How do you select or design appropriate progress monitoring measures for your content and grade level?

1 Understand the purpose

Before you select or design a progress monitoring measure, you need to clarify the purpose of the assessment. Are you using it to screen students for risk, monitor their response to intervention, evaluate their mastery of skills, or inform your instructional decisions? Depending on the purpose, you may need different types of measures, such as general outcome measures (GOMs) or skill-specific probes (SSPs). GOMs are broad indicators of overall performance in a domain, such as reading fluency or math computation. SSPs are more focused on specific skills or concepts, such as phonics or fractions. GOMs are typically used for screening and benchmarking, while SSPs are more suitable for diagnostic and formative assessment.

2 Align with the curriculum and standards

Another important factor to consider when selecting or designing a progress monitoring measure is the alignment with the curriculum and standards. You want to make sure that the measure reflects what you are teaching and what your students are expected to learn. For example, if you are teaching third grade math, you may want to use a GOM that covers the main topics of the grade level, such as multiplication, division, fractions, and measurement. Or, if you are providing intervention for a specific skill, such as vowel patterns, you may want to use a SSP that targets that skill. Alignment ensures that the measure is relevant, valid, and sensitive to growth.

3 Consider the format and administration

The format and administration of the progress monitoring measure also affect its appropriateness and feasibility. You need to think about how the measure will be presented to the students, how they will respond, how you will score and record the data, and how often you will administer the measure. For example, some measures may be paper-and-pencil, computer-based, or oral. Some may require multiple-choice, short-answer, or open-ended responses. Some may have standardized scoring rules, rubrics, or checklists. Some may be given weekly, monthly, or quarterly. You want to choose or create a measure that is easy to use, consistent, and efficient.

4 Review existing measures or create your own

Once you have defined the purpose, alignment, format, and administration of the progress monitoring measure, you can review existing measures or create your own. There are many sources of existing measures, such as curriculum-based measurement (CBM) tools, state or district assessments, or published tests. You can use these measures as they are, or modify them to suit your needs. However, you should always check the validity and reliability of the existing measures before using them. Alternatively, you can create your own measure by following some guidelines, such as using clear and appropriate language, covering a range of difficulty levels, and piloting and revising the measure before implementing it.

5 Analyze and interpret the data

The final step in selecting or designing a progress monitoring measure is to analyze and interpret the data. You need to use the data to evaluate your students' progress, identify their strengths and needs, and make instructional decisions. You can use various methods to analyze and interpret the data, such as graphs, norms, benchmarks, goals, or trends. You can also compare the data across students, groups, or classes. The key is to use the data to inform your instruction and intervention, and to communicate the results to your students, parents, and colleagues.

6 Implement and evaluate the measure

The last tip for selecting or designing a progress monitoring measure is to implement and evaluate the measure. You need to monitor the effectiveness and efficiency of the measure, and make adjustments as needed. You can use feedback from your students, peers, or supervisors to evaluate the measure. You can also use data from other sources, such as student work samples, observations, or surveys. You want to make sure that the measure is meeting its intended purpose, aligning with the curriculum and standards, and providing useful information for instruction and intervention.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?