Further Information on Curriculum Based Measurement

When I wrote my last post, I was still shaky on the subject of CBM. After talking to a professional I attained more insight and now have a better understanding of what CBM is.  Now there are a few key things learned that includes understanding the word "standardized". I have seen this word in the article The ABC's of CBM: A Practical Guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement many times but I could not get a grip on what it was. Now I knowthat this term stands for the same everywhere. If I take a standardized test in Indiana, students in Gary Indiana and Grand Forks North Dakota will take the same test. This is like the SAT as far is being the same test everywhere it is taken. This is different than a curriculum-based assessment because CBA's are different at each school. I also learned that CBM's are the generic term of different standardized tests a school can purchase. (The fact that it is a money making organization was also something else that I learned.) An example of a particular assessment is called DIBELS. One key part of CBM that I understand now is that you can have CBM without RTI but not RTI without CBM. The reason for this is CBM is the missing piece of RTI. As far as my understanding goes, if you do not have this piece you do not have the whole "pie" of RTI. If RTI is a method that provides students with assistance, CBM lets the teacher know who is in trouble. The last important thing that I learned was that CBM focuses on the basic area or the three R's. This is why the standardized assessments do not primarily go past the fifth grade. However if someone in the 7th grade only has a 2nd grade reading level, CBM assessments can be used to track progress.