Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Assessment Louisiana Reading First Writer’s Workshop - August 25, 2003 Susan L. Hall(847)

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Assessment Louisiana Reading First Writer’s Workshop - August 25, 2003 Topics to be Covered Four Types of Assessment in Reading First Assessments Defined in Louisiana’s Plan District Choices Overview of DIBELS Seeing the Potential of DIBELS –Success Stories from Schools

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Reading First Program Includes Multiple Components Core Reading Curriculum Leadership Assessment Professional Development

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Four Kinds of Assessments Outcome – Assessments that provide a bottom-line evaluation of the effectiveness of the reading program Screening – Assessments that are administered to determine which children are at risk for reading difficulty and need additional intervention Diagnosis – Assessments that help teachers plan instruction by providing in-depth information about students’ skills and instructional needs Progress Monitoring- Assessments that determine if students are making adequate progress or need more intervention to achieve grade level reading outcomes

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. How Can Assessments Help Our District Improve Reading Outcomes?

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Early Screening Identifies Children who Need Additional Intervention 201 randomly selected children from five elementary schools serving children from mixed SES and ethnic backgrounds –followed from the beginning of 1 st grade to the end of 4th grade Children who scored low on phonemic awareness and letter knowledge at the beginning of first grade –Started with lower skills –Made less progress –Fell further and further below grade level as they progressed from first through fourth grade. For example, in one longitudinal study: Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Grade level corresponding to age Reading grade level At Risk on Early Screening Early Screening Identifies Children At Risk of Reading Difficulty Low Risk on Early Screening Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Additional Instructional Intervention Changes Reading Outcomes Four years later, the researchers went back to the same school. Two major changes were implemented: First, a research-based comprehensive reading program was implemented for all students, and Second, children at risk for reading difficulty were randomly assigned to a control group or to a group receiving substantial instructional intervention. Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Grade level corresponding to age Reading grade level Early Intervention Changes Reading Outcomes At Risk on Early Screening Low Risk on Early Screening 3.2 Control With research- based core but without extra instructional intervention 4.9 Intervention With substantial instructional intervention Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Research-Based, Comprehensive Reading Program and Substantial Instructional Intervention Both a research-based comprehensive reading program and substantial instructional intervention were needed for children at risk of reading difficulty. Children receiving substantial additional instructional intervention beyond an effective comprehensive reading program: –Progressed more rapidly than control students, –Had reading skills more like the low risk group than the at risk group, and –Were reading about at grade level. Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Improving the Reading Program by Adding Assessment and Intervention Hartsfield Elementary School Characteristics: –70% Free and Reduced Lunch (increasing) –65% minority (mostly African-American) Elements of Curriculum Change: –Movement to a more research-based reading curriculum beginning in school year for K-2 (incomplete implementation) –Improved implementation in Implementation in Fall of 1996 of screening and more intensive small group instruction for at-risk students Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Improved implementation of research-based comprehensive reading program Screening at beginning of first grade, with additional instructional intervention for those in bottom 30-40% Proportion falling below the 25th percentile in word reading ability at the end of first grade Average Percentile for entire grade (n=105) Hartsfield Elementary School Progress Over Five Years Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Progress Monitoring Assessment Children respond differently, even to instruction that is research based and usually effective. If we are to get all children at grade level, we must get each child at grade level -- and keep them there. We need to identify early when children begin to get off track and make necessary modifications to instruction or provide additional instructional intervention to keep them on track for at grade level reading outcomes. Slide from Reading First Leadership Academy

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Louisiana Reading First Districts Will Choose Some Assessments ScreeningDiagnosticProgress Monitoring Outcome Phonemic Awareness DIBELS (K-1) District Choice DIBELS (K-1) DIBELS (K-1) Phonics DIBELS (K-2) District Choice DIBELS (K-2) DIBELS (K-1) Fluency DIBELS (1-3) District Choice DIBELS (1-3) DIBELS (1-3) Vocabulary PPVT, 3 rd edition (K-3) District Choice PPVT, 3 rd edition (K-3) Comprehension GORT IV (1-3) District Choice GORT IV (1-3) District Choice – using state-approved lists

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. What is DIBELS?

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. DIBELS is an Early Literacy Screening Tool Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Free on Intranet – Developed by the Institute for the Development of Educational Achievement University of Oregon, College of Education

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Reading Trajectories are Remarkably Stable (Good, Simmons, & Smith, 1998) Students on a poor reading trajectory are at risk for poor academic and behavioral outcomes in school and beyond.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Reaching Benchmark at Each Stage Improves Odds of Reading Winter Kindergarten SpringWinter First Grade Spring Phoneme Segmentation Fluency 35 pspm Initial Sound Fluency 25 ispm Nonsense Word Fluency 50 graphemes pm Oral Reading Fluency 40 wpm

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. DIBELS Assesses the 5 Essential Components of Reading Instruction Pre-K K123 XXX XXX X XXXXXX X XXXX X XXXX ISF PSF LNF NWF WUF ORF Retell Phonemic Awareness Phonics Vocabulary Fluency Comprehension

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Practice This is mouse, flowers, pillow, letters (point to each picture while saying its name). Mouse begins with the sound /m/ (point to the mouse). Listen: /m/, mouse. Which one begins with the sounds /fl/? DIBELS Initial Sound Fluency (ISF)

