Curriculum-based Measurement Of Reading Research Articles

Curriculum-Based Measures and Performance on State Assessment and Standardized Tests

General outcome measures (GOMs) provide educators with a means to evaluate student progress toward curricular objectives. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is one type of GOM that has a long history in the research literature with strong empirical support. With the increased emphasis on instruction linked to state standards and statewide achievement tests, the relationship between CBM and these measures has been called into question. This study examined the relationships between CBM of reading, math computation, and math concepts/applications and the statewide standardized achievement test as well as published norm-referenced achievement tests in two districts in Pennsylvania. Results showed that CBM had moderate to strong correlations with midyear assessments in reading and mathematics and both types of standardized tests across school districts. The data suggest that CBM can be one source of data that could be used to potentially identify those students likely to be successful or fail the statewide assessment measure.

The response in response to intervention: Evaluating the utility of assessing maintenance of intervention effects

Extensive evidence exists demonstrating the utility of Curriculum-Based Measurement in reading (R-CBM) for progress-monitoring purposes; however, most studies have evaluated R-CBM from a traditional psychometric perspective, which allows for variability in individual student's data that is not a function of increased skills (i.e., measurement error) to be ignored. Although measurement error can be ignored when the level of interest is at the group level, it is difficult to ignore at the individual-child level when evaluating intervention effectiveness. To account for measurement error, it is recommended that R-CBM data be collected twice weekly for 10 weeks before making decisions regarding intervention effectiveness. Waiting 10 weeks to learn that an intervention is ineffective is troublesome. The current study explores maintenance of intervention effects as a supplemental procedure to R-CBM progress-monitoring procedures. Data from 4 students suggest that maintenance data might be valuable in the early termination of ineffective interventions. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 713–725, 2006.

Formative Assessment Using Cbm-R Cut Scores To Track Progress Toward Success On State-Mandated Achievement Tests: a Comparison of Methods

This study outlines a formative assessment sys tem using a consistent set of cut scores on Curriculum-Based Measurement-Reading (CBM-R) probes and investigates four statisti cal methods for establishing cut scores. Cut scores were established using the Minnesota statewide achievement test in reading at grade 3 as the criterion for a successful outcome. Participants were 2,191 students from five dis tricts in rural and outer-ring suburban east cen tral Minnesota, each of whom completed the statewide achievement test in reading and also CBM-R probes between grade 1 and grade 3. This study examined the relationship between CBM-R and the state test and compared the util ity and accuracy of each of four statistical meth ods for establishing cut scores. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis provided the most flexibility in establishing desired levels of diagnostic accuracy (i.e., sensi tivity, specificity, positive predictive power, and negative predictive power). The benefits of a set of consistent cut scores for use within a response to intervention (RTI) framework are discussed.

The Applicability of Curriculum-Based Measurement to Measure Reading in Hebrew

This study was an initial effort to examine the applicability of Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) procedures to measure reading in a language other than English and more specifically, in Hebrew. Participants included a sample of 458 students from grades 1-5 from three elementary schools in Israel, 416 from regular education and 42 students from grades 2-5 who were receiving special services in reading. Students were tested on CBM probes in the winter and spring of the 2002 academic year. Four characteristics of the CBM measure were evaluated: (1) concurrent validity with two reading sub-scales (decoding and comprehension) of the Kaufman-ABC that had been translated and normed in Israel; (2) student outcomes in reading fluency across grades and across time within grades; (3) ability of the measure to discriminate students with and without reading problems and (4) the sensitivity of the measure when used weekly for progress monitoring. Results indicated that moderate to strong correlation coefficients were evident between CBM scores and the K-ABC reading subscales except for grade 4 in the spring. Also, students showed increased growth across grades and across time within the school year, except for a lack of increase from grade 2 to 3 in the spring. Students receiving specialized help for reading scored significantly lower on CBM probes when compared with regular education students. Finally, a gradual week-by-week progress rate in the curriculum comparable to those found with CBM reading in English was also found. Results suggest that the oral reading fluency metric may be applicable to evaluating reading in Hebrew. Implications for the use of the metric in other countries and languages are discussed.

