Interpreting Your Student's Results when using Curriculum Sampling CBM probes

Interpreting Your Student's Results when using Curriculum Sampling CBM probes

Once students have started Progress Monitoring using curriculum sampling CBM probes and have at least 3 probes completed, a trend line will appear on their graph.

Classworks determines the effectiveness of the intervention by taking into account the grade level of the CBM, the target rate of improvement, and the student results on the probes.

Their results can be viewed in one of two ways. You can generate their Progress Monitoring Results as explained here. Or, from the Progress Monitoring page, select the subject and click View Details.




Graph Details

When viewing the graph there are several things you should notice:



  • At the top, you can see the level, subject, and date range for the active CBM.

  • The connected purple dots show how the student scored on each week's probe.

  • The solid green line is the Target Rate of improvement for the 12-week duration. This is how much the student is expected to improve based on the current intervention. The target rate of improvement is determined by the goal that was selected: Moderate or Aggressive. This includes a number that shows the expected growth points each week (in this case, it is 4.5455 points per week for 12 weeks).

  • The yellow line is the Current Rate of Improvement and is calculated based on the student's weekly results and estimates which way the student is heading based on their current trend. This line is calculated using a "least-squares" regression equation and requires at least 3 results. This also includes a number to show you the student's actual growth (in this case, it is +5.0435).

  • The right-hand side of the table will show where the student is as far as Grade Level Readiness



Assessment Details

The details of the Active progress monitoring session are the default view. If you wish to view other sessions, click the drop-down to select a date range.


When viewing the active session you will notice the following:




  • First, the level, subject, and date range for the active CBM as well as a row for each of the 12 weeks.

  • The Date column indicates the CBM completion date. It says Skipped if the student skipped (missed a week) or is blank if it is an upcoming week.

  • The amount of time the student spent taking the CBM.

  • Their score for each week taken.

  • Any notes that might have been recorded for a given week.


Cumulative Item Responses

Below the graph and weekly details, you will find the Cumulative Item Response table. This table breaks down which domains the student was tested on, and how well they did.

For example, in the table below, we can see that this student was presented with 3 questions on Measurement for week one, and they got 1 out of those 3 questions correct. In week 5, they got 2 out of 3 of those questions correct, and so forth. In the far right column, you will see a “grand total” of how the student has done in each domain so far (ie. between weeks 1 and 8, this student has gotten 8 out of 12 questions correct for Measurement).




Interpreting Results

Curriculum Sampling CBM scores are on the same scale as our Universal Screener to help identify student grade-level readiness (see how to interpret those scores here).

However, The main thing to look for when examining the report is comparing the student’s trend line to the target line. Although it is calculated using individual scores, over time the student’s trend line should be sloping very closely to the target line. If it is sloping steeply above or below the target line, the student’s intervention might need to be addressed.

Let's look at some examples!



Student 1’s Rate of Improvement (yellow line) is trending below the Target Rate of Improvement (green line). As they take the assessments, their trend line is automatically updated to provide an estimated amount of growth throughout the intervention period. It's important to note that focusing on the yellow trend line provides more insight than the individual scores since they are used to calculate their trend.
In this example, it may be best to reevaluate the student’s intervention since the student's trend line is declining.



Student 2’s Rate of Improvement (yellow line) is trending well above the Target Rate of Improvement (green line). In this example, the student's trend line is much higher than their target line for growth. This could mean that the student is responding extremely well to the current interventions since the student’s performance is trending at a pace well above the Target Rate of Improvement.

In this example, the CBM level may not be ideal for the student. Placing them on the next level of CBM (moving from level 6 to level 7) may be the best option for them, or, after evaluating, they may be ready to move out of Tier 2 or 3!

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