1. Aimsweb overview Group-Administered Measures: Training Format
Distribute selected handouts to all participants.
Part 1: Slides 1-20 are designed to be used with an entire faculty in approximately 1 hour.
Handouts Needed:
Blank KWL chart
MNPS Universal Screener Schedule
Part 2: Slides You may choose to ask teachers to administer the whole class assessments. Use these slides if you wish to train teachers on whole class measures at this time.
Recommended Handouts may be printed from the Brainsharks associated with each of the measures. See notes for slides 23, 25, 27, and 29 for details.
Optional Handouts: Slides are available in PDF version for each of the Brainshark videos on whole-class measures (WE, M-COMP, M-CAP, R-MAZE)
Kindergarten teachers may leave at the conclusion of the overview.
Group-Administered Measures: Training Format
45 minutes (approximately)
Written Expression (WE) Grades 1-4
Math Computation (MCOMP) Grades 1-4
1st Grade teachers may leave at this time.
15 minutes (approximately)
Math Concepts & Application (MCAP) Grades 2-4
2nd Grade teachers may leave at this time.
20 minutes (approximately)
MAZE (comprehension) Grades 3-4

2. K–W–L Chart Welcome! Let’s begin with a few questions…
What do I know about aimsweb?
What do I want to know about aimsweb?
Please complete the first two columns of the K-W-L chart with the other members in your group.
Welcome participants
Go over session norms if appropriate
Introduce yourself if appropriate
Complete K and W columns of K-W-L Chart (handout) in small groups
Share out questions and information members want to learn that were generated with small groups after completing the first two columns in the K-W-L Chart
Materials needed:
K-W-L Chart for each participant
Pen or pencil

3. AIMsweb training
#1: Overview for all teachers and faculties on aimsweb components. (this one!)
#2: Training for Benchmark Assessment Team. Each school will determine their own assessment team.
#3: aimsweb Progress Monitoring training for all classroom teachers.
The aimsweb training will be provided in three separate presentations:
This is an overview for all of the faculty to learn the aimsweb components.
The second training will be for each school’s Benchmark Assessment Team. The team will be taught how to give and score benchmark assessments. (In-Service week) Aimsweb is the assessment product for RTII. This is a screening assessment that requires standardized administration to validate the nationally normed scores. There is a testing guide to provide assistance in planning. It is highly recommended that an assessment team (coaches, librarian, counselor, ESEA staff) administer the Oral Reading Fluency for grades 1-8+, Tests of Early Literacy and Early Numeracy for grades K-1 since these are all 1:1 assessments and need consistency from administration to administration. Note to Presenter: Schools may choose to ask classroom teachers to administer whole class benchmark measures (MAZE, MCOMP, MCAP, WE). At the end of this presentation, you will find slides for training teachers to administer these measures.
The third training will be for all classroom teachers. It consists of training for progress monitoring and the setting up and evaluating student progress. (option: 2 consecutive planning periods in September)

4. Essential questions (EQ)
1. What is aimsweb?
2. How does aimsweb fit into the RTII model?
3. What measures are used in aimsweb to assess reading, writing, and math skills ?

5. assessment system used to track student performance over time
EQ: What is aimsweb?
Embedded, printable
assessment protocols
Brief, continuous
assessment system used to track student performance over time
Web-based
data management
and reports
First, lets answer the question what is aimsweb. AIMSweb is a web based, assessment system that allows teachers to screen and monitor student progress on essential reading, writing, and math skills. The assessments are used to help teachers identify which students are at risk of learning failure and helps to also track student progress over time to see if your instruction is giving you the desired growth for your students. The system is web based and the assessments can be printed from within the software. Aimsweb also includes a robust data management suite of reports. Now, let’s take a look at the two main components of aimsweb.

