Papers by Christine Espin
Zeitschrift Fur Erziehungswissenschaft, Jul 2, 2018
Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is a system for monitoring the progress of and evaluating inst... more Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is a system for monitoring the progress of and evaluating instructional program effectiveness for students with learning difficulties. Although a large amount of research has been conducted on CBM, little has focused on the interpretation and use of the data for instructional decision-making, despite the fact that it is data use that leads to performance gains. In this study, we examine factors affecting the interpretation of CBM data. Specifically, we examine the effect of CBM graph patterns on ease of graph interpretation. Thirty college/university students completed a two-part study in which they viewed various slope-to-goal and slope-to-slope patterns of CBM-graphed data and answered decision-making questions. Response times and accuracy were measured. Results revealed that graph patterns differed in terms of ease of interpretation. Differences depended on the type of question. Implications for interpretation and use of CBM data for decision-making are discussed.
As researchers come to recognize the origins of dysgraphia, we can better suggest optimal approac... more As researchers come to recognize the origins of dysgraphia, we can better suggest optimal approaches to remediation. In defining dysgraphia, we review the writing process, research on the development of writing, and various factors related to either spelling difficulties, visual-motor difficulties, or both, that might interfere in the process of writing. We conclude by exploring some potentially helpful remediation techniques that should be considered as educators, clinicians, researchers, teachers, and parents work together to ameliorate the potentially devastating consequences of dysgraphia.
The technical adequacy of curriculum-based writing measures with English learners
Reading and Writing, Apr 25, 2012
Journal of Learning Disabilities, Mar 22, 2021
In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, defining "a... more In 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, defining "appropriate" educational programs as programs that enable students with disabilities to make progress (see Sayeski et al., 2019; Yell & Bateman, 2019). The Endrew ruling highlighted the importance of progress monitoring and of using data to evaluate the effects of instructional programs on student progress toward Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals (Sayeski et al., 2019; Yell & Bateman, 2019). Within the field of learning disabilities (LD), the Endrew ruling intensified calls for intensive, data-driven, individualized instruction for students with LD (see Lemons et al., 2018). Such instruction, often referred to as Data-Based Individualization (DBI) or Data-Based Decision-Making (DBDM; see Danielson & Rosenquist, 2014; Deno & Mirkin, 1977; Jenkins & Fuchs, 2012), has been shown to lead to improved academic performance for students with LD, with reported effect sizes ranging from 0.24 to 0.38 (Filderman et al., 2018; Jung et al., 2018; see also Fuchs et al., 2020). An essential component of DBI is the systematic use of data to track progress of students with LD and to determine their response to instruction. One progress-monitoring system ideally suited for use within DBI is Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM). CBM involves frequent, repeated measurement of student progress toward long-range instructional goals (Deno, 1985). CBM scores are placed on progress graphs, and the graphs are used to guide teacher decision-making. When the data reveal that the student's progress is lower than expected, the teacher adjusts instruction; when the data reveal that the student's progress is greater than expected, the teacher raises the goal. Teachers who make instructional and goal adjustments in response to CBM data effect greater student achievement for students with or at risk of LD than teachers who do not 997103L DXXXX10.
The Reading Fluency and Comprehension of Fifth- and Sixth-Grade Struggling Readers Across Brief Tests of Various Intervention Approaches
Reading Psychology, Mar 24, 2015
Although several different reading fluency intervention approaches appear promising for adolescen... more Although several different reading fluency intervention approaches appear promising for adolescents who are struggling readers, few studies have directly compared various approaches. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to determine the relative effects of word-oriented, fluency-oriented, comprehension-oriented, and multi-component interventions on the reading fluency performance of fifth and sixth grade struggling readers; and 2) to examine the concomitant effects of each intervention approach on comprehension. A within participant design, where all 29 participants received all interventions, was used. Outcomes were measured using instructional and transfer materials. The results provide support for a fluency-oriented and multi-component approach.
