1

Chapter 8

Howell (1999, pp. 7-8)

1. Reading comprehension is an interactive process in which the reader brings what she

knows about the world to the printed page. What is known is used to construct meaning

from what is written. Readers draw upon decoding skills, vocabulary knowledge,

language, prior knowledge and d strategies to make sense of what is written.

2. Text variables influence reading comprehension. Text variables include text structure

as well as vocabulary difficulty and density of ideas. Text structure refers to both general

organizers and overall structure. The authors define general organizers as: (1)

introductory overviews, (2) focus questions, (3) headings, and (4) summaries. Overall

structure is the way ideas in the text are related to convey a message.

3. Assumed causes for reading comprehension failure may include absence or

deficiencies in the following Comprehension strategies: active reading, monitoring,

adjustment to text, merging with prior knowledge and/or clarification.

4. Assumed causes for reading comprehension failure may include absence or

deficiencies in the following enabling skills: prior knowledge, decoding skills,

vocabulary (semantics), language (syntax), and/or strategies.

5. Automatic Decoding significantly influences reading comprehension and is one of the

most frequent causes of comprehension failure.

6. Sampling a complex process like reading comprehension is difficult. Since most

survey measures have limitations, it is recommended that multiple measures be

employed. Of the available measures "questioning after passage reading" seems to have

the most serious limitations.

7. Directions for constructing, administering, and interpreting survey and specific level

reading procedures are detailed in this chapter.

8. Advantages of cloze format include: large sample size; item difficulty randomly

distributed; ease of scoring; and high fidelity to the reading act (for example, text look-

backs and look-aheads are allowed).

9. Disadvantages of cloze and maze format include: it is not a direct measure of the

student’s recognition of the most important part of passage; and, it can only be used with

redundant/predictable text).

10. Advantages of maze format include: ease of scoring ; success depends on passage

clues (fidelity to reading); distractors can be used to alter test difficulty; and it collects a

large sample of behavior.

11. Disadvantages of maze format include: the risk of poorly selected distractors.

12. Advantages of paraphrasing include: the fact that student responses are not influenced

by questions; it supplies an overall impression of student's understanding; and can it be

used with daily lessons.

13. Disadvantages of paraphrasing: it is hard to score; and, it is difficult to control

spontaneous responses without adding questions (which negates one of the advantages).

14. Advantages of story retelling include: the retell is not influenced by questions; it

provides the number of idea units recalled; it can be used with daily lessons so high it has

good fidelity; and, it can be compared to the text structure or a story map.

15. Disadvantages of story retelling include: it is sometimes awkward to transcribe

student responses; idea unit analysis is time consuming; and it may only tap recall, not

understanding.

16. Advantages of questioning after passage reading include: teacher can focus on

specific information.

17. Disadvantages of questions include: hard to score; only a few questions possible per

paragraph; levels of comprehension may not match questions or may not exist; the risk of

poorly written questions; and student responses limited by question.

18. Advantages of oral reading include: ease of scoring; sensitivity to instruction; highly

interactive (reflects all reading skills).

19. Disadvantages of oral reading: because it may have low "face validity” to some

teachers you may need to explain why you are using it; it is only useful for screening and

monitoring (doesn't yield much information which guides teaching).

20. Good readers are flexible and capably shift among enabling skills and strategies to

construct meaning from text.

21. Reading teachers should be prepared to work with students who exhibit cultural

diversity or those who are bilingual. The following topics should be discussed in relation

to reading comprehension: discourse style and its interaction with reading

comprehension; text structure and its relationship to discourse style; the influence of

vocabulary and prior knowledge on comprehension.

Howell, K. (1999). Wadsworth Publishing Curriculum-Based Evaluation: Teaching and

Decision Making, 3e: Sample Course Syllabi in Instructor Manual, Syllabus, Evaluation

Retrieved February 23, 2009 from http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-

wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20bI&product_isbn_issn=9780534343705&dis

cipline_number=3&token=C42F437771554B07DAA8767670438C43340AAD8F43C65

0C43EFA8F5B32B681834CA7F5AA285BED476642621CB81FA6F5

Reading Comprehension Skills Assessment Directions (1).docx

Reading Comprehension Skills Assessment- Submission Directions

Reading comprehension skills assessments should be submitted no later than by 11: 30 P.M. on March 15, 2022.

Your Reading Comprehension Skills Assessment should be submitted to the Assignment Box and include the following components:

Your Name:                                                                          

Date:

Passage Identification:

Report here what reading passages you have used for your comprehension assessment.

If you needed to use reading passages at lower grade level (functional level) than your student’s current grade level for developing your questions report this and provide your justification for doing so.

Number your reading passages and use this numbering system consistently while further writing your report.

Comprehension Assessment (Comprehension Questions Design and Administration):

Report here how you went about the process of designing your questions, which standards and skills you specifically focused your questions on.

Talk about how you established scoring criteria for pass or fail on your comprehension questions.

Talk about who did the reading of the passages before the administration of the questions, in what order you used these passages and asked your comprehension questions.

For each used passage, provide comprehension questions and student’s answers to these questions (include the skills pertaining to the designed comprehension questions).

For each used passage, report obtained scores on the comprehension questions based on your established scoring criteria for pass or fail.

Report student’s general attitude and any other relevant factors related to the administration of your comprehension questions.

Comprehension Interview Results:

Report here which passage you used for the comprehension interview.

Provide the typed interview questions and student’s answers to these questions based on the Interview Questions (Exhibit 8.7 Comprehension Interview) (Howell & Nolet, 2000, p. 231). Maintain the same numbering of questions as provided in the text.

Report student’s general attitude and any other relevant factors related to the comprehension interview.

Report the obtained status of student’s performance (“Pass” “No-Pass” or “Unsure”) on these three categories (Reading Awareness, Planning, and Regulation) using Exhibit 8.8 Status Sheet for Awareness of the Reading Process (Howell & Nolet, 2000, p.232).

Do not engage here into your analysis and interpretation of Reading Comprehension Assessments. You will be asked to do so in your final report. So save all the detail for later.

Scanned Reading Passages and All Other Materials used in the comprehensions assessments submitted in one or more separate documents. Label each document with your last name and the title of this assessment.

Again: Be sure to reference all sources of your passages and the used standards in your document using APA style.

Howell, K. & Nolet, V. (2000). Curriculum-based evaluation: Teaching and decision making (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

April 2001

Curriculum Based Assessment

(CBA)

Directions and Materials

Seth Aldrich, Ph.D.

