Walking to Improved Reading Outcomes A Flexible Skill Grouping Success Story Sally Helton and Rachell Keys Tigard Tualatin School District, Oregon

Who We Are Suburban West Coast School District 12,300 students K-12 63% White, 23% Hispanic, 6% Asian 10 Elementary, 3 Middle, 2 High Schools 37% Economically Disadvantaged 12% Limited English Proficient 10.7% Special Education Tigard Tualatin School District

Where Were From

What We Do TTSD Mission Statement: Dedicated to Creating an Environment of Service and Support for Staff and Community in order to Educate Every Child

How We Do It E ffective B ehavior and I nstructional S upport (EBIS) A Systematic MTI/RTI Process used in all schools to: Disaggregate data by race, ethnicity, and special programs (ELL, Special Education) and use research-based methods and materials to increase achievement for all students Use data to find and provide interventions to struggling students quickly and efficiently Progress monitor students in interventions and make changes to interventions as needed Find and provide services to those students with learning disabilities

Begin Implementa- tion of EBS (PBIS) All Schools K- 12 Implementing EBS (PBIS) Begin Implementation of EBIS in all elementary schools with the MTI/RTI Model 2001 Begin Implementation of EBIS in all secondary schools Ensure all K-5 Students Receive Research-Based Reading Instruction 90 Minutes per Day All TTSD Elementary Schools Begin Walk-To-Read Model TTSD EBIS Development Timeline As part of a State Initiative, TTSD Trains 42 School districts throughout Oregon in the MTI/RTI Process

EBIS/RTI Features All students receive 90 minutes of research-based core reading instruction daily (MacMillan) All students screened 3 times per year using DIBELS School-wide meetings held 3 times per year (following DIBELS screening) to review strength of the core and progress of all groups, reevaluate makeup of flexible reading groups, and place appropriate students into reading interventions Students in interventions are progress monitored weekly Grade Level teams meet every 6 weeks to review progress of students in interventions and make changes to skill groups as indicated by in-program assessments and DIBELS

Selection of Students for Groups Grade level teams meet with principal, counselor, literacy specialist, special education and ELD teachers to place students in appropriate walk-to-read classes using the following information: DIBELS screening score MacMillan placement test Teacher Input OAKS scores (Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills)

Changes to Groups Grade Level Teams meet every 6 weeks to review progress of students in interventions and make changes to walk-to-read groups as needed based on data Teams meet after each DIBELS screening (3 times per year) to evaluate the strength of the core program as well as make changes to walk-to read groups based on data At any time, teachers can request a special meeting grade level EBIS team meeting to discuss and make decisions about moving students between groups

Practical Matters There are three to five 1 st and 2 nd grade classes at each school The groups are: Approaching, On, and Beyond as well as Approaching-On and On-Beyond We attempt to have the most skilled teacher working with the lowest (Approaching) group In each school, the Approaching group has the fewest students

Flexible Skill Group Advantages Allows students to receive instruction at their level Allows for more direct instruction/opportunities to respond because skill level of group is more homogeneous Increases level of student engagement Allows for acceleration for students below grade level

Flexible Skill Group Criticisms More transitions may lead to loss of instructional time As students move between teachers they may lose a sense of community More communication is needed between teachers, especially at report card time and parents may not know which teacher to talk with. The lowest performing students wont benefit from modeling by more skilled readers There is little movement between groups and lowest students stay in low group for years Its a segregation model

This Study Began tracking skill group movement with last years first grade students 10 elementary schools Over 800 students

Research Questions What is the ethnic make-up of each walk-to-read group? What is the difference in growth between each walk-to- read group? Is the average growth that non-white students make in order to be moved to a high walk-to-read group significantly different than the growth required by white students? Has the implementation of a walk-to-read model increased the number of students meeting benchmark on the statewide assessment and on DIBELS?

What is the ethnic make- up of each walk-to-read group?

Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Walk-To-Read Groups Middle of First Grade (1/2010) Disproportionate * Number next to group name is the number of students in the group

Racial/Ethnic Makeup of Walk-To-Read Groups Middle of 2 nd Grade (1-2011) But overall, Still Disproportionate By 2 nd Grade our On Group is proportionate!

What is the ethnic make-up of each walk-to-read group? Discussion Our students of color are over-represented in our approaching groups and under-represented in our beyond groups A part of this may be that the approaching group include our English Language Learners Although the make up of the groups is disproportionate, the racial achievement gap has decreased since the implementation of a walk-to read model

What is the difference in growth between each walk-to-read group?

