ABCs of CBMs
Summary of A Practical Guide to
Curriculum-Based Measurement
By: Michelle Hosp, John Hosp,
& Kenneth Howell
What will CBM provide?

CBM provides functional information
required to inform educational
decision making, including:
Goal setting
 Planning
 Monitoring

What is CBM

CBM is composed of a set of
standard directions, a timing device,
a set of materials, scoring rules,
standards for judging performance,
and record forms or charts.
Attributes of CBM
1.
Alignment

2.
Technically adequate
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3.
Tested on the curriculum
Established reliability and validity
Used to summarize both a student’s
level of performance and rate of
progress
Makes use of criterion-referenced
measures
Attributes of CBM cont.
4.
Standard procedures are used


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Standard tasks are used for each
content
Standard procedures are followed for
selecting or constructing testing
materials
Standard administration and scoring
directions exist for each procedure
5. Performance sampling is used
(producing what is sometimes
called behavioral or performance
data)
Attributes of CBM cont.
6.
7.
Decision rules are put in place.
These rules are based on
performance criteria and are
standardized through sampling or
experimental procedures.
Emphasized repeated
measurement over time. These
repeated measures illustrate the
degree to which an instructional
intervention is producing learning.
Attributes of CBM cont.
8.
9.
Efficient. The measures can be
given in a short period of time and
quickly.
Data can be summarized
efficiently. The results are
summarized and interpreted as
simple behavioral/performance
statements.
How is CBM different?
CBM focuses on the curriculum and
was designed to function within a
problem-solving paradigm (e.g.
Responsiveness to Instruction RtI)
Differences?


Alterable Variables - Designed to fill the need
for a data collection system that would
produce the information required to guide
instruction.
Low-inference Measure - CBM was not
developed to explain how learning does or
doesn’t occur, and it was not designed to
conform to any particular theory about how
students think, attend, remember, or process
information. Therefore, inference and
conjecture about what the resulting scores
mean is kept to a minimum.
Differences?

Criterion-references Measures - Used to
determine if students can demonstrate their
knowledge by reaching specified performance
levels on certain tasks. CBM came directly out
of an intervention program. This means the
measures must be:



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Aligned with curriculum
Sensitive to instruction
Repeatable so that progress monitoring could occur
Able to determine if student has mastered task
How does CBM relate to RtI?
Key components of any good RtI
approach are the use of
screening/benchmarking and
progress-monitoring assessments.
CBMs are an efficient tool for
meeting these components.
More about CBM



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CBM is not an instructional method or
intervention
CBM is not a curriculum
The defining elements of CBM are the
curriculum-based procedures for designing,
administering, and scoring measures and for
recording, summarizing, and interpreting the
data that result from those measures.
A measure gets to be a CBM instrument if it is
designed, administered, and scored according
to established CBM procedures.
Different types of CBM

General Outcome Measures (GOMs)


Used to sample performance across several goals at
the same time by using capstone tasks that are
complex in the sense that they can only be
accomplished by successfully applying a number of
contributing skills.
Advantages



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Disadvantage

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Efficient by measuring several subskills
Recognizes the limitations of isolating subskills from the
context in which they normally are expected to function
Visual displays of progress will show longer acquisition
slopes, allowing adequate opportunities for progress
monitoring and data-based instructional modifications
May need more diagnostic information
Example - Oral Reading Fluency
Different types of CBM cont.

Skills-based Measures


Designed to accomplish many of the
functions of GOMs
Advantages



Disadvantage

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Will produce long acquisition slopes like GOMs
Can yield some analytical information as long as
steps are taken to ensure that an adequate sample
of each kind of item is provided and that the items
are cross-referenced to goals.
At any given time only a few items on the test will
be directly related to what the student is currently
learning.
Example - Math Computation
Different types of CBMs cont.

Mastery Measures


Used on parts of the curriculum that contain discrete
and easily identified sets (or domains) of items that are
closely related by some common skill, theme concept,
or solution strategy.
Advantages




Disadvantage

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Focuses on a particular set of skills.
Can help troubleshoot a problem and need to do
specific-level testing
Monitor learning when a skill is being taught in isolation
Not good for surveying general levels of performance or
for monitoring growth on long-term goals.
Example - Math Facts
CBMs & the Curriculum

What is the definition of curriculum?
Curriculum is “what you teach” not
“how you teach.”
 Therefore, you do not need to have
assessments using the same formats
and examples as the instructional
materials.

Reasons for this position


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Instructional programs do not follow
the same sequences and
schedules.
Program-specific tests may not tell
you if the learning has generalized.
(You do not want a student who can
only work problems that are
presented in a certain format).
Program-specific tests will make the
teacher dependent on the program.
CBMs can be used for…
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Screening/benchmarking decisions
Progress-monitoring decisions
Diagnostic decisions
Outcome decisions
CBM is most appropriate for
screening/benchmarking decisions
and progress-monitoring decisions.
Where do CBMs get the
performance standards?

