Reading measures and standards alignment
Our measures are based on the “Big Five” from the National Reading Panel.
The reading tests include measures of Alphabetic Principle (Phoneme Segmenting, Letter Names), Phonics (Letter Sounds), Fluency (Word Reading Fluency, Passage Reading Fluency), Vocabulary, and Comprehension (Basic and Proficient Reading).
The Basic Reading measures are comprehension assessments utilizing a variety of text (informational text, literary text, and read to perform a task). Each of the measures includes five short prompts with five corresponding questions; the total score is the number of items answered correctly out of a possible 25.
The Basic Reading measures use informational text as well as literary text. The measures themselves have 25 questions. Of these, the first 10 relate to short literary text, the second 10 relate to informational text, and the last five relate to read to perform a task activities in which students must interpret graphs, charts, and other graphics to answer the questions.
You can determine which of the test questions assess which type of text by reviewing the Groups report after students have taken the measure. Click on Groups tab and select the group(s) that took the measure in which you’re interested. Scroll down the page to the CBMs section and select Basic Reading. Continue scrolling down the page past the Summary section to Item Analysis. Here you’ll find the break-down of Read to Perform a Task, Informational Text, and Short Literary Text Items.
The Basic Reading measures/items are designed to address students’ skill reading literary and informational text, as well as their literacy in science and technical subjects.
The Literary Text sub-tests assess students’ ability to understand key ideas and details and identify elements related to craft and structure that contribute to their ability to discern the meaning of a wide range of text types varying in complexity. The texts include stories, short dramas, and poetry. The Informational Text and Read to Perform a Task sub-tests present students with a wide range of non-fiction text, varying in complexity, and require students to demonstrate their ability to understand key ideas and details and identify elements of the writing craft and structure that contribute to the meaning of the text. Texts for these sub-tests are drawn from a variety of content areas, and include biographies and autobiographies, history, social studies, science, and the arts; as well as technical texts, including directions, forms, and information displayed in graphs, charts, or maps on a range of topics.
You can access the state-by-state alignment study results at: https://www.brtprojects.org/publications/technical-reports/