Words Per Minute Growth of Walk-To-Read Groups by group from mid-1 st grade to mid-2 nd grade 48 WPM – Average annual growth for students at the 50 th percentile* * 2006 Hasbrouck & Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Data 20 WPM – Average annual growth for students at the 25 th percentile! * Number next to group name is the number of students in the group

Average ORF Scores

What is the difference in growth between each walk-to-read group? Discussion Fluency increased the most for the students in the Approaching-On and On classes Approaching groups are making significant growth. We are successfully accelerating students so that they are performing closer to grade level. The average score for the approaching group increase from 13 words per minute in the winter of first grade to 60 words per minute in the winter of second grade. This is a significant improvement in the students skill of fluently reading connected text. The average ORF score for all cohort students in January 2011 was 100 wpm, 32 wpm above benchmark

Is the average growth that non-white students make in order to be moved to a higher walk-to-read group significantly different than the growth required by white students?

Average Words Per Minute Growth of Students who moved to a higher group

Percentage of Students who moved up one or more levels from January 2010 to January 2011 Mid 1 st Grade Group 26.6% 25.5%

Is the average growth that non-white students make in order to be moved to a higher walk-to-read group significantly different than the growth required by white students? Discussion The average growth required for non-white students to be moved to a higher group was not significantly different from that required by white students The percentage of students who moved up one or more levels was similar for whites and for students of color. 25.5% of non-white students moved up one or more levels and 26.6% of white students moved up one or more levels.

Has the implementation of a walk-to-read model increased the number of students meeting benchmark on the statewide assessment and on DIBELS?

1 st Grade Performance (ORF) Before and After Walk-to-Read Implementation Year At Risk Student Trajectory Average Student Trajectory Accelerated Student Trajectory First Year of Walk-to-Read Implementation Data from 2004 through 2011

2 nd Grade Performance (ORF) Before and After Walk-to-Read Implementation Year At Risk Student Trajectory Average Student Trajectory Accelerated Student Trajectory First Year of Walk-to-Read Implementation Data from

PERCENT ESTABLISHED ON DIBELS

Has the implementation of a walk-to-read model increased the number of students meeting benchmark on the statewide assessment and on DIBELS? Discussion The Percentage of students meeting benchmarks on OAKS and DIBELS has increased significantly since the implementation of walk-to-read 70% to 89% of students in each grade level are at established (low risk) on DIBELS Over 90% of our 3 rd and 4 th graders passed the statewide assessment last year

Lets take another look at the criticisms of Flexible Skill Groups

Flexible Skill Group Criticisms More transitions may lead to loss of instructional time As students move between teachers they may lose a sense of community More communication is needed between teachers at report card time and parents dont know who to talk with. The lowest performing students dont benefit from modeling by more skilled readers There is little movement between groups and lowest students stay in low group for years Its a segregation model More transitions may lead to loss of instructional time Students are taught routines, given opportunity to practice, and are rewarded for efficient movement between classes. Movement from one class to another is brief generally taking less than 2 minutes. As students move between teachers they may lose a sense of community Teachers know more students and students know more adults in the building and it creates a greater sense of community and collaboration building-wide. What Weve Learned From Using Flexible Skill Groups

More communication is needed between teachers at report card time and parents dont know who to contact. Teaming quickly becomes the norm when meeting structures are in place and times are set aside for teachers to collaborate. Since teachers collaborate regularly, the classroom teacher is knowledgeable about all of his/her students and is the person for parents to contact with questions.

What Weve Learned From Using Flexible Skill Groups The lowest performing students dont benefit from modeling by more skilled readers The lowest performing students benefit from direct instruction at their level with more opportunities to respond. They have opportunities to observe modeling by more skilled readers during the remainder of their day.

What Weve Learned From Using Flexible Skill Groups There is little movement between groups and lowest students stay in low group for years. Approximately 26% of students moved up one or more groups between winter of 1 st and winter of 2 nd grade. There was more movement from the approaching and approaching on groups than the other groups with 31% of the students in the approaching group moving up and 28% of the approaching on group moving up. Although 70% of the students in the approaching group remained in that group after a year, the entire group made strong gains in reading achievement during that year.

What Weve Learned From Using Flexible Skill Groups Its a segregation model The reading groups in this study were disproportionate based on race/ethnicity, with the lowest groups over represented by students of color and the higher groups under represented by students of color. Since the implementation of a walk-to-read model in TTSD, The percentage of students at benchmark has increased significantly. 80% of our 2 nd grade students are at benchmarks in DIBELS. Over 90% of our 3 rd and 4 th graders passed the state assessment last year. The racial achievement gap has narrowed. Its a segregation model an achievement