Julie Alonzo

Applied Curriculum-Based Measurement as a Predictor of High-Stakes Assessment: Implications for Researchers and Teachers

As part of a Response to Intervention (RTI) model, curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is an evidence-based assessment system that uses screening and formative assessments to help guide instruction. The two primary purposes of this study are to examine the relations between the easyCBM benchmark measures and a statewide large-scale assessment and to establish the optimal cut scores for the CBM measures. The easyCBM benchmark measures are used in 13 states through an online assessment system designed for use in an RTI context. Utility of the assessment system is examined through evidence related to predictive and systemic validity evidence. Included are a regression and a receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis of the relation between the benchmark assessments and a statewide large-scale reading test using a sample of approximately 3,600 students in grades 4 and 5. Results indicate strong concurrent validity and show the vocabulary measure as a robust predictor across grades.

They Read, but How Well Do They Understand?: An Empirical Look at the Nuances of Measuring Reading Comprehension.

Much of the literature on reading development focuses on measures of early literacy skills (e.g., phonological awareness, phonics, fluency). Elementary educators interested in improving students’ skills in these areas can draw on a wealth of research studies. However, many studies of early literacy skills have not addressed comprehension, obviously an important feature of literacy. The authors used a one-parameter Rasch model to examine the relative difficulty of different multiple-choice reading comprehension items assessing students’ literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension of fictional narratives. They also examined the difficulty of questions derived from concepts identified by state content standards as important components of reading comprehension, such as character, prediction, and plot sequence. The findings suggest a curvilinear relationship between literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension, with literal comprehension being the easiest and inferential and evaluative comprehension more challenging. The findings also indicate that assessment objectives differ on the basis of difficulty. Implications of these findings for practice are discussed.

In search of average growth: Describing within-year oral reading fluency growth across Grades 1–8☆☆☆

Measures of oral reading fluency (ORF) are perhaps the most often used assessment to monitor student progress as part of a response to intervention (RTI) model. Rates of growth in research and aim lines in practice are used to characterize student growth; in either case, growth is generally defined as linear, increasing at a constant rate. Recent research suggests ORF growth follows a nonlinear trajectory, but limitations related to the datasets used in such studies, composed of only three testing occasions, curtails their ability to examine the true functional form of ORF growth. The purpose of this study was to model within-year ORF growth using up to eight testing occasions for 1448 students in Grades 1 to 8 to assess (a) the average growth trajectory for within-year ORF growth, (b) whether students vary significantly in within-year ORF growth, and (c) the extent to which findings are consistent across grades. Results demonstrated that for Grades 1 to 7, a quadratic growth model fit better than either linear or cubic growth models, and for Grade 8, there was no substantial, stable growth. Findings suggest that the expectation for linear growth currently used in practice may be unrealistic.

Classification Accuracy of EasyCBM First-Grade Mathematics Measures: Findings and Implications for the Field.

The results from a year-long study to investigate the technical features of easyCBM mathematics screening measures for first grade are presented. Measures were designed based on the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum Focal Point standards, which for Grade 1 include (a) Number and Operations and Algebra, (b) Number and Operations, and (c) Geometry (2006). A sample of 145 students was assessed at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year. Reliability of the measures was adequate, and concurrent and predictive validity results—with the TerraNova 3—were moderate. Receiver operating curve analyses, based on mathematics difficulty below the 25th and 40th percentile, indicated adequate classification accuracy. We examine results from the study in the context of linking assessment to instructional decision making.

Growth on Oral Reading Fluency Measures as a Function of Special Education and Measurement Sufficiency.

For 30 years, researchers have investigated oral reading fluency as a measure of growth in reading proficiency. Yet, little research has been done with these measures in the context of progress monitoring in Tier 2 systems. First, we document teachers’ progress-monitoring decisions on type of passage (on-grade or off-grade) and how often to administer them. Then, we use a two-level hierarchical linear model to document the effects on both intercept and slope as a function of student special education status and measurement sufficiency. Across Grades 3 to 5, teachers diagnostically document student performance with different grade-level measures and also target a group of Tier 2 students to monitor early and systematically throughout the year. This latter group starts out much lower but has a significantly different slope than those for whom progress monitoring is more diagnostic and infrequent.

Technology-Based Assessment and Problem Analysis

This chapter discusses features of technology-based assessments particularly relevant for applications in school settings implementing response to intervention (RTI). Using easyCBM®, a popular learning management system developed to support RTI, the chapter illustrates measurement development and delivery that can provide instructionally relevant reports. Three important constructs are addressed that need additional research and development: measurement sufficiency, instructional adequacy, and data-based decision making. Consideration of these areas has received little attention in the empirical literature but is likely to have profound implications for successful RTI implementation.

25 Hours in Family: How Family Internships Can Help School Leaders Transform from Within

This article describes the ways in which a 25-hour internship with families who have children with disabilities impacted four doctoral students in educational leadership. We discuss the lessons we learned as a result of our experiences and provide insight into the structural components of the internship experience that were critical to enhancing our professional development. Key lessons include: (1) the realization that disability is a socially-constructed term that does not describe the talents, feelings, and aspirations of individuals with disabilities; (2) increased knowledge and strategies about how school leaders can provide support to families by listening to their hopes, dreams, and challenges; and (3) the critical need to include families in decision-making processes to ensure that the family perspective is represented. Important structural components of the internship experience included spending time with families in their homes and communities for extended periods of time. Implications for the preparation of educational leaders are discussed.