Comparison of Grade-Level Controlled and Literature-Based Maze CBM Reading Passages

Abstract Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of silent reading fluency using the maze task has been shown to be a useful tool for evaluating students' silent reading skills. No prior research has evaluated whether the source of the maze passages has a relationship with the obtained reading scores. Prior research with CBM of oral reading fluency (ORF) has shown that passage source is related to students' scores. The current preliminary study compared students' scores on matched reading-level-controlled and literature-based maze passages. A random sample (N = 21) of fifth grade students at one school completed three grade-level controlled and three literature-based passages in the Fall, Winter, and Spring of one school year. Results indicated that the maze score levels for the two passage types were highly correlated, but the scores on the controlled passages were higher than the literature-based passages. The findings are discussed with respect to the potential importance of matching instructional and assessment materials.