Enhancing Learning Outcomes Through Curriculum-Based Evaluation: Strategies and Implementation

1. Curriculum Based Evaluation Gary L. Cates, Ph.D.

2. Steps to CBE • Identify the problem • Observe accuracy and fluency in specific skills (Probes/Assignments) • Develop a plan to address the problem • Instructional Hierarchy (Acquisition, Fluency, maintenance, Generalization, Adaptation) • Implement the plan • Intervention Articulation Form • Evaluate the plan • Single Case Research Design • Adapt the plan as needed • React to students responding

3. Curriculum Based Evaluation in Reading Gary L. Cates, Ph.D.

4. Decoding • AKA Reading • Carnine: • Teachers need right materials • Teachers need right training • Adams • Code instruction with meaning better for ALL readers • Rate of Decoding is essential in understanding differences in effects of various reading methods.

5. Important Points • Perceptual Processes: They matter very little. • Early Reading Skills: Teach older kids that do not have early literacy skills these skills? • Reading Levels: within text, across curricula • What about Grade Equivalents? • The right question: What skill does the student need to learn?

6. Error/Miscue Analysis • Variable empirical support • Problem with Operational Definitions • Should be an appropriate error sample (i.e. must make enough errors – 80-85%)

7. Pre-reading readiness • Book Orientation • Sentence, word, letter boundaries, • Letter names • Symbol recognition? • Word recognition • Word/sentence manipulation: Rain/Bow • Segmenting, rhyming, blending,

8. Hypothesis: Won’t do • Provide reinforcer for reading accurately (50% increase?)

9. Hypothesis: Error not important to meaning • Tally errors and get percent of words that violate meaning (i.e. would give you a different sentence understanding). • Shouldn’t be out of specified range.

10. Hypothesis: Code Structure is the issue • Read a passage and note errors. • Errors related to pattern in words? • Be sure to base this on opportunity for error not just percentage of errors.

11. Hypothesis: Word Substitutions are? • Related to phonics? • Misses phonetically regular portions of words • Can’t read non-sense words • Not related to phonics? • Provide assisted self-monitoring • Maybe not a problem (Check if affects to meaning)

12. CBE: Comprehension

13. Let’s Change our Thinking • Comprehension is a complex process • Let’s talk about how a reader “reacts” to their reading. • Answering questions, retelling, paraphrasing, cloze, maze, t/f etc.

14. 9 Causes of Comprehension Failure • These are 9 things that a good reader does that a poor reader doesn’t. • If you want a cool round number (the top “10” reasons) the 10th is Insufficient reinforcement.

15. Strategies of Comprehension • Monitor for meaning and self-correct • Selective attention to text: Skimming, going over closely • Adjust for Text Difficulty: Change rate, rereading, highlighting • Connect with Prior Knowledge: • Clarify: Figure it out in some way to make it make sense (Ask for help?; Google)

16. Enablers of Comprehension • Decoding: 140 wcpm (after 3rd grade) • Vocabulary (Semantics) – 70% of the variability! • Definitions • Determining Word Meaning • Grammar (Syntax): Rare, but could be ESL • Prior Knowledge

17. Curriculum Based Evaluation in Math Gary L. Cates, Ph.D.

18. Mark • Mark is having difficulty with multiplication of fractions. An example of such a problem is: 5/6 x 3/9 = ? His answer to such a problem was 15/45 • Take some time to write down your thoughts about how to assess this problem fully and generate an intervention that may be helpful given a fictional hypothesis that you may formulate based on your assessment.

19. Mathematics Areas • Computation: Accurately and quickly responding with symbols of quantity • Concepts: Rules • Strategies: Need to be efficient • Facts: Numerical statements • Application: Using math • Sub-domains: Tool use, content knowledge, and Vocabulary • Problem-Solving: Using both computation and application.

20. Math Assessments • Irrelevant standards • Irrelevant formats • Lack empirically validated sequencing • Inadequate samples of student behavior • Provide little insight into why errors are made • Not aligned with instructional objectives

21. Interviewing & Error Analysis • 2 ways of collecting information for the development of a hypothesis • Interviewing • Error Analysis: Need a lot of problems of the same type (Facts, operations, applications)

22. Setting Goals with BMC considered • Consider Basic Movement Cycle (BMC) • Think of it as a “handicap” • Task Mastery Rate (TMR)= 50/minute • Current BMC = 75/minute • Expected BMC = 100/minute • Formula: (TMR * Current BMC)/(EBMC) • (50*75)/100 = 37.5 • With current BMC student should be able to make 37.5 DCPM

23. Let’s try an Example • Complete a probe and make a few errors (with pattern or without). • Exchange probes with a colleague. • Analyze a colleague’s probe for errors • Develop a hypothesis • Develop and intervention • Describe how you would evaluate the intervention

24. Curriculum Based Evaluation in Written Expression Gary L. Cates, Ph.D.

25. The writer as an Author • Purpose: Intent • The reader must know writer’s intent • Process • Planning: • Pre-writing: Intent and Style • During: Ongoing changes of style • Reviewing: constant recursive steps • Revision: Improvement of clarity of intent • Transcribing: “Editing” (Writer as secretary)

26. Writer as Author Continued • Product • Fluency: TWW and CWS • Syntactic Maturity: Complexity of sentences • Vocabulary: Sophistication and non-repeating • Content: Holistic rating/attention to organization • Conventions: Errors in mechanics

27. Assessment Options • Permanent products • Story Starters (younger kids) • Picture prompts could result in description only • Essays (older kids)

28. Measurement Options • Qualitative Scale (1 to 5 rating) • Not a normative Scaling! • Criterion Scale • Holistic Scale (4 tiers of papers?) • Teachers at each grade level divide best from worst and rate the others accordingly • How about for benchmarking? • Direct Measurement • NCW/L or W/LS • Important to adhere to “traits” you have chosen

29. Setting Goals • Develop Cut Scores (1.5 or 2x discrepancy from standard) • Set goal to close the gap between current performance and expectation

30. Instructional Ideas • Balanced Instruction: Pre-writing Planning • Teach The process: Planning, reviewing, revising, transcribing, peer collaboration • Teach fluency of expression: Read/write a lot. In different ways for different people • Balanced Mechanics: COPS • Note about spelling: Morphograph instruction and not word lists!