Greetings Tom, Brant, and all,

Tom: was retesting done using the same measure?  If so, whether or not instruction occured between test administrations, the number of intervening variables would seem to grow exponentially.

Brant: can you elaborate on how and why regression to the mean (whether downward or upward) has or could not have something to do with instruction? Could Tom's findings not inform what is taught and how?

Thanks,

Michael 
 
Michael A. Gyori 
Maui International Language School 
www.mauilanguage.com




________________________________
From: Brant Hayenga <bhayenga at rrps.net>
To: The Learning Disabilities Discussion List <learningdisabilities at nifl.gov>
Sent: Mon, November 2, 2009 8:24:53 AM
Subject: [LearningDisabilities 4214] Re: What does a grade level gain mean?


Tom:
Regression to the mean in response to repeated assessment (where by scores below the mean regress upwards and scores above the mean regress downward to the mean) has nothing to do with instruction. Your example sounds exactly like regression to the mean.
 
I once did a study in which we tested a large group of young men on a
standardized reading test, did nothing, then two weeks later we retested
those who had scored below the 6th grade level again, then did nothing for
another two weeks, then retested those still below the 6th grade level a
third time. This procedure reduced the number scoring below the 6th grade
by 40 percent!
 
Progress monitoring with brief curriculum based measures (CBM) is in my opinion a better way to assess how much a student is improving. Today they read 40 words correct per minute, next month or week, how many can they read? This is not based on norm comparisons, but is a measure of actual functional performance.
 
Brant Hayenga
Educational Diagnostician 
Stapleton Elementary/Rio Rancho Middle School
(505) 896-0667 ext. 226 (District Office)
(505) 891-8473 ext. 519 (Stapleton Elementary)
bhayenga at rrps.net
 
 Please note that RRPS email addresses have changed. Please update your
address books or distribution lists.



      
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