Comprehensive Test Of Basic Skills Research Articles

Language-Reduced Screening for Giftedness

Based on data from a sample of 106 students in grades 2 through 8, we explored the psychometric integrity of the Universal Academic, Cognitive, Creativity, Emotion Screening Scale (Universal ACCESS; R. S. McCallum & B. A. Bracken, in press). We obtained Cronbach's alphas ranging from .95 to .98 across the eight scales of the Universal ACCESS. Concurrent validity, based on comparisons of the eight scales with “like” constructs from the Gifted Rating Scales (S. I. Pfeiffer & T. Jarosewich, 2003), the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (J. D. Bar-On & R. Parker, 2000), and the Terra Nova Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTB, 1996), produced correlations ranging from .46 to .85 (p <.001). All Universal ACCESS scale means were significantly higher (p < .001) for 53 students participating in a gifted and talented program than for matched nongifted peers. We discuss implications for screening gifted students using an instrument that deemphasizes language abilities.

A Multisite Cluster Randomized Field Trial of Open Court Reading

In this article, the authors report achievement outcomes of a multisite cluster randomized field trial of Open Court Reading 2005 (OCR), a K–6 literacy curriculum published by SRA/McGraw-Hill. The participants are 49 first-grade through fifth-grade classrooms from predominantly minority and poor contexts across the nation.Blocking by grade level within schools, the trial includes 27 classrooms receiving the OCR curricular materials and professional development and 22 "business-as-usual" control classrooms. Multilevel analyses of classroom-level effects of assignment to OCR reveal statistically significant treatment effects on all three of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, 5th edition, Terra Nova literacy posttests. The OCR effect sizes are d = 0.16 for the Reading Composite, d = 0.19 for Vocabulary, and d = 0.12 for Reading Comprehension. These effects achieved across 27 classrooms and 5 schools demonstrate the potential for replicating improved literacy outcomes through the scale-up of OCR.

Comprehensive School Reform in Middle Schools: The Effects of Different Ways of Knowing on Student Achievement in a Large Urban District

Comprehensive school reform (CSR), a federally funded program, is designed to raise student achievement via the implementation of whole school reforms. Unfortunately, although close to 400 CSR models have been adopted by schools nationally, there is relatively limited empirical evidence from rigorous research studies regarding the effectiveness of CSR in general or of specific models in particular. Of additional importance is the extent to which CSR models can demonstrate positive effects over time. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects on student achievement and attendance, in an urban school district in Kentucky, of the Year 3 implementation of the Different Ways of Knowing (DWoK) for the Middle Grades model. Results indicated that achievement results on both the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills and Kentucky Core Content Test were significantly superior for the DWoK schools relative to matched control schools; no positive impacts on student attendance occurred for Year 3. The implications of the study lies in revealing that learner-centered CSR models that integrate the arts with the core curriculum can produce observable achievement gains in both normed- and criterion-referenced tests.

Concurrent Validity of the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency

Relationships between the Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency (TOSWRF; Mather, Hammill, Allen, & Roberts, 2004), a recently developed measure of fluency, and other operationalizations of reading, including subtests from the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS; 1996), and the Woodcock-Johnson- III Tests of Achievement, (WJ-III; Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001), were determined by assessing the performance of 98 elementary students at risk for or identified with reading problems. Results yielded significant positive relationships between TOSWRF and CTBS Spelling (p < .01) and between TOSWRF and CTBS Reading and Language Composite scores (p < .05), when corrected for restriction in range. Relationships between TOSWRF and WJ-III subtests were also significant, whether corrected or uncorrected (e.g., Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, Passage Comprehension, Spelling, and Broad Reading Cluster, p < .01). The TOSWRF has encouraging psychometric properties with potential for use in busy classrooms because of its efficiency (i.e., 3-minute administration), and versatility (i.e., individual or group administration options).

Do Social and Behavioral Characteristics Targeted by Preventive Interventions Predict Standardized Test Scores and Grades?