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Exemplar Sampling - Draw a sample of
successful students for the skill in question.
Norm Sampling - Testing a large group of
students and using the average scores at a
grade level or some percentage of them as the
target level of performance for that grade.
Predictive Validity or Benchmarks - Involves
empirically or statistically determining the level
of performance that reliably predicts successful
performance on a different outcome measure,
usually at a future date.
AIMSweb uses norm sampling and benchmarks.
CBM examples
Reading CBM
(Oral Reading Fluency)

Reading CBM provides a reliable
and valid way to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identify students who are at risk for
reading failure
Identify which students are not
making adequate progress given the
instruction they are receiving
Identify students’ instructional level
Identify which students need
additional diagnostic assessment
Reading CBM
(Oral Reading Fluency)
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Automaticity is important because it
demonstrates the student has mastered
the skill.
In order to read a passage of text aloud
quickly and accurately, you need to use a
variety of different literacy skills, including
decoding, vocabulary, and
comprehension (particularly accessing
prior knowledge).
This is what makes ORF a good predictor
of future reading performance.
FAQ about Oral Reading Fluency

Should I have students read the title on the page
or should I it to them?
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Can the benchmark scores be used to put
students in instructional groups?

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You should not have the student read the title nor
should you read it to the student. It is not counted in
the total words for the passage and may give the
students some background information. Remember,
this is a time to assess, not teach.
Yes, if you have students with similar instructional
needs. These groups should be flexible, and students
should be evaluated and regrouped every 6-8 weeks.
Other questions can be found in the book.
MAZE

A measure that looks at
comprehension.
Early Literacy

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These measures require the student
to be accurate as well as fluent
allowing one to determine how
automatic students are at
performing a task.
Remember, automaticity is
important because it represents a
higher level of skill mastery.
Early Literacy Measures
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Initial sound fluency and phoneme
segmentation fluency are the two
measures designed to assess
phonological awareness.
Nonsense word fluency is a measure
designed to assess decoding skills.
Letter naming fluency is used as a risk
indicator for reading.
Word identification fluency is a measure
of phonics and fluency.
Spelling


Spelling is an important skill for
writing and evaluating that also
provides information about a
student’s decoding.
Good spellers are always good
readers, but the reverse is not
always true; a poor speller can be a
good reader or a poor reader.
FAQ about Spelling CBM

Can I give students the list prior to the assessment?

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The list for this week doesn’t include the spelling rules I
just taught. Can I choose one that does?

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No. Avoid teaching to the test and remember Spelling CBM
is designed to assess general, not specific, skill mastery.
Should I teach students the spelling rules they miss on the
spelling lists?
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No. This assessment is a general measure of students’ skill
at applying the spelling rules they have been previously
taught. Giving students the list prior to the assessment
increases the chance that students will attempt to memorize
the words instead of learning the spelling skills being taught.
Yes. Whenever students are missing previously taught
rules, it is beneficial to reteach the material. This may be an
indication that students did not fully understand the concept.
Teachers should, however, continue to use the scope and
sequence presented in the curriculum.
Other questions can be found in the book.
Writing

Several components of written
communication pertinent to student
progress in written language include:

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Writing fluency, syntactic maturity, vocabulary
or semantic maturity, content, and
conventions.
Numerous studies have presented CBMs
available for many of these target areas,
including:

Total words written, words spelled correctly,
correct writing sequences, and total correct
punctuation.
Math

Reason for using a math CBM
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Most math assessments do not provide information
about fluency, which provides information about skill
mastery, but CBM does.
Single-skill math sheets are not appropriate for
screening or progress monitoring (because it
only assesses one skill), but it can be used to
gain some diagnostic information or to use as a
starting point for a curriculum-based evaluation
approach to decision making.
When scoring Math CBM, the number of correct
digits in the solution to the problem is used
because it is a more sensitive measure to
change.
Charting and Graphing CBM
Data to Help Make Decisions
Three methods for setting goals

End-of-Year Benchmarks

This is the lowest score we would
accept that would indicate a student
is not at risk for future academic
failure.
Three methods for setting goals,
cont.

Norms

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When available, national norms are good to
use.
Come in two forms:
1.
2.
Levels of Performance: Use same process as
with end-of-year benchmarks. The difference is
that these are based on typical performance of
same-grade peers rather than a criterion for
proficiency that predicts performance on
outcome measures.
Rate of growth or progress: This can be
calculated as an average weekly gain.
Three methods for setting goals,
cont.

Intraindividual Framework
Uses the student’s current level of
performance and rate of progress to
set end-of-the-year goals.
 It may underestimate a student’s rate
of learning and may never catch the
student up if the student started
behind.

Graphing

To graph, identify a specific target to
work toward and number of weeks it
will take to get there.
Decision Rules

Two methods are used for making
decisions:
1.
2.
Data point analysis - The data points
on the graph for each week are
examined.
Trend line analysis - Represents the
student’s observed rate of progress,
which can be compared to the
expected rate of progress as
indicated by the goal line.
How to use CBM in RtI
The same CBM measures can be used with
all students across the various tiers of
instruction.
Types of decisions

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1.
2.
Effectiveness of the instructional program that a
student is receiving. CBM does not give you
information specific enough to determine which
instructional approach to use or how to alter the
current one - this is a time for teachers’ professional
judgment.
Eligibility for special education. The most common
approach of eligibility is called the dual discrepancy
method. CBM provides you with performance data
and progress data. You can compare both of these
types of data to standards.
How to learn more
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You can learn more about CBMs by
reading the book, The ABCs of
CBM.
Reviewing the website: National
center on Student Progress
Monitoring:
www.studentprogress.org