SLD Academy 2.0 Houston Independent School District

Academy Goals Review building blocks of reading Understand characteristics of a reading disablity Review building blocks of mathematics Assess a functional limitation

Evaluation of Reading Skills 3 Phonemic awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Text comprehension National Panel of Reading. Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks of Reading Instruction, 2003

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation Good readers have figured out that letters and letter patterns represent segmented units of sounds (phonemes). Poor readers have difficulty making this connection. Alphabetic Principle Remember: A deficit in phonemic awareness is the primary culprit.

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation Phonology versus Orthography Phonology: the sounds of a language Orthography: the marks of a writing system, including the spelling patterns of a language Reading and spelling nonwords that adhere to English spelling rules requires both abilities.

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation Early Speech/Language Difficulties Articulation errors Mispronunciations of multisyllabic words Characteristics of Phonological Reading Disabilities Decoding/Encoding Trouble remembering sound-symbol relationships Confusion with similar-sounding sounds Difficulty sequencing sounds in a word Overreliance on whole-word, context, or visual clues Trouble pronouncing phonically regular nonsense words Difficulty using phonological analysis (omits or adds sounds or letters) Slow reading rate

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation Symbols/Decoding/Encoding/Calculating Difficulty learning how to form symbols Confusion of symbols similar in appearance (e.g., b for d, n for u) Trouble with near- and far-point copying tasks Tendency to reverse or transpose letters or numbers Trouble remembering how words look Trouble reading exception or irregular words Trouble with accurate and rapid word recognition; slow reading speed Tendency to use different spellings for the same word Tendency to omit word endings Overreliance on phonological rather than visual features Trouble learning and retaining basic math facts Difficulty counting in a sequence (e.g., counting by 2) Trouble with multistep math problems Characteristics of Orthographic Reading Disabilities

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation phonological deficits word recognition/decoding deficits vocabulary deficits & inadequate background knowledge lack of familiarity with semantic and syntactic structures lack of knowledge about different writing conventions lack of verbal reasoning ability limited ability to remember and/or recall verbal information Reasons for Difficulties in Reading Comprehension

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation Determining the Presence of a Reading Disability Oral Language Listening Comprehension Oral Vocabulary Reading Reading Comprehension Reading Vocabulary

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation Basic Reading Skills Real words Reading fluency Reading Comprehension Nonsense words Fluency on other types of tasks (math, writing, cognitive) Determining the Presence of a Reading Disability

© 2008 Statewide Leadership: Evaluation Reading Disability: Yes, No, Maybe? Reading Composite93 Basic Reading Skills74 Reading Comprehension92 Real Words88 Nonsense Words70 Reading Fluency89 Reading Vocabulary94 Oral Language115 Listening Comprehension110 Oral Vocabulary112 Write down what you think. Explain your thinking. What other information do you need? Note: 5 th grade student

12 Phonemic Awareness PhonicsFluencyVocabularyComprehension

Marco 13 Fourth-grade student Beginning of Year Benchmark: 4 out of 5 reading comprehension objectives below 60%. Overall Score 64% Fluency Running Record: 100 WPM, 50 th percentile Define the referral question

14 Phonemic Awareness PhonicsFluencyVocabularyComprehension

Cedric 15 Second-grade student Beginning of Year Benchmark: 5 out of 5 reading comprehension objectives below 40%. Overall Score 54% Running Record Fluency: 21 WPM, 10 th percentile TPRI: (Still developing) 9 out 10 objectives below grade level expectations Define the referral question

16 Phonemic Awareness PhonicsFluencyVocabularyComprehension

Evaluation of Math Skills Numeracy Correspondence Sign to Operation Computation Fact fluency/Automaticity with facts Problem Solving Reasoning

Functional Limitation Examiners must gather academic achievement data to confirm or reject the referral question to determine if a functional limitation exists. Most of the academic achievement data should be present within the referral, however, if the needed data is not within the referral this does not release the Evaluation Specialists from the responsibility of finding the data!

Functional Limitation? Academic Achievement? Cognitive?

Functional Limitation (cont.) Obtain academic achievement data from three different categories. Academic Achievement Data (inter- comparison). Defines the level of learning. Performance or Progress Monitoring Data (intra-comparison). Defines the rate of learning. Observational Data (inter-comparison) Dual Discrepancy Three levels of data

Academic Achievement Data Answers the question, “How does the student compare relative to same-aged peers over time?” Compares the student to a criterion or a level over time, the criterion or level is often “70” or “pass/fail.” Academic Achievement includes TAKS (Vertical) scores Teacher tests Daily assignments Benchmark assessments Individual student work

Performance or Progress Monitoring Data Answers the question, “Has the student demonstrated individual progress relative to him/herself?” Compares the student to him/herself overtime. Running records Math timed fact quizzes TPRI Eearly literacy probes Early mathematics probes (i.e. counting) Objective tracking TAKS (vertical scale) TAKS growth estimates (Campus Online) WJ-III Achievement (RPI)

Observational Data Answers the question, “Does the student demonstrate qualitative behavioral characteristics consistent with the reason for referral?” Includes teacher/examiner observations of the student to detail student behaviors in comparison to same aged peers in the specific areas of academic concern. Reading comprehension concerns = observations during tasks requiring reading comprehension Math problem solving concerns = observation during tasks requiring math problem solving

Review the brief case study Are the three levels of data present? Where would you add to this interpretation of a functional limitation?

Four Levels of Report Writing Informal Academic Achievement Progress Norm Referenced

Report Review Form