This study assessed whether characteristics of individuals that are predictors of youth problem behavior such as substance use, delinquency, and violence also predict academic achievement. Longitudinal data from 576 students participating in the Raising Healthy Children (RHC) project were analyzed. The RHC project is a study of students recruited from a suburban Pacific Northwest school district. Tenth-grade academic achievement was measured by scores on a standardized test administered to students in Washington State (as part of compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act) and by student self-report of grades. Measures of social and behavioral characteristics at seventh grade were based on data from student, parent, and teacher surveys. Researchers assessed overall correlations between 7th-grade predictors and 10th-grade academic achievement as well as partial correlations adjusted for demographic characteristics and scores on an earlier achievement test, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, in 4th grade. Results indicated that higher levels of school bonding and better social, emotional, and decision-making skills were related to higher test scores and higher grades. Lower test scores and lower grades were predicted by elevated levels of attention problems, negative behavior of peers, and disruptive and aggressive behavior. Lower test scores also were predicted by early use of alcohol and cigarettes. These findings support the premise that school-based social development interventions that address specific risk factors, curb early manifestations of antisocial behavior, and promote school bonding and social and emotional skills are likely to improve student academic achievement.

Do Social and Behavioral Characteristics Targeted by Preventive Interventions Predict Standardized Test Scores and Grades?

Abstract: This study assessed whether characteristics of individuals that are predictors of youth problem behavior such as substance use, delinquency, and violence also predict academic achievement. Longitudinal data from 576 students participating in the Raising Healthy Children (RHC) project were analyzed. The RHC project is a study of students recruited from a suburban Pacific Northwest school district. Tenth-grade academic achievement was measured by scores on a standardized test administered to students in Washington State (as part of compliance with the No Child Left Behind Act) and by student self-report of grades. Measures of social and behavioral characteristics at seventh grade were based on data from student, parent, and teacher surveys. Researchers assessed overall correlations between 7th-grade predictors and 10th-grade academic achievement as well as partial correlations adjusted for demographic characteristics and scores on an earlier achievement test, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, in 4th grade. Results indicated that higher levels of school bonding and better social, emotional, and decision-making skills were related to higher test scores and higher grades. Lower test scores and lower grades were predicted by elevated levels of attention problems, negative behavior of peers, and disruptive and aggressive behavior. Lower test scores also were predicted by early use of alcohol and cigarettes. These findings support the premise that school-based social development interventions that address specific risk factors, curb early manifestations of antisocial behavior, and promote school bonding and social and emotional skills are likely to improve student academic achievement. (J Sch Health. 2005;75(9):342–349)

Examining the Construct Validity for the Multiple-Content Testing Programs

The primary objective of this study was to examine the construct validity for the 2 multiple-content testing programs-the multiple-choice Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS/5) together with the performance-based Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP)-by evaluating the true-score longitudinal associations among multiple-content scores in 1 school district. Each content area measure in the 2 testing programs was closely examined by the following criterion: The true-score correlation between 2 time-period measures of the same content area is higher than its longitudinal true-score correlations with other content areas. This criterion was achieved in 2 (Reading and Mathematics) of 5 CTBS/5 content subtests, as well as 1 (Language) of 6 MSPAP content subtests. The structural equation modeling has been conducted on a multitrait-multimethod correlation dataset, where the traits of Reading and Mathematics were assessed by MSPAP and the old version of CTBS/4. Although convergent validity existed in these 2 measures, there was little evidence to support discriminant validity in both measures.

Growth in Standardized Ability and Achievement Test Scores From 3rd to 10th Grade.

Growth in Test of Cognitive Skills (TCS) scores and Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) reading, math, and total achievement scores from 3rd to 10th grade was studied in 328 public school students in a middle-class suburban community. Surprisingly, groups differing in ability and achievement in 3rd grade made parallel progress over time, and some “fan-close” effects were found. With growth curve analysis of individual students using hierarchical linear models, initial status on cognitive ability predicted initial achievement scores but did not affect the rate of growth. Similarly, initial status in achievement predicted the intercept but not the slope in cognitive ability scores over time. Although replication is needed, this study illustrates how districts could use standardized test data to document growth of academic skills over time in high-, middle-, and low-achieving children; in racial or socioeconomic status subgroups; or in different classrooms, schools, or districts. On January 8, 2002, President Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which dictates that any state obtaining federal funds must show that it has adopted a program of high-quality, annual student assessments that can be used to determine the annual performance of every school and local educational agency (No Child Left Behind Act, 2002). Although the rhetoric surrounding passage of this bill suggested that regular standardized testing is a novel idea, in fact most school districts have well-established testing programs using both commercial tests and state-based assessments. Surprisingly, however, there is little research on such test data. In the present study, we analyzed standardized test data from one school district for three cohorts of children, each tested in 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th grades. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) were used to analyze performance over time as a function of initial status on ability and achievement measures. Particularly because the results of our study were surprising, replication in other school districts should be a high priority for future research.

Computer Adaptive Tests and Computer-Based Tests

SINCE I TEACH assessment classes at the university and write this Technology column, it makes sense that I should write a column on the intersection of these two topics. I wonder why I didn't think about doing such a column before? Before I get to the intersection of assessment and technology, though, I want to discuss a few assessment fundamentals and clarify a few terms. Assessment as a discipline has always been concerned with both measurement and evaluation. Measurement is the easy part; evaluation is a bit tricky. Before you evaluate a student, school, or district, you have to consider the compared to what issue, and therein lie the tricks. Classically, assessment texts have described and criterion-referenced evaluation. In norm-referenced evaluation, you compare a student to a representative sample of similar students across the U.S., which is known as the norm group. Such tests as the CTBS (Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills) and SAT (Stanford Achievement Tests) are examples of tests designed for this purpose. Criterion- referenced evaluation compares a student to a set of objectives, competencies, or standards -- usually state standards measured by state tests. Unfortunately, most assessment texts forget to mention the third approach to evaluation, evaluation. To use improvement-referenced evaluation, you have to accurately track a student's progress and take measurements at least three times a year. Most tests designed to provide information for norm- and criterion- referenced evaluation do not work well for improvement-referenced uses, since, for a variety of reasons, they cannot be given reliably -- at least in a paper-and-pencil format -- three times a year. One of the biggest issues today is grade-level testing. On the surface, it seems logical to give fourth-graders a fourth-grade test. The problem is that some fourth-graders are performing at the second- or third-grade level, and giving them a fourth-grade test yields little useful information. Besides, these below-grade-level students get frustrated by tests that are much too hard for them. Grade-level testing is also frustrating for students performing above grade level. This issue prompts people to advocate or discuss OOLT (Out Of grade- Level Testing). Why not give students performing above or below grade level the tests that are appropriate for students at their level? The obvious solution to this quandary is to get the computer to custom design tests to fit individuals. This is called Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT), and such tests fit nicely with an improvement-referenced approach to evaluation. A CAT test is simply a test that makes continuous adjustments in the difficulty of items so that they match a student's performance level. If a student misses an item, a slightly easier one is given. If a student gets an item correct, a slightly more difficult one is given. Since time is not wasted on items or questions that are above or below a student's ability, relatively few items need to be answered. Testing often takes as little as 10 minutes. Obviously, a computer is necessary to quickly check an item and offer the next one, and a large item bank of questions matched to various levels is required to support such an approach. Computer adaptive tests have numerous advantages. First, every student receives a unique test, adjusted to his or her performance level. This makes cheating virtually impossible. Second, test results can be immediately obtained, and a wide variety of reports can be generated. Third, a CAT test can be administered one-on-one in a classroom setting or to many students at once in a computer lab. Fourth, with a large item pool, a CAT test can be given regularly -- for example, in August, January, and May. When a CAT test is given regularly, individual student progress can be charted and evaluated. That is, you do not have to wait until you give the state achievement test in late spring to find out if a student is making progress. …

