Administration and Scoring of
AIMSweb Probes
Presented by: Allison Whitney, School Psychologist &
Rachel Minelli, Educational Diagnostician
Objectives
• Discuss characteristics and uses of CurriculumBased Measurement as compared to other
types of assessment.
• Learn the key guidelines related to the
administration of AIMSweb CBMs.
• Identify the methods used for scoring
AIMSweb CBMs.
Summative vs. Formative Assessment
•
Summative Assessment: Culmination measure. Mastery
assessment. Assessment after instruction. Pass/fail type
assessments which summarize the knowledge students learn. Typical
summative assessments include:
• End of chapter tests
• High-stakes tests (e.g., State assessments)
• GRE, ACT, SAT, GMAT, etc. tests
• Driver’s license test
• Final Exams.

Formative Assessment: Process of assessing student achievement
frequently during instruction to determine whether an instructional
program is effective for individual students.
 Informs:
 When students are progressing, continue using your
instructional programs.
 When tests show that students are not progressing, you can
change your instructional programs in meaningful ways.
(Shinn, Shinn, & Langell, 2008)
Curriculum-Based Measurement

An example of FORMATIVE assessment used to assess
skills such reading, spelling, mathematics, and written
language.

CBMs are designed to serve as “indicators” of general
reading achievement: CBM probes don’t measure
everything, but they measure the important things.

CBM involves monitoring student progress through
direct, continuous assessment of basic skills.

CBM probes are typically quick to administer and simple to
score which allows them to be given frequently to
provide continuous progress data.

Student performance is scored for speed and accuracy to
determine proficiency.

The results are charted to provide for timely evaluation
based on hard data.
(Shinn, Shinn, & Langell, 2008)
Curriculum-Based Measurement

Standardized tests to be given, scored, and interpreted in a
standard way.

Researched with respect to psychometric properties to ensure

CBM is endorsed by the United States Department of Education as a
method for assessing student progress.

