Effects of Computer-Based Progress Monitoring on Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

With increasing attention to No Child Left Behind, it is argued that more frequent, descriptive methods of progress monitoring are necessary to address student achievement. This study uses a computer-based progress monitoring system, AIMSweb Progress Monitor, as a feedback tool for students with learning disabilities in a rural southeastern community in Wisconsin. The study uses a single-subject design consisting of three phases. First, each of five participants was tested to establish a baseline. The test used throughout the three phases was an oral reading fluency test that gave each student a passage to read for one minute. The purpose of the test was to see how many words per minute were read by each participant. Next, each student was tested two times a week using the same fluency test without receiving any feedback on their progress. Finally, each student was given the graphs created by the AIMSweb Progress Monitor as a feedback tool on their progress. The findings indicated that the feedback tool increased student achievement of only those that were already showing improvement without the tool.