6. Curriculum Based Measures (CBM) as General Indicators
A general indicator is a standardized assessment conducted routinely over time. Like getting a ‘check up’ at the doctor.
What happens every time you go to the doctor?
Height
Weight
Blood pressure
Pulse
Temperature
Curriculum Based Measures serve as general indicators of academic health just as a doctor’s check up serves as an indicator of overall medical health and wellness. Let’s talk this out! What happens every time you go to the doctor? (wait for acceptable answers…)
That’s right! And why do they do these things? (to get a baseline, to see what is normal for you, too see if something is wrong?) What happens if I go for my check up and my BP is 160/90? What happens next? (they make you sit for awhile and then they take it again)
What happens when they take it again if it’s still 160/90? Where am I going? (to the ER!)
When I get to the ER and wait the requisite 6 hours (kidding!) what happens next? (they run blood tests, do an EKG, hook me up to a pulse ox monitor)
WHY do they do all that? (TO DIAGNOSE WHY my BP is so high! )
The simple fact is this: that fact that my BP is high tells my doctor NOTHING except THAT it’s high, NOT WHY it’s high!
Screening for academics works in the same way….screeners tell us who’s at risk not necessarily why they are at risk. Teachers will still have to do some digging to help understand WHY the student is struggling but aimsweb measures serve as the indicator to ensure we don’t miss any students who are at-risk.
And here’s the thing…there isn’t one magical assessment that does all of these things for you. They are all equally important but must be assessed in different ways.

7. CBMs Assess the Foundation!
Example:
Content mastered at secondary
Algebraic equations
Order of Operations
Adding/ subtracting/ multiplication/division
Content mastered at primary
In order to help you better understand how CBM’s fit into the larger assessment picture, we’ve devised a house analogy to help! If you think about building a house from the ground up, we need to ensure we have a solid foundation that the rest of the house can be built on and then need to ensure there are enough supports on the first floor to support the structural weight of the 2nd story. Learning skills and content in school works in much the same way! In order for students to learn advanced concepts like algebraic equations, they first need to learn guiding mathematics principles like order of operations. And before they learn order of operations, student must master basic computational skills like adding, subtracting, multiplication, and division. AIMSweb helps ensure that students are learning these essential building block skills like computation and reading fluency and comprehension so they can go on to master more complex concepts and topics as they grow and learn.
Basic Skills

8. Why is screening with CBM so critical?
When basic skills are weak, we cannot support the processing load of more complicated concepts
The likelihood of failure increases as frustration limits the student’s ability to progress
So, why do we need to screen with a curriculum based measure like AIMSweb? When basic skills are weak, students will quickly begin to struggle with the processing load of more complicated tasks and concepts as they progress in school and the likelihood of failure increases as their frustration limits their ability to progress on pace with their peers.

9. EQ: How does aimsweb fit into the RtII model?
Screening
Progress Monitoring
Data Based Decision Making
Multi-level Prevention System  
So, this graphic comes from the National Center on Response to Intervention and does a great job of illustrating some of the key tenets of a truly responsive system of supports for students. A true RTI model includes the following components:
1. Screening
2. Progress Monitoring
3. Data based decision making
4. and a multi-leveled prevention system
Believe or not, RTI was built on the notion of trying to prevent school failure for kids, not just respond to it quickly if it does happen. So let’s take at look at how aimsweb support these 4 key structures of RTI. 
National Center on Response to Intervention

10. Two components of aimsweb
Benchmarking & Progress Monitoring
When used together, provide a complete picture of student growth
Progress Monitoring
Benchmark Screening +
Aimsweb has both a benchmark screening and progress monitoring component. When we use both together, we get a complete picture of not only how a student is performing on certain key skills but also a picture of their learning over time. Benchmark screening means that we benchmark students 3x/year in the fall, winter, and spring. The screening is intended to help us identify who is ‘at-risk’ of learning challenges. For those ‘at-risk’ students, you have the capability to progress monitor students more frequently.
Fall Universal Screening

11. Benchmark Screening
Benchmark Screening
Three times per year (fall, winter, spring)
ALWAYS on grade level
ALL students are assessed
Specific measures are used at each grade level
K-12 National Norms available
Helps monitor the efficacy of our instructional programs
Let’s take a closer look at the features of Benchmark screening in aimsweb. The idea behind benchmark screening is that it allows us to determine WHO is at risk of learning failure in a class, grade, or school. It also allows us to engage in program evaluation which means determining the health of our core curriculum or the efficacy of our programs and supports for kids.
Screening is completed 3x/year in the fall, winter, and spring. These benchmarks are ALWAYS administered ON grade level so that we can see how wide the student’s skill deficit is from grade level benchmarks.
. It is important to make sure ALL students are assessed: aimsweb is appropriate for most of your students with only a few exceptions.
Benchmark screening accommodations for EL students:
There are no accommodations for EL students.
No rulers, guides, bookmarks, or other manipulatives are to be used during Universal Screening.