James Wright

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 2

About this manual This manual was prepared by Seth Aldrich, Ph.D. and Jim Wright. Dr. Aldrich is a Bilingual School Psychologist for Syracuse City Schools and New York State licensed psychologist. Jim Wright is a school psychologist who coordinates the Syracuse City Schools School Based Intervention Team (SBIT) project. The manual is intended to provide educators with directions, guidelines and some materials for conducting Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA). It is not intended to provide the training necessary to become proficient at conducting, scoring, interpreting and or using CBA for school based decision-making. While CBA is not difficult to learn, inservice as well as the references listed below are recommended so that educators can take full advantage of the information that CBA has to offer.

This manual may be copied for use by any non for profit organization. Any reproduction for the purpose of distribution must include the name of the manual’s authors. Modifications of this manual are prohibited without the written consent of the author with the exception of forms which may be modified to suit the user’s needs.

Seth Aldrich may be contacted through Syracuse City Schools, Teacher Center, 1153 West Fayette St., Syracuse, N.Y., 13204 (315-435-6314) or <[email protected]>.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 3

Table of Contents An overview of Curriculum Based Assessment ………………..………………………. 5

Qualities of CBA………………..….….…………………………………………… 8 Purposes of CBA……….…..………………………………..…………………… 8

Advantages of using CBA ………..….……..…………………………………… 9 Preparing CBA probes ……….………………………………………………… 10 References ……………..…………………………………….…………………………………….. 11

Standard directions for conducting CBA in Spanish Reading Assessment Reading passages directions … ………………….………………………………….. 13 Letter reading directions …………………………………..……………………………… 14

Letter sounds directions …………………………………..……………………………… 14 Word lists directions …………………………………………………………………………. 15

Writing Assessment Writing directions …………………………………………………………………………….. 16

Story Starters for writing assessment…………….………………………….. 17

Math Assessment Math directions …………………………………………………………………………………. 18

Guidelines for conducting, scoring and interpreting CBA Scoring guidelines for CBA reading …………………………………………………… 21 Recording reading behaviors ……………………..……………………………………… 22

Guidelines for frustration, instructional and mastery levels ………..…………… 23

Information recording materials Reading Survey Level Assessment Summary Data Recording Sheet .………………… 25 Progress Monitoring Data Recording Sheet …………………………………………. 26

Word list form 1 ……………………………………………………………………………….. 27 Word list form 2 ……………………………………………………………………………….. 28 Graph for reading results ……………………………………………………….…………. 29

Graph for letter name/sound results ……………………………………………..… 30

Written Expression Comprehensive writing assessment recording sheet ………………..…………… 31 ‘Checking My Story’ – Student self-assessment checklist ……….…………….. 32 Cover Copy Compare Word List A ……………………………………..……………… 33

Cover Copy Compare Word List B ………………………………….………………… 34 Writing graph..………………………………………………………………. 35

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 4

Math Math recording sheet ……………………………………………………………….. ……… 36 Graphs for math results …………………………………………………………..………… 37 Case Studies Case example 1: Survey level assessment and ongoing monitoring ………….………… 39 Case example 2: Use of local norms to identify students with “special needs” …….. 42 Case Example 3: The new student ……………………………………………………………… 44 Reading/math materials Randomly arranged letter probes (5 probes)………………………………………… 47 Addition/subtraction (sums to 10) …………………….…………………………..………… 52 Addition/subtraction (sums to 20) …………………….…………………………..………… 60 Single digit multiplication facts (1 – 10) …………………………………………………… 74 Double digit addition subtraction (no regrouping) ……….……………………………. 80 Double digit addition subtraction (with regrouping) …..………………………..……. 86 Double digit multiplication …………………………………..………………………………. 92

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 5

Curriculum Based Assessment: A Brief Overview Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) is a method of systematically assessing students’ basic academic skills in reading, mathematics, spelling and written expression. The instructor gives the student brief, timed samples, or “probes”, made up of academic material usually taken from the student’s curriculum.

CBA in Reading may consist of letter/letter sound reading, word lists and or passage reading, depending on the student’s developmental level or instructional goals. Students are asked to read from letter lists, word lists or reading passages called “probes” for one minute. Students who are beyond an emergent level typically read three passages of text per grade level, and the median, or middle score is recorded. Multiple passages within a single book level are prepared so that ongoing assessment can take place without practice effects.

CBA in Writing consists of a three-minute writing sample with a story starter. There are many scoring options including counting the number of, and percent correctly spelled words in three minutes. Qualitative scoring options are provided in this manual.

CBA Math uses two-minute calculation probes. Probes, which may be comprised of a single skill or “mixed skills”, are selected to assess key skills from the student’s current or imminent instructional program. Different ways of collecting and using CBA information

Survey level assessments use probes from a variety of levels to obtain a measure of a student’s current skills at each level through determining levels of instructional material used in the student’s classroom that:

• have been mastered (mastery level material) • are appropriately challenging (instructional level material) • are considered too challenging (frustrational level material)*

*Criteria used for mastery, instructional and frustration levels is provided on page 23 of this manual.

The CBA survey level assessment is useful for determining instructional materials in reading and math that match individual students’ skill levels. Instructional match is defined here as the degree to which materials are appropriately challenging (neither too difficult nor too easy) for an individual student. Appropriate instructional match is crucial for students who are developing basic academic skills for the following reasons:

• Placement in materials that have already been mastered may keep students from “moving on” and achieving their full potential.

• Placement in materials that are too difficult reduces opportunities for practicing emerging skills. Students may actually practice computing math facts or reading words incorrectly.

• Materials that are too challenging are difficult for students to comprehend or apply. Application of skills and or development of comprehension skills may be impeded when materials are at a frustration level.

• Placement in materials that are too difficult may reduce motivation and increase

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 6

chances of behavior problems. The tables below provide examples of information collected from a CBA survey

level assessment in reading and math. In the first example, the student reads very well in first and second grade material. The student reads disfluently (less than 35 words per minute) and inaccurately (less than 85% correct) in third grade material. The survey level assessment in reading suggests that the student should be instructed in second grade material and monitored in third grade level material. Teachers and support staff can use information collected during the survey assessment as a baseline when choosing to monitor student performance. Once the student becomes solidly “instructional” at a third grade level, he may be accelerated into that level of text.

Reading level Correctly read words (CRW) Percent correctly read words Proficiency level End of first 60 95% Mastery Second (2-1) 48 85% Instructional Second (2-2) 45 88% Instructional Third (3-1) 30 75% Frustration

Survey level assessment in math uses probes containing a specified skill or skills

to assess the number and percent of digits the student computes correctly in two minutes. A general rule of thumb is that students should be able to perform with at least 85% success on math probes before independent practice is advised. While this form of CBA math assessment does not assess application skills, it does assess prerequisite skills (that are frequently deficient for struggling students) necessary for students to apply math skills to solve real life problems.