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. DIBELS Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) I am going to say a word. After I say it, you tell me all the sounds in the word. So, if I say, “sam,” you would say /s/ /a/ /m/. Let’s try one. (one second pause). Tell me the sounds in “mop” Ok. Here is your first word.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Nonsense Word PRACTICE Look at this word (point to the first word on the practice probe). It’s a make-believe word. Watch me read the word: /s/ /i/ /m/ “sim” (point to each letter then run your finger fast beneath the whole word). I can say the sounds of the letters, /s/ /i/ /m/ (point to each letter), or I can read the whole word “sim” (run your finger fast beneath the whole word). simlut Practice Items

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) Here are some more make- believe words (point to the student probe). Start here (point to the first word) and go across the page (point across the page). When I say “begin”, read the words the best you can. Point to each letter and tell me the sound or tell me the whole word. Put your finger on the first word. Ready, begin.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Example of Classroom Reports Classroom reports enable us to see the recommended level of support for each students, based on national norms for benchmark. The two levels of additional support are Strategic Support and Intensive Support.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. DIBELS Scores Fall Into 3 Groups Benchmark Strategic Support Intensive Support minutes per day Small groups possibly out of classroom (aides) 3 students to 1 instructor Strategic Support 15 minutes per day Center time in the classroom Classroom teacher Each school will have a different way of delivering support. All benchmark students are screened 3 x per year to make sure they stay on track.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. The Value of DIBELS is Using the Data to Inform Instruction and Monitor Progress

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Progress Monitoring- Is Instructional Support Sufficient Now? Phoneme Segmentation Fluency Aimline

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Reviewing Outcomes - School Level 1998 – 99 First Grade Reading 28% Established Readers 57% Emerging Readers 15% Non-Readers

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Reviewing Outcomes - School Level 1999 – 00 First Grade Reading 57% Established Readers 36% Emerging Readers 6% Non-Readers

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Role of Mid First Alphabetic Principle

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Are groups making adequate progress? High, Middle, and Low groups are making progress, but only the high group is attaining midyear goals predictive of successful reading outcomes Modified to 50

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Why Look at Success Stories? 2 Reasons: 1. Provide a Vision for What Can be Achieved in Your School 2. Help to Visualize What Intervention Groups Could Look Like in Your School

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Success Stories: Examples of Schools Using DIBELS Data & Intervention Groups 2 schools in the NW suburbs of Chicago School in NW Indiana Each school tends to develop its own way of organizing intervention

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Overview of School A’s Implementation Year 1 – OctFebMay Year 2 – OctFebMay All students screened Staff develops PA activities Whole class PA activities Small Intervention Groups Receive PA activities XXXXXX K1 K K K K K Progress Monitoring XX 1

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Kindergarten Intervention for Children Whose Skills are Below Benchmark Whole Class –Phonological awareness activities included At-risk Students –Receive extra intervention –1 time per week for 1 hour – on Fridays –All students go to multi-purpose room –Stations set up and children rotate 3 times during hour –Instruction provided by multiple personnel –Students grouped by skill deficits –Groups can be across grade level also

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Kindergarten Intervention 5 “stations” Listening Activities Auditory Blending Segmenting Phonemes Manipulating Phonemes Syllabication The at-risk students rotate to 3 stations during the hour – once every 20 minutes. Children work at 3 skill deficit areas.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Examples of Activities at Stations Not Complex or Costly Syllabication Clap, Tap and Snap –Using the same deck of cards with class pictures, children draw a card and then choose to clap, tap or snap the syllables in someone’s name Listening Activities Soundtracks Bingo –Children listen to tape recorded environmental sounds (e.g. fire engine siren) and match the sound to a picture on a “bingo” card

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Activities, cont. Phoneme Manipulation What’s Left? This is a phoneme deletion task. Words are read aloud and the children repeat the word. Then they are asked to repeat the word, but omit the first sound (e.g. say “bike”. Now say it again without the /b/ sound. “ike”) Phoneme Segmentation Unifix Cube The students are given unifix cubes of different colors. The teacher models how to segment words into phonemes using the cubes and the children think of new words to segment.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Results of Kindergarten Intervention 1 st Measure - Initial Sound Fluency Year 1 Intervention only provided from Feb to May. Year 2 Intervention from October to May.

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. 2 nd Year – Added 1 st Grade Intervention Some whole group instruction in classes Intervention Groups –2 times per week (Mon. and Wed. – 9-10:00)

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Another School (School X) in Chicago Area Problem –Approximately 30% of 3 rd graders were referred for testing for reading difficulties Question: –Is the current reading curriculum “working” for most of the students? –Is the problem that too many students are not catching up from K on?

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Early Intervention Plan of School X All Kindergarten Students –Structured daily reading instruction (20 mins) Phonemic Awareness Alphabetic Principle “At-risk” K-2 nd Grade Students –Supplementary daily strategic intervention (20 mins.) Phonemic Awareness Alphabetic Principle Continuous Monitoring of Early Literacy Skills with DIBELS

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Results of School X Kindergarten – Phoneme Segmentation Fluency Intervention Groups from October to January. The gap was more than closed during this partial year intervention. Benchmark

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. Videos and Pictures of Intervention Groups Plus DIBELS Progress Monitoring Results for Sample Intervention Group

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. DIBELS Progress Monitoring for 3 Girls in Intervention Group First Grade Group

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. How do We Link Instructional Decisions to the Data? DATAInstructional Strategies

Susan L. Hall - Not to be reproduced without permission. What Does It Take for My Staff to Use DIBELS to its Fullest? Leadership from the Principal Resources to Deliver Intervention Groups Excellent Training Follow-up with Coaching and Support