Frequently Asked Questions about Curriculum-Based Measurement

In 2004, the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring held its first Summer Institute. The focus of the Institute was on CBM in Reading. Here, you will find an extensive compilation of the questions asked about Curriculum-Based Measurement at the Institute, as well as some others that we thought would be helpful.

Questions addressed here include:

• What is the purpose of the “timing”, measuring what the child has/can master within a certain timeframe?
• These measures are called curriculum-based, but are they based on our curriculum? Does that matter?
• How is the minimum # of assessments required determined? How do these requirements relate to NCLB? (Are there requirements stated by law?)
• Doesn’t the child get distracted by the timer and the teacher marking on a piece of paper while they are trying to recite?
• For students who have difficulty reading how do you deal with anxiety/self-esteem issues connected with reading aloud for one minute?
• What sorts of adjustments are made for students whose native language is not English?
• How can assessments be valid and reliable if teachers can grade tests differently?
• Do you have any resources/references for research correlating CBM results with performance on high-stakes testing?