Reading Interventions and RTI: Changing General Education

1. Reading Interventions and RTI: Changing General Education Donna Scherr, Region XIV 325-675-8680 dscherr@esc14.net

2. RTI, Response to Intervention • “RTI is a process where a student’s response to appropriate, high-quality, research-based instruction and intervention is documented across tiered levels of services.” Dr. Jan Hasbrouck

3. The Goal of RTI: PREVENTION • “Reduce the number of students with academic or behavior problems designated as “disabled.” Dr. Jan Hasbrouck How can RTI accomplish this goal?

4. Research has confirmed that we can PREVENT • many, if not most, reading difficulties that are not brain based. Dr. Jan Hasbrouck • Therefore we can prevent incorrectly labeling a child.

5. Favorite Success Stories • Reading First Leadership Summit, 2009 • Look at La Vega Elementary, Houston ISD or even our own Highland ISD. • http://www.meadowscenter.org/vgc/pd/trfi/summit2009.asp

6. Reading First Leadership Summit • Common Themes: • Data • Leadership • Sustained Professional Development • TIER I enhanced • Regular Team Meetings

7. Doing What Works • Find lessons. • Find video clips of interventions in action. • http://dww.ed.gov/ • Learn what works. • See how it works. • Do what works.

8. Practice Guides • What Works Clearinghouse • http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/ • Practice Guides cover all subjects

9. NEW Research on Adolescent Literacy • Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success • Final report from Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy • http://www.carnegie.org/literacy/tta/

10. Time to Act Findings • Reading is developmental. • Literacy must be taught across the core and by core content teachers who help students understand the vocabulary and increase the comprehension of the text within their own disciplines.

11. TALA • TALA initiative teaches middle school teachers how to do this! • Therefore, an excellent way to change TIER is to make sure that 6-8th grade social studies, math, science and ELA teachers attend TALA----and use the routines!

12. TALA Success Story • Outside Evaluators reported to TEA that 6th grade EL learners and at-risk students, in schools with a high degree of TALA routines implementation, improved on their TAKS reading tests. • TALA will therefore be funded for two more years!

13. Time to Act Success Story • Duncan Polytechnical High School, Fresno, CA • 91% free and reduced-price means • 34% EL learners

14. Duncan Polytechnical High School, Fresno, CA • Change started with strategies for effective textbooks, moved to writing across core, added 30 minutes of professional development daily. • Leadership opportunities spread across the school and expected!

15. Duncan Success • All content teachers must teach literacy of their content; they can’t say, “ ‘I am not a teacher of reading’ ” (pg.40).

16. Duncan Success • Entering students receive foundation in technological literacy skills as well as strong foundation in math, reading and language arts.

17. Duncan Success • SSR 20 minutes daily • Summer Bridge Program for incoming freshman • 9th grade reading class focused on advanced expository text and college level reading

18. Duncan Transformation • Formerly “an occupational training school for dropouts or nonacademic students seeking the basics of vocation” (pg.39)

19. Today… • 97% graduation rate/18% complete baccalaureate degree • NASSP’s Breakthrough High School recognition • U.S. News and World Report bronze medal • Surpassed seven other schools within Fresno Unified School District • One of CA’s highest achieving schools

20. TEA: Best Practices Clearinghouse • http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/bestprac/ • Our very own Wylie High School is highlighted for instruction in high school science!

21. Other Places to Find Success Stories • Institute of Education Services http://ies.ed.gov/ • National Center on Response to Intervention http://www.rti4success.org/ • Building RTI Capacity http://buildingrti.utexas.org/

22. More RTI Websites with Success Stories • Center on Instruction • http://www.centeroninstruction.org/ • IRIS Center, Vanderbilt University • http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/ • RTI Action Network • http://www.rtinetwork.org/

23. Research • Regional Education Laboratory Program http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/

24. Why is Reading so difficult to teach?

25. National Reading Panel, 2000 • Educators have to address the five components of reading: • Phonemic Awareness • Phonics • Fluency • Vocabulary • Comprehension

26. Intervention Planning: Step 1: Student and Campus Identification of needs • Identify students and areas of difficulty through screening and diagnostic assessments. • Identify individual students as well as campus level areas of difficulty. • Decide on what data will be gathered and criteria to place a child in Tier II.

27. Step1: Set Criteria for Placement in Tier II • http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/readingfirst/TPRIREADFIRSTTIER2CRITERIA.pdf Sample for TPRI: GRADE 1 BOY • 1. Still Developing on TPRI GRADE 1 BOY SCREENING. MOY • 1. Listening Comprehension, OR • 2. Reading Story 1 or Story 2, OR • 3. Reading Story 3, 4, or 5 at a rate less than 40 WCPM. EOY • 1. Still Developing on TPRI GRADE 1 EOY SCREENING, OR • 2. Listening Comprehension, OR • 3. Reading Story 1 or Story 2, OR • 4. Reading Story 3, 4, or 5 at a rate less than 60 WCPM.

