Decoding the Meaning of the Reading Results with an emphasis on dyslexia

1. Decoding the Meaning of the Reading Resultswith an emphasis on dyslexia Brenda Hamm Billstein, M.Ed. Educational Diagnostician/Master Reading Teacher April 2008

2. Goals and Objectives Goals: To promote understanding of reading results when evaluating and the meaning of those results. A focus will be placed on dyslexia characteristics, test instruments, interpretation, diagnosis, report writing, and classroom modifications/accommodations. Objectives: • Participants will: • Define characteristics of Dyslexia • Gain an understanding of effective test instruments. • Examine case studies. • Identify essential phonemic awareness and phonics skills. • Examine effective strategies that can be used to teach phonemic awareness and phonics skills to struggling readers.

3. Agenda • Statistics • Characteristics • Testing Materials • WJ-III • TOWRE • TOSWRF • CTOPP • GORT-4 • Dibels • Diagnosis • Instructional Strategies • Report Writing • Questions and Answers

4. Quotes • "A child who can read is a child who can learn. And a child who can learn is a child who can succeed in school and in life." Ex-Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings • "Our children ... deserve an education worthy of this great nation. Together we will make sure that every child learns and no child is left behind."President George W. Bush

5. What is Dyslexia? • According to TEC 38.003, Dyslexia is a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and socio-cultural opportunity. • IDA defines it as: a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. Characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.

6. The Connections Between Reading Interventions, NCLB, and YOU!

7. Targeted Interventions Gap Gap Benefit: Students Teachers Schools Districts States

8. Statistics • In 2005 nationwide, according to NCES, 62% of 4th graders were not reading proficiently. • 71% of 8th graders were not proficient readers according to NCES. • 70% of those in prison and 70% of those on welfare read at the lowest two literacy levels.

9. Students Who Struggle • Reading is a challenge for about 40% of students. • Approximately half of the students who are challenged will continue to struggle with reading even after instruction in an effective core reading program. Reading Rockets (2006)

10. Findings • The vast majority of the dyslexic population share a common phonological weakness (88%) Sally Shaywitz, 2003

11. Words Addressed to the Child per Hour • Welfare 616 • Working Class 1,251 • Professional 2,153 Language Interaction Per Hour prior to child’s first words • Welfare 7 • Working Class 23 • Professional 42

12. At the Age of Five Years • An average child from a professional family will have heard almost 45 million words • Compared to 13 million words for a child in a welfare family

13. She might see some letters as backwards or upside down; She might see text appearing to jump around on a page; She might not be able to tell the difference between letters that look similar in shape such as o and e and c ; She might not be able to tell the difference between letters that have similar shape but different orientation, such as b and p and d and q ; The letters might look all jumbled up and out of order; The letters and words might look all bunched together; The letters of some words might appear completely backwards, such as the word bird looking like drib ; The letters and words might look o.k., but the dyslexic person might get a severe headache or feel sick to her stomach every time she tries to read; She might see the letters o.k., but not be able to sound out words -- that is, not be able to connect the letters to the sounds they make and understand them; She might be able to connect the letters and sound out words, but not recognize words she has seen before, no matter how many times she has seen them -- each time she would have to start fresh; She might be able to read the words o.k. but not be able to make sense of or remember what she reads, so that she finds herself coming back to read the same passage over and over again.

14. Appears bright, highly intelligent, and articulate but unable to read, write, or spell at grade level. • Labeled lazy, dumb, careless, immature, "not trying hard enough," or "behavior problem." • Isn't "behind enough" or "bad enough" to be helped in the school setting. • High in IQ, yet may not test well academically; tests well orally, but not written. • Feels dumb; has poor self-esteem; hides or covers up weaknesses with ingenious compensatory strategies; easily frustrated and emotional about school reading or testing. • Talented in art, drama, music, sports, mechanics, story-telling, sales, business, designing, building, or engineering. • Seems to "Zone out" or daydream often; gets lost easily or loses track of time. • Difficulty sustaining attention; seems "hyper" or "daydreamer." • Learns best through hands-on experience, demonstrations, experimentation, observation, and visual aids.

15. Vision, Reading, and Spelling • Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading. • Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations. • Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words. • Complains of feeling or seeing non-existent movement while reading, writing, or copying. • Seems to have difficulty with vision, yet eye exams don't reveal a problem. • Extremely keen sighted and observant, or lacks depth perception and peripheral vision. • Reads and rereads with little comprehension. • Spells phonetically and inconsistently.

16. Hearing and Speech • Has extended hearing; hears things not said or apparent to others; easily distracted by sounds. • Difficulty putting thoughts into words; speaks in halting phrases; leaves sentences incomplete; stutters under stress; mispronounces long words, or transposes phrases, words, and syllables when speaking.

17. Writing and Motor Skills • Trouble with writing or copying; pencil grip is unusual; handwriting varies or is illegible. • Clumsy, uncoordinated, poor at ball or team sports; difficulties with fine and/or gross motor skills and tasks; prone to motion-sickness. • Can be ambidextrous, and often confuses left/right, over/under.

