The purpose of this thesis was to explore a curriculum based measurement procedure and its reliability for practical applications in the educational setting. Twenty third grade oral reading passages were selected from the Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) system and used to assess reading progress of three third grade classes from different school districts in southwestern Ohio.
The DIBELS system includes a comprehensive assessment system that is validated through research and assesses early reading skill development from kindergarten through sixth grade. The standard procedure of using the one-minute median probe of a three probe administration was compared to the alternative procedure of using only the first of three probes. The correlational analysis of single first probe scores was positive and highly significant with median score probes r(537) = .96, p < .01. This study's discussion included the innovation of progress monitoring tools, the utility of such, legal enactments, a decision making framework in reading for progress monitoring use with the K-12 school system and exploration of a more efficient and reliable solution.