Curriculum Based Measurement
Writing Progress Monitoring
Presenters
Kathleen Begeny-Johnson & Jerry Purles
June 12, 2013
What is your Professional Role?
 General Education Teacher
 Special Education Teacher
 School/District Administrators
 Coaches/Consultants/Coordinators
Objectives
 Learn how to monitor a student’s writing
performance to indicate what the teacher needs
to specifically instruct each student
 Administer, score, and graph data from
Curriculum Based Measurement – Writing
(CBM-W)
 Use CBM-W for data-based instructional
decision making
What Is the Difference Between Traditional
Assessments and Progress Monitoring (PM)?
Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is one
type of PM:
 CBM
provides an easy and quick method to
gathering student progress
 Teachers can analyze student scores and adjust
student goals and instructional programs
 Student data can be compared to teacher’s
classroom or school district data
Curriculum-Based Measurement
(CBM) Overview
 CBM was designed to be a set of simple, efficient
standard procedures that





Are objective
Allow for comparison of students to peers and to
grade-level benchmarks
Allow for repeated measurement
Show student growth
Serve as indicators of student performance and
progress in academic areas
Scoring Categories
Category
Notation Definition
Correct Letter
Sequence
CLS
Total Words
Written
TWW
A count of the number of words written. A word is defined as
any letter or group of letters separated by a space, even if the
word is misspelled or is a nonsense word.
Words Spelled
Correctly
WSC
A count of the number of words that are spelled correctly. A
word is spelled correctly if it can stand alone as a word in the
English Language.
Correct Writing
Sequence
CWS
A count of correct writing sequences found in the sample. A
correct writing sequence is defined as two adjacent writing units
(i.e., word-word or word-punctuation) that are acceptable within
the context of what is written. Correct writing sequence takes
into account correct spelling, grammar, punctuation,
capitalization, syntax, and semantics.
Correct Minus
Incorrect Word
Sequence
CIWS
Number of incorrect word sequences subtracted from number
of correct sequence
CBM –W
University of Minnesota Research Institute
for Problem Solving Finding Grade 1 (2009)
Measures
Scoring
Sentence Copying (3-5 min)
TWW, WSC, CWS, CIWS, CLS
Story Prompt (5 min)
TWW, WSC, CWS, CLS
Picture Word (3-5 min)
TWW, WSC, CWS, CLS
Photo Prompt (5 min)
CWS, CLS
Sample Narrative Prompt
TWW = 36
Sample Expository Prompts
 Describe a game you like to play and tell why
you like it.
 Describe your favorite day of the week and tell
why you like it.
 Think of the most valuable think you own that
was not bought in a store. Why is it important to
you?
 Think of something you made with your own
hands. How did you do it? What would you
differently next time?
Sources for Prompts
 Research Institute on Progress Monitoring
 www.progressmonitoring.org
 Write Source

http://wwwthewritesource.com
 NWREL

http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/514-
How to Administer CBM - W
Select Materials
 Select type of measures based on



Grade level
Purpose of progress monitoring
What will provide you with the most meaningful information
 Determine the number of prompts needed


How many weeks do you plan to monitor progress
How often do you plan to monitor progress
 Create
That tap students background knowledge
 The end of a mid-sentence (for narrative/story starters)
 A sentence that includes a “tell why” component (expository)
TIP
Keep materials consistent throughout the monitoring period

Materials Needed for Written
Expression CBM
CBM Writing Manual with story starters and
scoring criteria
Story starter appropriate for the students grade
level
Lined paper for student responses
Stop watch
Data recording sheet (optional)
Graph paper or computer graphing program
General Finding within and
Across Grades
Grade Level
Type of Prompt
Duration
Scoring
Procedures
1-2
Sentence Copying
3-5 min
WW, WSC, CWS
Picture-word
WW, WSC, CWS
Narrative
WW, WSC, CWS
3-4
Narrative
3-5 min
CWS, CIWS
5-6
Narrative
3-5 min
CWS, CIWS,
Expository
5 min
CWS, CIWS
Narrative
5-10 min
CWS, CIWS,
%CWS
7-9
Expository
CWS, CIWS
10-11
Narrative
7-10 min
CWS, CIWS
Selection of Prompts
•
Narrative Prompts (story starters)


Primary Narrative Prompts Grade 1-3
Intermediate Narrative Prompts Grade 4-6
(Included in the scoring manual)
The story starters should represent the
experiences and background knowledge of
the students
Administering CBM Writing
 Say these specific directions to the students:
“You are going to write a story. First, I will read a
sentence, and then you will write a story about
what happens next. You will have 1 minute to
think about what you will write, and 3 minutes to
write your story. Remember to do your best
work. If you don't know how to spell a word, you
should guess. “Are there any questions?”
(Pause). “Put your pencils down and listen.”
“For the next minute, think about ... (insert story
starter).”
Administering CBM Writing
 After reading the story starter, begin your stop watch and allow 1
minute for students to “think.” (Monitor students so that they do not
begin writing).
 After 30 more seconds say: “You should be thinking about . . . .
(insert story starter)”.
Let 30 more seconds pass . . .
 At the end of the 1 minute say: “Now begin writing.” Restart your
stopwatch (set for 3 minutes).
 Monitor students' participation. If individual students pause for about
10 seconds or say they are done before the test is finished, move
close to them and say “Keep writing the best story you can.” This
prompt can be repeated to students should they pause again.
Administering CBM Writing
 After 90 seconds say: “You should be writing
about… (insert story starter).”
At the end of 3 minutes say: “Stop. Put your
pencils down.” If students want to finish their
story, they may do so on a separate piece of
paper or continue on the same sheet after a slash
mark has been inserted at the end of 3 minutes.
Administering CBM Writing
Testing Considerations
 Testing not teaching
 Best vs. fastest
 Monitor student performance
 Do not answer questions
Scoring Total Words Written (TWW)
 What Is A Word?