Math skill Correct Digits (CD) Percent correct Digits Proficiency level Addition sums to 10 (single skill)

30 95% Mastery

Double digit addition and subtraction (no regrouping – multiple skill)

48 85% Instructional

Double digit addition and subtraction (with regrouping – multiple skill)

10 68% Frustration

Single digit multiplication (single skill)

15 75% Frustration

CBA monitoring is useful for evaluating curriculum, interventions and or

programs that are most effective for students. Educators can use ongoing (usually weekly) assessment, using probes from a single level, to gain information concerning student academic growth in response to various instructional approaches and or interventions. Since CBA probes are given under standardized conditions, they allow direct comparison of individual students’ performances over time (see graph below).

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 7

John's Weekly Reading Fluency Progress in 3-2 Basal Text

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Instructional Week

C R

W in

3 -2

B as

al T

ex t

Goal = 1.5 CRW per week

Median CRW in 3-2 text

Baseline – No Intervention

First intervention – After school small group tutoring twice per week

Second intervention – Repeated reading with passage preview peer tutor 4 times per week

*The dotted lines represent goal level progress of 1.5 CRW per week. The intervention was changed at week 7 after three consecutive data points fell below the goal line. Each point on the graph represents the middle of three one minute reading probes given on a weekly basis. The graph shows the student on a frustration level at baseline (weeks one through three). After week three, a goal was established with an expected progress rate of 1.5 correctly read words gain per week. The dotted line on the graph represents this rate of progress. At week seven, it was decided that the intervention is not producing the desired outcome and another intervention is put into place (passage preview and repeated reading strategies with a peer tutor). CBA monitoring shows gains subsequent to the peer tutoring intervention to be at or above goal level expectations. Without frequent ongoing assessment and graphing of data, it would have been very difficult to determine which intervention was having a significant positive impact on the student within such a short period of time.

Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) uses CBA information collected on groups of students from a classroom or school to compare individual students to a ‘local norm’. By assessing both typical and at risk students using CBA procedures, educators can identify students who because of their current skills in classroom materials require substantial modification or intervention. This information is relevant to decisions concerning least restrictive environment. In some states, educators use CBM for high stakes decisions such as program eligibility.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 8

The graph above shows how Rosa’s reading fluency in grade level text differs significantly from the median performance in the class (performance of the “middle student”). Rosa’s performance suggests that she needs more assistance than her “typical” classmates. Collecting classwide information also helps the classroom teacher and support staff to identify other students in the class who are having difficulties, as well as to become aware of the range of skill levels in his or her class. Qualities of CBA The following qualities make CBA a unique form of assessment that can be used for many types of educational decisions:

• CBA can be administered frequently for ongoing formative evaluation. • CBA is sensitive to relatively small changes in short periods of time. • Research has shown CBA to have good measurement properties (reliable, valid). • CBA is scored objectively. • CBA can have curriculum overlap/relevance. • CBA provides information that is useful for identifying students’ instructional needs. • CBA is practical to administer (considering cost and teacher time). • CBA can be norm referenced (using local norms).

Purposes for using CBA Because of its many positive assessment qualities, CBA can be used for a wide variety of educational decisions from instructional decisions about individual students in regular education to more high stakes decisions such as program evaluation and program eligibility. Below is a list of the various types of decisions that can be made using CBA procedures and the type of assessment (inventory and or progress monitoring) that would be used to make such a decision.

• Identify instructional needs of students through analysis of reading behaviors (inventory and or progress monitoring).

• Match instructional materials with the student's instructional level so that the student has

optimal challenge and frequent opportunities for success (inventory and or progress monitoring).

Rosa's Reading Performance in Beginning of Second Grade Text Compared to Classmates

0

5

10

15

20

25

Rosa Class Median

W o

rd s

C o

rr ec

t

Average range: Plus or minus one standard deviation

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 9

• Evaluate the effectiveness of instructional interventions. CBA can be used to determine whether or not interventions are being effective in helping students to achieve predetermined goals. Interventions can be modified until students begin achieving goals as determined by CBA data (progress monitoring).

• Evaluate educational programs. Groups of students involved in educational programs to

improve basic academic skills can be monitored using CBA. The resulting information can be used formatively to modify programs in order to be more effective or summatively to judge whether or not a program is effective (progress monitoring).

• Decide on program eligibility. CBA can be used to identify students for whom various

modifications and interventions have not resulted in adequate improvement. Such resistance to intervention has been used to document the need for more intensive instructional programs such as Special Education (progress monitoring). Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) is a process in which local norms are collected to identify students who are discrepant from peers receiving similar instruction. CBM has also been used to identify students needing additional intervention such as special education services.

Summary: Advantages of using CBA over other acasdemic measures

Most assessments used in classrooms (e.g. teacher made tests and work samples) provide 'snapshots' of student performance. It is difficult to compare a student's performance from one assessment to another because the conditions (i.e., time allocated, assistance provided and task difficulty) vary from time to time. Commercially available tests, while designed to be consistent, are time consuming, frequently do not adequately overlap what is taught, and are typically used for long term or ‘summative’ decisions.

CBA monitoring procedures, on the other hand, are feasible for ongoing or formative assessment since they take about five minutes to conduct. CBA typically uses materials from the student’s curriculum and is administered in a standardized format so that a given student’s performance is comparable from one assessment to another. The 'motion picture' that develops as the results of several assessments are plotted on a graph, reflects the student's progress in response to different instructional approaches or interventions. CBA probes also allow teachers to observe the nature of reading, math or writing strategies that the student uses, as well as errors in order to guide direct instruction.

Curriculum Based Assessment can be used to answer questions that commercially available assessments are not designed to address. For example, CBA is a very useful measure when identifying needs of assessment of students with limited English proficiency as well as deciding when curriculum changes need to be made. Finally, CBA has a strong body of research to support its use for relatively high stakes decisions. If given repeatedly over time, CBA is a reliable, valid formative evaluation approach. Research has also shown that oral reading fluency and accuracy are highly correlated with a student's ability to comprehend that level of text.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 10

Preparing Reading Passages for CBA One of the major advantages of Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) in reading is that assessment materials can be developed directly from what students are required to do in the classroom. To prepare your own passages for CBA assessment, photocopy* or type passages. If stories are typed, pay attention to font and size so that it is similar to that of what the student is expected to read in class (younger students may read better when type is larger).

• It is helpful when scoring CBA reading passages to have numbers corresponding with the total number of words in the story at the end of each line in the right hand margin. Student copies should have no numbers along the side of the page.

