Scott P. Ardoin

A systematic review and summarization of the recommendations and research surrounding Curriculum-Based Measurement of oral reading fluency (CBM-R) decision rules

Research and policy have established that data are necessary to guide decisions within education. Many of these decisions are made within problem solving and response to intervention frameworks for service delivery. Curriculum-Based Measurement in Reading (CBM-R) is a widely used data collection procedure within those models of service delivery. Although the evidence for CBM-R as a screening and benchmarking procedure has been summarized multiple times in the literature, there is no comprehensive review of the evidence for its application to monitor and evaluate individual student progress. The purpose of this study was to identify and summarize the psychometric and empirical evidence for CBM-R as it is used to monitor and evaluate student progress. There was an emphasis on the recommended number of data points collected during progress monitoring and interpretive guidelines. The review identified 171 journal articles, chapters, and instructional manuals using online search engines and research databases. Recommendations and evidence from 102 documents that met the study criteria were evaluated and summarized. Results indicate that most decision-making practices are based on expert opinion and that there is very limited psychometric or empirical support for such practices. There is a lack of published evidence to support program evaluation and progress monitoring with CBM-R. More research is required to inform data collection procedures and interpretive guidelines.

Empirically evaluating the effectiveness of reading interventions: The use of brief experimental analysis and single case designs

Recent advances in area of brief experimental analysis have demonstrated that comparative single case designs can be used to meet criteria for empirically supported treatments. The purpose of the present study is to provide an overview of how single case design methodology can be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of school-based interventions in the area of reading. We examined the effects of combining skill-based and performance-based reading interventions on the oral reading fluency of four elementary-aged students identified with mild reading problems. A brief experimental analysis using an adapted alternating treatment design was employed to examine the effects of the intervention conditions across a 12-week period. For a majority of the participants, the effects of combining these two types of interventions resulted in greater oral reading rates than when a skill-based intervention was presented in isolation. The results of this study demonstrate how single case design elements, combined with brief experimental analysis, can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments as well as treatment components.

A Quantitative Review of Functional Analysis Procedures in Public School Settings.

Functional behavioral assessments can consist of indirect, descriptive and experimental procedures, such as a functional analysis. Although the research contains numerous examples demonstrating the effectiveness of functional analysis procedures, experimental conditions are often difficult to implement in classroom settings and analog conditions often lack ecological validity. This has led some authors to recommend additional research be conducted to evaluate assessment procedures that are appropriate for classroom settings. This article presents a quantitative review of functional analyses procedures implemented in school settings. Results support previous statements that the literature demonstrating functional analysis procedures in classroom settings is not adequate to guide practice. Practitioners require additional research demonstrating assessment procedures that are appropriate for classroom settings.

Assessment for Instructional Planning

Assessment is a common task in education that has many varied purposes. One of these is the use of assessment data to make decisions about instructional planning. This article presents a framework for how to use assessment data to plan instruction. It also provides some background on terminology of assessment for instructional planning, considerations for the development or use of assessment measures, and guidance for designing instruction.

Examining the Impact of Feedback and Repeated Readings on Oral Reading Fluency: Let's Not Forget Prosody.

Although extensive research supports repeated readings (RR) as an intervention for improving reading fluency, it largely ignores reading prosody, which is a key component of reading fluency. The current study extends the RR literature by examining the impact of RR on prosody and whether the content of directions and feedback might impact what components of fluency are improved. Elementary students (N = 76) were randomly assigned to either a rate- or prosody-focused RR intervention. The study differs from existing RR research in that (a) students were average as opposed to struggling students, (b) prosody was evaluated, and (c) measures of prosody were objective as opposed to subjective. Results support previous research suggesting that RR improves fluency but indicate that the nature of the instruction and performance feedback provided to students influences the components of reading fluency (i.e., rate or prosody) that are improved.

Training School Psychologists in Behavior Support Consultation

SUMMARY Although school consultation began as a means of providing assistance to individual teachers on a voluntary basis, it has evolved into a stand-alone service regulated by state and federal law. In order to meet the demand for increased accountability in the services they provide, school psychologists and other prereferral intervention team members have expressed a need to develop skills in two key areas: (a) selecting interventions that are conceptually relevant and therefore likely to be effective in responding to childrens behavior problems, and (b) providing teachers with the resources and support needed to ensure successful plan implementation. In this paper, we describe various strategies that have been shown to be effective at addressing each of these issues by drawing on recent research in school consultation and applied behavior analysis. Considerations surrounding the use of these strategies by school consultants are discussed, as are implications for increasing the effectiveness and accountability of school consultation services.

Gotcha! Catching Kids during Mindless Reading.

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mindless reading behavior of children. Across two studies, 2nd-grade students read passages while their eye movements were monitored. Trained raters then identified mindless reading behaviors from the eye movement records. Several important findings emerged. We were able to reliably identify mindless reading behavior in children using eye-tracking methodology, which was characterized by shorter gaze durations and total time, more skipping, and in general a more erratic reading pattern than on-task reading behavior. On the other hand, on-task reading behavior was characterized by an increase in fixations and regressions, especially intraword regressions. Word frequency effects were attenuated during mindless reading. In addition, the children who engaged in mindless reading had weaker reading achievement profiles compared to children who read the entire passage.

Applied Behavior Analysis: A Foundation for Response to Intervention

For most individuals, the field of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) evokes thoughts related to the use of assessment procedures to evaluate the causes of aberrant behavior, the use of reinforcement to produce modifications in social behavior, and/or teaching of basic skills to individuals with disabilities. The principles of ABA, however, also apply to assessing the academic needs of students, selecting appropriate academic interventions, and evaluating individual students’ response to intervention (RTI). In this chapter, the authors describe ABA as a foundation of RTI models. The chapter begins with a description of differences between traditional assessment and behavioral assessment and how those differences necessitate a change in the manner by which schools determine why a student is struggling behaviorally and/or academically. The authors then discuss the fundamental principles of ABA and how those principles can guide schools in better selecting both behavioral and academic targets for change, selecting and developing appropriate interventions, and finally measuring intervention effectiveness.

Technical Adequacy and Acceptability of Curriculum-Based Measurement and the Measures of Academic Progress.

Curriculum-based measurement in reading (CBM-R) and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) are assessment tools widely employed for universal screening in schools. Although a large body of research supports the validity of CBM-R, limited empirical evidence exists supporting the technical adequacy of MAP or the acceptability of either measure for universal screening. Purposes of the current study were to replicate and extend prior research by (a) examining the extent to which CBM-R performance measures more than word reading skills, (b) evaluating the concurrent validity of MAP with CBM-R, (c) determining the potential benefit of administering MAP with CBM-R for universal screening, and (d) examining teachers’ acceptability of MAP and CBM-R. Participants included 802 students in Grades 1 to 5 who were administered three CBM-R probes and the MAP during universal screening and 86 elementary teachers who completed a universal screening assessments survey. Results provide evidence of the concurrent validity of MAP with CBM-R and suggest both measures are acceptable to teachers. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Applications of Applied Behavior Analysis to School-Based Instructional Intervention

This chapter describes how ABA principles and strategies can be used for assessment and school-based intervention of children’s academic problems. The chapter emphasizes the importance of developing stimulus control over academic responding as the first goal of instruction, and of then developing stimulus generalization as the ultimate goal of instruction. Empirically supported instructional interventions that promote stimulus control through the basic processes of differential reinforcement, modeling, prompting, and error correction are reviewed. A useful heuristic for guiding how to change procedures as a function of progressive response strengthening is applied to assist the reader in knowing which interventions are most appropriate at any given time. The chapter concludes with a description of strategies shown to improve generalized academic responding for application across stimulus situations, and for use with more complex curricular requirements.