1. September, 2011 Concord, NH Lynn Fielding 509.528.6920 From Cradle to College: Predicting and Preventing Reading Failure

2. Kennewick Portland

3. Kennewick School District Enrollment: 15,000 Schools: 14 Elementary 4 Middle Schools 3 High Schools 1 Vocational Center 53% Free and Reduced Budget: $152 M Ethnic Make- up: Anglo 74% Hispanic 22% Asian 2% African-American 2% Staff: Teachers 960 Classified 774 Administrators 60

4. The Structure of the Problem

5. MindyTony

6. 6 7 8 9 10 K 1 2 3 4 5 +2 yrs +1 yrs -1 yrs - 2 yrs -3 yrs Grade level Cradle to College NWEA RIT Scale Grade K - 10 0 1 2 3 4 Birth to Five The Most Important Slide in the Presentation

7. 5 Elements of the Solution Goal: 90% 3 rd grade reading goal Curriculum Assessment More Direct Reading Instruction Coaches/Training

9. All students need to make a year of academic growth each year. Students who are 1 to 3 years behind in reading need to make an additional year of growth growth until they catch-up.

10. Parent’s Role “Parents pretty well decide where their child starts kindergarten.” --Lynn Fielding 10

11. Parent’s Role Parent’s role must start at birth, especially with impacted populations

12. 64% of parents believe: “Child will catch up to other children within a year or two.” 27% of parents believe: “Child will be behind other children throughout school years.” 9% of parents: “Not sure”.

13. “Getting your child ready for kindergarten is the indispensable first step in getting him or her ready for college.” --Paul Rosier, Executive Direction, Washington Association of School Administrators 13

14. (and with a slight edge) Adults who consistently do not and can not create double annual growth should not continue to be in charge of creating it for that critical population of students who require it.

15. “…the level of academic achievement that students attain by eighth grade has a larger impact on their college and career readiness by the time they graduate from high school than anything that happens academically in high school.” ACT, Inc: The Forgotten Middle (2009)

16. MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE BANDS Students rarely move from the bottom to the top band. 70% of students are in the same band plus or minus a band in 8 th grade as they were at the end of 3 rd grade. 16

17. 6 7 8 9 10 K 1 2 3 4 5 +2 yrs +1 yrs -1 yrs - 2 yrs -3 yrs Grade level Cradle to College NWEA RIT Scale Grade K - 10 0 1 2 3 4 Birth to Five

18. Reprinted courtesy Larry Wright and The Detroit News.

19. 98% 44% 63% 25% 12% -0% Mindy Tony

20. 54% to 63% of dropouts

21. Odds of Your Child Enrolling in a Four Year University Total number of freshman seats available at four year universities 1,277,700 Number of students at each grade level 3,752,200 Odds at birth of your child enrolling as a freshman in a four-year university one-in-three

22. Community College Completion Rates  Typical annual enrollment at all community colleges 10,133,874  Less non-degree/non-certificate-seeking attendees (12%) -1,216,065  Certificate- or degree-seeking students 8,917,809  Full-time two-year equivalent students 4,458,904  Associate degrees awarded annually 486,293/4,458,904 =  Certificates awarded annually:  Less than one year 133,249  One to two years 94,724  More than two, less than four 8,026  Annual certificates awarded 235,999/4,458,904 =  Total AA and certificates awarded annually 722,292 / 4,458,904 = 11% 5% 16%

23.  Your current structure and resource allocation is perfectly designed for your current results.  Maintain your current program and you can predict June student outcomes in September.  When you can accurately predict the outcomes, you take responsibility for changing them if you are good, and you give up if you are not. The Power of PredictionThe Power of Prediction

25. A Working Example Kennewick, WA

29. When we actually said out loud: “We do not know how to do this.” This was very liberating—because as long as you know what to do, the issue is just working harder at what you have always done. Telling the truth is always very difficult in this process. The 2000 INSIGHTThe 2000 INSIGHT

