Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Mathematics

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) scores and mathematics problem solving scores. The reading fluency scores were obtained from the Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy (DIBELS) assessment. The mathematics problem solving scores were obtained from the Indiana State Test ofEducation Progress Plus (ISTEP+) assessment. In addition, error patterns found in mathematics problem solving on ISTEP+ and Acuity Diagnostic Tests were analyzed. The purpose of the quantitative study was to determine if DIBELS ORF scores were correlated with mathematics problem solving ISTEP+ scores. A linear regression was conducted to determine the significance of the correlation. The purpose of the qualitative study was to determine error patterns found on the Mathematics Problem Solving portion of the ISTEP+ test and the Acuity Mathematics Diagnostic test. For both studies, the data were evaluated for the whole group, male group, and female group. For the qualitative analysis, data were also examined based on DIBELS oral reading fluency level. A total of 121 students in Grades 3, 4 and 5 were used for the study. The students attended an inner city school in the midwestern portion of Indiana. Several ethnic groups were represented, including Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, and multiracial. The majority was from high poverty level homes and qualified for either free or reduced lunch services. The results of the quantitative portion of this study indicated that for the whole group a moderately significant positive correlation existed between DIBELS ORF scores and ISTEP+ mathematical problem solving scores. The data for the male group had a low significant positive correlation and a strong significant positive correlation for the Female group. DIBELS ORF scores were a significant predictor of ISTEP+ mathematics scores for all three groups. The results of the qualitative study indicated that student reading fluency level impacted mathematics problem solving ability. Consistently, those students reading at the benchmark level outperformed those students reading at the strategic and intensive levels. From both the ISTEP+ and Acuity Diagnostic assessment, several error patterns were determined. These error patterns included the number of words per question, mathematical vocabulary and terminology, unfamiliar scenarios, use of ethnic or uncommon names, nonstandard words for computation, and multiple meanings within the questions. The errors were prevalent for both genders and most common at the intensive reading level.

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