The use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in schools is increasing, as it is a useful indicator of students’ basic academic skills. CBM measures are often used for identifying students at-risk, monitoring their progress during interventions, and even making special education eligibility determinations. Much of the research has focused on CBM in the area of reading. Relatively few studies have examined the area of CBM-Written Expression. A couple of studies indicated there are gender differences on CBM-Written Expression measures. This study sought to determine if gender differences exist at the elementary level and, if so, at what grade level such differences appear.
This study investigated the differences between boys and girls on three CBM-Written Expression production-dependent scores (i.e., Total Words Written, Words Spelled Correctly, and Correct Word Sequence) across first through fifth grade levels. Statistically significant differences were found beginning in the first grade. However, effect sizes suggest practical differences do not occur until the second or third grade. The results indicate that schools using CBM-Written Expression data should develop genderspecific norms.
","abstract_html":"<p>The use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in schools is increasing, as it is a useful indicator of students’ basic academic skills. CBM measures are often used for identifying students at-risk, monitoring their progress during interventions, and even making special education eligibility determinations. Much of the research has focused on CBM in the area of reading. Relatively few studies have examined the area of CBM-Written Expression. A couple of studies indicated there are gender differences on CBM-Written Expression measures. This study sought to determine if gender differences exist at the elementary level and, if so, at what grade level such differences appear.</p> <p>This study investigated the differences between boys and girls on three CBM-Written Expression production-dependent scores (i.e., Total Words Written, Words Spelled Correctly, and Correct Word Sequence) across first through fifth grade levels. Statistically significant differences were found beginning in the first grade. However, effect sizes suggest practical differences do not occur until the second or third grade. The results indicate that schools using CBM-Written Expression data should develop genderspecific norms.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Melloy, Ashley D."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Specialist in Education","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Cassie Zippay, Dr. Reagan Brown"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:16Z","subjects":["curriculum-based measurement","written expression","gender differences","Child Psychology","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Developmental Psychology","Educational Psychology","School Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1183","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Cassie Zippay, Dr. Reagan Brown"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Melloy, Ashley D."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Specialist in Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["curriculum-based measurement","written expression","gender differences","Child Psychology","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Developmental Psychology","Educational Psychology","School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1183"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in schools is increasing, as it is a useful indicator of students’ basic academic skills. CBM measures are often used for identifying students at-risk, monitoring their progress during interventions, and even making special education eligibility determinations. Much of the research has focused on CBM in the area of reading. Relatively few studies have examined the area of CBM-Written Expression. A couple of studies indicated there are gender differences on CBM-Written Expression measures. This study sought to determine if gender differences exist at the elementary level and, if so, at what grade level such differences appear.
This study investigated the differences between boys and girls on three CBM-Written Expression production-dependent scores (i.e., Total Words Written, Words Spelled Correctly, and Correct Word Sequence) across first through fifth grade levels. Statistically significant differences were found beginning in the first grade. However, effect sizes suggest practical differences do not occur until the second or third grade. The results indicate that schools using CBM-Written Expression data should develop genderspecific norms.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Gender Differences in Written Expression at the Elementary Level"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Cassie Zippay, Dr. Reagan Brown"],"dc:creator":["Melloy, Ashley D."],"dc:description.abstract":["The use of Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) in schools is increasing, as it is a useful indicator of students’ basic academic skills. CBM measures are often used for identifying students at-risk, monitoring their progress during interventions, and even making special education eligibility determinations. Much of the research has focused on CBM in the area of reading. Relatively few studies have examined the area of CBM-Written Expression. A couple of studies indicated there are gender differences on CBM-Written Expression measures. This study sought to determine if gender differences exist at the elementary level and, if so, at what grade level such differences appear.
This study investigated the differences between boys and girls on three CBM-Written Expression production-dependent scores (i.e., Total Words Written, Words Spelled Correctly, and Correct Word Sequence) across first through fifth grade levels. Statistically significant differences were found beginning in the first grade. However, effect sizes suggest practical differences do not occur until the second or third grade. The results indicate that schools using CBM-Written Expression data should develop genderspecific norms.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1183"],"dc:subject":["curriculum-based measurement","written expression","gender differences","Child Psychology","Curriculum and Instruction","Curriculum and Social Inquiry","Developmental Psychology","Educational Psychology","School Psychology"],"dc:title":["Gender Differences in Written Expression at the Elementary Level"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_name":["Specialist in Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:16Z"}