Author Biography: Kenn Apel, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Formerly, he was Chair of that department. Dr. Apel has more than 35 years of experience conducting research in the areas of spoken and written language. His recent research focus has been on the linguistic factors that contribute to the development of reading and spelling, including morphological awareness and orthographic knowledge. Before retiring, he was the principal investigator of a three-year, $1.4M IES-sponsored grant (MATRS: Morphological Assessment for Reading and Spelling) to develop a morphological awareness assessment measure for students in 1st through 6th grades. Dr. Apel is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. He also received the Honors of that Association.
Victoria S. Henbest, Ph.D., is an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist and assistant professor in the Speech Pathology and Audiology Department at the University of South Alabama where she teaches undergraduate introductory courses on language and speech disorders as well as graduate-level school-age language and literacy and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) courses. Prior to earning her doctoral degree, Dr. Henbest worked for 5 years as a full-time clinician in a public-school early childhood setting with preschool-age children with speech and language needs, including children on the autism spectrum, those with intellectual disabilities, and medically complex children. Dr. Henbests primary research interests include word-level reading and spelling and the relation between linguistic awareness skills, particularly morphological awareness, and literacy development. She has published and presented on these topics at the state, national, and international levels. Dr. Henbest is co-author of a textbook on child language disorders entitled Language Disorders in Children: Fundamental Concepts of Assessment and Intervention, Third Edition.
Yaacov Petscher, Ph.D., is Associate Director at the Florida Center for Reading Research, Tallahassee, and Deputy Director of the National Center on Improving Literacy. Dr. Petschers research interests include the study of cross-sectional and longitudinal individual differences in literacy, psychometrics, reading assessment, and research design. He has co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, books, and technical reports, and his work has been recognized by awards from the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, the International Literacy Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the International Society for Technology in Education. He presently serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Learning Disabilities and Elementary School Journal and as an editorial board member for other educational journals.
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Jan Wasowicz, Ph.D, CCC-CLP, BCS-CL, Speech-Language Pathologist, Board Certified Specialist in Child Language, SPELL-Links author
“MATRS is a much-needed and very timely contribution to the field of literacy assessment. At a moment when the roles of spoken language and morphology in literacy is gaining broader recognition--including the inclusion of morphology in the International Dyslexia Associations revised definition of dyslexia--MATRS gives professionals a standardized, norm-referenced tool to meaningfully assess students morphological awareness skills. This assessment will be an important resource for evaluation, and will provide initial insights to help guide next steps in intervention planning.”
Deb Glaser, Ed.D., Author of Morpheme Magic, Teacher Educator, Consultant
“Finally! MATRS is the assessment we have been waiting for. Timely and easily implemented, MATRS gives teachers the information they need about students morphological awareness. This reliable and valid assessment will be instrumental in advancing morphological awareness understanding and instruction.”
Stephanie Al Otaiba, Ph.D., Professor and Patsy Ray Caldwell Centennial Chair in Teaching and Learning, Harold Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Southern Methodist University, Faculty Affiliate of the Florida Center for Reading Research
“Finally there is a reliable and valid norm-referenced assessment of morphological awareness to use with elementary-aged students! Apel, Henbest, and Petscher have designed, tested, and refined this instrument to be feasible for practitioners and researchers to administer and interpret. Their manual provides case studies with examples of how data from the test can inform instruction or interventions, and videos guide how to administer this timely tool. The authors also offer advice for helping pracitioners, parents, and students understand how (and why) morphological awareness matters for developing reading and spelling. MATRS will be an invaluable tool for implementing Response to Instruction and Multi-tiered Systems of Support."”
Young-Suk Grace Kim, Ed.D., Professer, School of Education, University of California, Irvine
“Morphological awareness is a cornerstone of skilled reading and spelling, yet it has long been under-assessed in educational and clinical settings. The MATRS offers a psychometrically sound, normed assessment that ensures reliable, comparable results across diverse populations, giving educators and clinicians the data they need to make informed decisions.̶