• When preparing passages, consider how much target students will be able to read in one

minute. Passages should probably be at least 100 to 120 words in length. When collecting CBM norms with groups of very able readers, students may need even longer passages. When using passages only to assess younger readers with relatively weak skills, shorter passages may suffice (and may be necessary considering the short length of stories in early readers).

• It is recommended that passages not have a lot of dialogue, and should be from stories

rather than poetry or plays. Text with unusual names or foreign words should be avoided if possible.

• If copying from text books pictures should be deleted. The reason for this is that with

timed probes, a student’s ability to read print independently is assessed. There is little time to stop and think about picture clues before beginning to read the story.

* Under the Fair Use Statute, copyright laws allow for limited portions of textbooks to be copied for educational purposes. Copyright information can be obtained on the website <http://www.loc.gov/copyright/>.

Preparing Math Probes for CBA

Math probes may be single skill (e.g., all addition problems with sums to 10) or mixed skill problems (e.g., addition and subtraction problems sums to 10). Problems should be distributed randomly with an even mix of easier and more difficult problems so that different probes are of similar difficulty.

Choose a skill level for monitoring that has not been mastered by the student(s) you are

Example word count 9 (words in first line) 18 (cumulative words) 31 41 43 total words in section

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 11

interested in assessing. That way you can observe progress in skills that are developing. You may want to include “unknown” problems that will be instructed soon to assess acquisition of new skills. While a limited number of math probes are provided with this manual, those who wish to conduct CBA in math are encouraged to obtain math probes from the website <www.interventioncentral.com>.

References Aldrich, S.F., (1998). Curriculum Based Measures (CBM) in Spanish: A comparison of strategies for assessing students’ skills in Spanish reading. Paper presentation National Association of School Psychologists Annual National Convention, Orlando, FL. Aldrich, S.F. (2001) Spanish Curriculum Based Assessment Materials Manual. Available on the website www.scsd.k12.ny.us/sbit/index.htm. Shapiro, E. (1996). Academic Skills Problems: Direct Assessment and Intervention. New York: Guilford Press. Shinn, M.R. (1989). Curriculum Based Measurement: Assessing Special Children. New York, Guilford. Wright, J. (1992). Curriculum-Based Measurement: A Manual for Teachers.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 12

Standard Directions for Conducting CBA

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 13

Directions for CBA in Reading Reading passages "When I say "begin" I want you to begin reading aloud at the top of this page (point to the first word on the page). Try to read each word. If you come to a word you don't know I'll read it for you. Be sure to do your best reading. Do you have any questions?" (Pause) "Begin".

The examiner begins the stopwatch when the first word is read correctly by either the student or the examiner. If the student makes an error on the first word, or if the student does not read the initial word within three seconds, the examiner says the word and starts the stopwatch.

As the student reads along in the text, the examiner records any errors by marking a slash (/) through the incorrectly read word. The examiner reads words that the student reads incorrectly. If the student hesitates for more than three (3) seconds for any word, or if the student misreads a word, the examiner says the word and marks it as an error. (More information concerning scoring is provided later in this manual pg. 21) When students read so quickly that it is difficult to correct each error, it is acceptable to not interrupt the student's reading with corrections.

After 60 seconds, the examiner says "Stop reading" and marks a "/" after the last word that the student read.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 14

Directions for CBA: Reading Readiness Directions for letter naming Give the student the list of randomly arranged letters, point to the first letter and say: "I want you to name these letters. Begin here and read across the page. Try to name as many letters as you can. If you need help with a letter, I'll read it for you. Remember to do your best reading. Do you have any questions?" (These directions should be given as consistently as possible without sounding stilted.) Begin timing as soon as the first letter is read. (If the student doesn't know the first letter, begin timing as soon as you say the letter.) At the end of one minute, say "Stop". Put a slash after the last letter read within one minute. Directions for reading letter sounds Give the student the list of randomly arranged letters, point to the first letter and say: "I want you to tell me the sounds that these letters make. Begin here and read across the page. Try to say the sounds of as many letters as you can. If you need help with a letter, I'll read it for you. If a letter says more than one sound tell me all the sounds that the letter makes. Remember to do your best sounding out. Do you have any questions?" (These directions should be given as consistently as possible without sounding stilted.) Begin timing as soon as the first letter is read. (If the student doesn't know the first letter, begin timing as soon as you say the letter sound.) At the end of one minute, say "Stop". Put a slash after the last letter read within one minute. Scoring Subtract the number of errors from the total number of letters 'covered' in one minute. These are the correctly read letters (CRL) and correctly read sounds (CRS). For letter sounds, the total sounds read (TRS) is the number of letters covered. If a student reads more than one sound for a letter that makes more than one sound (a, e, i, o, u, y, c, g, s, x,) count multiple sounds when computing the TRS.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 15

Directions for CBA in Reading Word lists "When I say "begin" I want you to begin reading the words on this page (point to the first word on the page). Try to read each word. If you come to a word you don't know I'll read it for you. Be sure to do your best reading. Do you have any questions?" (Pause) "Begin".

The examiner begins the stopwatch when the first word is read correctly by either the student or the examiner. If the student makes an error on the first word, or if the student does not read the initial word within three seconds, the examiner says the word and starts the stopwatch.

As the student reads down the list, the examiner records any errors by marking a slash (/) through the incorrectly read word. The examiner reads words that the student reads incorrectly*. If the student hesitates for more than three (3) seconds for any word, or if the student misreads a word, the examiner says the word and marks it as an error and directs the student to the next word on the list. When students read so quickly that it is difficult to correct each error, it is acceptable to not interrupt the student's reading with corrections.

After 60 seconds, the examiner says "Stop reading" and marks a "/" after the last word that the student read.

* Some authors do not provide error correction for misread words. Providing error correction for misread words is the standard procedure implemented in the Syracuse City School District based on teacher feedback about acceptable assessment practice. Decisions to modify CBA procedures must be applied conservatively and consistently.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 16

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) in Writing Comprehensive Assessment Directions Directions: "I want you to write a story. I am going to read a sentence to you first, and then I want you to write about what happens. You will have one minute to think about the story you will write and then have three minutes to write it. Do your best work. If you don't know how to spell a word, you should guess. Are there any questions?" "For the next minute think about:" (provide story starter*) After 60 seconds say: "Begin writing"

After three minutes: "Stop. Please put your pencils down." The teacher then collects the writing samples. * Ideas for story starters are provided on the following page.