Any letter or group of letters separated by a space is
defined as a word, even if the word is misspelled or is
a nonsense word.
 The total number of words written are counted
regardless of spelling or context.
 Correct spelling, word usage, capitalization,
and punctuation are ignored when calculating
the number of words written.
 Underline each word written when scoring
 Students can score their own TWW
Example Scoring Total Words Written (TWW)
Sentence
The sky was blue
The sky was blew
I tuk a baf
I tuka baf
Iv graqz zznip
Total Words Written
TWW = 4
TWW = 4
TWW = 4
TWW = 3
TWW = 3
In your manual there are specific scoring procedures
to follow
______ ___
____
___
____ __________ ___ ______
___
_____ ___ ____ ____ __
________ ______ ____ __
__________ ____ ___
___
______ ____ _____
______ ___
____ ___ ______
____
___
_______
___ _____ __ __
________ ______
___ _ ______
TWW = 42
Scoring Words Spelled Correctly (WSC)
 Number of correctly spelled words regardless of
context
 A word is counted correct if it can be found in the
English language
 Incorrectly spelled words are circled
 WSC is calculated by subtracting the total
number of circled words from the TWW
 Teachers score the WSC
Scoring Words Spelled Correctly (WSC)
 What is a correctly spelled word?

A word is spelled correctly if it can stand alone as a
common word in the English Language regardless
of context
Sentence
Bill will reed the book.
And can not pake.
Daz ran down the road.
WSC
WSC = 5
WSC = 3
WSC = 4
Scoring WSC
Found in
English
Language,
regardless of
context
______ ___
____
___
____ __________ ___ ______
___
_____ ___ ____ ____ __
________ ______ ____ __
__________ ____ ___
___
______ ____ _____
______ ___
____ ___ ______
____
___
_______
___ _____ __ __
________ ______
___ _ ______
TWW = 42
WSC = 39
How to Score CWS
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):


CWS is any two adjacent, correctly spelled words
acceptable within the context of the sample to a
native English speaker.
The teacher considers the units of writing and their
relations to one another
EX: Nobody^ could^see^ the^ trees ^ of ^ the
^ forest ^ .



The two words must be syntactically and
semantically correct
Acceptable word sequence: “the car”
Unacceptable word sequence: “car eyebrow”
How to Score CWS
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):

Carat is placed ABOVE two words if it
represents a CWS
 “the ^ car”

Correct carats placed between:
 Between any two correct word sequence
 Between a word and the line at the beginning of
a sentence
 Between a word and the correct punctuation at
the end of a sentence
How to Score CWS
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):
 Carat is placed BELOW two words if it represents
an incorrect word sequence
 “car V eyebrow”

Incorrect carats placed between:
 Any two incorrect word sequence
 Between a misspelled circled word and noncircled word
 Between an un-capitalized word and line at
beginning of a sentence
 Between an incorrect word and punctuation at
end of a sentence
How to Score CWS
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):


Teacher must read entire sample before scoring
Vertical line placed where a sentence should end
^ Mary ^ asked ^ if ^ I ^ would ^ come ^ over
^. ^ I ^ said ^ no ^. CWS = 12
Judgment calls may have to be made about where
sentences end: Make decision rules and stick to
them when scoring.
Misspelled words are circled


How to Score CWS
Since the first word is correct, it is
marked as a correct writing sequence
Because the end mark is considered
essential punctuation, a carat is
placed between the word and the end
mark to make a correct writing
sequences.
^ It ^ was ^ dark ^ . ^ Nobody ^ could  seen 
the ^ trees ^ of ^ the  forrast  .
Misspelled words are not counted.
CWS = 10
Grammatical or syntactical errors are
not counted. A down carat is place
between a incorrect writing sequences.
(Note: incorrect writing sequence within
the same sentence).
CWS Scoring Practice
Steps to Score CBM
1. Read entire sample before scoring, place vertical lines where
sentence ends and circle misspelled words
2. CWS- Two adjoined words are:
Spelled correctly
Semantically correct
Syntactically correct
Correctly punctuation
One day, we were playing outside the school and …
I Shrunk a Person olmost Steped on me But I Ran to
fast ten David nodest me. I seid Can You help me with
Everthing he sied Yes! Ov course I sead Ya!
How to Administer and Score
Written Expression CBM
One day, we were playing outside the school and … ˆ I
Shrunk 

