Scoring measures of word dictation curriculum-based measurement in writing: Effects of incremental administration

Spelling has been identified as a key transcription skill that emerges during the elementary years as students learn how to write and subsequently develop fluency with writing, making the assessment of spelling a critical component of evaluation systems within schools. This includes the use of curriculum-based measures of writing (CBM-W). This study examined the extent to which word dictation CBM-W administered during the Fall, Winter, and Spring of an academic year maintained technical adequacy across 1-min time intervals in grades 1–3. Results revealed moderate predictive and concurrent validity estimates with the Spelling subtest of the Weschler Individual Achievement Test-III. Statistically significant differences existed between and within grade levels across each minute of administration and across Fall, Winter, and Spring time points for all scoring procedures.