NASP Convention

        The National Association of School Psychologists represents and supports school psychology through leadership to enhance the mental health and educational competence of all children.

        NASP hosts an annual convention for students, practitioners, and trainers to present research and learn about current trends in the field. The theme for the 2006-2007 year will be "Responsiveness: The Fourth R" and the conference will be held in New York City from March 27-31, 2007. This past March, the NASP convention was held in Anaheim, California and the theme was "Prevention is an Intervention."

2006 NASP Convention - Student Presentation Abstracts/Information

        The ability to read effectively and successfully at an early age is a prerequisite for success throughout life; also current federal legislation places increased pressure on educators to have their students reading adequately by the third grade. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the student to foster developmentally appropriate reading skills. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss (1) why children enrolled in Head Start would benefit from early intervention, (2) what interventions are appropriate for this population, and (3) the results from a brief four-week intervention plan that indicated gains in areas of rhyming and alliteration, critical components of phonological awareness.
        The following are potential benefits to attendees. First, participants will be familiar with developmentally appropriate reading skills assessment and intervention. Secondly, they will learn about effective early reading interventions that can be monitored using the Preschool Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs).

        This study examined the relationships among a measure of oral reading fluency and two measures of reading comprehension in sixth grade students at two urban schools in the Midwest. In one of the schools, fluency training was added to the usual curriculum. Participants, all sixth grade students in the two schools, were administered the DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) indicator and two district-assigned reading comprehension measures during the third and forth quarters of the school year. Results indicated that ORF scores were significantly correlated with comprehensions cores, although to a lesser degree than typical for earlier grades. Fluency training had a significant positive effect on both measures of comprehension but did not significantly affect the ORF scores.