The Effects of Peers' Beliefs on 8th-Grade Students' Identification With School

This study investigated two antecedents of students' identification with school—namely, academic achievement and perceived peer beliefs about school—as mediated by race and gender. Participants included 3,346 eighth-grade students from Tennessee, 74% Caucasian and 26% African American. The Identification With School questionnaire (Voelkl, 1996) and a Peer Beliefs questionnaire, developed for this study, were used to measure the students' identification with school and perceived peer beliefs, respectively. The Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) were used to measure academic achievement. A stepwise multiple regression was used to examine the impact of the independent variables of race, gender, academic achievement, and perceived peer beliefs on the dependent variable of identification with school. Females had higher levels of identification than males, and African Americans had higher levels of identification than Caucasians. The main finding of the study, however, concerned the hypothesis that perceived peer beliefs are related to identification with school. This hypothesis was supported, with perceived peer beliefs accounting for 27% of the variation in students' identification with school, above and beyond gender, race, and academic achievement, making perceived peer beliefs a stronger predictor of identification with school than academic achievement, gender, race, or any of the interaction possibilities.

Equity and Excellence: The Effect of School and Sociodemographic Variables on Student Achievement

The purpose of this analysis was to examine issues of equity and excellence by means of exploring the relevance of school and sociodemographic variables on student performance in a large county of Kentucky. The study was correlational in nature. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to identify the predictors of student achievement for the last four years. The predictors included school and sociodemographic variables. The dependent variable was operationalized using school scores on a standardized test, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). Previous research suggesting that poverty is the best predictor of educational outcomes was supported, but other variables were also found to be significant. Implications for policy and administrative practice are discussed.

Notes: Privatized Delivery of Instructional Services for Urban Public School Students Placed at Risk

The privatization “revolution” of the last decade of the 20th century has not left public education unchallenged. While much of the recent debate has focused on “school choice” and voucher plans, there has been growing discussion of privatization within public schools. Most studies have noted the lack of evidence of student achievement gains under privatization models. In this research note we evaluate the effectiveness of private delivery of instructional services to public school students by analyzing the impact on student achievement of reading and math instruction delivered by a private company in a large urban public school system on the East Coast. Analyses of score data from the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (Fourth Edition) indicate differential effects of instructional service delivery by this private company, depending on subject matter (reading vs. math), grade level, and student characteristics (especially gender). The impact on student achievement is particularly notable in mathematics, but we found no evidence that reading comprehension achievement is significantly improved by this private remedial reading program in high poverty urban schools. This study underscores the importance of formal evaluation of privatization efforts to ascertain impacts on student achievement, since there has been considerable expansion of privatized delivery of instructional services to urban school districts, using Title I (Chapter I) funds, with little solid evidence of the effectiveness of these programs.

Test of visual-motor integration:: construct validity in a comparison with the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration.

The 1996 Test of Visual-Motor Integration manual states that an adjusted correlation of .95 was obtained between this test and the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration for 49 children with an average age of 9 years and that the adjusted .95 suggests equivalency of the tests. In the present study, for 103 children whose average age was 9 years, there was a correlation of .33 between the tests. Scores on the Beery-Buktenica test correlated more strongly than the Test of Visual-Motor Integration with both chronological age and academic achievement. Standard scorers for the latter test were high compared to those of the Beery-Buktenica test and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills. Interscorer agreement was significantly lower, and more time was required to score the protocols. This study indicates that the 1996 version is not a substitute for the Beery-Buktenica test.

Predictive Validity of the Cattell-Horn Gf-Gc Constructs to Achievement

The predictive validity of cognitive constructs taken from Cattell-Horn's Gf-Gc Model was examined. Gf-Gc cognitive constructs were measured using the Woodcock-Johnson-Revised Tests of Cognitive Ability; they include processing speed, fluid reasoning, acculturation-knowledge, short-term memory, long-term retrieval, auditory processing, and visual processing. Scores from the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills were used as the criterion measures for 104 elementary, middle, and high school students. Using multiple regression equations, various combinations of the Comprehension-Knowledge, Fluid Reasoning, and Processing Speed variables were consistently found to be the best predictors of achievement. Multiple Rs ranged from the .60s to .70s. Results provide evidence for the importance of cognitive constructs for predicting achievement and are potentially useful for understanding program planning and Aptitude x Treatment Interaction research.

