Presented by Bill Tollestrup Director of Special Education/CAST Elk Grove Unified School District
Every Child by Name and Need
Key Components of Collaboration
Educators, students, and parents work together forstudent achievement through teamwork, use of data, and measurable goals.
Collaboration
To work in association with; to work with, to help
The Need for a Collaboration!
Throughout our ten-year study, whenever we found an effective school or an effective department within a school, without exception that school or department has been part of a collaborative professional learning community. Milbrey McLaughlin
All Adults are Responsible for All Children
All of us have a stake in the success of our children. The pronouns must change to ''we'' and ''our.''
Nothing above the green line (pattern, structure, proess) can be effectively addressed until the issues below the green line (relationship, information, identity) are addressed!
People having access to each other and interacting across the structure
Three Key Components:
The nutrient of the organization. Information that is abundant, uncontrolled, and available to everyone.
''. . . there is little evidence that children experiencing difficulties learning to read, even those with identifiable learning disabilities, need radically different sorts of supports than children at low-risk, although they may need much more support.'' (Snow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998, p.32)
''What we know from this synthesis is that the instructional practices that enhance learning outcomes for students with LD result in improved outcomes for all students.'' (Vaughn, Gersten, and Chard, 2000)
Good instruction is good instruction!
What Type of Data is Needed to Drive Instruction?
What other types of data is needed at your site?
From a study by Ferguson R. Harvard University and Minority Student Achievement Network: Students were asked if the following statement was true for them, ''The reason I work hard is because my teacher demands it.'' The percentage of students who responded yes, by ethnicity, are: African American 16%; White 28%; Latino 18%; Asian 20%; Others 23%.
Students were also asked if this statement was true for them, ''The reason I work hard is because my teacher encourages me.'' The percentage of students who responded yes, by ethnicity, are: African American 46%; White 31%; Latino 41%; Asian 31%; Others 37%.
Steps in Designing Standards-Based and Student-Based Assessment
Lessons from the ''90/90/90'' Schools
Common Elements of ''90/90/90'' Schools
Performance Data
Data enables the team to:
The Key to Assessment in Professional Learning Communities
''How will we know they know?''
In a professional learning community, collaborative teams engage in deep, substantive discussions about assessment of student learning resulting in the development of collaboratively developed common examinations among other things. (Dufour and Eaker)
Checklist for Improving Norm-Referenced, Standardized Test Scores (Dufour and Eaker)
Measurable Goals
The meaning we give ourselves; who we think we are; who, by our actions, others say we are.
A New Era
NCLB
President's Commission on IDEA
Major Recommendation 1: Focus on result, not on process.
Major Recommendation 2: Embrace a model of prevention not a model of failure.
Major Recommendation 3: Consider children with disabilities as general education children first.
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
Eligibility Criteria
Response To Intervention (RTI)
Eligibility must be interdependent upon instructional supports and other interventions provided through general education.
In the primary grades, students who are achieving at a low level and who demonstrate deficits on periodically-administered assessments should be provided with intensive, supportive instruction. There is no reason to differentiate between low achieving students and students with ''real'' learning disabilities.
An instructional support team, or early intervention model, using a systematic individualized data based problem-solving process would be a required component under IDEA.
A New Era
Identification Process
AYP/RTI
Multidisciplinary teams need to use multiple methods of assessment, selected on an individualized basis, that relate to referral concerns and that are linked to potential intervention strategies, both instructional and non-instructional (behavioral, motivational, social-emotional). Curriculum-based assessment and other functional and authentic assessment methods should be routinely included.
There is a growing body of research indicating positive outcomes for such models when they incorporate problem solving or Instructional Support Teams. In its reauthorization, IDEA should encourage states and districts to expand the use of these types of noncategorical models.
NCLB: CAST is an intervention/prevention service delivery model which incorporates all educational resources available to serve at risk students and their families. It is not a Special Education Program.
AYP/RTI: CAST enhances a student's school experiences; intensifies support services; andsurrounds students with accelerated learning opportunities within the mainstream of general education.
Goal: A seamless support process that delivers services to students based on data and a plan for student success.
CAST Conference Team Members: classroom teacher(s), specialists, administrator, RTPT, categorical staff
Classroom teacher reviews progress of individual students in his/her class; and team designs immediate interventions for identified students.
CAST Conference Interventions
| Need | Intervention | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Students slightly below grade level standards and benchmarks (Basic, Below Basic) | Classroom Collaboration |
| Tier 2 | Students requiring intense academic interventions (Far Below) | Intensive level of service in small group instruction |
| Tier 1 and 2 | Students requiring social/emotional and behavioral interventions | Regional Services |
Levels of Intervention
| Level | Time per Day | Curriculum | Target Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Benchmark | Regular | Core | Students slightly below standards |
| Tier 1 | Strategic | Regular | Core with embedded intervention | Students 1-2 years below standard |
| Tier 2 | Intensive | 2-3 hours per day | Intensive intervention program | Struggling readers, special education, English-language learners* |
(2002 Reading/Language Arts/English Language Development Adoption)
Exhausting the Resources of General Education: Response to Intervention
Question How are interventions designed by the CAST team?
