Translating research into practice: Preservice teachers' beliefs about curriculum-based measurement

In this study, we examined the beliefs of preservice teachers following their viewing of one of two videotaped presentations on curriculum-based measurement (CBM). In one presentation, statistical information that supported CBM's validity and utility was provided. In the second presentation, anecdotal "first-person" accounts supporting CBM's utility and validity were provided by a teacher who supposedly used CBM in her classroom. Following the videotape, participants responded to a questionnaire addressing their beliefs about CBM's utility and validity. Questions fell into five categories and were asked from three different orientations. Results revealed no effects for presentation format (statistical or anecdotal), but an interaction between category and question orientation was noted. In general, participants' beliefs were more positive about the utility of CBM than about its validity. This difference was most pronounced for student-oriented questions. Across all question types, participants rated as least positive their beliefs about the validity of the number of words read in 1 minute as an indicator of reading comprehension. Implications for practice are discussed.