Quantitative scoring options include: 1) Counting the total words written (TWW) whether they are misspelled or not. 2) Counting the number of correctly spelled words (CSW) in the story and percentage of total words written that were spelled correctly (words are scored as correct whether or not they are grammatically correct). 3) Counting the number of correctly spelled words in the story and percentage of total words written that were spelled correctly (words are scored as incorrect if they are not grammatically correct). Note: The important thing to remember is the teacher's instructional goals and that scoring methods are uniform across writing samples that are compared to monitor progress. Qualitative scoring options: Teacher evaluates writing sample using the CBA Writing Comprehensive Assessment Sheet (tailored for instructional goals). Teacher and student evaluate writing sample using the CBA Writing Comprehensive Assessment Sheet (tailored for instructional goals) and the 'Checking My Story' sheet. Optional activity: Self-assessment (after the 3 minute sample) "Now you'll have 5 minutes to use the 'Checking my Story' sheet to check your story. Rate how you did today according to the rating sheet". Student editing "Look over the 'Checking my Story' sheet and use it to edit your story using a different colored pen. For example, you could change your story by adding words, changing words, or correcting spelling or punctuation. To change words, draw one line through the word and write the new word above the crossed out word."

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 17

Ideas for Story Starters

1. You just won the lottery for 20 million dollars. What would you do? 2. You woke up this morning and you were two (or ten) feet tall. Write a story

about what you would do and what might happen.

3. You woke up this morning and you were could fly. Write a story about what you would do and what might happen.

4. You woke up this morning and you were invisible. Write a story about what

you would do and what might happen.

5. A genie grants you three wishes. Write a story about what you would wish for and what might happen.

6. Write about the scariest (happiest) thing that ever happened to you.

7. Aliens have landed in your back yard. Write about what might happen.

8. You have just won an all expense paid vacation to anywhere in the world.

Write about where you would go and what you would do.

9. You’ve invented a time machine and can go back in time. Write about where you would go and what might happen.

10. You’ve invented a time machine and can go forward into the future. Write

about what it is like and what might happen.

11. You are made principal of the school. Write about what you would do and what might happen.

12. You President of the United States. Write about what you would do and what might happen.

13. Write about what you would like to be doing in 20 years.

14. What if you could change anything about yourself? Write about what you would change and how your life would be different.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 18

Directions for CBA in Math 1) Math sheets are distributed to students face down on their desks. Students are asked to put their name on the paper before beginning. 2) Provide these instructions to students: Single skill probes: "The sheets on your desk are math facts. All of the problems are (state the type of math problem on the sheet e.g., addition)".

Multiple skill probes: "The sheets on your desk are math facts. There are several types of problems on the sheets. Some are (state the types of math problem on the sheet e.g., addition and some are subtraction). Look at each problem carefully before you answer it". For all problems: "When I say begin, start answering the problems. Begin with the first problem and work across the page (demonstrate by pointing). Then go down to the next row. If you cannot answer a problem mark an x on it and go to the next one. Are there any questions?" 3) Say "Begin" and start timing. 4) Watch students to make sure that they are working across the page and that they are not skipping problems. 5) At the end of two minutes, sat "Stop. Please put your pencils down." Math probes Probes should be designed to cover skills currently targeted in the classroom instruction or review skills (depending on what the instructor wants to know about a student's skills. Problems on math sheets should be randomly arranged and of equal difficulty. Several math probes are included in this materials manual. Math probes may also be generated on the following website: www.interventioncentral.com. Scoring The total number of digits attempted are counted. For example:

54 31 47 +35 -10 +22 88 21 29 6 (The number ‘6’

indicates all possible digits for that line.)

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 19

The total attempted = 6 (This is the number of digits had the problems been computed correctly). Errors = 2 (these are the digits that are underlined). Total digits correct = 4 Percent digits correct in two minutes = 4/6 or 67% Note: By computing correct digits CBA math is more sensitive to small change over relatively

short periods of time.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 20

Guidelines for Conducting, Scoring and Interpreting CBA

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 21

CBA Reading: What Are/ Aren't Counted as Errors As the student reads, the examiner carefully records errors that the student makes as well as other observations concerning the way the student reads. The following are counted as student errors when scoring CBA: 1) Hesitating for more than 3 seconds between words 2) Misreading words (i.e., reading bat as "bet") 3) Omitting words 4) Skipping a line (redirect the student to the missed line and count as one error) The following are not counted as student errors when scoring CBA: 1) Words that the student corrects for him or herself within 3 seconds. 2) Words that are inserted (reading I saw a dog as "I saw a big dog")

before the examiner has a chance to correct the student. 3) Mispronunciations of words because of articulation differences that the student may have (i.e., the student reads rabbit as "wabbit"). 4) Different pronunciations of words due to non-standard English (e.g. some Latino students may delete the final 's' sound in words).

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 22

Guidelines for Recording Student Reading Behaviors Misreads – Mark a slash through words that are misread (e.g., the student reads store as “stop”) and write what the student reads over the word. (Count as one error.) Hesitations – If the student does not read anything within 3 seconds, mark a slash through the word. (Count as one error.) Skipped lines – If the student skips a line, re-direct the student to the c correct line and mark the error by putting an arrow at the corresponding lines. (Count as one error.)

Ommissions – If the student skips a word (“I went to store” in this example), put an “x” through the omitted word. (Count as one error.) Insertions – If the student inserts a word that is not in the passage and

continues to read the following word correctly, it is considered an insertion. The examiner may write the

word where it was inserted with an inverted “v”. (No error is scored.)

Self-corrections – If a student misreads a word but then corrects him/herself within three seconds, sc may be used

to indicate the self-correction. (No error is scored.) Misarticulations/ – If a student exhibits a consistent pattern of Mispronunciations misarticulation or reads words differently

because they speak with an accent or non standard English, you may want to note the pattern by noting a few examples. (No error is scored.)

Note: Recording these reading behaviors is optional when conducting CBA. Resulting information may be used to identify students’ instructional needs. Accurate administration and scoring procedures should not be compromised when recording the nature of student errors.

I went to the store to buy some milk, but when I got there

I went to the store to buy some milk

very He won on his first try.

SC wane He won on his first

“He wan as fa as he could” He ran as far as he could.

