New and existing curriculum-based writing measures: Technical features within and across grades

The purpose of this study was to examine technical features of new and existing curriculum-based measures of written expression in terms of writing task, duration, and scoring procedures. Twenty-five third-, 43 fifth-, and 55 seventhgraders completed passage-copying tasks in 1.5 min and picture, narrative, and expository writing prompts in 3-7 min. Samples were scored quantitatively. Measures that yielded sufficient alternate-form reliability were examined to determine which had sufficient criterion validity, and those with sufficient criterion validity were examined to determine which detected growth from fall to spring. Different types of tasks yielded varying levels of technical adequacy at each grade, with longer durations having stronger technical adequacy for older students and more complex scoring procedures having stronger technical adequacy for all students. Narrative writing appeared most promising in terms of its technical adequacy across grades. Implications for monitoring progress within and across grades are discussed.