EXAMINING THE INSTRUCTIONAL UTILITY OF CURRICULUM BASED MEASUREMENT IN ACHIEVEMENT EVALUATIONS

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to expand the current research on the usefulness of CBM reports in the schools. Specifically, we wanted to study the types of information included in typical achievement reports and how much teachers like and can use the typical information for picking good interventions. The participants in the study were 80 teachers and personnel from elementary schools in rural southeastern North Carolina. Participants were given a survey packet containing a description of the study, a sample achievement report, a report utility scale, an intervention selection activity and a demographic survey. The achievement report varied on the content featured depending on group. PNRT group received a report featuring only published norm-referenced test while CBM group featured additional information through CBM measures. The report utility scale was used as a measure of teachers' satisfaction and was the primary measure of the report's differences. The intervention selection activity provided a second measure of utility as related being able to interpret and understand information in the classroom. The study was designed to better understand how teachers prefer different types of information in reports done by school psychologists, and will help us learn how to make reports user friendly. We also want to know what information is useful to help teachers plan instruction that is well matched to the data included in the report. The implications of this study should include improvement in training of school psychologists to better help children through clear and useful reports.