Navigating Progress Monitoring: A Guide for Parents in St. Charles, Missouri
- Jan 21
- 10 min read
Updated: Mar 24
I recently co-authored a chapter on progress monitoring for a newly published educational textbook—a project I'm genuinely excited about! Progress monitoring is an incredibly powerful tool that helps educators figure out if an intervention is actually working or if it needs tweaking. In my work as a school psychologist, I’ve found that while schools share this data with families, parents often have deeper questions about what it means and how to use it to advocate for their child. Some families don’t even know this data is being collected weekly! This post will give you the knowledge and tools to confidently navigate progress monitoring conversations at your child's school.
How Schools Track Student Progress...and What You Need to Know to Advocate for Your Child
Your child is receiving reading tutoring, extra math help, or another intervention at school. Weeks go by. How do you know if it’s actually working? This is where progress monitoring comes in—a powerful tool that schools use to track whether interventions are helping your child catch up. As a researcher who studies educational assessment and a practitioner who supports families on this journey, I want to demystify this process so you can be an informed advocate for your child.
What is Progress Monitoring?
Progress monitoring is exactly what it sounds like: frequently checking in on your child's academic progress to see if they're on track to meet their goals. Think of it like a GPS for learning. It tells you where your child is now, where they need to go, and whether the current route (the intervention) is getting them there.
The concept has been around for 50 years, but it’s become especially important in the past 15 years as schools have adopted Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). Research is clear: when schools collect progress monitoring data the right way and use it to make decisions, student achievement increases.
The catch? Many teachers struggle to use progress monitoring effectively. Some only use one type of assessment when multiple tools would be better. Others aren’t sure how to interpret the data. This creates a critical gap—and one where informed parents can make a real difference.
Three Types of Progress Monitoring Tools
Schools use three main approaches to track student progress. Understanding the difference can help you ask better questions about your child's intervention.
1. Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM): The Most Common Approach
CBM involves brief, standardized assessments given weekly or bi-weekly. Think of these as "quick checks" on specific skills:
Reading CBM might involve:
Reading a passage aloud for one minute while someone counts words read correctly.
Completing a "maze" passage where your child fills in missing words.
Math CBM typically includes:
Timed math fact assessments (1-2 minutes).
Problems targeting specific skills like addition, subtraction, or fractions.
Writing CBM asks students to:
Write for 3-7 minutes in response to a prompt.
Scores are based on total words written, words spelled correctly, or correct word sequences.
The advantage: CBM provides a "big picture" view of overall reading, math, or writing ability. These measures are well-researched, with strong evidence that they predict performance on state tests. For reading, CBM scores correlate with standardized achievement tests at rates of .60 to .80—that’s quite strong!
The limitation: Because CBM measures broad skills, it might not detect improvement in specific areas your child is working on. For example, if your child is learning phonics but the CBM measures overall reading fluency, progress might not show up right away.
2. Computer-Adaptive Tests (CAT): The High-Tech Option
You may have heard of STAR Reading, STAR Math, or MAP (Measures of Academic Progress). These are computer-adaptive tests that adjust question difficulty based on your child's responses—getting harder if they're doing well, easier if they're struggling.
The advantage: CATs are efficient (usually 10-20 minutes), automatically scored, and cover a wide range of skills. They're particularly useful for students at the very beginning stages of learning, like kindergarteners just starting to read. Research shows that collecting CAT data monthly can lead to sound decisions about whether interventions are working.
The limitation: While overall scores are reliable, be cautious about putting too much stock in the "domain scores" that break down performance by specific skills. These subscores often contain too few questions to be truly reliable for individual students.
3. Subskill Mastery Measures (SMM): The Precision Tool
This is the approach many parents haven't heard of, but it can be incredibly valuable. SMMs focus on the exact skill your child is learning right now.
Examples include:
A one-minute assessment of reading words that contain the phonics pattern being taught (like words with the "oa" sound).
A brief test on the specific type of math problem your child is practicing (like two-digit addition with regrouping).
Phonemic awareness tasks like blending or segmenting sounds.
The advantage: SMMs are extremely sensitive to learning. They can show progress in specific skills even when broader measures haven’t caught up yet. This prevents teams from abandoning effective interventions too early.
The limitation: SMMs only measure narrow skills, so they need to be paired with broader measures to get the complete picture.