12. Progress Monitoring
Progress Monitoring
Occurs as often as weekly
On or off grade level
Can monitor any skill at any grade level
Has the ability to show interventions and goal changes
Allows educators to track students’ response to instruction/intervention
Purpose: To track the student’s response to instruction and intervention
Focus: Tier II and Tier III students
Occurs weekly, biweekly, or triweekly
The data management system documents interventions in place and progress towards goals.

13. The Complete Picture Benchmark Screening & Progress Monitoring
When used together, provide a complete picture of student growth
Fall Benchmark Screening
Aug. 11- Sept. 3
Progress Monitoring
Winter Benchmark Screening Dec. 1-19
Spring Benchmark Screening May 6-15
When used together, the screening and monitoring provide a complete picture of school, as well as student growth, on essential skills over time. The work flow looks like this…begin with screening, then begin monitoring, then screen again, then more monitoring, and again screening in the spring.
Fall Universal Screening

14. All assessments are Nationally Normed
EQ: What measures are used in aimsweb to assess reading, writing, and math skills?
Assessments: K 1 2 3 4
TESTS OF EARLY LITERACY (TEL) 
TESTS OF EARLY NUMERACY (TEN)
ORAL READING (OR)
MAZE (COMPREHENSION)
MATH COMPUTATION (MCOMP)
MATH CONCEPTS & APPLICATION (MCAP)
WRITTEN EXPRESSION (WE)
All assessments are Nationally Normed

15. What is assessed at each grade level?
TEL: Tests of Early Literacy
TEN: Tests of Early Numeracy
LNF
Letter Name Fluency
LSF
Letter Sound Fluency
PSF
Phoneme
Segmentation Fluency
OCM
Oral Counting
NIM
Number Identification
QDM
Quantity Discrimination
MNM
Missing Numbers
Missing Number
Teachers will examine the MNPS Universal Screener Schedule for (handout)
The computer symbol indicates that the measure will be given one-on-one and scored online during the assessment.
LNF: Say the names of visually presented letters for 1 minute
LSF: Say the sounds of visually presented letters for 1 minute
PSF: Say the phonemes in orally presented words for 1 minute
OCM: Rote counting for 1 minute
NIM: Orally identify numbers for 1 minute
QDM: Orally identify the biggest number from a pair of numbers for 1 minute
MNM: Orally identify the missing number from a string of three numbers for 1 minute
The Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) test for Early Literacy is not a component of the MNPS Aimsweb benchmark administration.
In the state RTII framework, assessments for reading (basic skills, oral fluency, and comprehension), writing, and math (calculation and computation) are required. Therefore the district will require those assessments. The Spelling measure from aimsweb is also not required.

16. What is assessed at each grade level?
Reading
Math
Oral Reading OR
MAZE
Writing Expression
WE-CBM
Math Computation
M-COMP
Math Concepts and Applications
M-CAP
Teachers will examine the MNPS Universal Screener Schedule for (in packet!!)
The pencil symbol indicates that the measure is given with paper and pencil in a whole group setting.
OR: The number of words read per minute is a strong indicator of a student’s comprehension
Same three passages are read in fall, winter, and spring
The student reads 3 passages; the median score of correct words and errors is used as the benchmark score.
MAZE:
The student is presented a word passage.
The first sentence is left intact.
After the first sentence, every 7th word is replaced with 3 choices inside a parenthesis.
Written Expression- scored by total number of words written in response to a prompt.
MCOMP: Brief standardized test of basic math skills
MCAP: Brief standardized measure of general mathematical problem solving skills

17. Sample aimsweb Measures
Math Concepts & Applications (MCAP)
MAZE
Math Computation (MCOMP)
Oral Reading (OR)
Materials needed (optional- if you choose to add these pages to the packet….we have not included these in the participant packet):
pages in packet entitled:
Aimsweb Letter Sound Fluency (2 sided copy)
Aimsweb Letter Naming Fluency (2 sided copy)
Aimsweb Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
Aimsweb OR Oral Reading Fluency
Aimsweb W-CBM Story Starters
Aimsweb Number Identification
Aimsweb Computation (2 sided copy)
Aimsweb Math Concepts and Applications
Early Numeracy (TEN)
Written Expression (WE)
Early Literacy (TEL) 17 17

