Dynamic Assessment Procedure: A Validation

A preliminary study investigated the value of the Dynamic Assessment Procedure (DAP) for understanding reading behaviors of at-risk high-school-age students. The study also sought to determine teacher interest in and ability to use the DAP information to develop instructional plans. Subjects, 19 students with reading difficulties enrolled in 1 public and 2 private suburban high schools, were administered the following components of the DAP: initial assessment of reading ability; analysis of reading process and strategy utilization; presentation of a mediated learning lesson using direct instruction, guided practice, and independent practice; and posttests of the reader's ability to benefit from presentation of newly introduced strategies. Two case studies of individual subjects' behaviors and responses to the DAP illustrated more clearly its use and benefits than did the quantitative analyses. Results of the quantitative analysis indicated that the DAP is particularly valuable for at-risk readers because it provides a means of understanding readers' strengths, weaknesses, preferred strategies, and ability to accept and supply new strategies. Results also indicated that the teachers were able to use the strategy information to identify which strategies to teach and to use the behavioral information to guide their work with particular students. (One table indicating a strategy classification scheme and one table of data are included; 40 references are attached.) (RS)