How Often Should Progress Be Monitored?
This matters more than you might think.
For CBM and SMM: Weekly assessment is the gold standard for students receiving intensive interventions. This provides enough data to make informed decisions.
For CAT: Monthly assessments are sufficient. In fact, research shows that assessing every 4 weeks for 20 weeks provides psychometrically sound data. Weekly CAT assessment can work too, but you need at least 16 weeks of data to get reliable growth estimates.
Important note: The intervention needs to run long enough to collect meaningful data. Quick decisions based on just 2-3 data points are often wrong.
How Schools Should Interpret the Data
This is where things get technical, but stay with me—understanding this empowers you to ask the right questions.
Schools should look at two things:
1. Point in Time Performance: Where Is Your Child Right Now?
Think of this as a snapshot. Is your child's current performance at, above, or below grade-level expectations?
For CBM: Schools should compare your child's score to benchmark standards. Scores below the 25th percentile definitely indicate difficulty; scores below the 40th percentile may also suggest concern.
For CAT: Focus on percentile ranks, not grade-equivalent scores (which are often misleading). Below the 25th percentile is concerning; below the 40th percentile warrants attention.
For SMM: Schools look at whether your child is at an "instructional level"—the sweet spot where the work is challenging but not frustrating. For most tasks, this means 90% accuracy. For reading connected text, it's 93-97% of words read correctly. For math computation, there are specific ranges based on grade level (14-31 digits correct per minute for grades 2-3, 24-49 for grades 4-5).
2. Rate of Improvement: Is Your Child Catching Up?
A snapshot only tells you where your child is today. The slope of improvement tells you if they're catching up to their peers.
The wrong way (but still common): Some schools use "datapoint rules" where they draw a goal line and see if weekly scores stay above or below it. Four scores below the line = intervention not working. Research shows this method is highly unreliable—it leads to wrong decisions more than 70% of the time.
The right way: Schools should use "trendline rules" that look at the overall pattern of growth across all data points, not just individual ups and downs. This is like looking at your investment portfolio's overall trajectory rather than freaking out about daily fluctuations.
Here’s what this looks like in practice: If your second-grader needs to go from reading 49 words per minute in fall to 94 words per minute in spring (the benchmark goals), that’s a slope of about 1.41 words per week. If your child's actual growth is above that slope, the intervention is working. Below it, something needs to change.
The Critical Timeline: When Can Schools Make Decisions?
This is crucial information that many parents don’t know:
After 6 weeks of data: Schools can start making low-stakes decisions about whether to tweak the intervention (add more practice time, adjust the teaching approach, etc.).
After 12 weeks of data: Schools can make high-stakes decisions like moving your child to more intensive support (Tier 2 to Tier 3) or reducing support (Tier 2 back to Tier 1).
Why the difference? Growth estimates are statistically unstable with few data points. Making major resource decisions (like recommending special education evaluation) based on only 6 weeks of data has a high error rate. Twelve weeks provides the reliability needed for important decisions.
Four Possible Outcomes (And What They Mean)
When schools analyze progress monitoring data correctly, they should reach one of four conclusions:
1. The Intervention Worked (Graduation!)
What this looks like: At least 12 data points showing growth above the target slope AND recent scores above the proficiency benchmark.
What happens: Your child exits the intervention and returns to regular instruction.
Example: After 24 weeks of intervention, your child is reading above grade-level expectations and growing faster than needed.
2. The Intervention Is Working (Keep Going!)
What this looks like: Growth slope is good, but your child hasn’t reached the proficiency benchmark yet.
What happens: Continue the intervention exactly as is.
Example: Your child is making 1.75 words per week progress (above the 1.41 target) but is at 84 words per minute when the spring goal is 94.
3. The Intervention Is Not Working Yet (Tweak It)
What this looks like: Growth is below target AND performance is below benchmark BUT there’s less than 12 weeks of data.
What happens: Modify the intervention without adding more resources—perhaps add more modeling, increase practice time, or add transfer activities.
Important: SMM data is especially helpful here for figuring out what to adjust.
4. The Intervention Did Not Work (Major Change Needed)
What this looks like: After at least 12 weeks, both growth and performance are below targets.
What happens: Intensify support significantly—move from Tier 2 to Tier 3, increase intervention time, or begin special education evaluation.
Why the wait: This prevents overreaction to early struggles.
