| Curriculum based measures have shown to have utility for a wide variety of educational decision making purposes (screening, eligibility determination, intervention development, goal setting, and progress monitoring). Although there have been very encouraging findings concerning the positive impact of curriculum based measurement (CBM) on reading achievement, some users have concerns about using oral reading rate (ORR), the most common CBM for reading because it does not appear to explicitly measure comprehension and they find the technique initially too time-consuming (Fuchs & Fuchs, 1992; Wesson, Fuchs, Tindal, Mirkin, & Deno, 1986). Research is needed on the technical adequacy and teacher acceptance of alternative measures.;This study examined the social validity and reliability of Monitoring Basic Skills Progress (MBSP), Basic Reading (Fuchs, Hamlet, & Fuchs, 1990), a computer delivered measure of reading comprehension. This procedure is quite promising because it employs a maze technique which has been characterized as a global measure of reading and because it has been automated (drastically reducing time required to implement). As promising as this technique is, a broad research base has yet to be established.;For 85 third and fourth grade students, performance on MBSP-Basic Reading was compared to ORR, teacher ratings of reading level, and scores on the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS), a standardized, norm-referenced achievement test. Stability of the MBSP and teacher ratings were also evaluated. Results indicated that both MBSP and ORR were significantly correlated with KIRIS, however, the degree of those relationships was lower than had been anticipated based on previous research. Strong relationships were noted between MBSP, ORR, and teacher ratings. These ratings were consistent with previous research. Both MBSP and teacher ratings were found to be stable measures. Overall, MBSP was not as strong a predictor of KIRIS performance as were ORR and teacher ratings of skill level. However, the data supports the use of MBSP for goal setting and progress monitoring. Teacher ratings were found to be reflective of global rather than specific skill ratings. Questions were also raised about what skills KIRIS actually measures. |