Comparison of Grade-Level Controlled and Literature-Based Maze CBM Reading Passages

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of silent reading fluency using the maze task has been shown to be a useful tool for evaluating students' silent reading skills. No prior research has evaluated whether the source of the maze passages has a relationship with the obtained reading scores. Prior research with CBM of oral reading fluency (ORF) has shown that passage source is related to students' scores. The current preliminary study compared students' scores on matched reading-level-controlled and literature-based maze passages. A random sample (N = 21) of fifth grade students at one school completed three grade-level controlled and three literature-based passages in the Fall, Winter, and Spring of one school year. Results indicated that the maze score levels for the two passage types were highly correlated, but the scores on the controlled passages were higher than the literature-based passages. The findings are discussed with respect to the potential importance of matching instructional and assessment materials.

Curriculum-Based Measurement

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) has evolved as a reliable and valid method for measuring and monitoring student performance in basic academic skills. While the efficacy of CBM for assessing reading skills is not in question, issues remain regarding whether or not a difference exists between CBM probes derived directly from the instructional curriculum and generic probes. The current study extends previous research comparing the utility of two types of CBM reading probe materials. Both types of probes were administered to 13 second grade students twice weekly for 5 weeks. No significant differences were found between the two probe types' measurement of performance or progress over time, which suggests that school psychologists and educational professionals can use generic or curriculum-dependent probes in curriculum-based measurement.

Formatively Evaluating the Reading Progress of First-Grade English Learners in Multiple-Language Classrooms

This study provides descriptive data on first-grade reading proficiency of English learners in multiple-language settings. Using curriculum-based measurement of reading (CBM-R) to measure oral reading fluency (ORF) and a nonsense word— reading fluency (NWF) measure, weekly scores during the final 6 weeks of the first-grade school year indicated gains of approximately one word per minute each week on ORF and two words per minute each week on NWF. The results are very similar to the progress of non—English learners from previously documented studies of first-grade performance using CBM-R. Participating students experienced significant gains in both ORF and NWF in 6 weeks. By the end of the first grade, English learners in this study read a mean of 46 words per minute on the CBM-R. The correlation between the scores for ORF and NWF at the end of first grade was strong (r = .86). Weak correlations of fluency measures with student language proficiency and teacher ratings were found. Educational implications and future research are discussed.

Effects of Reading Curriculm-Based Measurement (R-CBM) Teacher Feedback in General Education Classrooms

This study examined the effects of teacher feedback from Reading Curriculum-Based Measurement (R-CBM) progress results for low-performing students in general education classrooms. Participants included 44 second-grade teachers and 184 students in their low reading groups. After 5 weeks of progress monitoring, teachers in the two experimental groups were given progress results of (a) a single student in the reading group or (b) all students in the reading group. Teachers in the control group received no progress monitoring feedback. Progress feedback did not affect subsequent progress as hypothesized. However, students' reading progress in all three groups improved reliably during the second half of the study, suggesting some reactive benefits of progress monitoring. The need to increase the type and quality of teacher feedback and to support teachers to use progress monitoring data in general education settings to make instructional changes is discussed.

Using CBM as an Indicator of Decoding, Word Reading, and Comprehension: Do the Relations Change With Grade?

The primary purpose of this study was to assess whether the relation between curriculum-based measurement (CBM) and specific reading skills changes as a function of grade. In addition, this study sought to identify cutscores that correspond with benchmark performance on a variety of reading subskills at Grades 1 through 4. Participants were 310 students, distributed approximately equally across grades, from four schools. Participants were administered CBM reading passages and the Word Attack, Word Identification, and Passage Comprehension subtests from the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test—Revised. Findings indicated that the relation between CBM with decoding, word reading, passage comprehension, basic skills, and total reading-short was strong at each grade level. Benchmarks could not be differentiated for individual reading subskills, but were identified for overall reading competence at each grade level. Implications are drawn for helping school psychologists and other practitioners determine which students need further instructional support in reading.

Monitoring Early Reading Development in First Grade: Word Identification Fluency versus Nonsense Word Fluency

This study contrasts the validity of 2 early reading curriculum-based measurement (CBM) measures: word identification fluency and nonsense word fluency. At-risk children ( n = 151) were assessed (a) on criterion reading measures in the fall and spring of first grade and (b) on the 2 CBM measures each week for 7 weeks and twice weekly for an additional 13 weeks. Concurrent and predictive validity for CBM performance level and predictive validity for CBM slopes demonstrated the superiority of word identification fluency over nonsense word fluency. Findings are discussed in terms of the measures' utility for identifying children in need of intensive instruction and for monitoring children's progress through first grade.

