Manipulating Graph Elements to Assess Preservice Special Educators’ Evaluation of Progress Monitoring Data

Enhancing special educators’ data literacy is critical to informing instructional decision-making, especially for students with learning disabilities. One tool special educators commonly use is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). These data are displayed on time-series graphs, and student responsiveness is evaluated. Graph construction varies and may impact teacher interpretation. This experiment focused on isolating two graphical elements, (a) the presence of an aimline and (b) data points per x-to y-axis ratio (DPPXYR), to determine if they served as analysis-altering elements. Participants, 31 preservice special educators enrolled in two Assessment in Special Education courses, evaluated 48 CBM graphs representing eight data sets with six manipulations. The presence of an aimline significantly increased accuracy in evaluating progress monitoring data, whereas the DPPXYR did not impact decisions. The study outlines the importance of incorporating aimlines into CBM graphs to improve special educators’ data literacy, thus enhancing instructional decision-making and the learning outcomes of students with learning disabilities. Further discussion will explore detailed implications for CBM graph construction and use in the classroom.