Moving Readers to Proficiency

1. Moving Readers to Proficiency Using ReadingPlus to motivate and encourage student achievement

2. HCHS Demographics • Hancock Co., Kentucky (Lewisport) • On the Ohio River halfway between Louisville, KY and Evansville, IN • Small, rural county with plenty of industry • Over 1600 students in the district – 2 elementary schools, 1 middle school and 1 high school • HCHS had 475 students in 09/10 and currently has 487 enrolled for 10/11

3. Hancock Co. High School • Less than 5% minority • 35% Free and Reduced population (would qualify for more…) • 45 to 55% of our students go on to college

4. State Accountability Test ComparisonReading Test • Average Incoming Freshman Lexile = 914.2 (As Of September 10, 2010) • That is a 6.0 Grade Level reading ability. • With active reading instruction, students MAY increase 100 Lexile points per year. (High estimate based on Cross-Curricular Reading Instruction.) • Average growth per year in high school is 50 lexile points or .5 grade level per year. (source: MetraMetrics research) • By the March ACT junior year, projected Lexile level would be 1214.2. • Still 200 Lexile points BELOW the ACT reading exam. So, what are WE doing?

5. Reading Programs • Our SBDM passed a policy (Summer 2005) that required ANY student not reading at grade level to take a Reading Class in addition to the required Language Arts class. • 9th Grade Students who are tested and considered more than one year below Reading Level. • Reading students remain in reading classes each year until they “test out”

6. How it all began • Former student surveys indicated need for more reading • Two years of reading course with no curriculum and no textbooks yielded poor results -TABE Test, too many failures -KCCT Reading, yo-yo effect -ACT Reading scores below National Average • Saw the need for something new and innovative

7. Reading Curriculum Reading class curriculum consists of: • The Seven Keys to Comprehension by Susan Zimmerman and Chryse Hutchins • Intensive Vocabulary Instruction Year One = Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes Year Two = Hot Words for the SAT • Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) • Reading Plus

8. Placement Procedures • SBDM Policy 3.03 – Revised August 2008 • Based on EPAS (EXPLORE, PLAN, ACT) Data Benchmarks for College/Career Readiness • Based on RTI legislation, the bottom 20% of students not meeting these benchmarks must be remediated at Tier II – these students go into the class. • This is ABOVE & BEYOND state regulation.

9. Example Data • All EPAS DATA is entered into an EXCEL Workbook for use in multiple departments for RTI, Classroom Instruction, and Scheduling purposes. • Green indicates students who meet their benchmark. • Yellow indicates students in the top 80% of those NOT meeting the benchmark. (Tier I – classroom remediation and monitoring) • Red indicates the bottom 20% placed in a Reading course and Tier II intervention.

10. Reading Across Content Areas • LEAD-independent and group reading/discussion • Classroom thinking strategies (see packet) • Summer PD 2010 • Independent reading projects

11. Reading Results • Results!! • Kentucky Core Contest Test (State Assessment) • Student Scores range from Novice-Low, Novice-Mid, Novice-High, Apprentice-Low, Apprentice-Mid, Apprentice-High, Proficient and Distinguished • In 2009, 84.1% of our sophomores scored Proficient or Distinguished! • Only 10 students scored less than Apprentice-High with ONE Novice!

12. HCHS Academic Success (ACT) • ACT Comparison (HCHS Graduates)

13. What ReadingPlusIs • An internet based, differentiated reading program • A tool for struggling, adequate, AND advanced students • A comprehension program • A fluency program • A homework tool for independent readers

14. What ReadingPlus is NOT • A complete reading curriculum • A replacement for direct reading instruction • A substitute for sustained silent reading • An unstructured free time for students

15. Obstacles we faced • Lab space • Funding • Buy-in, district and school level • Parental support

16. Student Accountability Rewards Grades • Immediate • Consistent • Simple • Feasible • Motivating • Consistent • Fair

17. Rewards Individual Whole Class • 70% or higher 3 times in a row on GR = sucker • 80% or higher five times in a row= chocolate • Reaching two out of three goals on GR (Comprehension goal, I-Rate, G-Rate)= 5 bonus points on anything – points used that week • 70% average comprehension at the end of each nine weeks= drop one quiz grade • 80% of class earns 70% or better five (5) times in a row = Movie Day • 80% of class Level Up 1 = free period in gym • 90% of class meet WPM goal three (3) times in a row = donuts or pizza! • 100% of class level up 2 = field trip!

18. Grades • Guided Reading is a daily grade each session. • Vocabulary (Cloze Plus or RAW) is a daily grade once per week.

19. Teacher matters • All great programs rely on attentive and consistent teachers! • Must be positive! • Must be motivating! • Must be attentive! • Learning the hard way…

20. HCHS Site Report 2009-2010

21. Reading I

22. Reading II

23. Advanced Juniors

24. Lists each student’s individual scores on specific reading skills that are aligned with standards. Student Skills Report

25. Standardized Results • Advanced Juniors – average ACT Reading increase, 8.4 • KCCT Reading – 98 to 103 in one year! • 2010 Junior ACT -78 Juniors completed at least 20 RPlus sessions -53 Juniors did not complete ANY RPlus sessions -Average reading score for RPlus Juniors = 19.72 -Average reading score for non-RPlus Juniors = 17.29 -ReadingPlus students scores were 2.43 scale points higher than those not enrolled in the program -A 3rd year reading student who has completed ReadingPlus for 3 years scored a 30 in Reading!

26. ReadingPlus with RTI • Works as a Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III intervention • Differentiation caters to individual needs and skills • Can use skills report to assess key weaknesses, such as “identifying main idea,” or “making inferences” • Because all students in a class are involved, students do NOT feel singled out

27. Hornets READ!