Stare Store

Store

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 23

Reading: Guidelines for frustration, instructional and mastery levels Grade 1 through grade 3 text* Fluency Accuracy Frustration Below 35 CRW** Below 85% accuracy Instructional 35 – 60 CRW 85 – 95% accuracy Mastery Above – 60 CRW Above 95% accuracy Grade 4 through grade 6 text Fluency Accuracy Frustration Below 50 CRW Below 85% accuracy Instructional 50 – 100 CRW 85 – 95% accuracy Mastery Above 100 CRW Above 95% accuracy * Guidelines for frustration, instructional and mastery levels of fluency vary in the literature. Fluency rates corresponding with functional Spanish reading are unknown. **CRW – Median correctly read words in one minute out of three readings

Math: Guidelines for frustration, instructional and mastery levels Grade 1 through grade 3 problems* Fluency Accuracy Frustration 0-9 CD Below 85% accuracy Instructional 10-19 CD 85 – 95% accuracy Mastery 20+ CD Above 95% accuracy Grade 4 and above problems Fluency Accuracy Frustration 0-19 CD Below 85% accuracy Instructional 20-39 CD 85 – 95% accuracy Mastery 40+ CD Above 95% accuracy CD- Correct digits computed in two minutes *Math guidelines are adapted from Shapiro (1996)

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 24

Information Recording Materials

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 25

Survey Level Assessment Summary Student TRW – Total read words E – Errors CRW – Correctly read words % CRW= Median CRW Median CRW + Median E

Date Notes Book (level) Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW ____ E ____ % CRW ____ Book (level) Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW ____ E ____ % CRW Book (level) Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW ____ E ____ % CRW ____ Book (level) Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW ____ E ____ % CRW ____ Book (level) Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW ____ E ____ % CRW ____ Frustration level(s) Instructional level(s) Mastery level(s)

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 26

Progress Monitoring Data Recording Sheet Student Book (level) TRW – Total read words E – Errors CRW – Correctly read words % CRW = Median CRW Median CRW + Median E

Date Notes Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW ____ E ____ % CRW Words misread Read as: Words misread Read as: 1) 4) 2) 5) 3) 6)

Date Notes Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW _______ E ____ % CRW Words misread Read as: Words misread Read as: 1) 4) 2) 5) 3) 6)

Date Notes Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW _______ E ____ % CRW Words misread Read as: Words misread Read as: 1) 4) 2) 5) 3) 6)

Date Notes Reading 1: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 2: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Reading 3: TRW ___ E ____ CRW ____ Median CRW _______ E ____ % CRW Words misread Read as: Words misread Read as: 1) 4) 2) 5) 3) 6)

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 27

CBA Word Drill List

Directions for Word Drill: Write down selected words that were misread in the CBA passage. Point to each word and ask the student to read it. If the student reads the word incorrectly read the word and have the student repeat the word twice. Repeat the procedure until the student reads all of the words with 100% accuracy.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 28

CBA Word Drill List Directions for Word Drill: Write down selected words that were misread in the CBA passage. Point to each word and ask the student to read it. If the student reads the word incorrectly read the word and have the student repeat the word twice. Repeat the procedure until the student reads all of the words with 100% accuracy. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20)

10095908580757065605550454035302520151050 9/1

9/7 9/15

9/22 10/1

10/7 10/15

10/22 11/1

11/7 11/15

11/22 12/1

12/7 12/15

12/22 1/1

1/7 1/15

1/22 2/1

2/7 2/15

2/22 3/1

3/7 3/15

3/22 4/1

4/7 4/15

4/22 5/1

5/7 5/15

5/22 6/1

6/7 6/15

6/22

CRW

% CRW

Describe interventions here C

urriculum B

ased A ssessm

ent G raph

Student:

CRW in level text

o o Percent CRW Goal: Student will m

ake CRW progress per week

R eading

10095908580757065605550454035302520151050 9/1

9/7 9/15

9/22 10/1

10/7 10/15

10/22 11/1

11/7 11/15

11/22 12/1

12/7 12/15

12/22 1/1

1/7 1/15

1/22 2/1

2/7 2/15

2/22 3/1

3/7 3/15

3/22 4/1

4/7 4/15

4/22 5/1

5/7 5/15

5/22 6/1

6/7 6/15

6/22

CS

% CS

Describe interventions here C

urriculum B

ased A ssessm

ent G raph

Student:

Correct Sounds in One M inute

o o Percent Correct Sounds Goal: Student will increase sounds read in one m

inute by per week

Sounds

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 31

Curriculum Based Assessment – Writing (Comprehensive Assessment Sheet)

Writing the Story Spelling _____ Total Words Written _____ Correctly Spelled Words _____ Percent Correctly Spelled Words Mechanics (rate the mechanics by the following criteria) 1 2 3 Incorrect or very Inconsistent use Correct, consistent use infrequent use _____ Capitals ____ " " Quotations _____ . Period ____ : or ; colon/semi-colon _____ , Comma ____ ' (apostrophe for contraction – i.e., can't) _____ ! Exclamation mark ____ ' (apostrophe for possession – i.e., Mary's) _____ ? Question mark Quality of Writing – The story: Student Teacher ratings ___ ___ has a title. ___ ___ is consistent with the title. ___ ___ has a good leading sentence. ___ ___ has (no, few, many) omitted words (comments: ). ___ ___ has (no, few, many) grammatical errors (comments: ). ___ ___ has (no, few, many) capital letter errors (comments: ). ___ ___ has (no, few, many) run on sentences (comments: ). ___ ___ has (no, few, many) incomplete sentences (comments: ). ___ ___ has (many, few, no) descriptive words (comments: ). communicates the writer's thoughts clearly. communicates the writer's thoughts in an organized manner. is interesting to the reader. ___ ___ has good ending sentence. ___ ___ is an example of the student's personal best. *Add/delete/modify the above descriptors according to student objectives

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 32

Checking My Story Name ________________ Date ________________ 1) Did I use my map? _______ 2) Did I give my story a title? _______ 3) Does my title tell about the story? ________ 4) Did I write a good lead sentence? _____ 5) Does my story have a plot? _____ 6) Did I separate my words? _____ 7) Did I write in complete sentences (not begin sentences with 'then' 'and' or 'so') ? _____ 8) Did I leave out any words? _____ 9) Did I correct grammatical errors? _____ 10) Did I correct spelling errors? _____ 11) Did I correct capitals letters where needed? _____ 12) Did I add punctuation marks where needed? ____ 13) Did I use descriptive words? _____ 14) Does my story have a good ending sentence? ____ 15) Did I do my personal best? _____

* add/delete/modify these descriptors according to student objectives

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 33

Cover Copy Compare Word List

Directions for Cover Copy Compare: 1) Write down selected words that you want the student to be able to spell. 2) Instruct the student to look at the word and memorize it using whatever strategy will be effective. 3) Provide the student with an index card to cover each word. 4) Cover the word and then ask the student to write the word from his or her own memory. 5) Uncover the word and compare the student's response with the correct spelling. 6) Correct any errors and repeat until the student spells each word from memory with 100% accuracy.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10)

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 34

Cover Copy Compare Word List

Directions for Cover Copy Compare: 1) Write down selected words that you want the student to be able to spell. 2) Instruct the student to look at the word and memorize it using whatever strategy will be effective. 3) Provide the student with an index card to cover each word. 4) Cover the word and then ask the student to write the word from his or her own memory. 5) Uncover the word and compare the student's response with the correct spelling. 6) Correct any errors and repeat until the student spells each word from memory with 100% accuracy. 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15)

