examining the technical adequacy of curriculum-based measurement progress monitoring in early ...

132 Pages·2011·1.56 MB·English

by  David Hampton

EXAMINING THE TECHNICAL ADEQUACY OF CURRICULUM-BASED
MEASUREMENT PROGRESS MONITORING IN EARLY NUMERACY USING
HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY

A Dissertation presented to
the faculty of the Graduate School
University of Missouri

In partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
of Doctor of Philosophy

By
DAVID DEAN HAMPTON

Dr. Erica S. Lembke, Dissertation Supervisor
JULY 2011
The undersigned¸ appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation
entitled:
EXAMINING THE TECHNICAL ADEQUACY OF CURRICULUM-BASED
MEASUREMENT PROGRESS MONITORING IN EARLY NUMERACY USING
HANDHELD TECHNOLOGY

Presented by David Dean Hampton, a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and
hereby certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance.

___________________________________________________
Dr. Erica S. Lembke

___________________________________________________
Dr. Janine Stichter

___________________________________________________
Dr. Melissa Stormont

___________________________________________________
Dr. Delinda vanGarderen

___________________________________________________
Dr. Cheryl Offutt
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my beautiful niece¸ Rebecca Embree, who has served as
an inspiration to me every day. Becky, you have shown me that everything is possible as long as
you remain positive. I also include in this dedication my mother and father who always allowed
me to take risks and to make mistakes, yet they were always there to help me regroup and move
forward, always moving forward!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Sitting and contemplating how to acknowledge all of the important people who have
contributed to my doctoral program, is quite a humbling experience. I must begin with Dr. Erica
Lembke for sharing your time and wealth of knowledge with me for over six years. I have no
comprehension of the right words to express my gratitude to you for your patience, kindness,
generosity, and wonderful sense of humor. You have been the best mentor I could have ever
imagined. I must also include my sincerest gratitude to the esteemed members of my committee.
Dr. Janine Stichter, you have been a guiding force on my journey from the beginning. I still
consider helping you with your textbook in 2005 to be one of the best experiences of my time at
MU. Dr. Melissa Stormont, you have guided me with your gentle spirit and incredible
knowledge, and I will never be able to adequately express my gratitude to you. Dr. Cheryl
Offutt, you have been with me during my journey from the beginning also, and I have enjoyed
our talks and your experience and example will make me a much better collaborator in the
future. Dr. Delinda vanGarderen, I have learned so much from you over the past four years.
You have a dedication to your work that is truly inspirational, and I have learned to temper my
zeal and consider issues with a more open-mind. I hope that my future work in mathematics
instruction and research will meet the standards that you have set.
There are some other important people that I must acknowledge as well. Dr. Timothy
Lewis has been the most kind and thoughtful mentor that anyone could have. I feel truly blessed
that I was able to be your student and that you never closed your door to my endless interruptions
and questions. Janice Jacobson, you have been a true godsend in that you were never too busy to
answer a question or to just sit and listen to the droning of an overwhelmed graduate student.
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You are the heart of this department and you have made my administrative experiences at MU
such a pleasure.
I must acknowledge those who made this dissertation study possible. First, to the
administration, faculty and staff at Southern Boone County Primary School; thank you for being
such wonderful partners and colleagues. Second, the students who participated in our study;
thank you so much for assisting us in our venture and for your enthusiasm, humor, and efforts,
you are all superstars. I need to send special thanks to our data collectors, who worked tirelessly,
with passion and skill, and a lot of humor. Going through this process with each of you has been
a highlight of my professional life.
To my family, I must say thank you for never questioning my desire to pursue higher
education. I know that my parents and my brother Patrick are watching me from up above and I
pray that I have made them proud. To Cheryl, Bob, and Sheila, thank you for helping me time
and time again, and for allowing me to obsess and whine about anything ad nauseam. To my
fellow grad students and friends, especially Sushama, Stacey, and Nick; thank you for walking
the journey with me, and I know you each will be the most inspiring researchers around.
I have learned enough not to think of this as the culmination of my journey. I am merely standing
at the starting line and I want to be like each of you when I finish!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………...ii
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………......ix
LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………..…..xi
ACADEMIC ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………xii

CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
Statement of the problem………………………………………………………………….1
Review of Related Literature……………………………………………………………...6
The importance of early mathematics proficiency………………………………………...6
Definitions of mathematics proficiency…………………………………………...7
Early numeracy……………………………………………………………………………8
Definitions of early numeracy or number sense…………………………………..9
Definition used for the present study…………………………………………….10
Important components of early numeracy skills…………………………………10
Neurological processes of developing early numeracy skills……………………11
Definition of automaticity.……………………………………………………….12
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Linking early numeracy proficiency to future mathematics ability……………...13
Methods of assessing early numeracy proficiency………………………………………13
Technical adequacy………………………………..…………………….14
Formative assessment practices………………………………………………………….15
Support for formative assessment practices in mathematics…………………….16
The national mathematics panel advisory report……………….………………..17
Limitations of formative assessments…………………………………………....18
Standardized assessments…………………………………………….………………….18
Purposes of standardized assessments……………………….…………………..18
Examples of standardized early mathematics tests…………..…………………..19
Standardized diagnostic or screening assessments………………………………20
Limitations of standardized assessments…………………….…………………..21
Essential comparisons of standardized and formative assessments….…………..22
Curriculum-based measurement (CBM)…………………………………………………23
Background of CBM……………………………………………………………..23
Primary uses of CBM…………………………………………………………….24
Stages of CBM research………………………………………………………….25
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Technical adequacy in progress monitoring CBM research……………………..25
CBM for monitoring progress in early mathematics…………………………….27
Beginning CBM research in math………………………………………………..27
CBM progress monitoring research in early mathematics……………………….28
Higher-level analyses of growth trajectories…………………………………….29
Logistic regression……………………………………………………………….29
HLM analysis of longitudinal data………………………………………………………31
Research using HLM for longitudinal analysis………………………………….31
Research that serves as the foundation of the present study…………………….35
Statement of purpose………………………………………………………………….....38
Research questions………………………………………………………………………39
2. METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………………40
Research study design……………………………………………………………40
Participants and setting…………………………………………………………..40
Instrumentation…………………………………………………………………..42
CBM progress monitoring measures…………………………………………….46
Criterion measure…………………………………………………….…………..47
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Procedures………………………………………………………………………..48
Interrater reliability………………………………………………………………49
Independent variables……………………………………………………………51
Dependent variables……………………………………………………………...51
3. RESULTS………………………………………………………………………………..52
Descriptive analyses……………………………………………………………...52
Kindergarten……………………………………………………………..53
First grade………………………………………………………………..58
Research question one…………………………………………………………...66
Alternate-form reliability………………………………………………...67
Concurrent criterion validity……………………………………………..71
Predictive validity………………………………………………………..72
Research question two and three…………………………………………………73
HLM results kindergarten…………………………………….………….75
HLM results first grade………………………………………………….80
Summary of results………………………………………………………………86
4. DISCUSSION…………………………………………………………………………...88
Overview…………………………………………………………………………88
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Research question one……………………………………………………………90
Research question two and three…………………………………………………96
Limitations of the study………………………………………………………...100
Implications for practice and assessment…………………………………….…102
Recommendations for future research………………………………………….103
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………...104
REFERENCES...………………………………………………………………………106
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………116
A. Consent Form……………………………………………………………….116
VITA……………………………………………………………………………………118

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