Indicators of Screening for Reading and Mathematical Disabilities in Cycle One Schools of Elementary Education in the Sultanate of Oman

Abstract

The current study aimed at identifying performance indicators to screen for reading and mathematical disabilities in second and fourth grades in Oman. A number of curricula based measurements in reading were administered, including: letter sound identification, word segmentation, nonword segmentation, word reading, nonword reading, oral reading fluency (ORF) to assess reading fluency, and maze to assess reading comprehension. Furthermore, a number of mathematical CBM in computation were administered to both grades. The sample included two groups of participants: raters and students. Raters included 46 )22 Arabic teachers and 24 mathematics teachers(, whereas students who participated in the study were 126 from both genders )66 in the second grade and 60 in the fourth grade(. Angoff method was used to determine screening indicators and cut off scores. Students’ performance on CBM was described in the light of these indicators. The study results indicated the adequacy of reading and mathematics CBMs as they showed good psychometric properties. Additionally, performance indicators in the different skills were created to screen for learning disabilities in second and fourth grades.