PSM/RtI Formal Evaluation Level 2 at Middle School Curriculum Based Assessment

Objectives Define and discuss the following tools used in Responsiveness to Instruction: – Curriculum-based Assessment and Norms – Baseline data, Goals and Aimlines, Progress Monitoring – Graphing data – Decision-making rules – Revisions of Hypotheses/Interventions (Level 2 e)

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) Data collection tools derived directly from the curriculum that student is expected to learn

Curriculum Based Assessment (CBA) CBM is believed to reduce the gap between assessment and instruction Aides teachers in improving instruction Improved communication Higher level of sensitivity Administration time is shorter More cost effective

To Use CBAs in RtI: Normative Data is Required Why do we do it? How is it useful? – To provide comparison data on skill levels of students with the same curriculum and demographics of our county When or how often do we do it? – Every 5 years How do we do it? – Stratified Random Sample – Fall, Winter and Spring Windows

ACADEMICS Reading, Math and Written Language Probes; e.g., CBAs

Probes: Measuring Academic Skills Reading: The Big Five Areas – Phonemic Awareness – Phonics – Fluency – Vocabulary – Comprehension

Probes: Measuring Academic Skills Math – Calculation – Numbers and Operations – Measurement and Geometry – Algebra – Data Analysis (Grades 6 and 8) – Probability (Grade 7) Written Expression – Conventions – Spelling

EVALUATION THAT INFORMS INSTRUCTION Baseline Data: How do the student’s skills compare to those of peers (normative sample) Goals and Aimlines: Where would we like the student’s skills to be at the end of the designated intervention period? Progress Monitoring: Is the student developing the skills we are teaching? Decision Rules: Do we need to change what we are doing?

Baseline Data: Comparison to Peers How is Baseline Data Collected? Student is given the grade level probes used in norming Administration starts with the first item on the page each time Over 3 days in one week Median scores in each probe area are compared to the grade level norms

Determining Where to Intervene Skills of student compared to peers Lowest level skills (the building blocks)

Back Sampling and Diagnostic Assessment Back Sampling – If the student’s skills in the lowest skill areas on grade level are weak, then baseline data is collected on the probes for the previous grade level to inform instruction. Diagnostic Assessment – Can be completed by reviewing actual skills in an area. Ex. Which sounds/blends/digraphs does the student know? Which math facts are known?

Skills: Discrete or Complex Discrete Skills are generally taught by practice and over learning. These might include as phonemic awareness, blends, sight recognition, fluency, math calculation, etc. Complex Skill Sets required a combination of skills to perform. These might include fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, math concepts, written expression, etc

Fluency: Discrete or Complex? Fluency might be considered – Complex if it is the highest level skill on which the staff are intervening with the student because the student is still working on building blocks or prerequisite skills such as phonological awareness, phonics and/or sight words – Discrete if it is the lowest level skill on which the staff are intervening because the requisite skills are there, but the student needs practice for speed

Plotting Baseline Data Student A--0, 5, 3 – What is the median score? – Where do you plot it on the graph?graph Student B—25, 20, 23 What is the median score? – What is the median score? – Where do you plot it on the graph?graph Student C—0, 0, 10 – What is the median score? – Where do you plot it on the graph?graph

Goals: What should we use? Where would we like the student’s skills to be at the end of the designated intervention period? Considerations: Is the skill a building block to higher level skills? Is the skill discrete or complex? Is it likely to take more or less time and/or intensity to bring the skills up to proficiency?

Types of Goals 1. District (NHCS) Norms District (NHCS) Norms 2. District Behavior Standards District Behavior Standards 3. Growth Rates NHCS Data - Can be done for any skill, any grade level for which norm data is available 4. Class Norms 5. Minimum Celeration Finder

1. Using District Norms Goals are selected from the norms tables by grade level. The norms tables are located in the Special Education and Related Services manual on the web.norms tables Often the 25 th percentile is chosen, but there are times when that is too ambitious for a student and the 13 th is used instead. Goals be selected by the date of the end point of the intervention. Example: If the baseline data was from the week of 10/26/09 (Fall Norms) but the goal is set for 6 weeks later (12/7/09), the goal should be selected from the Winter Norms.

2. NHCS Behavior Standards: Will be addressed in a workshop in March

3. Growth Rate: Using Growth Rate to Set a Goal Gives you a growth expectancy for each week of school year Allows for obtaining student’s baseline then monitoring progress while comparing to growth expectancy. Determine the number of weeks of intervention. Multiply the calculated growth rate by number of weeks of intervention Add to baseline median.