An Examination of Variability as a Function of Passage Variance in CBM Progress Monitoring

This study examined the effects of controlling the level of difficulty on the sensitivity of repeated curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Participants included 99 students in Grades 2 through 5 who were administered CBM reading passage probes twice weekly over an 11-week period. Two sets of CBM reading progress monitoring materials were compared: (a) grade level material that was controlled for difficulty, and (b) uncontrolled randomly selected material from graded readers. Students' rate of progress in each progress monitoring series was summarized for slope, standard error of estimate, and standard error of slope. Results suggested that controlled reading passages significantly reduced measurement error as compared to uncontrolled reading passages, leading to increased sensitivity and reliability of measurement.

Examining the Incremental Benefits of Administering a Maze and Three Versus One Curriculum-Based Measurement Reading Probes When Conducting Universal Screening

A primary problem with special education placement is that it is a solution that comes too late for children who are first noticed by their kindergarten teachers as lacking prerequisite skills. It is of critical importance that these students, whose reading skills are low in comparison to their peers, be accurately identified through universal screenings and be provided with intervention. Most universal screening models suggest the use of curriculum-based measurement (CBM). In the current study, 77 third grade students were administered four CBM reading probes, a maze, a group-administered standardized achievement test, and reading subtests of the Woodcock-Johnson-III. Analyses were conducted to evaluate whether it is necessary to administer three rather than only one CBM reading probe, the contribution of administering a maze in addition to CBM, and the predictive validity of CBM versus a group-administered standardized achievement test.

Curriculum‐based measurement of reading: recent advances

A significant amount of literature has been published on curriculum‐based measurement (CBM) in the last decade. Much of the conceptual work on CBM was done in the 1980s and early 1990s. This review concentrates on the large body of research published within the last 10 years on CBM of reading, including further research demonstrating its technical characteristics (particularly those of oral reading fluency), studies on the establishment of norms, more evidence for the effectiveness of CBM of reading for screening, referral and classification, issues related to implementation, and generalisation to other groups and settings.

Characteristics of Word Callers: An Investigation of the Accuracy of Teachers' Judgments of Reading Comprehension and Oral Reading Skills

Despite a body of evidence that curriculum-based measurement of reading (R-CBM) is a valid measure of general reading achievement, some school-based professionals remain unconvinced. At the core of their argument is their experience with word callers, students who purportedly can read fluently, but do not understand what they read. No studies have been conduced to determine if teachers' perceptions about these word callers are accurate. This study examined the oral reading and comprehension skills of teacher-identified word callers to test whether they read fluently, but lacked comprehension. Two groups of third graders (N = 66) were examined: (a) teacher-identified word callers (n = 33) and (b) similarly fluent peers (n = 33) who were judged by their teachers to read as fluently as the word caller but who showed comprehension. They were compared on R-CBM, CBM-Maze (an oral question-answering test), and the Passage Comprehension subtest of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test. Results disconfirmed that word callers and their similarly fluent peers read aloud equally well. Word callers read fewer correct words per minute and earned significantly lower scores on the three comprehension measures. Teachers were not accurate in their predictions of either group's actual reading scores on all measures, but were most inaccurate in their prediction of word callers' oral reading scores. Implications for addressing resistance in using CBM as a measure of general reading achievement are discussed.

Curriculum-based measurement in reading: A comparison of similar versus challenging material.

Curriculum-based measurement in reading: A comparison of similar versus challenging material.

Advances in curriculum-based measurement: Alternative rate measures for assessing reading skills in pre- and advanced readers.