18. Let’s get acquainted with aimsweb!
OPTIONAL: 1. Give participants a brief peak at the online system using the Web Link to access your aimsweb training account:
2.    Use your 'Customer ID Number' that was assigned to you during training.
3.    Your 'Username' will be one of the following, depending on your use of the platform:
·          Manager User = Manager
·          Class Teacher = Johnson or Nguyen
4.    Your Password for either account will be Password1

19. What have we learned about aimsweb?
What do I know ?
What do I want to know?
What did I learn about aimsweb?
K W L

20. Thank you for your time & Attention
Q & A
Thank you for your time & Attention

21. This section is for training classroom teachers on whole class measures
Kindergarten teachers may leave at the conclusion of the overview.
Group-Administered Measures: Training Format
45 minutes (approximately)
Written Expression (WE) Grades 1-4
Math Computation (MCOMP) Grades 1-4
1st Grade teachers may leave at this time.
15 minutes (approximately)
Math Concepts & Application (MCAP) Grades 2-4
2nd Grade teachers may leave at this time.
20 minutes (approximately)
MAZE (comprehension) Grades 3-4
PRESENTER SLIDE ONLY (this slide is hidden to participants)~ You may choose to ask teachers to administer the whole class assessments. Use the rest of the slides if you wish to train teachers on whole class measures at this time.

22. Aimsweb: Whole-Class Measures
Group-Administered Measures:
Written Expression (WE) Grades 1-4
Math Computation (MCOMP) Grades 1-4
1st Grade teachers may leave at this time.
Math Concepts & Application (MCAP) Grades 2-4
2nd Grade teachers may leave at this time.
MAZE (comprehension) Grades 3-4

23. Link to Written Expression Brainshark: http://tinyurl.com/qek53cc
HIDDEN SLIDE- You will be required to enter information into the Pearson Guestbook after clicking on the link to each of the four Brainsharks. You can enter any numbers or letters for the CID.
The next slide introduces the measure to the participants and also includes the link to the Brainshark.
Note: The Brainshark introduces three scoring methods for Written Expression (see slide 16). However, in MNPS we will be scoring only Total Words Written (TWW). Therefore, slides 21-35, 42, and 43 will not apply to our district plan for benchmarking.
Recommended Handouts:
From the “Attachments” tab in the Brainshark, print the following:
AdminAndScoringWE-CBM pages 6-10
WE-CBM Practice Exercises pages 1-2
Optional Handout:
WE-CBM (PDF of Brainshark slides)

24. Written Expression Grades 1-4
We Brainshark:

25. Link to MCOMP Brainshark: http://tiny.cc/awmcomp
HIDDEN SLIDE- You will be required to enter information into the Pearson Guestbook after clicking on the link to each of the four Brainsharks. You can enter any numbers or letters for the CID.
The next slide introduces the measure to the participants and also includes the link to the Brainshark.
Recommended Handouts:
From the “Attachments” tab in the Brainshark, print the following:
M-COMP Administration and Scoring Guide, pages 4-10
M-COMP Practice Exercises, pages 1-3
Optional Handout:
M-COMP (PDF of Brainshark slides)

26. Math computation Grades 1-4
Mcomp Brainshark:

27. Link to MCAP Brainshark: http://tiny.cc/awmcap
HIDDEN SLIDE- You will be required to enter information into the Pearson Guestbook after clicking on the link to each of the four Brainsharks. You can enter any numbers or letters for the CID.
The next slide introduces the measure to the participants and also includes the link to the Brainshark.
Recommended Handouts:
From the “Attachments” tab in the Brainshark, print the following:
M-CAP Administration and Scoring Guide, pages 4-10
M-CAP Practice Exercises, pages 1-5
Optional Handout:
M-CAP (PDF of Brainshark slides)

28. Math Concepts & Application Grades 2-4
Mcap Brainshark:

29. Link to MAZE Brainshark: http://tiny.cc/maze
HIDDEN SLIDE- You will be required to enter information into the Pearson Guestbook after clicking on the link to each of the four Brainsharks. You can enter any numbers or letters for the CID.
The next slide introduces the measure to the participants and also includes the link to the Brainshark.
Recommended Handouts:
From the “Attachments” tab in the Brainshark, print the following:
R-MAZE Directions
R-Maze Practice Exercises
Optional Handout:
R-MAZE (PDF of Brainshark slides)

30. Maze (comprehension) Grades 3-4
Maze Brainshark:

31. Thank you for your time & Attention
Q & A
Thank you for your time & Attention