This study examined technical features of slopes produced from curriculum-based measures (CBM) of beginning writing. Eighty-five first-graders completed weekly sentence copy, picture-word, and story prompts for 12 weeks. After 12 weeks, testing revealed alternate-form reliability and criterion validity of CBM scores generally similar to those…

This study investigated the technical adequacy of 3 simple, 1-min curriculum-based measurements (CBM) for predicting third (n = 35) and fifth (n = 49) graders' performance on a state standards test of mathematics. Measures included 2 numeric CBMs: a traditional basic facts measure and a new "cloze" math facts measure, designed to require deeper…

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) combines the advantages of informal assessment and commercial standardized tests. Reliability and validity research on CBM is cited along with its benefits in special education (improved communication, increased sensitivity, improved database, and peer referencing). (CL)

This article provides a brief history of curriculum-based measurement (CBM), clarifies its relationship to curriculum-based assessment, summarizes the primary features of CBM, and gives a rationale for its design. Extensions of CBM to new research domains are identified, and a perspective is provided in the place of CBM in the broader context of…

The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to apply the Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) technique to multi-wave Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) measures in modeling academic growth and assessing its relations to student-and instruction-related variables. HLM has advantages over other statistical methods (e.g., repeated measures…

A study examined the reliability and validity of curriculum-based measurement indicators in written expression for 112 middle school students. The most reliable and valid predictor of student writing proficiency as measured by both teacher ratings and a district writing test was correct minus incorrect word sequences. (Contains references.)…

Problems associated with the school psychologists traditional assessment functions and methodology are identified and contrasted with the need for assessment information that can contribute meaningfully to the formulation and evaluation of educational interventions. (Author/LMO)

This literature review discusses the match between tests and curricula, measurement validity and instructional utility when sampling student performance in general and advantages/disadvantages of sampling performance in the curriculum. It concludes that sampling from the curriculum is not essential and outlines three critical features ensuring the…

A study examined the technical adequacy of curriculum-based measurement for assessing growth in 43 second-graders whose reading performance was measured monthly over the school year with the maze task. Results showed that the maze task had good alternate-form reliability, sensitively reflected improvement of student performance, and revealed…

This study of 121 10th-grade students investigated the criterion-related validity of 2 potential curriculum-based measurements, reading from text and identifying vocabulary meaning, for predicting student performance on content-area study tasks. Correlational and multiple regression techniques found the vocabulary measure to be the stronger…

This article responds to a criticism (EC 231 964) of a paper that discusses graphs for measuring progress on individual education plans (EC 210 837). It notes that the type of chart used is not a major issue; the important point is that teachers repeatedly gather data on educationally relevant tasks and evaluate intervention effectiveness. (JDD)

Two approaches to measurement for instructional decision making (specific subskill mastery measurement and general outcome measurement) are described and illustrated with case studies. The paper concludes that measuring general outcome indicators can bridge traditional and contemporary assessment paradigms to form an innovative approach to…

This study examined the validity of a measure of reading proficiency in content areas with 121 grade-10 students. Correlational analyses revealed low-moderate to moderate correlations between reading measures and scores on a classroom study task, grade point average, and achievement test performance. Recommendations are made for implementation…

Procedures for developing curriculum-based measurement (CBM) systems are presented as an approach to special education problem solving. CBM procedures are discussed within the context of a decision-making matrix, focusing on "what" and "how" to measure and how to use data. An example applies the method to reading-aloud…