30. Years 2000-2001 (Year 6)

34. Elements of the Solution

35. 35 Variable-pitch propeller Monocque-light-weight molded body construction Wing flaps Radial air cooled engines Retractable landing gear Name of this plane is reading

36. Elements of the Structure Goal: 90% 3 rd grade reading goal Curriculum Assessment More Direct Reading Instruction Minutes Coaches/Training Reading Foundations

37. Goal 37

38. Goal: 90% 3 rd grade reading goal Board adopted, school wide Why so early:  Because much tougher each later year  Kindergarten – first grade research

39. Is there anything more important than teaching students to read? Yes: Safety After safety, why do we use any of a non-reader’s 6 ¼ hrs. a day on anything other than teaching them to read at grade level, given the consequences?

40. Stating the Obvious Reading is our most basic academic skill. 85% of curriculum is delivered by reading, including math--there are far more words than numbers in math textbooks. No other educational success can compensate for failure to teach reading early and well. Change must affect classroom practice.

41. Before 3 rd grade, students learn to read. After 3 rd grade, they read to learn. It becomes increasingly more difficult for students to learn to read after 3 rd grade. Far more difficult in middle school than elementary school. Harder still in high school where reading teachers are rare. 41

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43. 43

44. …the generally accepted estimate (is) that reading disability accounts for about 80% of all learning disabilities… Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children Snow, Burns et. al. at page 89

45. Curriculum 45

46. Curriculum: Imagine It (formerly Open Court) Direct Instruction ( Reading Mastery (K – 5th grade) Because to get to 90%, you have to go through the students who are three years behind It has to work for your lowest readers.

47. Regardless of different parachute styles, materials, and packing, when parachutists jump, they want their chute to open. Our students, like parachutists, take no comfort in something that worked at a different time and place with a different person but does not work for them. The curriculum must work this year with this year’s students, in your school.

48. Roles in Curriculum Adoption Board and Superintendent:  If students aren’t learning, its bad curriculum, lack of fidelity to good curriculum, lack of teacher competence, or insufficient time. Administrators:  Eliminate unacceptable alternatives from consideration.  Criteria: Research, data showing results  Clear definition of the student objectives of the curriculum (beyond covering the state standards) Teachers:  Get beyond buy-in, sales reps presentations, sales misrepresentations, and political correctness.

49. Assessment 49

50. You can either fight assessment or embrace it. However, you cannot be a high performance school without embracing assessment. --Dave Montague, Washington Elementary (retired) Kennewick, WA

51. There is no point in testing if you don’t look at the data, don’t understand it, and don’t change. --Chuck Watson Vista Elementary (retired) Kennewick WA

52. Northwest Evaluation Association Typical 50 questions per test Computer adaptive Extremely accurate testing- about 5 questions to determine grade level Balance of 45 questions to determine precise grade level and skill strands 24 hour turnaround

53. “IN GOD WE TRUST. EVERYONE ELSE SHOWS THEIR DATA.” -UNKNOWN

54. Assessment and Data Roles The girls basketball analogy Principal must lead as the analyzer of the data.  Not merely enough to be a “relater.”  Understanding data must result in a response, i.e., better structures and better delivery. Teacher, at some point must experience the “ah ha” moment with data  Response to data must translate to “muscle memory” in teaching  Data and assessment are your friend. They provide a view closer to reality that you can see without them.

55. The Great Data Question responding to “I don’t want to change.” So how is that working for you?

56. Coaching & Training 56

57. Coaches/Training: For the Superintendent and Board For Principals  Scheduling  Two/Tens  Fidelity (difficult conversations) For Teachers  Initial summer training  Every six weeks during the school year  Five years, decreasing frequency and refocused as needed

58. More Time 58

59. More Reading Instructional Time 120 minute morning reading block or more  exclusive of spelling, writing, and specials  Exclusive of time which is not eye-ball to eye-ball instruction minutes 60 additional minutes for lowest 20% (2-3 years behind)

60. INSTRUCTIONAL TIME PROPORTIONALLY INCREASED FOR THOSE WHO ARE BEHIND Students who are behind do not learn faster than those who are ahead. Catch-up growth is driven primarily by proportional increases in direct instructional time. Catch-up growth is so difficult to achieve that it can be the product only of quality of instruction in great quantity.

