Abstract:
This study examined the effect of office discipline referrals (ODR), race, gender, and beginning of the year fluency scores on reading comprehension for fifth grade students at four rural elementary schools in southwest Georgia. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine if the research variables significantly predicted the end of year reading scores. The fifth grade students (N = 517) were classified by race and gender; a beginning of the year oral reading fluency score (BOYORF) and an end of the year oral reading fluency score (EOYORF) were obtained from the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy program (DIBELS). The number of ODRs recorded for each student during the data collection period was retrieved from the student information system (SIS) from each school. BOYORF was a significant predictor of EOYORF scores. When the raw BOYORF and EOYORF scores were coded into the three commonly used DIBELS categories (intensive, strategic, and benchmark) and ODRs were coded into three levels (no ODRs, 1-2 ODRS, and 3 or more ODRs), the Chi-square results showed that ODR level did not have a significant effect on end of year oral reading fluency category for intensive and strategic students.