Validation of the Monitoring Academic Progress: Reading (MAP: R): Development and Investigation of a Group-Administered Comprehension-Based Tool for RTI

Monitoring Academic Progress: Reading (MAP: R), a silent, group-administered screener was piloted as part of a comprehensive Response to Intervention program. MAP: R along with AIMSweb© Maze and STAR reading were administered to 1,688 students in Grades 1-3. Overall alternate-form reliabilities for MAP: R resulted in moderately high stability (Grade 1 = .79, Grade 2 = .78, and Grade 3 = .75). Test-retest reliability was .90 for Grade1, .84 for Grade 2, and .89 for Grade 3. Concurrent validity, correlations for MAP: R and AIMSweb© Maze ranged from .43 to .69, with correlations for MAP: R and STAR ranging from .48 to .67. Predictive validity was determined using end-of-the-year STAR reading scores as the criterion for MAP: R and AIMSweb© Maze. Results of a stepwise regression indicated that MAP: R scores predicted 37% of the variance in STAR scores and AIMSweb© Maze failed to add additional predictive variance. Data support the utility of MAP: R as a reading screener for progress monitoring within a Response to Intervention framework, though additional data are needed.