Introduction to the Special Issue of Learning Disabilities Research & Practice: Research to Practice: Views From Researchers and Practitioners
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, Jun 1, 2000
Educating students with mild disabilities in general education classrooms: Minnesota alternatives
PubMed, Oct 1, 1990
This article reports two major data collection efforts conducted during successive years. Study 1... more This article reports two major data collection efforts conducted during successive years. Study 1 examined the relationship between the school effectiveness variables identified in the Minnesota Educational Effectiveness Project (MEEP), and the attitudes and achievement of students in 31 MEEP schools. Study 2, which focused on 11 of the Study 1 schools, compared the instructional programs provided to students with mild disabilities in three integrated programs in these 11 schools, with those provided by conventional resource "pull-out" programs in three other schools. We not only contrasted program characteristics, but analyzed differences between program characteristics and cognitive and affective outcomes. Results do not provide a strong basis for concluding that general efforts at school improvement will provide the framework for improved outcomes among low-achieving students.
Scoliosis
Encyclopedia of Special Education, Feb 7, 2014
Colitis
Encyclopedia of Special Education, Jul 15, 2008
Curriculum-based Measurement with Action Research
Postgraduate Programmes as Platform, 2007
They’re Getting Older … but Are They Getting Better?
University of Minnesota Press eBooks, Sep 1, 2012
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, Jan 27, 2017
Teachers must be proficient at using data to evaluate the effects of instructional strategies and... more Teachers must be proficient at using data to evaluate the effects of instructional strategies and interventions, and must be able to make, describe, justify, and validate their data-based instructional decisions to parents, students, and educational colleagues. An important related skill is the ability to accurately read and interpret progress-monitoring graphs. This study examined preservice special education teachers' graph reading and interpretation skills at two points in time. Participants used a think-aloud procedure to interpret a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) progress monitoring graph, and results were compared to those of CBM experts. Overall, preservice teachers tended to say fewer words than graph experts did. Furthermore, their descriptions of CBM graphs were less sequentially coherent, specific, and reflective. Little change was observed at time 2. Implications for improving teacher preparation in this skill area are discussed.
Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, Jan 27, 2017
Teachers have difficulty using data from Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM) progress graphs of st... more Teachers have difficulty using data from Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM) progress graphs of students with learning difficulties for instructional decision-making. As a first step in unraveling those difficulties, we studied teachers' comprehension of CBM graphs. Using think-aloud methodology, we examined 23 teachers' ability to read, interpret, and link CBM data to instruction for fictitious graphs and their own students' graphs. Additionally, we examined whether graph literacy-measured with a self-report question and graph-reading skills test-affected graph comprehension. To provide a framework for understanding teachers' graph comprehension, we also collected data from "gold-standard" experts. Results revealed that teachers were reasonably proficient at reading the data, but had more difficulty with interpreting and linking the data to instruction. Graph literacy was related to some but not all aspects of teachers' CBM graph-comprehension ability. Implications for training teachers to comprehend and use CBM progress data for decision-making are discussed.
Data-based instruction (DBI) is a process of collecting and using student progress data to guide ... more Data-based instruction (DBI) is a process of collecting and using student progress data to guide decision-making related to intervention intensity and individualization for students with learning disabilities (LD). However, effective DBI requires that teachers have a range of knowledge and skills across multiple domains. Past research has shown that data teams can improve teachers' use of data for instructional decision-making. This article describes the use of simulated data teams to build capacity for DBI among pre-service teachers in an undergraduate-level course focused on intensive reading intervention. Three components are described for each weekly data team meeting: (a) mini professional development session (e.g., instruction led by course instructor focused on key DBI knowledge and skills), (b) data chat (e.g., review and discussion of student data), and (c) completion of a weekly team activity and submission. The structure and implementation of this 5-week, multi-component professional learning tool are detailed.
