Using a Concept-Grounded, Curriculum-Based Measure in Mathematics to Predict Statewide Test Scores for Middle School Students with LD

Source abstract

From a larger sample of field-tested mathematics production response items, 11 were selected that individually (a) differentiated between high and low achievers on a general math achievement test, (b) measured a mathematical concept rather than a procedure, and (c) were conducive to the creation of alternate forms of the items. This math concept curriculum-based measure (CBM) was administered to 171 students in eighth grade. Scores were correlated with scores from a computer adaptive test (CAT) designed in conjunction with the state to approximate the official statewide mathematics achievement test. Correlations for general education students ( r = .80; n = 90) and students with learning disabilities ( r = .61; n = 81) were high. Regression analysis showed that relatively few of the 11 items were needed to predict CAT scores. Implications for students with learning disabilities, who traditionally receive little instruction in conceptual understanding, are discussed.