CBM was initially developed more than 20 years ago by Stanley Deno
and others at the University of Minnesota Institute for Research on
Learning Disabilities to develop a reliable and valid measurement
system for evaluating basic skills growth and is supported by 30 years
of school- based research.
accurate measures of learning
(Shinn, Shinn, & Langell, 2008)
Curriculum Based Measurement
Across Tiers
•
Tier One: All Students
 Benchmark:
• Through Universal Screeners
• Three times per year
• To identify students at-risk
•
•
Tier Two: Some Students (Mild to Moderate Risk)
 Strategic Monitoring
• Curriculum Based Measurement probes
• At least once per month
• To monitor students with some risk
Tier Three: Some Students (At-Risk)
 Intensive monitoring towards a goal
• Curriculum Based Measurement probes
• Once per week
• To closely monitor at-risk students
(Shinn, Shinn, & Langell, 2008)
AIMSweb
•
Curriculum-Based Measures Available:
 Tests of Early Literacy
• Letter Naming Fluency
• Letter Sound Fluency
• Phoneme Segmentation
• Nonsense Word Fluency
 Tests of Early Numeracy
• Oral Counting
• Number Identification
• Quantity Discrimination
• Missing Number
 R-CBM (Oral Reading Fluency
 MAZE (Reading Comprehension)
 M-COMP (Math Computation)
 M-CAP (Math Concepts and Applications)
 S-CBM (Spelling)
 WE-CBM (Written Expression)
Benchmarking
• Fall: September 1st –October 15th
• Winter: January 1st –January 31st
• Spring: May 1st –May 31st
• Benchmarking should be completed within two
weeks of starting. The shorter the time the
better as this reduces the effect of additional
instruction for some students.
• Benchmark probes should always be given at
grade level.
Assessment Recommendations:
Kindergarten
Fall
Winter
Spring
Letter Naming
Fluency
Letter Naming
Fluency
Letter Sound
Fluency
Letter Sound
Fluency
Phoneme
Segmentation
Phoneme
Segmentation
Nonsense Word
Nonsense Word
Oral Counting
Oral Counting
Oral Counting
Number
Identification
Number
Identification
Number
Identification
Quantity
Discrimination
Quantity
Discrimination
Quantity
Discrimination
Missing Number
Missing Number
Missing Number
Letter Naming
Fluency
Assessment Recommendations:
First Grade
Fall
Winter
Spring
Letter Naming Fluency
Letter Sound Fluency
Phoneme
Segmentation
Phoneme
Segmentation
Nonsense Word
Nonsense Word
Nonsense Word
Oral Counting
Oral Counting
Oral Counting
Number Identification
Number Identification
Number Identification
Quantity Discrimination
Quantity Discrimination
Quantity Discrimination
Missing Number
Missing Number
Missing Number
R-CBM
R-CBM
M-COMP
M-COMP
M-COMP
S-CBM
S-CBM
S-CBM
WE-CBM
WE-CBM
WE-CBM
Assessment Recommendations:
Second Grade
Fall
Winter
Spring
R-CBM
R-CBM
R-CBM
M-COMP
M-COMP
M-COMP
M-CAP
M-CAP
M-CAP
S-CBM
S-CBM
S-CBM
WE-CBM
WE-CBM
WE-CBM
Assessment Recommendations:
Third – Eighth Grades
Fall
Winter
Spring
R-CBM
R-CBM
R-CBM
MAZE
MAZE
MAZE
M-COMP
M-COMP
M-COMP
M-CAP
M-CAP
M-CAP
S-CBM
S-CBM
S-CBM
WE-CBM
WE-CBM
WE-CBM
R-CBM
• Before Testing:
 Materials:
•
•
•
•
Student Probe
Administrator Probe
Stopwatch
Pencil
 Environment:
• Quiet (students should NOT hear each other
reading).
During Testing
• Follow the standardized directions:
• R-CBM is a standardized test
• Administer the assessment with consistency
• Remember it’s about testing, not teaching
• Don’t teach or correct
• Don’t practice reading the passages
• Remember best, not fastest reading
• Sit across from, not beside student
(Shinn & Shinn)
During Testing
1. Student receives unnumbered copy while the teacher follows along
on the numbered copy.
2. Say:
1. When I say ‘Begin,’ start reading aloud at the top of
this page. Read across the page (DEMONSTRATE BY
POINTING). Try to read each word. If you come to a
word you don’t know, I will tell it to you. Be sure to do
your best reading. Are there any questions? (PAUSE)
3. Say “Begin” and start your stopwatch when the student says the
first word. If the student fails to say the first word of the passage
after 3 seconds, tell them the word, mark it as incorrect, then start
your stopwatch.
4. Follow along on your copy. Put a slash ( / ) through words read
incorrectly.
5. At the end of 1 minute, place a bracket ( ] ) after the last word and
say, “Stop.”
6. Score and summarize by writing WRC/Errors
(Shinn &Shinn)
What Happens If…
•
The student skips a row?
 Mark all skipped words as errors and continue.
•
The student pauses on a word?
 After waiting for 3 seconds, provide the student with the
word and mark it as an error.
•
The student inserts or repeats a word?
 No error is marked.
•
The student omits a word?
 Score the omission as an error.
•
The fire alarm goes off?
 Discontinue testing and administer an alternate probe.
•
The student self-corrects?
 Count the word as correctly read
•
The student mispronounces a word?
 Count the word as an error
After Testing
• Score immediately
 Indicate score by words read correct/number of
errors.
• Total words =180
• Errors= 7
• Score is recorded as 173/7
Let’s Practice!
Practice!
MAZE
•
R-MAZE is a multiple-choice cloze task that
students
complete while reading silently.
•
The students are presented with 150-400 word
passages.
•
•
The first sentence is left intact.
After the first sentence, every 7th word is
replaced with three
word choices inside a parenthesis.
(Kennedy)
Sample Grade 4 R-MAZE Passage
"Where are you going, Dad?" I ask excitedly. I wonder if
something interesting is (followed, happening,
shuffling). "I'm going to search for some (deer, stop,
pink). Would you like to come along? (Who, Want, We'll)
take a trek in the woods," (replies, eating, ground) Dad.
"I love going for walks. (Her, Live, Wait) for me!" I reply.
"I want (for, to, and) go too!" yells Mike, my younger
(brother, clicks, headed). "Please help me tie my shoes!“
"(We’ll, Deer, Don't) worry, Mike. I will help you. (His,
Dad, If) always waits for both of us," (Me, I, We) explain
calmly.
Before Testing
•
Students need :
 MAZE Cover Sheet
 MAZE Worksheet
 Something to write with
• Administrators need :
 Stopwatch
 Standardized
Instructions
During Testing

Can administer in the classroom setting.

Provide cover sheet or present tests upside down to prevent
some students from starting right away.

Do a simple practice test with younger students.

Monitor to ensure students are circling answers instead of
writing them.

Be prepared to prorate for students who may finish early.

Try to avoid answering student questions.

