Universal screening in grades K-2: A systematic review and meta-analysis of early reading curriculum-based measures

In reading, several curriculum-based measures (CBM) are used for universal screening in Grades K-2. This study summarized the criterion-related validity of early reading CBM tools used in the context of universal screening. After the application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 54 studies (53 documents across 34 articles, 16 dissertations, and 3 technical reports) were identified through a systematic review of the literature through December 2018. Forty-eight studies (47 documents across 31 articles, 15 dissertations, and 2 technical reports) were included in the meta-analysis, representing 47,168 students in the US who were enrolled in Grades K, 1, or 2 when they completed the screening measure. A random effects meta-analysis with robust variance estimation was conducted separately for concurrent and predictive correlations to estimate the average effect size between each early reading CBM and the reading outcome measures. Aggregated concurrent Pearson correlation coefficients (r) ranged from 0.343 (phoneme segmenting CBM predicting more complex reading skills) to 0.750 (nonsense words CBM predicting oral reading skills). Aggregated correlations were similar in magnitude for predictive validity. For some measures, correlations were moderated by administration lag. Findings have implications for research and practice regarding the use of universal reading screeners in the early elementary grades.