Frontiers in Education, Sep 30, 2022
In this exploratory descriptive study, we use eye-tracking technology to examine teachers' visual... more In this exploratory descriptive study, we use eye-tracking technology to examine teachers' visual inspection of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) progress graphs. More specifically, we examined which elements of the graph received the most visual attention from teachers, and to what extent teachers viewed graph elements in a logical sequence. We also examined whether graph inspection patterns differed for teachers with higher-vs. lower-quality graph descriptions. Participants were 17 fifth-and sixth-grade teachers. Participants described two progress graphs while their eye-movements were registered. In addition, data were collected from an expert to provide a frame of reference for interpreting the teachers' eye-tracking data. Results revealed that, as a group, teachers devoted less visual attention to important graph elements and inspected the graph elements in a less logical sequence than did the expert, however, there was variability in teachers' patterns of graph inspection, and this variability was linked to teachers' abilities to describe the graphs. Directions for future studies and implications for practice are discussed.
Conclusion: Oral Reading Fluency or Reading Aloud from Text: An Analysis Through a Unified View of Construct Validity
Springer eBooks, Dec 12, 2015
The chapters in this book focus on the role of fluency in the measurement of performance and prog... more The chapters in this book focus on the role of fluency in the measurement of performance and progress within different academic areas. In this chapter, we reflect upon the extent to which the construct of fluency plays a role in the validity of the scores generated by measures in academic areas. We focus specifically on the use of fluency measures within a curriculum-based measurement (CBM) approach and describe the ways in which different validity arguments reflect different proposed interpretations and uses. Key to the discussion is whether fluency is the construct being measured or whether it is a construct being used to create measures that produce technically adequate scores. To illustrate, we begin the chapter with a multiple choice question.
Learning Disability Quarterly, Sep 26, 2012
This study examined the effects of three types of reading interventions on the science text readi... more This study examined the effects of three types of reading interventions on the science text reading of secondary students with learning disabilities (LD). Twenty 10th-grade students with LD participated in the study. Using a within-subjects design, the relative effects of three different instructional approaches-text reading, vocabulary learning, and text reading plus vocabulary learning-were examined and compared with a control condition in which participants received no instruction. The effects of the interventions on reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge, and comprehension were examined. Results revealed that the text-reading and combined interventions had a positive effect on reading fluency and vocabulary knowledge, and that the vocabulary intervention had a positive effect on vocabulary knowledge. Potential effects were found for the comprehension measures. Results imply that students' reading of science text, and knowledge of the vocabulary used in that text, can be improved with direct instruction.
Reading & Writing Quarterly, 1999
Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is gaining popularity as an effective system for evaluating th... more Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is gaining popularity as an effective system for evaluating the acquisition of basic academic skills (reading, writing, math, and spelling) within our nation's schools. There is currently a wealth of information available on the psychometric properties of CBM in reading; however, more technical information needs to be gathered on the remaining basic skill areas that CBM purports to assess. This research project reviewed of the relevant literature on the criterionrelated validity of CBM in written expression at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The results of past research indicate three main findings. First, these measures appropriately differentiate elementary and middle school students according to age, grade, and program placement. Second, the most technically adequate CBM measure of written expression varies considerably across educational levels. Finally, although there is evidence that CBM is technically adequate for elementary and middle school students, greater confidence can be held in CBM measures at the elementary level. Criterion-Related Validity 2
Scoliosis
Encyclopedia of Special Education, Jul 15, 2008
CBM Progress Monitoring in Foreign Language Learning for Secondary School Students
Assessment for Effective Intervention, Jun 11, 2013
The reliability and validity of three curriculum-based measures as indicators of learning English... more The reliability and validity of three curriculum-based measures as indicators of learning English as a foreign language were examined. Participants were 260 Dutch students in Grades 8 and 9 who were receiving English-language instruction. Predictor measures were maze-selection, Dutch-to-English word translation, and English-to-Dutch word translation. Criterion variables were years of English instruction, school level, course grades, and scores on a standardized reading test. Different scoring procedures and time frames were compared. Alternate-form reliabilities ranged from .44 to .88. Significant differences in maze scores were found between school levels but not between years of English-language instruction. Correlations between predictor and criterion variables ranged from .19 to .79. A regression analysis revealed that a combination of maze and English-to-Dutch translation predicted English course grades better than a single measure alone.
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Papers by Christine Espin