Answer: The CAST Conference Team identifies appropriate strategies and interventions by using the evidence collected through screening and assessment. The procedures of diagnostic and prescriptive teaching are followed to best meet student needs.
(image of student tracking sheet that includes space for: ELA CST scores, Math CST scores, areas of CST deficit, ELL/level, primary disability for students with IEPs, processing disorder, last full psych-ed assessment, cognitive function, current level of service, standards-based goals and objectives (yes/no), and level of service based on evidence)
Assessment for K-3
| Kindergarten Early, Mid, Late |
Grade 1 Early, Mid, Late |
Grade 2 Early, Mid, Late |
Grade 3 Early, Mid, Late |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phonemic Awareness | Early | Early/Middle | Only if indicated | Only if indicated |
| Phonics | First assessment: middle | Every 6-8 weeks until mastery | Early 6-8 weeks until matery | Only if indicated |
| Oral Reading Rate (Fluency, naming speed) | RAN (Tier 1 and 2) | First assessment: late | 3 times a year | 3 times a year |
| Word Recognition | (Tier 1 and 2) | Final assessment: middle | 3 times a year | 3 times a year |
| Spelling Inventory Encoding |
First assessment: late | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | |
| Verbal Language Scale | First assessment: middle | Every 6-8 weeks until mastery | 3 times a year | 3 times a year |
| Assessment of Reading Comprehension | 3 times a year | 3 times a year |
Assessment for 4-8+
| Grade 4 | Grade 5 | Grade 6 | Grades 7-8+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | 3 times a year |
| Verbal Language Scale | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | 3 times a year |
| Oral Reading Rate (Fluency, naming speed) | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated |
| Word Recognition | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated |
| Spelling Inventory Encoding (elementary) |
3 times a year | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | Tier 1, 2, and 3 |
| Spelling Inventory Encoding (upper) | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | 3 times a year | 3 times a year |
| Phonics Survey | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated |
| Phonemic Awareness | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated | Only if indicated |
Diagnostic Plan for Upper Grades: Tier 1, 2, and 3
| If low | If at grade level | |
|---|---|---|
| Assessment of reading comprehension | Oral reading (naming speed) word recognition | No further assessment indicated; work on grade-level curriculum |
| Oral reading (naming speed) word recognition (on the verbal language scale) | Phonics assessment | Work on vocabulary and comprehension strategies |
| Phonics assessment | Phoneme Segmentation | Work on spelling, sight word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies |
| Phoneme Segmentation | Phonemic Awareness | Work on phonics, spelling, sight word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies |
Assessing Reading Multiple Measures (Arena Press)
Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures for Kindergarten Through Eighth Grade (Core Literacy Training Series), Spiral-bound, February 1999, $32
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/002-8356814-0404028
Necessary Instructional Components: Reading
I. Subword processes
II. Word processes
A. Word specific mechanism
B. Phonological decoding mechanism
C. Morphological awareness
III. Text processes
A. Oral Reading
B. Silent Reading
C. Comprehension
Necessary Instructional Components: Writing
I. Subword processes
A. Handwriting
B. Keyboarding
II. Word processes
A. Orthographic awareness
B. Phonological awareness
C. Morphological awareness
D. Semantic knowledge
III Text process
A. Word level
B. Sentence level
C. Text level
IV. Executive Functions
A. Planning
B. Reviewing/Revising
C. Self-regulating (e.g., attention, organization, task completion)
Quantity
Adapt the number of items that the learner is expected to learn or complete.
Time
Adapt the time allotted for learning, task completion, or testing.
Level of Support
Increase the amount of personal assistance with a specific learner(s).
Input
Adapt the way instruction is delivered to the learner.
Difficulty
Adapt the skill level, problem type, or the rules on how the learner may approach the work.
Output
Adapt how the student can respond to instruction.
Participation
Adapt the extent to which the learner is actively involved in the task.
Alternate Goals
Adapt the goals or outcome expectations while using the same materials.
Substitute Curriculum
Provide different instruction and materials to meet the learner's individual goals.
(Used with permission from Diana Browning Wright)
*The reading intervention programs are to sufficiently cover content standards from earlier grade levels to allow students in grades 4-8, whose reading achievement is significantly below grade level (i.e., in excess of two grade levels below), to catch up with their peers within a reasonable amount of time.