Reflection

on Assessment in Teaching

I have been teaching for two years now and both years I was given sets of data for my students. The first year was a wash with the data, as I had little understanding of how to apply what I needed. I finally did my own investigating and discovered I could look at a lot of helpful information about my students through their benchmarks. This class has taken that even further, as I have a better idea how to apply the information to my students as individuals.

This class made me aware that I don’t have to rely solely on standardized tests. I am so used to everyone screaming “research-based” at me, and for good reason, but I actually came across sections of the text which said that you, as the teacher, sometimes can follow your instincts.

I always write an annual plan for the year, but next years’ will include some planned assessments that are not given by the school to everyone, but by me to my Intensive Reading students. I feel better prepared to investigate assessments and to write actions plans for my students. I wish I had the time in a year to writing a LIP for each of my students, but I know that I cannot. I can, however, try to get my students self-directed and writing their own reading goals for the year, and I can choose the ten lowest students to write LIP’s for, and I will.

I know that my experience is very different working in a charter school, but I also have the unique opportunity of working in a K-8 environment and I will soon be the most qualified reading teacher on staff. I know that I’m doing good work in my Title-1 school and I know that my new skills in assessment will make me a much better teacher. I hope I can be the reading specialist for the school I work at now, because we are in dire need of one.

Next Years Assessment Goals

• Involve students in writing their own reading goals for the year
• Choose an in-class benchmark assessment
• Involve students in self-selected portfolios
• Write LIP’s for Tier 3 RTI students
• Portfolio checks and discussions three times in the year
• 10% improvement minimum for every student in my class from last year’s benchmark scores

I want to make sure I can truly be qualified to teach any grade level reading, but my focus will always be struggling adolescents. Nothing feels better than encouraging a kid who hasn’t felt positive about reading or academics EVER. My students told me reading wasn’t boring anymore, and it was the most touching moment of my teaching career to date. I cannot wait to move forward a better, more hopeful, teacher!

Gimme an R...Gimme a T....Gimme an I: Gearing up for RTI

RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION, YEAH!

RTI came about through the  Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; U.S.

Department of Education, 2004). It meant that schools had to deal with literacy problems and began using the Response to Intervention model.

Three Tiers

Tier 1- Classroom level support

Tier 2- Small group instruction (for a short time period)

Tier 3- Typically 1 on 1 support for the students who struggle the most

RTI is not well researched in the upper grades and does not lend itself to being used there because of the structure of upper level courses. Students also may not benefit from being pulled out of class for TIer 2 and 3 RTI because it is the opposite of making them feel capable and high achieving.

Yet, if a teacher has a strategy that works but is not scientifically well researched, it does not need to be dismissed, just like RTI does not need to be completely removed from upper level grades because it is not well researched in that context. Let’s not limit our teachers.

Supplemental Interventions

RTI is dependent on a teacher’s ability to spot students who are having reading difficulty and then assess them accurately to group them correctly and monitor progress.

My school uses benchmark tests given three to four times a year to find students who fall below the expected standard. Just below the standard for the grade level qualifies a student for a Tier 2 RTI intervention.

Then, when in RTI, the quality of intervention instruction varies wildly. It may be teacher designed, or it may be one of the growing number of commercially available intervention curriculum materials.

INTERVENTIONS SHOULD BE-

• focused on particular reading skills
• communicative with parents
• interactive
• full of dialogue
• with built in checks for progress

Intervention must be INTERVENTION. It should not be typical instruction in the core classroom, but instead specifically designed to meet the needs of students. If you’re doing it right it will be time consuming and intensive.

2 to 3 times a week, 30 minute lessons, at least 20 weeks

FIsher and Frey discuss here how students to teacher ratio should be no more than 5:1, yet in our RTI, we have 20 students will 2 teachers, 20 minutes a day. It was difficult because they are older, behaviorally challenging and we were understaffed. #charterschoolprobz

#title1probz (Just kidding on the hashtags, but really, though)

Parapros should not be doing RTI. RTI should not cause students to miss other instruction (ideally) A reading specialist should be in charge of RTI.

Like the advice of Data Wise, developing a plan for the RTI program with all the facets noted above included will help make successful reading intervention a reality.

High Risk Learners

Create RTI that involves the classroom learning and authentic tasks. HIgh risk learners need specific, thorough and novel learning experiences in RTI that align with the skills they are specifically struggling with. Tier 3 interventions MUST be done by reading and language specialists, and take extensive time and consistent assessment.

5 important features

1. Teacher is critical to success, must be involved
2. comprehensive approach to reading and writing
3. very engaging for the student
4. driven by assessment (DUH!)
5. opportunities for reading AND writing

Students deserve intervention at this level. It is often wasted because the tasks during the regular school day are too difficult and not differentiated for the struggling reader. They may learn during intervention, but they are missing the rest of the day. Parapros are no substitute for reading specialist. RTI should be a time of the day they look forward to, with instruction that assists their current learning goals and targets specific reading strategies. TIer 3 must be totally driven by consistent skill assessment, especially because we love to see them move up to TIer 2 and out of the need for intervention! Progress, progress, progress!

Plan your lessons for RTI, with a purpose! (See Data Wise post for planning ideas)

Tier 3 should be 1:1

Assessment in RTI

So your benchmarks show a student below grade level in reading...now what?

Gather assessment data on the student-“Look through multiple lenses”

Get his/her team together- parents, reading specialists, content area teachers…

Remember, assessment drives RTI.

Use formal, criterion referenced, informal (checklists, anecdotal), rubrics, curriculum assessments, observations and self assessments.

Once data is collected, decision making time! Plan an intervention with checks for progress. Decide what needs to happen and give it a try! Be flexible and positive. Students in RTI need more assessment, but it doesn’t all have to be mind numbing formal assessments, as noted above.

yeah, my tabs are open, but here is an assessment matrix from the book. Nice way to remember to interview and think about outside factors affecting the young learner.

KAPOW: Progress Monitoring

Sometimes students are overrun with resources they don’t know how to use. Not the most important aspect of this chapter, but a valuable piece of information to remember…

Feedback can boost achievement. Students love to see their own progress. Even as a graduate student, I live on the canvas “grades” page and reread my teacher’s comments many times.

Students need to understand what the goal they are trying to achieve is. How is one expected to work hard when they don’t know what the point of it is? ESTABLISH A PURPOSE

Respond to your student’s work.

Not summative, formative.  Don’t note errors alone, provide suggestions and mention positive points

Modify instruction. Be flexible with your lessons and rework what isn’t working for a particular student, especially in RTI where you have a small group. Without feedback, students cannot grow as learners. It helps them self evaluate and self correct.

Check daily for understanding. Create your own assessments. No lesson should start before the assessment and end goal are defined. Have everything ready, especially the progress checks.

Use student work to make instructional decisions and never be scared to do a lesson over if it wasn’t working. My mom, a veteran teachers, always says “drop back five and punt” which I think of constantly when frustrating teaching. Go back, try again differently. :) Maybe she isn’t an ancient master, but it’s great advice.

Leading the RTI REVOLUTION

Much like the advice in datawise, the plan for RTI must be shared by a team/school staff. Everyone should be working together for the success of the students. Yet, all teams need a captain.

So, you’re captain…

discuss and expect quality

develop quality indicators and discuss

Use a protocol to analyze student work together (with you at the helm). With common language and definitions of educator vocabulary, conversations are purposeful and not looping.

Report RTI progress to families. They should be involved. It can be motivating and it’s important that parents understand what it means for their child to be in RTI and what they can do to help them.

Are you ready to lead the literacy revolution? YASSSSSSS.