall ORF resulted in 100% sensitivity and 90% specificity. Implications for practice are discussed