Adhere to the end of timing.
MAZE Instructions
1) Decide if a practice test is needed. Say . . .
“Let’s practice one together. Look at your first
page. Read the first sentence silently while I read
it out loud: ‘The dog, apple, broke, ran after the
cat.’ The three choices are apple, broke, ran.
‘The dog apple after the cat.’ That sentence does
not make sense. ‘The dog broke after the cat.’
That sentence does not make sense. ‘The dog ran
after the cat.’ That sentence does make sense, so
circle the word ran. (Make sure the students circle
the word ran.)
…continued
•
Let’s go to the next sentence. Read it silently while I
read it out loud. ‘The cat ran fast, green, for up the hill.
The three choices are fast, green, for up the hill. Which
word is the correct word for the sentence? (The
students answer fast) Yes, ‘The cat ran fast up the hill’ is
correct, so circle the correct word fast. (Make sure
students circle fast).
•
Silently read the next sentence and raise your hand
when you think you know the answer. (Make sure
students know the correct word. Read the sentence with the
correct answer). That’s right. ‘The dog barked at the cat’
is correct. Now what do you do when you choose the
correct word? (Students answer ‘Circle it’. Make sure the
students understand the task). That’s correct, you circle it.
I think you’re ready to work on a story on your own.
Administration Instructions
 Say this to the student(s):
When I say ‘Begin’ I want you to silently read a
story. You will have 3 minutes to read the story
and complete the task. Listen carefully to the
directions. Some of the words in the story are
replaced with a group of 3 words. Your job is to
circle the 1 word that makes the most sense in the
story. Only 1 word is correct.
During Testing
 After reading standardized instructions:
1.Say, ‘Begin.’ Start your stopwatch.
2.Monitor students to make sure they
understand that they are to circle only 1
word.
3.If a student finished before the time limit,
collect the student’s R-MAZE task and record
the time on the student’s test booklet.
4.At the end of 3 minutes say: “Stop. Put your
pencils down. Please close your booklet.”
5.Collect the R-MAZE tasks.
After Testing
• Score immediately
• What counts as an error?
1)Circles an incorrect word
2)Omits word selections (other than those the
student was unable to complete before the 3
minutes expired).
• Record the number of correct answers over the
number of errors (CR/E).
What if they finish early??
The student’s score will need to be prorated:
1) When the student finished, the time must be recorded and
the number of correct answers counted. For example, the
student may have finished in 2 minutes and correctly
answered 40 items.
2) Convert the time taken in seconds.
(2 minutes = 120 seconds)
3) Divide the number of seconds by the number correct.
(120/40 = 3)
4) Calculate the number of seconds in the full 3 minutes.
(3 minutes = 180 seconds)
5) Divide the number of full seconds by the calculated value
from step 3. (180/3 = 60)
M-COMP: Before Testing
• Administrator will need:
 Standardized Instructions
 Student copy of probe (make sure to remove the
answer key)
 Stopwatch
• Students will need:
 Pencil
 Students may use scratch paper but not
calculators.
M-COMP: Directions
•
“We are going to take an 8-minute math test. Read the problems
carefully and work each problem in the order presented, starting at the
first problem on the page from left to right. Do not skip around”
•
“If you do not understand how to do a problem, mark it with an X and
move on. Once you have tried all of the problems in order, you may go
back to the beginning of the worksheet and try to complete the
problems, you marked.”
•
“Although you may show your work and use scratch paper if that is
helpful for you in working the problems, you may not use calculators or
any other aids.”
•
“Keep working until you have completed all of the problems or I tell you
to stop.”
•
“Do you have any questions?”
•
“Here are your tests. Do not turn the test back over or start working until
I tell you to begin.”
•
“Begin.”
•
After eight minutes say, “Stop and put down your pencil”.
Scoring
• Scoring sheets allow for simple and efficient
scoring.
• Responses are scored on a “all or none”
principle.
• The answer key provides some examples
instances where multiple answers are correct.
 But, if you come across an answer that is not
indicated on the key but demonstrates
understanding of the concept being measured
and is correct, you may assign credit.
M-CAP: Before Testing
• Administrator will need:
 Standardized Instructions
 Student probe (remember to remove answer
key)
 Stopwatch
• Students will need:
 Pencil
M-CAP Instructions
•
“We’re going to take an 8 (or 10) minute math test. Read the problems
carefully and work each problem in the order presented. Do not skip
around.”
•
“If you do not know how to do a problem, mark it with an X and move
on. Once you have tried all of the problems in order, you may go back
to the beginning of the worksheet and try to complete the problems
you marked.”
•
“Write the answers to the problems in the blanks. For multiple choice