Behavioral researchers have developed Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) procedures that yield a rate measure (words read correctly per minute). Investigators have shown that words correct per minute provides a valid, reliable, and sensitive measure of reading proficiency in students. Recently researchers have developed additional rate measures designed to assess pre-reading skills (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and skill development in advanced readers (reading comprehension rates). The current paper provides a rationale for both procedures and describes an emerging research base related to these measures. Limitations of these procedures along with directions for future research are provided. ********** Curriculum-based assessment (CBA) procedures have emerged as an alternative to traditional norm-referenced standardized achievement measures (Shapiro, 1996). Most CBA procedures use the student's current educational curricula to assess individual skills. Thus, CBA procedures assess what is taught and improve upon the lack of test-text overlap associated with norm-referenced standardized achievement tests (Bell, Lentz, & Graden, 1992; Martens, Steele, Massie, & Diskin, 1995; Shapiro & Derr, 1987). This characteristic of CBA addresses many legal, ethical, and educational concerns related to bias in assessment often associated with standardized tests (e.g., assessment results being overly dependent on extra-school learning). Because of CBA's overlap between what is taught and what is assessed, CBA procedures have clear relevance to instructional planning (Deno, 1989). For example, CBA measures can indicate skills or content students have mastered and areas that require additional work (see Skinner & Schock, 1995 for an applied example). A number of CBA models have been developed (Shapiro, 1990). Some CBA models focus on response accuracy (e.g., Gickling & Havertape, 1981) and others include criterion-referenced measures (e.g., Blankenship, 1985; Idol, Neven, & Paolucci-Witcomb, 1986). However, the model most closely associated with behavioral psychology is known as Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM). Although CBM procedures have been developed for assessing a variety of skills including mathematics, spelling, and writing (see Deno & Mirkin, 1977 or Shapiro, 1996), the current paper will focus only on CBM reading procedures. After providing a brief overview, analysis, and research summary of traditional CBM reading measures, recent advances in CBM research will be described along with directions for future research. Words Correct Per Minute CBM reading procedures yield measures of oral reading fluency. During CBM assessment procedures, students read aloud for one minute from a passage within their reading text or series while the examiner marks errors (e.g., mispronunciations, substitutions, omissions, skipped lines). The examiner calculates two rate measures: words read correctly per minute and errors per minute (Deno & Mirkin, 1977; Shapiro, 1996). Typically, words correct per minute serves as the primary measure for making educational decisions (e.g., placement in the curricula, evaluation of intervention effectiveness). Researchers have shown that words correct per minute is a sensitive, reliable, and valid measure that can be used to assess students' general reading proficiency and to evaluate progress within students' reading curriculum (Deno, Mirkin, & Chiang, 1982; Fuchs & Deno, 1992; Fuchs & Fuchs, 1992; Fuchs, Fuchs, & Maxwell, 1988; Madelaine & Wheldall, 1999; Marston, 1989; Shinn, Good, Knutson, Tilly, & Collins, 1992). Several characteristics of CBM make words correct per minute ideal for assessing reading skills (Shapiro, 1996; Shinn, 1995). CBM procedures are brief and inexpensive. Multiple measures can be constructed from a student's curriculum. Because students are assessed using probes (i. …

The Generalizability of CBM Oral Reading Fluency Measures across General and Special Education

This study examined the generalizability of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) in reading across general and special education. Participants included 12 general and special education students from a combined third- and fourth-grade classroom. CBM reading passage probes were administered to all students, twice weekly, over an 8-week period. Using Generalizability (G) theory, results suggested that, of the total amount of variation present, individual variation among participants and educational placement in reading together accounted for 77% of CBM oral reading fluency performance. Furthermore, CBM was demonstrated to be highly dependable for making both within- and between-individual decisions regardless of whether a student received reading instruction in general or special education.

Program evaluation using hierarchical linear modeling with curriculum-based measurement reading probes.

Program evaluation using hierarchical linear modeling with curriculum-based measurement reading probes.

Exploring the Technical Adequacy of Curriculum-Based Measurement in Reading for Children Who Use Manually Coded English

We explored the validity and reliability of curriculum-based measurement reading procedures for progress monitoring purposes with students who are deaf or hard of hearing and who use manually coded English. Results indicate that interjudge and alternative form reliability was very acceptable. However, Pearson product moment correlations between the curriculum-based measurement procedures (e.g., reading passages via signing, identifying idea units, and words retold) and a standardized reading test that was normed with students who were deaf or hard of hearing were lower than expected. Implications for using curriculum-based measurement with students who are deaf and hard of hearing and for assessment of these students are discussed.

An Investigation of the Effects of Passage Difficulty Level on Outcomes of Oral Reading Fluency Progress Monitoring

This study examined the differential effects of using grade versus goal level reading material on curriculum-based measurement (CBM) progress-monitoring procedures. Participants included a total of 80 students, 20 each from grades 1 through 4. CBM reading passage probes from both grade and goal level material were administered to all students, twice weekly during an 11-week period. Students' rate of progress in each level of materials was indexed using the slope of their data series calculated by ordinary least-squares regression. Results indicate that the amount of progress observed (i.e., slope of improvement) varied as a function of grade and whether student progress was monitored in grade or goal level material.