Real-World Example: When Different Data Tell Different Stories
Let me share a real case that illustrates why multiple types of progress monitoring matter:
Ryan, a third-grader, was receiving phonics intervention four times per week. His weekly CBM reading scores (the broad measure) showed growth of only 0.54 words per minute per week...well below the target of 1.28. After 6 weeks, the team was concerned.
But they also had two other data sources:
His Nonsense Word Fluency scores (measuring phonics specifically) increased from 55 to 79 correct letter sounds per minute...excellent growth!
He correctly read at least 90% of words on weekly word lists containing the phonics patterns being taught.
What was happening? Ryan was learning phonics skills beautifully, but hadn’t yet transferred those skills to reading connected text fluently. The team wisely decided to increase practice time and add specific activities to help Ryan apply his phonics knowledge in reading. After adjusting the intervention, his CBM slope jumped to 2.66 words per minute per week...nearly double the target.
If the team had only looked at CBM data and abandoned the intervention, they would have thrown away an approach that was actually working well. The SMM data saved them time and helped their decision-making!
Questions to Ask Your Child's School
Armed with this knowledge, here are powerful questions to ask during parent-teacher conferences or intervention meetings:
About the assessment itself:
"What type of progress monitoring are you using—CBM, CAT, or subskill measures?"
"How often are you collecting data?"
"Can I see the graph of my child's progress?"
About interpreting the data:
"What is the target slope or rate of improvement for my child?"
"How does my child's actual growth compare to that target?"
"What percentile or benchmark level is my child at currently?"
"If you're using multiple types of measures, what is each one telling you?"
About decision-making:
"How many weeks of data do you have?"
"What decision rules are you using to determine if the intervention is working?"
10. "Based on the data, what's the next step?"
The red flags:
If the school can't show you a clear graph of progress over time.
If decisions are being made with fewer than 6 weeks of data.
If they're making major changes (like discontinuing intervention or recommending special education) with fewer than 12 weeks of data.
If they're only using one type of measure when your child is in intensive intervention.
What to Do If Progress Monitoring Isn't Happening
Unfortunately, not all schools implement progress monitoring well. If you suspect this is the case:
Document everything: Keep your own records of your child's test scores, report cards, and any information the school shares about progress.
Request it in writing: If your child is receiving intervention, send an email asking: "How are you monitoring my child's progress in the intervention? How often are assessments given, and can I see the results?"
Know your rights: If your child has an IEP (Individualized Education Program), progress monitoring is legally required. If your child doesn't have an IEP but is receiving intensive intervention, progress monitoring is considered best practice and you can advocate for it.
Bring data to meetings: If you're tracking progress at home (like timing your child reading each week), bring that data to school meetings. It adds valuable information.
Consider requesting evaluation: If interventions continue without clear progress monitoring and your child continues to struggle, you have the right to request a special education evaluation in writing.
Families in St. Charles County and the greater St. Louis area can contact Minds in Progress to request an independent educational evaluation if their child's school interventions aren't producing results or to discuss school consultation services.
The Bottom Line for Parents
Progress monitoring is one of the most powerful tools schools have to help struggling students—but only if it's done right. The research is clear:
✓ Frequency matters: Weekly for CBM/SMM, monthly for CAT
✓ Multiple measures are better than one: Especially for students in intensive intervention
✓ Time matters: At least 6 weeks to tweak, 12 weeks for major decisions
✓ Trendlines beat datapoints: Overall growth patterns matter more than individual ups and downs
✓ Don't give up too soon: Sometimes skills take time to transfer to broader measures
As a parent, you don’t need to become an assessment expert. But understanding these basics helps you:
Ask informed questions.
Recognize when your child's intervention is being monitored appropriately.
Advocate for changes when the data clearly shows something isn’t working.
Celebrate genuine progress when you see it.
Your child's time is precious. Every week spent in an ineffective intervention is a week of lost learning. Good progress monitoring ensures that your child gets the right help, at the right intensity, at the right time. And that’s worth understanding!
Want to learn more? The National Center on Intensive Intervention provides a free Academic Progress Monitoring Tools Chart that reviews specific assessment tools and their research evidence. You can find it at intensiveintervention.org.
If your child has been receiving interventions without meaningful progress, it may be time for a comprehensive psychoeducational evaluation. Learn more about evaluations at Minds in Progress