28. Step 2: Individual Students • Match appropriate intervention to meet the area of difficulties identified in an individual student’s diagnostic assessments.

29. Step 2: Campus Level • Make a plan to change Tier I instruction. • Implement professional development. • Create leadership opportunities. • Implement changes.

30. Step 3: Intervention for Individual Students • Tier II intervention taught in a direct, systematic, explicit and accelerated manner. • Tier II taught with a sense of urgency. • Goal is to return the child to Tier I instruction.

31. Step 3: Tier I Campus Level Instruction • Support teachers as they teach Tier I in a more direct, systematic manner with attention to differentiated instruction. • Support leadership. • Support literacy across core-reading and writing in the various disciplines.

32. Step 4: Progress Monitor • Progress Monitor students as well as campus plan for Tier I. • Adjust instruction for students if needed. • Provide on-going support for teachers. • National Center on Student Progress Monitoring • http://www.studentprogress.org/

33. A Good Reading Program • K-3- give early identification assessment that is used to create Tiered instruction, i.e. small group instruction in Tier I, and criteria for students to be put in Tier II or Tier III 3 Tiered Model of Reading • http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/readingfirst/instrucframe.html

34. As You Move into the Upper Grades • Monitor Fluency, Comprehension and Vocabulary • Goal is to have students reading 150 wcpm with comprehension during middle school. • Use a diagnostic. • Make sure the intervention targets the key areas.

35. Upper Grades • ELL students may have to have instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics. • Some middle school struggling readers need phonics and morphology (roots)in addition tofluency, vocabulary and comprehension.

36. All Grades • Use combination of programs (software, direct instruction, etc..) Just match the program with the need. Don’t target just one need. • For example, Read Naturally targets fluency. REWARDS targets phonics. Now, you would need something for morphology and comprehension.

37. Goal: Middle of 3rd grade • According to research done on TPRI, students who were reading 90 wcpmwith COMPREHENSION at the middle of third grade (MOY) were more than likely going to pass TAKS. • Those who were not reading at this rate would more than likely fail. • Use AIMSweb, STEEP, fluency probes to make sure your 3rd graders are on target.

38. What about 4th and 5th grade? • If a child is unsuccessful on 3rd grade TAKS, they should automatically start 4th grade in Tiered Intervention. • Diagnostic Tools: See “Commonly Used Assessments for Older Students” from Florida Center for Reading Research. (A personal response to me from the Director of Assessment Programs.)

39. 5th Grade SSI Year • If a child is unsuccessful on their first administration, BEST PRACTICE would be for the GPC to recommend that as part of the accelerated instruction in 6th (if the child goes to 6th), the student must be given the Texas Middle School Fluency Assessment, or TMSFA.

40. TMSFA • This is the free, Texas-created diagnostic tool designed to help your teachers and interventionists diagnose why a student is failing reading.

41. TMSFA-Students will fail because: • They cannot decode multi-syllabic words such as determination, anxiety and quadrilateral, which is why they are dysfluent, and hence, why they do not comprehend. • They are dysfluent, which impedes their comprehension. • They can decode; they are fluent. But, they aren’t paying attention to the text. (Teachers name them “word callers.”)

42. Who Should be Given the TMSFA? • Anyone in danger of failing. (They passed, but barely. They passed with 5 points.) • Anyone who failed 5th, 6th or 7th grade Reading TAKS. • Anyone in 6-8th who has never taken a TAKS test, including ELL students who will take TAKS for the first time. • Students from other states. • Anyone you are worried about.

43. Who MUST Be Given the TMSFA? • According to state law, all 7th grade students who were unsuccessful on 6th grade Reading TAKS. • Why? • To help with your 8th grade SSI year.

44. So, • if it is a free diagnostic tool for use in 6th, 7th and 8th grade, use the tool to drive instruction and intervention.

45. Middle School and Acceleration • A NOTE OF CAUTION: • If a student is two grade levels behind or more in secondary, their intervention needs to be thought as Tier III. • They need very direct, explicit, systematic instruction. • The teachers need support in their training.

46. Reading Triangle Guidelines

47. Dr. Jan Hasbrouck’s RTI Model, Nov. 2009 Tier I: Everyone 80% of Students Successful Tier II: Strategic 15% Tier III: Intensive 5% “INCREASING Time and Intensity and Data Collection and Expertise”

49. Places to get Oral Reading Fluency Probes • DIBELS • Register on site and get oral reading fluency probes for free! • https://dibels.uoregon.edu/

50. More Sources for Oral Reading Fluency • Fluent Reader • http://www.fluentreader.org/ • Easy CBM (curriculum based measurement) • http://easycbm.com/