Latin American Immigration and U.S. Schools

Latin American Immigration and U.S. Schools

Effects on Achievement of a Home/School Computer Project

AbstractThis study investigated a home/school computer project and its effects on reading, language, and mathematics achievement for students after one year and two years in the project. The treatment group consisted of 142 fourth- and fifth-grade students, each of whom received a computer, printer, and telecommunications equipment for use in learning activities in their homes. The comparison group consisted of 147 fourth- and fifth-grade students at a different school in the same district. The data for the study were collected from the California Achievement Test and the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills, 4th edition. The dependent variables were the changes in scale scores over the time period investigated in the study. The findings indicated that participation in the project was not associated with increased academic achievement. Therefore, educators should enter home/school computer projects with caution and realistic expectations.

Scale Shrinkage in Vertical Equating

As an alternative to equipercentile equating in the area of multilevel achievement test batteries, item response theory (IRT) vertical equating has produced unexpected results. When expanded standard scores were obtained to link the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills and the California Achievement Test, the variance of test scores diminished both within particular grade levels from fall to spring, and also from lower to upper grade levels. Equi percentile equating, on the other hand, has resulted in increasing variance both within and across grade levels, although the increases are not linear across grade levels. Three potential causes of scale shrink age are discussed, and a more comprehensive, model-based approach to establishing vertical scales is described. Test data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress were used to estimate the distribution of ability at grades 4, 8, and 12 for several math achievement subtests. For each subtest, the variance of scores increased from grade 4 to grade 8; however, beyond grade 8 the results were not uniform.

Effects of Curriculum Alignment Versus Direct Instruction on Urban Children

Abstract The city of Camden, New Jersey, received a Follow Through grant to implement the direct-instruction model in one of its elementary schools. The standardized achievement test scores of Grade 2 pupils who experienced the direct-instruction model were compared with the scores of pupils who experienced traditional basal programs. The traditional programs were aligned with the standardized Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) used by the district. An additional factor included in the evaluation was the effect of student mobility on achievement. The achievement of mobile students was compared with the achievement of stable students. Finally, stable students were given an additional standardized test, the Metropolitan Achievement Test (MAT), to assess the effects of the programs independent of the aligned curriculum. The results indicated that (a) the direct-instruction students did as well as the aligned students on the CTBS, (b) the achievement of stable students was generally higher than that of...

The Arlin Test of Formal Reasoning and the Identification of Accelerated Mathematics Students

The Arlin Test of Formal Reasoning (ATFR) has been presented as an instrument useful in the identification of students for placement in accelerated mathematics programs. Using a sample of eighth graders, 32 regular and 18 accelerated mathematics students, the ATFR was examined along with typical school standardized test information (Cognitive abilities Test and Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills). Beyond available school test information, the ATFR was not found to make a substantial contribution to the identification of accelerated mathematics students, nor, within their class placements, was it significantly associated with student academic performance (final grades).

Predicting Achievement in Grades Three Through Ten Using the Metropolitan Readiness Test

Abstract The study was designed to assess the correlations between scores on the Metropolitan Readiness Test (MRT) given to entering first grade students, and achievement test scores in mathematics and reading in grades three, six, nine, and ten. Subjects were 415 students who entered first grade the same year and spent all 12 years of school in one large urban Georgia school system. Predictor variables were MRT, age at school entrance, race, sex, remediation, IQ, and socioeconomic status. Dependent variables were students' scores on the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills and the Georgia Basic Skills Test. Correlations and stepwise regression analyses indicated that the MRT, while not as powerful a predictor as IQ, has convincing potential for contributing to readiness decisions in early grades, and has long term and stable correlations with subsequent academic performance through grade ten.