Progress monitoring Is the Help Helping?

Objectives Understand the purpose of progress-monitoring Identify what skills to progress monitor Match interventions to student needs Know the features of progress monitoring assessment

Initiating progress monitoring assessments When: After close monitoring of student progress as instruction is being implemented and the result is that the student is not making growth then something about the instruction may have to change. What skills should be monitored is based on data! Sources of data: brief tests of specific skills, observational data, analysis of work products, self-assessment (interview), direct assessment of skills and/or screening data

Subtypes of Reading Difficulty Weaknesses in fluency with accurate decoding and comprehension May have related issues in Attention and Executive Functioning   Decoding at or above benchmark/grade level Comprehension low Poor comprehension with accurate decoding and phonology Language Comprehension Deficit Comprehension at or above benchmark/grade level Good Reader! Decoding low Weakness in word recognition, fluency and comprehension Double Deficit Weakness in phonology and word recognition with better language comprehension Phonological Deficit/Dyslexia

4 categories of instructional need 1. Weaknesses in word recognition, fluency and comprehension 2. Weak phonology and word recognition with good/better language comprehension. 3. Dysfluent reading with accurate word recognition and adequate phonological processing. 4. Poor comprehension with adequate word recognition and phonology.

Weaknesses in word recognition, fluency, and Comprehension (Double Deficit) Need a comprehensive approach that includes the following: a. practice attending to phonological aspects of words b. systematic, direct, cumulative and explicit teaching of the orthographic code c. vocabulary instruction d. fluency strategies/practice e. both listening and reading comprehension at the sentence and discourse level **Spelling and writing are incorporated into the lessons

Weaknesses in phonology and word recognition (better language) Classic “dyslexic” profile. Inaccurate and slow readers Direct Teaching of: Speech sound identity, blending, segmenting Graphemes to represent phonemes, using multisensory techniques Decoding and blending of written words from left to right Automatic recognition of “outlaw” (irregular) words Word and phrase practice for automaticity and Application to text-reading

Dysfluent Reading (Slow but accurate) Students need many exposures to words to develop automatic word recognition. Instructional lessons focus on: Word structure review (base words, inflectional endings, prefixes/suffixes) Tracing/saying/writing high frequency words 1-minute speed drills on component skills Multiple meaning words and semantic associations Preview of vocabulary in a text Phrase reading, and Repeated readings of a text for varied purposes

Poor Comprehension Students need more emphasis on vocabulary and comprehension than word recognition. Lessons are constructed around text that is at their instructional level Activities include: Establishing a purpose for reading Activating prior knowledge or build background knowledge of topic Identifying text structure and organization of text (narrative, expository, etc.) Previewing text, vocabulary, raise questions or make predictions Asking questions or rereading text Paraphrasing in response to queries Summarizing after reading Making meaningful connections to self or world

Types of Progress Monitoring Assessments Mastery Measures CBM’s Focused on specific skills taught during a lesson or unit Given after a unit or sequence of lessons designed to promote mastery. Are informal and not standardized. Scaffolds, supports, and adjustments are allowed. Measures what should be known by the end of the academic year. Used for monitoring progress toward that end-of-year goal. Are standardized, reliable, and valid. Require standard administration and scoring.

Monitoring skill development with mastery tests “Did the student learn what I taught?” Test accuracy and speed with: Writing the alphabet a b c d e Phoneme segmentation cat= /c/ /a/ /t/ Sound-symbol associations Aa= short /a/ or long /a/ Reading words with specific vowel spellings ai, oa, ea, igh Irregular word (sight word) recognition said, was, one Classifying vocabulary words by semantic category nouns, verb, adjectives Sentence copying dictation Generating sentences with several target words conventions of writing

Monitoring progress with cbm’s Typically, one-minute timed readings on graded passages. Used with those students who are below benchmark. Scored for fluency and accuracy. Given in a standardized manner. For students who are well below grade level? Monitor reading subskills (or) Monitor with ORF, one to two levels below grade level norms

Using DIBELS for progress monitoring First Sound Fluency Phoneme Segmentation Nonsense Word Fluency Oral Reading Fluency Daze/Cloze Retell Fluency More emphasis on accuracy than speed

How often should you progress monitor? *As often as needed to determine the effectiveness of instruction but not so often as to detract from instructional time. *For students receiving intensive level of support weekly progress monitoring is recommended when specifically defined skills are being targeted. *For students receiving strategic interventions progress monitoring should be done after 8-10 hours of intervention have been implemented to show a change.

What about non-responders? Consider changing: The intensity of the intervention. Examples: increase sessions from 3 times a week to 5; increase time in sessions from 30 minutes to 45 minutes; have a higher response rate or more concentrated practice The instructional approach or methodology. Examples: more emphasis on multisensory engagement; more focus on underlying skills; smaller steps; more structured or cumulative approach; or more emphasis on word meanings or oral expressive language The group size or composition. Examples: move from two students to one-on-one; change peer group or partners;

Questions about how progress monitoring is implemented How often do you conduct progress-monitoring assessments (PMA’s)? Do your measures have alternative forms? Are the PMA’s administered under standardized conditions? Do you chart the results and share with students? With colleagues? Do you consider the results before making instructional decisions? What challenges, if any, are you facing using progress monitoring?