61. Administrators may consider: Actual reading instructions time audits  by classroom  by student for special populations Running proportional instructional time analysis between need and service  Between percentile and minutes of direct instruction.

62. Remember When a student needs to grow at 200% of normal rates for three years to be on grade level,  You will get 100% of this growth from a solid reading program  You may get 10 to 30% from enhanced curriculum  The other 70-90% must come from increased time.

63. And of course No one objects to increasing reading instructional time as long as they know what to do in the additional time. The objections come from cutting less important curriculum to get the time.  Internal objections: Math, social studies, the arts, music, and foreign language (whole child argument)  Externally: 99% of parents choose increased time to teach their child to read.

64. STANDARD READING PLUS INTERVENTION BLOCK MINUTES BY SCHOOL BY GRADE FOR KENNEWICK ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 2002-03

65. The additional growth will stair- step into the following grade for the next three years. A reason why its good to be you!!

66. Principals Became reading experts Attended all the staff reading training Knew where all the kids were (data) Knew the research Were in classrooms, not in the office Established look-fors (inspect your expectations)

68. ENDURE THE EMOTIONAL PAIN OF LEADERSHIP In entrenched low performing schools, teachers will hate and despise you. Principals whom you replace and their friends will resent your higher achievement. You must learn to be the sole holder of impossible beliefs to achieve impossible things until performance provides proof.

69. Teachers Reading is now their priority Trained Teach the curriculum Know where all the kids were Cooks know where the kids were Unheard of levels of teaming Perhaps twice as effective per hour of instruction as they were before

70. 70 $$$ We spend twice as much on the 40% who are behind as the 60% who are ahead.

71. AND IF YOU DON’T? You will be in the remediation business forever. Each August a new wave of kindergarten students hit your beaches, 40% of whom are one, two, and three years behind. You will spend twice as much trying to catch-up the lowest 40% per student as you do on the upper 60%. If you cannot win the game birth to five, you will never win in K-12. 71

72. A Working Example Eastern Kentucky, Western Virginia

73. Goal: 90% 3 rd grade reading goal 6 School Boards and City/County Boards adopt the goal Local Reading Foundations coordinate the media

74. Curriculum: Two hour block: Imagine It One hour block in afternoon for those in the 2st to 20 th percentiles: Direct Instruction  Language for Learning (pre-K to 2)  Reading Mastery (K – 3th grade)

75. Assessment and Data Hardware and software in place on time Principal training on software Providing the reports National data comparisons are a shock for states with low standards

76. More Reading Instructional Time 150 minutes First hour is whole class Second hour  differentiated instruction, ability groups and sized by furthest behind, flooding of personnel in to reduce class size One additional hour (Reading Mastery) for students in the 1 st to 20 th percentile Starting on time, on task during the period, not stopping until the end Starting the second week (vs the third month)

77. Training/Coaches Teachers  2-day summer training  Visits every 7 weeks, for 5 years, adjusted/as needed Principals  2 days summer training  4 times a year, (first 3 weeks, schedule) Boards, Superintendents  Fall training  Winter data and training,  Spring data and training

78. Summer Gain/Loss

79. Reading Foundation/READY! Message to parents – read with your child 20 minutes a day from birth School banners, principal newsletters, reader boards, radio announcements, newspaper articles, billboards, notice in utility bills, reading bookmarks in bank statements,

80. Results: Kennewick 2011 90.22% at or above standard

81. Elgin Results: Kentucky & Virginia