questions, place the letter(A, B, or C) of the correct answer in the
blank.”
•
“You do not have to show your work, but you may if that is helpful for
you in working the problems.”
•
“Keep working until you have completed all of the problems or I tell you
to stop. Do you have any questions.”
M-CAP: During Testing
• If a student asks a question say, “Read the
directions, again and work the problem as best
you can. If you still do not understand the
problem or are unable to work it, you may move
on to the next question.”
• If a student is skipping around or crossing out
the difficult problems say, “Try to work each
problem. Do not skip around.”
• Allow 8 minutes for grades 2-6 and 10 minutes
for grades 7-12.
M-CAP: After Testing
• Score using the answer key provided on the
student probe.
• Can conduct error analysis using the M-CAP
Curriculum Reference.
WE-CBM: Before Testing
• Administrators:
 Story starter(s)
 Standardized Instructions
 Stopwatch
• Students:
 Lined paper
 Pencil
(Powell-Smith & Shinn, 2004)
WE-CBM: During Testing
•
Instructions:
 “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? Put your pencils down and
listen.”
 “For the next minute, think about…(Insert story starter).
 After thirty seconds say, “You should be thinking
about…(insert story starter).
 At the end of one minute say, “Now begin writing.”
 After ninty seconds say, “You should be thinking about…
(insert story starter).
 At the end of three minutes say, “Stop. Put your pencils
down.”
(Powell-Smith & Shinn, 2004)
WE-CBM: During Test
• If a student stops writing for about ten seconds,
say, “Keep writing the best story you can.”
• Do not answer questions about spelling,
punctuation, etc.
(Powell-Smith & Shinn, 2004)
WE-CBM: Scoring
• Important to print manual and refer to when scoring.
• Total Words Written:
 Word = any letter or group of letters separated by a
space, even if the word is misspelled or is a nonsense
word.
 Hyphenated words: Each morpheme is counted as
one word if it can stand alone.
• Ex. Sister-in-law = 3 while re-evaluate = 1
 Abbreviations: Commonly used abbreviations are
counted as words.
 Numbers: Dates, currency, and written out numbers
count as words.
(Powell-Smith & Shinn, 2004)
WE-CBM: Scoring
•
Correct Writing Sequence: Two adjacent writing units (words and
punctuation) that are correct within the context of what is written.
 Rules:
• Pairs of words must be spelled correctly.
• Words must be capitalized and punctuated correctly with the
exception of commas.
• Words must be syntactically correct.
• Words must be semantically correct.
• Contractions must contain apostrophes if the word can’t stand
alone without it.
• Words containing reversed letters are included in the total
CWS count unless the reversed letter causes a word to be
spelled incorrectly.
• Story titles or endings must be capitalized and spelled
correctly.
• Commonly used abbreviations are included in CWS count.
• Hyphenated words are counted correctly as long as each
morpheme is spelled correctly.
• With the exception of dates, numbers are not included.
• Symbols are not counted.
(Powell-Smith & Shinn, 2004)
WE-CBM: Scoring
•
Words Spelled Correctly:
 Must be spelled correctly within the context of the story.
• Reed vs. read or red vs. read
 Each morpheme in a hyphenated word counts if it can
stand alone.
 Proper nouns must be capitalized to count as correct.
 Words with reversed letters are counted as correct as long
as the reversal does not result in an incorrect spelling.
 Apostrophes must be present in contractions to be counted
as correct.
•
Qualitative Features and Error Analysis worksheets available in
the manual.
(Powell-Smith & Shinn, 2004)
Administration Summary
Area
Timing
Administration
Scoring
R-CBM
1 minute
Individual
WRC/Errors
MAZE
3 minutes
Individual, Small CR/Errors
Group, Group
M-COMP
8 minutes
Individual, Small Digits Correct
Group, Group
M-CAP
8 minutes
10 minutes
Individual, Small Digits Correct
Group, Group
WE-CBM
4 minutes
1-Think
3-Write
Individual, Small TWW
Group, Group
WSC
CWS
References
Kenndy, Jillyan. Administration and scoring of Reading MAZE for use in general
outcome measurement.
Mathematics Computation: Administration and Technical Manual (2010) AIMSweb, Pearson
Mathematics Concepts and Applications: Administration and Technical Manual
(2009). AIMSweb, Pearson
Powell-Smith, K.A. & Shinn, M. (2004). Administration and scoring of Written
Expression Curriculum-Based Measurement (WE-CBM) for use in
general outcome measurement. Pearson.
Shinn, M.M. & Shinn, M.R. (2002) AIMSweb training workbook: Administration and
scoring of Reading Curriculum-Based Measurement (R-CBM) for use in
general outcome measurement. Pearson.
Shinn, M.R. & Shinn, M.M. (2002). AIMSweb training workbook: Administration and scoring of
Reading MAZE for use in general outcome measurement. Pearson
Shinn, M.R. & Shinn, M.M. Administration and scoring or Reading Curriculum-Based
Measurement for use in general outcome measurement. Pearson
Shinn, M.R., Shinn, M.M. & Langell, L.A. (2008). Overview of curriculum-based measurement and
AIMSweb. Pearson.