3. Growth Rate: How Do We Calculate It? Take a seasonal norm (fall to winter or winter to spring) Subtract the earlier seasonal norm, and divide by 10 (for NHCS probes) or For example; Winter Norm minus Fall Norm, divided by ten weeks

3. Growth rate calculation: Fall to Winter – Grade 6, Fluency (13 th percentile) Grade 6, Fluency – Winter Norm minus Fall Norm, divided by ten weeks – / 10 = 0.79 words per week – For this reading fluency measure, students are acquiring a little under 1 words per week, thus if a intervention plan is for six weeks then the student should acquire a little under 5 words in the six weeks

3. Growth Rate Calculations: Fall to Spring – Grade 6, Fluency (13 th percentile) Grade 6, Fluency – Spring Norm minus Fall Norm, divided by 20 weeks – / 20 = words per week – For this reading fluency measure, students are acquiring a little over 1 words per week, thus if a intervention plan is for six weeks then the student should acquire a little over 7 words in the six weeks

4. Classroom Norms: Why? You may choose to norm a class or grade level on a probe that was not used for state or local norming. Most likely when probes from previous grade levels need to be used to determine entitlement. To do class or grade level norms, the school must: – Give the probe(s) to the entire group, – Administer each probe 3 times in a week. You will probably want to do this Fall, Winter and Spring.

4. Classroom Norms: How do you get one? To do class or grade level norms, the school must: – Give the chosen probe(s) to a sample that is representative of the school population In a school with heterogeneous grouping, the student’s classroom will do In a school with homogeneous grouping you may have to balance out the student’s classroom with another or even norm the entire grade – Administer each probe 3 times in a week.

4. Classroom Norms: How do you get one? Once you have the class or grade level data – Add all the students’ scores for all 3 days together. – Compute the Mean score by dividing by the total of the students’ scores by the total number of probe administrations. Ex. 3 administrations with 25 students would equal a divisor of 75. You may want to do a mean for more than one season: Fall and Winter, Winter and Spring

4. Using Classroom Norms Setting Goals: – Class or Grade Level Mean – Minimum Celeration Finder Determining Whether a Student’s Skills are Discrepant After Intervention: – Divide the class or grade level Mean by the Median of the Student’s last 3 data points. – Class Mean ÷ Student’s Median ≥ 2

Computing Two Times Discrepant Ex. Class Mean is 40. Student Median is ÷ 20 = 2 Student is discrepant. Non Ex. Class Mean is 40. Student Median is ÷ 22 = 1.89 Student is not discrepant.

5. Minimum Celeration Finder Celeration rates from the Precision Teaching program can be used for goal setting consideration The lines on the overlay indicate different celeration slopes or rates of progress Depending on how ambitious the team wants the goal to be different rates of progress can be used

Minimum Celeration

Plotting Baselines, Goals and Aimlines Student A--0, 5, 3 (Grade 6, Vocabulary, Fall to Winter) Student A- – District Norm - 16 (30 th Percentile) District Norm

Plotting Baselines, Goals and Aimlines Student B— 25, 20, 23 (Grade 6, Reading Mazes, Winter to Spring) Student B – District Norm - 35 (30 th Percentile) District Norm

Progress Monitoring: Why? Time and cost efficient Sensitive to changes over short periods of time Frequent and repeated data collection (dependent upon student’s level/tier) and analysis of student performance Use data to inform instruction in specific skills.

Progress Monitoring How does it differ from collection of baseline data? – Use alternative probes with the baseline probe included as the cycle of alternative probes allows. – For probes such as blends or sight words, or math skills, start at the line after the last line used on the third baseline probe or use alternative probe. – Alternate probes have (are) being developed for reading fluency, reading comprehension, and math areas. DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency probes (available online) may be used at Grade 6.available online

Progress Monitoring: When? Differentiated Instruction and Tier 1: May use ClassScapes, Reading or Math Assessment, Progress Monitoring materials as part of standard protocol intervention program, Probes, etc. Generally less frequent or even pre-intervention and post-intervention.

Progress Monitoring: When? Tier 2 a: Grade Level Probes Normed by the County, At least two probe areas Recommend weekly progress monitoring Tier 2 b: Grade Level Probes Normed by the County, At least two probe areas Minimum of 5 times per 2 week period

Type of Progress Monitoring NHCS Tier 1 Depends on Intervention Plan Evaluation Design Tier 2 a Depends on Intervention Plan Evaluation Design Tier 2b Normed Probes in 2 Areas:

Frequency of Progress Monitoring NHCS Tier 1 Depends on Intervention Plan Evaluation Design Tier 2 a Depends on Intervention Plan Evaluation Design Tier 2b Every Other Day

REVISIONS OF HYPOTHESES/INTERVENTIONS How do we know when to change the intervention?

REVISIONS OF HYPOTHESES/INTERVENTIONS How do we know when to change the intervention?