10095908580757065605550454035302520151050 9/1

9/7 9/15

9/22 10/1

10/7 10/15

10/22 11/1

11/7 11/15

11/22 12/1

12/7 12/15

12/22 1/1

1/7 1/15

1/22 2/1

2/7 2/15

2/22 3/1

3/7 3/15

3/22 4/1

4/7 4/15

4/22 5/1

5/7 5/15

5/22 6/1

6/7 6/15

6/22

C

% C

Describe interventions here C

urriculum B

ased A ssessm

ent G raph

Student:

Correct

o o Percent Goal: Student will m

ake progress per week in

W riting

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 36

CBA Math Summary Sheet

Student name: Date Sheet Code DA CD %CD Comments

DA-Digits attempted CD-Correct Digits %CD-Percent Correct Digits

10095908580757065605550454035302520151050 9/1

9/7 9/15

9/22 10/1

10/7 10/15

10/22 11/1

11/7 11/15

11/22 12/1

12/7 12/15

12/22 1/1

1/7 1/15

1/22 2/1

2/7 2/15

2/22 3/1

3/7 3/15

3/22 4/1

4/7 4/15

4/22 5/1

5/7 5/15

5/22 6/1

6/7 6/15

6/22

CD

% CD

Describe interventions here C

urriculum B

ased A ssessm

ent G raph

Student:

CD in (skill)

o o Percent CD Goal: Student will m

ake CD progress per week

M ath

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 38

Case Studies

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 39

Case example 1: Survey level assessment and ongoing monitoring

The following example illustrates how CBA can be used to survey students’ skills in classroom materials and then monitor individual student progress through weekly reading probes. First, CBA survey level assessment of the student’s skills at various levels was collected to provide information about book levels that were too easy (mastery), too hard (frustration) and appropriately challenging (instructional). Based on this information, the student’s teacher was able to determine which instructional materials would set the student up for success.

CBA monitoring provided information concerning the effectiveness of the instructional strategies, interventions and or programs being used to promote academic skills. The main question addressed by CBA monitoring is “How well is this particular approach working for the student?”

Background Michael is a nine year old boy attending Smith Elementary School in the third grade.

While Michael’s behavior, motivation and attendance are currently good, they were very problematic during first and second grade. Michael was retained in second grade. His current teacher estimated his reading level to be at a mid-second grade level and her lowest reading group, which includes Michael, uses an end of second grade textbook. She feels that Michael has the capability of learning but is behind due to his past troubles and is having difficulty “catching up” to his classmates.

Michael was referred to his school’s pre-referral intervention team because his teacher was concerned about his reading skills. While he was making progress in reading, his reading delays made many aspects of the school day, including content areas, a struggle for him.

After reviewing Michael’s educational history, it was clear that his history of attendance and limited motivation were key issues contributing to Michael’s difficulties.

Step 1: Survey level assessment The school psychologist in Michael’s school conducted a CBA survey level

assessment that inventoried Michael’s skills at different grade levels. She asked Michael to read three randomly selected passages from the end of first, beginning of second, end of second and third grade textbooks used in his classroom. She found that, in the end of second grade book used in Michael’s reading group, Michael was reading on average only 30 words correctly in one minute, with 75% accuracy. At this level Michael would probably not be able to practice enough known words when reading independently to improve his reading skills. Michael was able to read at an instructional level in the beginning of second grade basal (45 words correctly in one minute with 89% accuracy). Michael was at mastery level fluency and accuracy in the end of first grade book (see table below).

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 40

Michael’s CBA Reading Survey Level Assessment Results

Because Michael’s current reading book was so difficult for him, he probably would

find it difficult to comprehend what he was reading. Furthermore, he would be at risk for low motivation and behavior problems given the high degree of frustration if not given substantial support in current instructional materials. Step 2: Set a goal

Michael’s teacher and the pre-referral intervention team used the survey level; assessment information to set a realistic but ambitious goal for Michael to improve his reading fluency and accuracy:

“After four weeks of flash cards drill with the teacher Michael will increase his reading fluency in the third grade textbook by 6 words (1.5 CRW increase per week)”.

Step 3: Plan an intervention Rather than move Michael out of his current reading group and into an easier

book (which may have been an appropriate modification based on the survey level assessment), his teacher decided that she would provide interventions to make the end of second grade text easier for Michael through preparatory activities. She would do this initially by having a teacher assistant in the school tutor Michael using flash cards with difficult words from his reading book. Step 4: CBA monitoring The intervention team along with Michael’s teacher decided that their goal was for Michael to read fluently and accurately in the third grade book. The teacher assistant conducting the flash card intervention would be trained to administer CBA on a weekly basis to monitor Michael’s progress. Each week Michael would read from three different randomly selected passages from the third grade book. The TA would then graph the median (or middle score out of three) correctly read words (CRW) per minute and percent accuracy that Michael achieved each week. The goal, interventions attempted, and results would be shared with Michael and his parents.

The graph below shows the goal line reflecting expected progress, interventions used, as well as actual progress made (reflected by fluency in third grade materials) with each intervention.

Reading level Correctly read words (CRW) Percent correctly read words Proficiency level End of first 75 96% Mastery Second (2-1) 45 89% Instructional Second (2-2) 30 75% Frustration Third (3-1) 13 60% Frustration

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 41

Michael's Weekly Reading Fluency Progress in Third Grade Basal Text

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Instructional Week

C R

W in

T h

ir d

G ra

d e

B as

al T

ex t

Goal = 1.5 CRW per week Median CRW in third grade text

Baseline – No Intervention

First intervention – Flash card with adult tutor twice per week

Second intervention – Paired reading with peer tutor 4 times per week

Step 5: Evaluate intervention effectiveness and make necessary modifications After five weeks of the initial intervention, Michael’s teacher and the intervention

team decided that Michael was not meeting his goal (see graph). They decided to train an older student to be Michael’s tutor. Michael and the tutor would spend 25 minutes, four days per week reading from the second grade basal which was being used for instruction in Michael’s classroom. The goal of 1.5 words per week gain would be kept the same.

Step 6: Continue to assess and re-evaluate effectiveness Throughout six weeks of the peer tutoring intervention, Michael demonstrated

reading gains that were at or above his goal. The degree of improvement was such that Michael was projected to be reading instructionally in third grade material before the end of the school year. While his reading skills would still be delayed compared to other nine year olds, he was “catching up”.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 42

Case example 2: Use of local norms to identify students with “special needs” Educators have a responsibility of identifying students with special needs.

