The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of curriculum-based measures as indicator of growth in content-area learning. Participants were 58 students in 2 seventh-grade social studies classes. CBM measures were student- and administrator-read vocabulary-matching probes. Criterion measures were performance on a knowledge test, the social studies subtest of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), and student grades. Both the student- and examiner-read measures reflected change in performance; however, only the student-read measure resulted in interindividual differences in growth rates. Significant relations were found between the growth rates generated by the student-read vocabulary measure and student course grades, ITBS scores, and growth on the knowledge test. These results support the validity of a vocabulary-matching measure as an indicator of student learning in the content areas. The results are discussed in terms of the use of CBM as a system for monitoring performance and evaluating interventions for students with learning disabilities in content-area classrooms.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baumann, J.F., & Kame'enui, E.J. (1991). Research on vocabulary instruction: Ode to Voltaire. In J. Flood , J. M. Jensen, D. Lapp, & J. R. Squire (Eds.), Handbook of research on teaching the English language arts (pp. 604—632). New York: MacMillan.
2.
Beck, I., & McKeown, M. (1991). Conditions of vocabulary acquisition. In R. Barr, M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, & P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. II, pp. 784—814), New York: Long-man.
3.
Blachowicz, C.L.Z. (1991). Vocabulary instruction in content classes for special needs learners: Why and how?Journal of Reading, Writing, and Learning Disabilities International, 7, 297—308.
4.
Blachowicz, C.L.Z. & Fisher, P. (2000). Vocabulary instruction. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. III, pp. 503—524), Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
5.
Bryk, A.S., & Raudenbush, S.W. (1987). Application of hierarchical linear models to assessing change. Psychological Bulletin,101, 147—158.
6.
Bryk, A.S., & Raudenbush, S.W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods. Newbury Park, CA : Sage.
7.
Compton, D.L. (2000). Modeling the growth of decoding skills in first-grade children. Scientific Studies of Reading, 4, 219—259.
8.
Deno, S.L. (1985). Curriculum-based measurement: The emerging alternative . Exceptional Children, 52, 219—232.
9.
Espin, C.A., Busch, T., Shin, J., & Kruschwitz, R. (2001). Curriculum-based measures in the content areas: Validity of vocabulary-matching measures as indicators of performance in social studies. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 16, 142—151.
10.
Espin, C.A., & Deno, S.L. (1993a). Content-specific and general reading disabilities of secondary-level students: Identification and educational relevance. The Journal of Special Education, 27, 321—337.
11.
Espin, C.A., & Deno, S.L. (1993b). Performance in reading from content-area text as an indicator of achievement. Remedial and Special Education , 14(6), 47—59.
12.
Espin, C.A., & Deno, S.L. (1994—1995). Curriculum-based measures for secondary students: Utility and task specificity of text-based reading and vocabulary measures for predicting performance on content-area tasks. Diagnostique, 20, 121— 142.
13.
Espin, C.A., Deno, S.L., Maruyama, G., & Cohen, C. (1989, April). The Basic Academic Skills Samples: An instrument for screening and identifying children at risk for failure in the regular education classroom. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Meeting, San Francisco, CA.
14.
Espin, C.A., & Foegen, A. (1996). Validity of three general outcome measures for predicting secondary students' performance on content-area tasks. Exceptional Children, 62, 497—514.
15.
Espin, C.A., & Tindal, G. (1998). Curriculum-based measurement for secondary students . In M. R. Shinn (Ed.), Advanced applications of curriculum-based measurement (pp. 214—253). New York: Guilford Press.
16.
Francis, D.J., Shaywitz, S.E., Stuebing, K.K., Shaywitz, B.A., & Fletcher, J.M. (1994). Measurement of change: Assessing behavior over time and within developmental context. In G. R. Lyon (Ed.), Frames of reference for the assessment of learning disabilities: New views on measurement issues (pp. 29—58). Baltimore: Brookes .
17.
Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L.S., McMaster, K.N., & Al Otaiba, S. (2003). Identifying children at risk for reading failure: Curriculum-based measurement and the dual-discrepancy approach. In H. L. Swanson, K. R. Harris, & S. Graham (Eds.), Handbook of learning disabilities (pp. 431—449). New York : Guilford Press.
18.
Fuchs, L.S., Deno, S.L., & Mirkin, P. (1984). Effects of frequent curriculum-based measurement and evaluation on pedagogy, student achievement, and student awareness of learning. American Educational Research Journal, 21, 449—460.
19.
Fuchs, L.S., & Fuchs, D. (1998). Treatment validity: A unifying concept for reconceptualizing the identification of learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 13, 204—219.
20.
Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., & Hamlett, C.L. (1989a). Effects of alternative goal structures within curriculum-based measurement. Exceptional Children, 55, 429—438.
21.
Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., & Hamlett, C.L. (1989b). Effects of instrumental use of curriculum-based measurement to enhance instructional programs. Remedial and Special Education, 10(2), 43—52.
22.
Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., & Hamlett, C.L. (1989c). Monitoring reading growth using student recalls: Effects of two teacher feedback systems. Journal of Education Research, 83, 103—111.
23.
Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., Hamlett, C.L., & Allinder, R.M. (1991). The contribution of skills analysis within curriculum-based measurement in spelling. Exceptional Children, 57, 443—452.
24.
Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., Hamlett, C.L., & Ferguson, C. (1992). Effects of expert system consultation within curriculum-based measurement, using a reading maze task. Exceptional Children , 58, 436—450.
25.
Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., Hamlett, C.L., & Stecker, P.M. (1990). The role of skills analysis in curriculum-based measurement in math. School Psychology Review, 19, 6—22.
26.
Fuchs, L.S., Fuchs, D., & Maxwell, L. (1988). The validity of informal reading comprehension measures. Remedial and Special Education, 9(2), 20—28.
27.
Hoover, H., Hieronymus, A., Frisbie, D., & Dunbar, S. (1993). Iowa tests of basic skills. Chicago: Riverside.
28.
Konopak, B.C. (1989). Effects of inconsiderate text on eleventh graders' vocabulary learning. Reading Psychology, 10, 339— 355.
29.
Lovitt, T.C., Plavins, M., & Cushing, S. (1999). What do pupils with disabilities have to say about their experience in high school?Remedial and Special Education , 20, 67—76, 83.
30.
Marston, D.B. (1989). A curriculum-based measurement approach to assessing academic performance: What it is and why do it. In M. R. Shinn (Ed.), Curriculum-based measurement: Assessing special children (pp. 18—78). New York: Guilford Press.
31.
Messick, S. (1994). The interplay of evidence and consequences in the validation of performance assessments. Educational Researcher , 23(2), 13—23.
32.
Miller, S.E., Leinhardt, G., & Zigmond, N. (1988). Influencing engagement through accommodations: An ethnographic study of at-risk students. American Educational Research Journal, 25, 465—487.
33.
Nagy, W.E., & Scott, J.A. (2000). Vocabulary processes. In M. L. Kamil, P. B. Mosenthal, P. D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research (Vol. III). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
34.
Nolet, V., & Tindal, G. (1993). Special education in content area classes: Development of a model and practical procedures. Remedial and Special Education, 14, 36—48.
35.
Nolet, V., & Tindal, G. (1994). Instruction and learning in middle school science classes: Implications for students with learning disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 28, 166—187.
36.
Nolet, V., & Tindal, G. (1995). Essays as valid measures of learning in middle school science classes. Learning Disability Quarterly, 18, 311—324.
37.
Olson, G.H. (1989). On the validity of performance grades: The relationship between teacher-assigned grades and standard measures of subject matter acquisition. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 307 290).
38.
Rojewski, J.W., Pollard, R.R., & Meers, G.D. (1991). Grading mainstreamed special needs students: Determining practices and attitudes of secondary vocational educators using a qualitative approach. Remedial and Special Education, 12(1), 7—15, 28.
Scruggs, T.E., Mastropieri, M.A., & Boon, R. (1998). Science education for students with disabilities: A review of recent research. Studies in Science Education , 32, 21—44.
41.
Shin, J., Deno, S.L., & Espin, C.A. (2000). Technical adequacy of the maze task for curriculum-based measurement of reading growth. The Journal of Special Education , 34, 164—172.
42.
Stecker, P.M., & Fuchs, L.S. (2000). Effecting superior achievement using curriculum-based measurement: The importance of individual progress monitoring. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 15, 128—134.
43.
Tindal, G., & Nolet, V. (1995). Curriculum-based measurement in middle and high schools: Critical thinking skills in content areas. Focus onExceptional Children, 27(7), 1—22.
44.
Tindal, G., & Nolet, V. (1996). Serving students in middle school content classes: A heuristic study of critical variables linking instruction and assessment . The Journal of Special Education, 29, 414—432.
45.
Wagner, M. (1990). The school programs and school performance of secondary students classified as learning disabled: Findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston.
46.
Wesson, C., Deno, S., Mirkin, P., Maruyama, G., Sevcik, B., Skiba, R., et al. (1988). A causal analysis of the relationships among on-going measurement and evaluation, the structure of instruction, and student achievement. Journal of Special Education, 22(3), 330—343.
47.
Willet, J.B. (1989). Questions and answers in the measurement of change . Review of Research in Education, 15, 345—421.
