Assessment Definition for Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) Probes

Before working with progress monitoring groups, the school district must create assessment definitions for the probes that will be used for monitoring.

Create an Assessment Definition for Curriculum-Based Measurement Probes

1. Select Assessment > Assessment Library.
2. Click Add New.
   • To look at existing assessment definitions, you can click the checkmark button next to the area for which you want to view assessment definitions. The number in parentheses to the right of the button indicates the number of assessment definitions currently available for that area of the curriculum.
3. In the Name field of the Add New Assessment Definition page, enter a unique name for the assessment definition.
4. In the Stored At field, click the Select link to specify where in the curriculum the new assessment definition will be stored.
   • For example, if the assessment definition will address progress for reading fluency, then the assessment definition should be stored under "Grade 3 > Language Arts -> Reading Fluency". In this example, "Grade 3" or even "Grade 3 > Language Arts" would be too broad.

5. If Assessment Tags are available, check the ones that apply to the new assessment.

6. In the Method field, select Define Curriculum-Based Management (CBM) Assessment.
7. In the Details section fields, specify the layout details:
   
   • Versioning: If you anticipate modifying this assessment each year, particularly by specifying new cutoffs, setting this option to Yes helps keep the assessment library well organized. Instead of creating a brand new assessment definition next year (perhaps with the year embedded in the name), it is better to just enable versioning by year.
   • Range of Progress Monitoring Periods Covered: The school year is divided into assessment periods which are configured for the school district as described in the Progress Monitoring Groups for Curriculum. Select the range of assessment periods (one or more) that the probe is designed to cover.
   • Number of Sections: If left at the default of one section, when the probe is administered to a student, one data point will be collected per interval and there will be one chart covering those data points. If you wish to administer several sets of data points in parallel and produce a chart for each of those sets, then specify two or more sections and you can assign a name to each.
8. In the Assessment Rubrics section, check the rubric you want to use.
9. Click Accept to save the settings. The new assessment will display in the Assessment Library, where you can go on to define additional settings.
   
   • To complete a minimal but useable CBM probe, you could click Edit Properties on the Assessment Properties & Layout tab for the assessment and set the current status from In Development to Active. In this case, users will have to enter their goal target each time they use the probe.
   • You can alternatively pre-specify the cutoff scores that represent expected student proficiency levels at the beginning and end of the covered assessment periods. Continue to the next step.
10. To define the proficiency levels for which you want to specify cutoff scores, click the + Add Assessment Rubric link in the Assessment Rubric field.
    • If you already selected a rubric, skip to step 13.

11. In the Assessment Rubric pop-up, define the proficiency levels for your rubric.

    • Assign each level a name, a one or two-character symbol, and a color.

    • Colors are optional, but if provided, allow the charts to be colorized making them easier to interpret. If you are unsure about the best colors, keep in mind that you can easily change them later.

    • If there is a color scheme in the rubric of another assessment definition that you would like to use for this assessment definition, you can bring up this same screen for the other assessment definition, click Copy Color Scheme. then return to this screen and click Paste Color Scheme.

      

      Make sure the mastery levels are listed from the lowest performance (at the top) to the highest performance (at the bottom). Use the icons to insert or remove proficiency levels.

12. Click Accept to save your rubric.

13. To enter the cutoff scores for a probe with only one section, click Edit Properties. on the Assessment Properties & Layout tab for the assessment.

    • If the probe has multiple sections, you will need to click the edit/pencil icon next to the section where they are listed.

14. In the Cutoff Scores for Total Scores section, enter the cutoffs, and then click Accept.

    • The cutoffs should increase from left to right to indicate that the expected proficiency levels of the students would be expected to increase from one assessment period to the next.

    • If your probe has more than one section, you will need to specify the cutoffs for each section.

15. To use the probe, the Current Status must be Active. To set it to active, click Edit Properties and change it to Active using the menu.
    
    • At this point, the probe can be used for progress monitoring.