Knowing what to expect of groups of students whose difficulties may be explained by factors not related to educational disability (e.g., students with limited English proficiency, and curriculum casualties) is a difficult task.

Collection of local norms through Curriculum Based Measures (CBM) is very useful for determining expected levels of skills and or progress of students who have problematic educational backgrounds. The purpose of standardization samples is to help educators know what to expect from students from similar backgrounds at a particular age/grade level. Collecting ‘local norms’ using CBM procedures allows educators to compare the academic skills of referred students to students who have had similar language histories and or educational experiences. Background

Maria is an eight year old girl finishing the second grade in a classroom that includes several students who have limited English proficiency. Maria was born in Puerto Rico and did not begin speaking English until she entered kindergarten when she was five years old. Her parents and teacher are concerned that Maria struggles when she reads books estimated to be at a first grade level. Maria decodes many of her words and does not demonstrate a fluent sight word vocabulary. Her teacher feels that the energy she devotes to decoding interferes with her reading comprehension. They are concerned that Maria may have a learning disability.

Step 1. Assess what the student is able to do compared to “typical students”

Several of Maria’s classmates have a similar language and instructional history. Maria’s teacher identified students in her class that had similar histories and randomly selected five of them to establish a “local norm”. She administered three CBA probes from the second grade book that she was using for instruction in her class (making sure to not use passages that students had already read). She also administered a page of randomly arranged letters to assess fluency in letter naming and sounding out. Maria’s teacher had significant concerns about another student in her class, Anna, and decided to conduct CBA assessment with her as well.

Step 2. Decide whether the student exhibits significant weaknesses relative to classmates

Results of the assessment revealed that Maria’s performance was not significantly different from that of her Spanish speaking classmates. Furthermore, her teacher was able to see that many students in her class were struggling in the class materials and that they needed additional support and practice before they could read independently at that level. Maria and five other students had not yet mastered the basic phonetic skills needed to decode English words. Vowel sounds were particularly difficult for Maria and other students assessed. This would be a target for direct instruction.

The graph below illustrates that Maria’s reading fluency is similar to the median performance of the students she assessed. Maria’s performance on both assessments is within one standard deviation of the average performance of her classmates. In other words, her performance is not “atypical” for her class. Informal analysis of the data reveals that five other students performed similar to Maria on the reading tasks.

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 43

Maria's Reading Performance Compared to Classmates

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2-1 Basal Letter Sounds

N um

be r

R ea

d Maria Class Median

Anna, on the other hand, exhibited basic reading skills that were very discrepant from other students in the classroom (see graph below). Her performance suggests that without significant intervention in reading she will continue to experience difficulties in language arts. Her teacher consulted with the building’s intervention committee to design an individualized intervention and monitoring plan for Anna. Ongoing CBA monitoring would be used to evaluate her progress. Lack of progress would indicate the need for a more thorough evaluation to investigate the presence of an educational disability. CBA information would provide substantial evidence for or against the presence of a disability, as well as the nature of intervention required to address Anna’s needs.

Anna's Reading Performance Compared to Classmates

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

2-1 Basal Letter Sounds

N um

be r

R ea

d

Anna Class Median

Range: plus or minus one standard deviation

+ 1 SD

Average range (+ 1 SD)

+ 1 SD

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 44

Case Example 3: The new student Background

Joe is an eight year old student who recently began attending Eagle Street Elementary School in February. On the first day of school, Joe’s second grade teacher attempted to work with Joe and found that his academic skills appeared to be limited. He struggled in the literature selections that most other students in his class were able to read. Joe was able to perform simple calculation skills that his teacher gave to him but his math skills were unknown. He had difficulty communicating ideas in writing that he was able to convey verbally. His teacher had many questions about Joe’s ability to acquire academic skills. A primary question is whether or not Joe’s academic skills necessitated substantial modification of instruction and instructional materials for him to be successful in second grade.

Assessment

CBA was conducted in reading, math and written expression to collect information about the skills that Jose was able to develop in his previous school. Results Reading

When asked to read second grade text used in the classroom, Joe read fluently and accurately (see table below). His teacher was able to conclude that Joe does not have a problem with reading decoding and that his basic skills are adequate for him to apply what he reads. She will continually monitor Joe’s ability to answer questions about what he read and provide intervention as necessary. Text level Fluency (CRW) Accuracy (%CRW) Challenge End of second 68 96% Mastery Third 40 83% Frustration Written expression

Joe’s teacher conducted a CBM writing assessment to measure Joe’s ability to write a short story compared to his classmates. The entire class was asked to write a three minute story with a story starter. Joe wrote 25 correctly spelled words (76% accuracy), while the median performance in the class was 30 correctly spelled words with 78% accuracy (see table below). Joe used capital letters and periods and his story was imaginative and quite descriptive. His story had a logical sequence and he stuck to the story theme. Thus Joe appears to have developed some written expression skills. Joe’s teacher decided that Joe’s skills were not very different from other students in the classroom.

Table illustrating Joe’s writing compared to median class performance

*CSW – correctly spelled words in 3 minutes

CSW in 3 minutes % CSW in 3 minutes Joe 25 76% Class median (middle score) 30 78%

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Materials Manual Page 45

Math Joe’s class is currently working on double-digit addition and subtraction. Most students in the class have mastered single-digit addition and subtraction. Joe’s performance on the CBA math assessment indicated that he has mastered double-digit addition but needs additional practice in subtraction. He sometimes does not pay attention to whether he is supposed to add or subtract and he sometimes subtracts the top number from the bottom number. Through error analysis, his teacher was able to identify specific skills that Jose needs to learn in order to perform successfully. Table showing Joe’s fluency and accuracy in math calculations

Summary

The CBA reading, math and written expression screening provided information concerning basic skill acquisition during Jose’s previous schooling. Understanding his prior skill acquisition helps those working with him to know if he has academic proficiencies that he will be able to apply in his new classroom. In this case the teacher determined that Joe’s current skills are such that the instruction in the classroom is at his level and that Joe needs minimal to no instructional modifications.

Advantages of this screening format include:

• Feasibility: Total screening time: approximately 25 minutes. • Curriculum relevance: All skills observed were related to the second grade curriculum

and materials used in his classroom. Furthermore, the assessment gathered information about basic skills that Jose had been taught in his previous school.

• Structured format: The assessment used directions and tasks that could be understood by the student. His performance could be objectively observed, and his current performance can be compared wth future performance if his teacher wants to evaluate progress.

• Easy to administer.

Skill Fluency (CD) Accuracy (%CD) Challenge Addition/subtraction single digit

25 90% Instructional

Double digit addition/subtraction

10 45% Frustration

Fall 09/W 6-7/Chapter 9 Lecture Points.pdf