Technical adequacy of the maze task for curriculum-based measurement of reading growth

The purpose of the present study was to examine the technical adequacy of c urriculum-based measurement (CBM) for assessing student growth over time. P articipants were 43 second graders whose reading performance was measured m onthly over 1 school year with the maze task. Technical characteristics of the CBM maze task were examined in terms of reliability, sensitivity, and v alidity for assessing student growth. Results showed that the maze task had good alternate-form reliability, with a mean coefficient of .81 and 1- to 3-month intervals between testing. The maze task also sensitively reflected improvement of student performance over a school year and revealed interin dividual differences in growth rates. Finally, growth rates estimated on re peated maze scores were positively related to later reading performance on a standardized reading test; in addition, although a significant difference was not found, general education students appeared to develop reading prof iciency faster than remedial education students. Results support the use of the maze task as a reliable, sensitive, and valid data collection procedur e for assessing reading growth.