Decision-making rules: What type of skill is involved? Discrete Skills such as blends, sight recognition, fluency: – Consider 3 to 4 below the line to change hypothesis/intervention – 4 to 6 above the line to raise goal and aimline or discontinue (25 th percentile) and move on the next skill in the hierarchy

Decision-making rules: What type of skill is involved? Complex Skill Sets such as fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension, math, written expression, etc: – Consider how many days/weeks it might take to show improvement or be certain skill is developed Given probe administration 5 times in two weeks: How many data points below the line should be considered before changing hypothesis/intervention? How many data points above the line should be considered before changing the goal or considering a change back to Tier 1 or 2?

REVISIONS OF HYPOTHESES/INTERVENTIONS How do you know what to change?

REVISIONS OF HYPOTHESES/INTERVENTIONS Intervention Intensity Does the data show progress toward the goal? Intervention Strategy/Hypothesis Does the data NOT show progress toward the goal?

Graphing Progress Monitoring and Revisions of Hypotheses/Interventions Level 2e

Graphs Student A – Baseline 0, 5, 3 – Week 1 3, 1, 6 – Week 2 4, 5 – Week 3 6, 6, 7 – Week 4 9, 15,15 What does this data tell you? Would you change the hypothesis/intervention? If so, how? If not, why? Showing revisions

Graphs: Progress Monitoring Student B – Baseline 25, 20, 23 – Week 1 19,18, 19 – Week 2 17, 19, 20 What does this data tell you? Would you change the hypothesis/intervention ? If so, when and how? If not, why? – Week 3 30, 33 – Week 440, 45, 50 What hypotheses would you have about the improvement given the choices you made at the end of Week 2? Showing Revisions

Growth Rate: Computing the Growth Rate for an Individual Student Median of Last 3 Data Points minus Median Score at Baseline Divide by the number of weeks of intervention. Do not count weeks when intervention was not delivered or monitored at all: Vacation, Illness or Weather-related Student A: 15 – 3 divided by 4 = 3 wds/wk Student B: 45 – 23 divided by 4 = 5.5 wds/wk

Trendlines Another Measure of Growth Rate

Trend lines: How Do They Show Growth? Line that you draw through a series of data points that represents the student’s actual rate of progress If the trend line slope is flatter than the aimline, then adjust intervention If the trend line slope is steeper than the aimline then adjust goal or area of intervention If the slopes are the same make no change.

Trend Line Procedures: Can be done in Excel - Draw a horizontal line through median of first half of data – form an intersection with vertical line – Draw a horizontal line through median of second half of data – form an intersection with vertical line – Connect the two intersections – Make your decision, is it the same decision?

Trend Lines and Entitlement Criteria Used to determine how long it will be before the student’s skills are likely to be proficient – Required for Behavior Entitlement – Can be used for Academics as well

Alternatives – In academics, can add student’s current growth rate to the median of the last 3 data points to determine how many weeks it will take the student to meet proficiency standards.

Example: Short Term Intervention Needed Student is in Grade 6 and is receiving intervention in reading fluency On 3/1/10, the median of the last 3 data points for the student is 105 The student’s growth rate is 4.5 words per week The 30 th percentile for Spring is 150 In 10 weeks, the student is likely to have reached proficiency on this probe: – 150 – 105 = 45 – 4.5 x 10 = 45

Example: Long-term Intervention Needed Student is in Grade 6 and is receiving intervention in reading fluency On 3/1/10, the median of the last 3 data points for the student is 105 The student’s growth rate is 1.5 words/week The student will need 30 weeks to become proficient – 150 – 105 = 45 – 1.5 x 30 = 45 By that time the student will be into the next school year and, possibly, in the next grade level with even more difficult reading passages to master.

WHAT DOES THE DATA SHOW? Comparison to peers, e.g. normative data – Is the student above or below the 13 th, 25th/30 th or 50 th percentile for academics – Has the student met behavior goals?

WHAT DOES THE DATA SHOW? Growth rate and trend lines – How does the growth rate compare to students in the normed sample at the 13 th, 25 th, and 50 th percentiles? – When does the trend line indicate that the student is going to achieve proficiency? Academic—25 th /30 th percentile Behavior—75 percent or 100 percent

WHAT DOES THE DATA SHOW? Growth rate and trend lines – How does the growth rate compare to students in the normed sample at the 13 th, 25 th, and 50 th percentiles? – When does the trend line indicate that the student is going to achieve proficiency? Academic—25 th /30 th percentile Behavior—75 percent or 100 percent

Additional Training 1/28/10Level 2 using RtI as Formal Evaluation 2/4/10PSM/RtI: IEPs, Exit Criteria, and Reevaluations 3/8/10Behavior Data Collection

Nancy Kreykenbohm, Ph.D. Coordinator, PSM/RtI Program School Psychologist Level III Phone: