CPM: What do Circle Progress Monitoring (CPM) benchmarks indicate?
- Thao.Yoder
Answer
Circle Progress Monitoring (CPM) is a standardized, criterion-referenced measure that aligns well with established standardized tests and is sensitive to growth in children’s skills over time. It compares a student’s knowledge and skills against a predetermined cut score or benchmark. Criterion-referenced assessments use cut scores to place students into categories such as needing support, monitoring, or being on track.
The cut points in the Circle Progress Monitoring (CPM) assessment are not considered "raw" scores. Instead, they are benchmarks or growth indicators that help determine if a student is meeting expected progress levels. The raw scores are the actual numerical values that students receive on the assessment, while the cut points are thresholds set to identify different levels of performance and growth.
The purpose is to learn about the instructional needs and abilities of all students so teachers can gather critical data to drive instruction. This allows the identification of students scoring above and below average. In other words, we designed this as a progress monitoring measure, not a mastery test where students should be able to answer all items correctly. Therefore, we validated a wide range of items to learn about students' different abilities and make informed instructional decisions for students who need support or challenge. The cut points provide a reliable snapshot of where a student is in their academic development based on data gathered through research.