AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER EFFICACY AND CURRICULUM-BASED MEASUREMENT AND STUDENT-ACHIEVEMENT

This study examined the relationship between special education teachers' sense of personal and teaching efficacy and (a) their use of a formative evaluation method (curriculum-based measurement) and (b) the amount of growth they effected among their students. Nineteen special education teachers monitored two students with mild disabilities over 16 weeks in math computation using curriculum-based measurement. Results indicated that teachers with high personal efficacy and high teaching efficacy increased end-of-year goals more often for their students; teachers with high teaching efficacy set end-of-year goals that were more ambitious for their students. Teachers with high personal efficacy effected significantly greater growth. Suggestions for additional research and implications for practice are discussed.