Coordinating easyCBM with CBMskills
Educators with easyCBM accounts have access to CBMskills. These resources are designed to complement one another. This topic provides information about these different software products.
The Lite Edition of easyCBM includes nine alternate test forms for each of three basic math domains per grade level. Each basic math form has 16 items that test many different problem types per grade within three general domains as noted below.
•K NUMOP|GEO|MSMT
•1 NUMOP|GEO|NUMOPALG
•2 NUMOP|MSMT|NUMOPALG
•3 NUMOP|GEO|NUMOPALG
•4 NUMOP|MDA|NUMOPALG
•5 NUMOP|GMA|NUMOPALG
The Deluxe Edition includes an additional form for each of those grade level basic math domains as well as 13 additional more challenging proficient math forms per grade.The proficient math forms include 25 items in grades K-2 and 30 items in grades 3-5.
In contrast, CBMskills provides nine modules per grade (K-5). Each module has 100 alternate items that test a specific skill.
The two software platforms can be used in conjunction with each other in the following manner.
1. Administer the easyCBM benchmark (BM) screening measures in fall, winter, or spring to determine students’ relative standing (percentile rank – PR). If a student is performing in a low PR (e.g., < 20th PR), consider the student at risk and in need of special interventions (smaller groups, direct instruction, different feedback, etc.).
2. Administer easyCBM progress monitoring (PM) measures to determine if the student is progressing (showing a positive slope).
3. Analyze the problem types where the student is making mistakes. For example, in the PM items displayed, the student may have difficulty with math problems using real world money items or adding real numbers, with or without rounding.
In the Deluxe and District version of easyCBM, it is also possible to view a “Christmas Tree” Item Analysis plot in which items are listed from the easiest to the most difficult, noting the students who missed each item. The display is an inverted V that looks like a Christmas tree: hence, the name. Typically, only a few students miss easy problems, but many students miss difficult problems.
4. Download a .CSV of all students in your easyCBM account (you can do this on the Reports -> Group page) or use your Google Classroom account to roster your students into CBMskills.
5. Form a group of students to take either a grade level set of modules or a combination (subset) of modules from within or across various grade levels.
6. Here are all Grade 5 modules displayed for nine different skills with all items in each skill serving as alternate items.
7. In the example above with easyCBM and with a student needing practice in any of two areas, a subset of modules may be created, consisting of Rounding Decimals or Solving Real World Fractions.
8.Students enroll by entering your designated class code, selecting their name, and taking the modules you’ve assigned to them by completing all the items (in sets of 10) for these two modules.
NOTE: The system uses badges to award proficiency: 70% is Bronze, 80% is Silver, and 90% is Gold. A motivational system is added so that, if a student is within one item of attaining a specific badge, they are administered one more item (making it 11 not 10 items to denote proficiency).
9.Once a student reaches proficiency (at the desired level), the teacher can administer another PM measure from easyCBM to monitor individual improvement on the more general outcome basic or proficient math measure.
10.To ensure students are indeed improving in their relative standing as compared to grade-level peers, evaluate their performance on the next season’s benchmark screening measures.
