How accurate are teachers and support specialists when judging students' literacy skills? Special educational service as an external factor influencing judgements.

The aim of the study was to examine the accuracy of Estonian teachers' and support specialists' judgements of students' spelling skills and reading fluency and to investigate the provision of special education services to students as a factor influencing teachers' judgements. The sample included 11 classroom teachers, 8 support specialists, and 187 third-grade students. The judgements were collected using scales, and students' literacy skills were assessed using group and individual tests. The results indicated that judgements of reading fluency were less accurate than those of spelling skills. In addition, the provision of special education services influenced teachers' judgements, directi…