18. Math and Time Management • Has difficulty telling time, managing time, learning sequenced information or tasks, or being on time. • Computing math shows dependence on finger counting and other tricks; knows answers, but can't do it on paper. • Can count, but has difficulty counting objects and dealing with money. • Can do arithmetic, but fails word problems; cannot grasp algebra or higher math.

19. Memory and Cognition • Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and faces. • Poor memory for sequences, facts and information that has not been experienced. • Thinks primarily with images and feeling, not sounds or words (little internal dialogue).

20. Behavior, Health, Development and Personality • Extremely disorderly or compulsively orderly. • Can be class clown, trouble-maker, or too quiet. • Had unusually early or late developmental stages (talking, crawling, walking, tying shoes). • Prone to ear infections; sensitive to foods, additives, and chemical products. • Can be an extra deep or light sleeper; bedwetting beyond appropriate age. • Unusually high or low tolerance for pain. • Strong sense of justice; emotionally sensitive; strives for perfection. • Mistakes and symptoms increase dramatically with confusion, time pressure, emotional stress, or poor health.

21. Assessment Is Critical • What type of assessment procedures do you currently use? • What is the purpose of these assessments?

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23. Silent Reading • Why is this important?

24. Success vs Nonsuccess

25. Types of Requests for testing • Dyslexia testing triggers the 504 process. Appropriate 504 notice of rights must be given to the parent, together with notice of 504 evaluation and request for consent for initial evaluation. • Special education—Initial Referral, Additional Assessment Requests

26. Knowledgeable Persons Committee • The reading process • Dyslexia and related disorders • Dyslexia instruction • State and Federal guidelines • Student being evaluated • Assessment instruments • Meaning of the data

27. Sight Words • Of the 220 words on the Dolch word list, 150 are completely phonetic and can be learned by sound. The other 70 conform to simple patterns of exceptions and can be taught phonetically. • When memorizing words as a whole, the eye jumps all around the word. Words taught as wholes by sight encourages development of dyslexia.

28. Signs that a student may need phonics instruction: • Very slow reading • Dislike of reading • Poor spelling • Difficulty reading technical material

29. Comprehension Strategies • Small Parts • Introductions • Background Knowledge • Vocabulary Words • Queries • Phones

30. Measuring Oral Reading Fluency • All teachers should know a student’s instructional, independent, and frustration reading levels Independent—Reads without teacher assistance; comprehension 90% or better; word recognition 95% or better Instructional—Teacher guidance; challenging enough to experience growth; comprehension 75% or better; word recognition 90% or better Frustration—Signs of discomfort; comprehension 50% or less; word recognition less than 90%

31. Failure to demonstrate fluency • Lack of Exposure • The “Good Reader” Syndrome • Lack of Practice Time • Frustration • Missing the “Why” of Reading

32. We don’t have a problem that can’t be solved. • You cannot practice what you are not able to do. Practice for fluency can only occur once a skill has been acquired at no less than a basic level.

33. Evaluating Slow Readers • Have the student read a passage below his/her reading level. • Reads slowly—poor fluency • Reads easily—trouble with decoding or comprehension

34. WJ-III • Suggested Subtests: • Test 1—LWID • Test 2—Reading Fluency • Test 3—Story Recall • Test 6—Math Fluency • Test 7—Spelling • Test 9—Passage Comprehension • Test 13—Word Attack • Test 15—Oral Comprehension • Test 20—Spelling of Sounds

35. TOWRETest of Word Reading Efficiency • 45 Seconds Each • Ages 6-0 to 24-11 • Minimal feedback • Prompting after 3 seconds • Starting points • Discontinuation • Scoring

36. TOSWRFTest of Silent Word Reading Fluency • Ages 6.6 to 17.11 • Measures word id, comprehension, and speed • Gives a estimate of general reading ability • Identifies poor readers • Can be given as a group test • Initial screening

37. CTOPPComprehensive Test of Phonological Processing • Two versions 5-6; 7-24 • 30 minutes administration time • Individually administered • Identifies strengths and weaknesses in phonological processing

38. GORT-4Gray Oral Reading Tests-Fourth Edition • Ages 6-0 to 18-11. • 15 to 45 minutes administration • Fourteen stories; five multiple choice comprehension questions. • Measures rate; accuracy; fluency; comprehension; overall reading ability • Measures oral reading miscues: meaning similarity (perched-sitting); function similarity (a-the); graphic/phonemic similarity (unmannerly-unmotherly); multiple sources; self correction.

40. Grade Level Test • http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/marketing/sfesl/tests/grade1.html#reading1 • Grades 1 – 8 • http://www.k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/Reading/pubdocs/ReadingAssessmentMatrixV12-5-5.doc • San Diego Quick Assessment • http://dibels.uoregon.edu/

49. Obstacles in Teaching High School Students to Read • Most teachers are not “Reading” teachers • Motivation • Scheduling • DAR—Diagnostic Assessment of Reading—Roswell and Chall

50. Interventions for Struggling Readers