The Importance of Replication in Measurement Research - Using Curriculum-Based Measures With Postsecondary Students With Developmental Disabilities

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi

Replication underpins the growth of an evidence base in education. This study reports two direct replications of Hosp, Hensley, Huddle, and Ford, testing curriculum-based measurement (CBM) for reading and mathematics with postsecondary students with developmental disabilities. Two cohorts in a 2-year certificate program (n=24 and n=21) completed CBMs for Oral Passage Reading, Maze, Math Computation, and Math Conceptsand Applications, using the same standardized procedures. Descriptive statistics and correlations with Woodcock–Johnson Tests of Achievement–Third Edition were computed. No significant cohort differences in criterion-related validity were found, though replication cohorts did not show the prior Math Computation and Math Conceptsand Applications correlation differences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Replication as an evidence-base foundation

Legislation and research standards

Threats to validity and the scientific method

Types and functions of replication

The Importance of Replication in Measurement Research: Using Curriculum-Based Measures With Postsecondary Students With Developmental Disabilities John L. Hosp, PhD 1, Jeremy W. Ford, PhD2, Sally M. Huddle, PhD3, and Kiersten K. Hensley, PhD4 Assessment for Effective Intervention 2018, Vol. 43(2) 96–109 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2017 Reprints and permissions: [sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[ ](sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav)[DOI: 10.1177/1534508417727489](DOI: 10.1177/1534508417727489)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/1534508417727489)[aei.sagepub.com](aei.sagepub.com) Abstract Replication is a foundation of the development of a knowledge base in an evidence-based field such as education. This study includes two direct replications of Hosp, Hensley, Huddle, and Ford which found evidence of criterion-related validity of curriculum-based measurement (CBM) for reading and mathematics with postsecondary students with developmental disabilities (DD). Participants included two cohorts of postsecondary students with DD enrolled in a 2-year certificate program at a large Midwestern university (n = 24 and 21). Using the same standardized procedures as Hosp et al., participants were administered CBMs for Oral Passage Reading (OPR), Maze, Math Computation, and Math Conceptsand Applications. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlations between CBMs and the content-appropriate Woodcock– Johnson Tests of Achievement–Third Edition were calculated. No significant differences in criterion-related validity coefficients between cohorts were found but differences between the correlations for Math Computation and Math Concepts and Applications identified in Hosp et al. were not found in either replication cohort. Keywords curriculum-based measurement, developmental disabilities, postsecondary, replication In 2002, two pieces of legislation put an increased emphasis on the establishment of an evidence base for the field of education. First, the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (which renamed it as No Child Left Behind or NCLB) emphasized the use of “scientifically based research” as the basis for educational practices citing the term well over 100 times (No Child Left Behind Act, 2002) . On February 6, 2002 Susan Neuman, then the assistant secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education hosted a seminar on scientifically based research which framed the term and its use as the foundation for identification of effective practices in education (Neuman, 2002) . Second was the signing of the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) in November of that year which authorized the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) and established its mission to provide leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge of education which includes effectiveness of educational practices (Education Sciences Reform Act, 2002) . At the time, IES defined randomized controlled trials as the gold standard ina presentation to the American Educational Research Association by Russ Whitehurst, the first director of IES (Whitehurst, 2003) . Because of the shift in emphasis to efficacy of educational practices and programs, this was not an unexpected turn; however, the emphasis on generation of new knowledge has contributed to a “crisis of (non-) replication”(Cook, 2014, p. 233) . Replication is often considered to be at the heart of scientific inquiry (Schmidt, 2009), and education is a field which prizes inquiry. Moreover, replication is important because it is a means of controlling for threats to both internal and external validity that are inherent in any single research study by allowing for a systematic examination of 1 University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA 2Boise State University, ID, USA 3Mesa County Valley School District 51, Grand Junction, CO, USA 4Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA Corresponding Author: John L. Hosp, PhD, Department

FAQs

What was replicated in the study and what population was involved?

The study performed two direct replications of a prior investigation and examined curriculum-based measurement for reading and mathematics. Participants were postsecondary students with developmental disabilities enrolled in a 2-year certificate program.

Which curriculum-based measures were administered?

Participants were given CBMs for Oral Passage Reading (OPR), Maze, Math Computation, and Math Concepts and Applications, following the same standardized procedures as the original study.

What did the results show about criterion-related validity across cohorts?

The study found no significant differences between cohorts in criterion-related validity coefficients. However, it did not observe the correlation differences for Math Computation and Math Conceptsand Applications reported in the original work.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi