This study examined reading tutors' interpretation of reading progress-monitoring graphs. A think-aloud procedure was used to evaluate tutors at two points in time, before and after a year of service as an AmeriCorps reading tutor. During their service, the reading tutors received extensive training and ongoing coaching. Descriptive results showed…

Curriculum-Based Measurement of Reading (CBM-R) is frequently used to monitor instructional effects and evaluate response to instruction. Educators often view the data graphically on a time-series graph that might include a variety of statistical and visual aids, which are intended to facilitate the interpretation. This study evaluated the effects…

Research has shown that: (1) Curriculum-based monitoring (CBM) can be easily implemented and interpreted by teachers (e.g., Fuchs, Deno, & Mirkin, 1984); (2) student outcomes have improved when teachers use CBM to inform instructional decision making (e.g., Fuchs, Fuchs, Hamlett, & Stecker, 1991); (3) reliable and valid measures have been…

Curriculum based measurement of reading (CBM-R) is used to monitor the effects of academic interventions for individual students. Decisions to continue, modify, or terminate instructional programs are made by interpreting patterns of observations collected across time. Educators visually analyze or apply decision rules to evaluate student…

Students must choose when to take the ACT for the first time and if and when to retest. States and districts that administer the ACT test to all students must also choose when to administer the test. A key consideration in making these decisions is the impact on scores. Because the ACT is a curriculum-based test of academic achievement, students…

The writing performance of many school-aged children is consistently below levels necessary to produce positive outcomes. Early intervention frameworks are designed to help remedy this problem before it becomes more severe, but a key feature of early intervention frameworks--the use of data for targeting interventions--has not been sufficiently…

Teacher perceptions about students' academic abilities are important for several reasons (e.g., instructional decision making, special education entitlement decisions). Not surprisingly, researchers have investigated the accuracy of teachers' decisions. Although some data reveal that teachers are relatively good judges of academic performance,…

Presents the author's perspective on the topic of educational intervention for students with learning disabilities through a discussion of using validated, curriculum-based measurement as a determinant of effective instruction. Also examines the optimal characteristics and ethics of intervention research and the dissemination and implementation of…

This discussion of collaboration between general and special educators focuses on selection of instructional interventions in mainstream settings and curriculum-based methods of evaluating programs designed to increase the academic performance of students with and without disabilities. It then suggests ways to incorporate data-based decision…