Identifying a Measure for Monitoring Student Reading Progress

Based on a decade of research, oral reading fluency has been identified as the standard task for monitoring reading progress within Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM). Although a technically sound and useful measure for monitoring growth, collecting reading fluency on a routine basis can be time-consuming for teachers. Moreover, its acceptability as an index of comprehension has been questioned. Consequently, we have conducted a research program investigating alternative reading monitoring measures. The measures share two features: They are suitable for automatic data collection and scoring using computers, and they appear acceptable as measures of reading comprehension. In this research program, the criterion validity of four reading measures was assessed. Based on results, a subset of measures was identified and their usefulness and technical features were studied as ongoing measures of reading progress over a series of years. In this article, this research program is summarized and recommendations are offered for alternative CBM reading monitoring systems and future investigation.