a v Person  olmost Steped onˆme But
 I Ran to fast 


ten David nodest  meˆ. ˆI seid
Can You  help ˆme ˆwith Everthing   he  sied
Yes ˆ! Ov course ˆIsead Ya !
CWS = 7
CIWS Scoring Procedure
 Correct Minus Incorrect Word Sequence
(CIWS) The number of incorrect word
sequences subtracted from the number of
correct sequences.
^A ^cat  chasd  the ^mouse^ into ^ the  hoose .
CWS = 5
IWS = 4
CIWS = 1
ESTIMATED TARGETS BASED ON SELECTED SCORES FROM MULTIPLE
RESOURCES (Best Practices in School Psychology V; The ABCs of CBM)
These scores represent averages of the selected scores. Use with caution. As
we collect data, we will develop local norms
Grade
Time of year
TWW
WSC
1
Fall
7-8
5
Spring
14-20
10
Fall
12-24
20
Spring
25-30
27
Fall
23-36
32
14
Spring
34-36
33
26
Fall
33-41
38
23
Spring
41-46
44
37
Fall
37-51
48
34
Spring
42-57
55
41
Fall
41-47
42
41
Spring
53-58
56
51
Fall
48-51
49
53
Spring
58
56
64
Fall
59-74
70
48
Spring
58-67
66
67
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
CWS
Example of a Baseline
CBM Writing Fall 2011
100
90
80
60
Baseline
(Median
Data-point)
50
• Administer 3 separate CBM
writing probes
• Plot 3 baseline data points on the
graph
• Identifying the median score
40
30
20
10
The values are
15, 22, 10
0
8/
30
/2
9/ 011
9/
9/ 20
15 11
/
9/ 20
21 11
/
9/ 201
30 1
/
10 20
/5 11
10 /2
/1 011
4/
20
11
TWW & WSC
70
Baseline
Date
Baseline
TWW
How to Set and Graph Goals
 Once baseline data have been collected (best
practice is to administer three probes and use the
median score), the teacher decides on an end-ofyear performance goal for each student.
 Three options for making performance goals:
Published norms (AIMSweb www.aimsweb.com)
http://fehb.org/CSE/CCSEConference2011/Wright/wright_P
re_Conference_AIMSweb%20Norms_resource.pdf
 Intra-individual framework
*Tip*

Set reasonable/attainable yet ambitious goals
Setting Goal
 Student baseline performance

Example: 24 CWS (median of 25, 24, 23)
 Desired rate of progress

Example: 1.5 CWS per week
 Amount of the time the student will be monitored

Example: 35 week
 Take the growth per week (1.5) X the number of
weeks (35) = 1.5 X 35 = 52.5
 Add total to baseline (24 CWS)
24 CWS + 52.5 = 76.5 goal in 35 weeks
Example of a Graphed Goal
CBM Writing Fall 2011
100
90
80
60
Performance Goal
Baseline
(Median
Data-point)
50
40
30
Goal Iine is something to
compare data against
20
10
0
8/
30
/2
9/ 011
9/
9/ 20
15 11
/
9/ 20
21 11
/
9/ 201
30 1
/
10 20
/5 11
10 /2
/1 011
4/
20
11
TWW & WSC
70
Baseline
Date
Baseline
TWW
Using an Intra-Individual Framework
to Set Goals
 Intra-individual framework:






Weekly rate of improvement is calculated using at least eight data
points.
Subtract the lowest from the highest score
 EX. 12, 16, 15, 19, 16, 21, 26, 24 (26-12=14)
Divide the difference by the number of weeks the data was collected 14
÷ 8 = 1.75
This baseline rate of growth is multiplied by 1.5 (1.75 x 1.5= 2.625)
This number is multiplied by the number of weeks left until the end of the
year 2.625x16 weeks = 42
This number is then added to the median score of the first eight data
points used to calculate the baseline growth rate



12, 15, 16, 16, 19, 21, 24, 26 = 17.5 median score
42 + 17.5 = 59.5
This is our end of year performance goal ( 59.5 round up to 60)
Example: Using an Intra-Individual
Framework to Set Goals
 First eight scores:
3, 2, 5, 6, 5, 5, 7, 4.
 Difference between the lowest and highest
score 7 - 2 = 5
 Divide difference by number of weeks of data
points 5 ÷ 8 = .625
 Multiply by 1.5 (1.5 x 0.625 = 0.9375)
 Multiply by weeks left: 0.9375 × 14 = 13.125
 Product is added to the median: 13.125 + 5 =
18.125.
 The end-of-year performance goal is 18.
Summary
 CBM-W is designed to be a simple, efficient
approach to monitoring student progress in
writing
 CBM-W provides useful information about
whether instruction is benefiting student
or whether a change is necessary
References
 Assessing Writing Using Curriculum Based
Measurement Webinar presented by Dr. Erica Lembke &
Dr. Kristen McMaster 2013.
 Using CBM for Progress Monitoring in Written
Expression and Spelling by Todd Busch, Tracey Hall, &
Erica Lembke. 2007