universal screening

The Benefits of Determining and Addressing Students Literacy Needs – Early

Students of all economic and cultural backgrounds arrive at institutions of formal education assuming that educators will be able to teach them how to effectively read and write. Some will have the knowledge of letter-sound correspondences, some will have knowledge of how to hold a pencil and write. Some will know how to read. Some will have good oral language skills. Some will have good social emotional skills. Some will show up without any of the previous skills. They will be all put into the same classroom. The teacher is expected to meet the learning needs of all students throughout the day.

There are tools that teachers should have available to ease the “craziness” of having 20-25 students that are all at different levels of learning and social behavior. One tool is universal screening of early or foundational literacy knowledge and skills. Universal screenings are very short probes to determine which students may lack the necessary skills to be successful in their current grade. These screenings usually assist in determining which students may need additional small group or one-on-one instruction to learn foundational learning skills. These screenings also assist in determining students who might need further diagnostic assessment and different instruction for various learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. These short probes are usually used in partnership of teacher observation and completed assignments to increase the validity of the universal screening outcomes.

These probes should begin in kindergarten, and the findings a focus of instruction during Grades K-3. The earlier a student(s) learning needs or lack of knowledge and skills are address the less the student(s) will struggle. Students who receive earlier intervention instruction usually skip the deep emotional scars. Left unmeet these students usually spend their time clawing their way through their day, trying to avoid the shame of not be able to fully participate. Often students just need a few weeks of intense instruction in kindergarten. I have yet to meet a student who didn’t want to function at grade-level with their peers.

The types of probes are dependent on student age and ability. A student in kindergarten should be assessed in phonemic awareness and rapid automatic naming skills. A student in Grade 2 should be assessed in some of the previous probes along with word reading of both regular and pseudonym words. These are usually given three times a year within an instructional response to intervention (RTI) model* that focuses on academics-literacy and math. The probes and intervention instruction begin to separate students with true learning disabilities from those who didn’t gain or learn the foundational skills necessary before entering the formal educational setting. This also ensures that students with true disabilities receive more accurate instruction and assistance earlier than later for their disability.

Students who receive explicit, direct instruction in Grades K-2 for the lacking foundational literacy skills usually “catch-up” to grade level expectation and maintain their intervention gains. Some students will need assistance throughout their formal academic instruction. Students who receive the right academic intervention instruction will avoid many latter social emotional issues. The cost to society and formal education escalates, as students maturate and cannot effectively participate at their grade-level. The earlier students’ lack of foundational skills is addressed; the less funding is needed to bring up them up to grade-level. Students’ brains are more malleable during their younger years.

* Each RTI model should be different, but similar in nature to reflect the students’ academic learning needs and the resources available. All RTI models will have tiers or levels of instruction. Most RTI models in Grades K-4 focus on developing reading skills. Some RTI models may focus on behavior. Behavior focused RTI models may assist in determining the learning levels of students, as behavior often signals a lack of academic skills necessary to function at grade-level. Once the academic needs are meet the behavior issues usually melt away.

In my next blog, I will describe the necessary components and teacher education of a successful RTI program.

References

Moll, K., Georgii, B. J., Tunder, R., & Schulte-Kӧrne (2022). Economic evaluation of dyslexia intervention. Dyslexia, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1728

Ray, J. S. (2017). Tier 2 intervention for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826

Evaluating Assessment—Why Are We Assessing?

Education will resemble a new normal, when we begin a new school year in the fall. This may be a good time to take a deep breath and evaluate how we assess students and use the gathered data. What are the current assessments at the school, district, state, and national levels? Can we combined some of those assessments to serve for multiple items? Can the data from some items be used for other items, but read differently? Does the time spent testing vs the number of hours spent learning make sense? Are we using the data gained from this assessment? There is a high possibility that more students may need extra time to learn and practice new skills this upcoming year. Students’ achievement rates will (mostly) remain a mystery until students return to in-class instruction. Some students may have thrived in their “new” learning environment and be on grade-level. Some students may be a grade or more below the grade-level standard. Some students might have struggled no matter the format or crazy interruptions. Many will need the instruction and practice time to catch-up.

One measurement that should remain is universal screening* of elementary school students (Grades K-8) for grade-level achievement. This battery of short probes gives a good first look at student achievement levels and may be used to progress monitor students as they move through the school year. The probes should be based on grade-level** benchmarks, such as Grade K, phonological awareness and letter-sound correspondences and Grade 1, phonological awareness, sound-letter correspondences, oral reading, etc. Universal screenings also provide a first look at students who may be need instructional supports or deeper assessing. Response to Intervention (RTI) tiers can be developed using universal screening data. Curriculum based assessments and observations can be used to increase the validity of universal screenings and to find students testing false-positive.

Students may test false-positive, meaning the student failed to show his true achievement level on test day—usually very few students. Some students will assess positive for signs of reading disabilities, but not have a reading disability. This may be due to: (a) lack of instruction, (b) lack of practice, (c) another illness-cold, (d) bad test taker, and or (e) their pet died. These students will become apparent as a false-positive during future instruction and observations and or through data of past assessments and observations. A short follow-up assessment may also resolve the false-positive score. Treat each student that tests positive for low-academic achievement and learning disabilities, as if they were until you determine the false-positive. Treating them as a positive for a short amount of time, one to four weeks, is better than ignoring the possibility. Student self-esteem is at stake. Some students will test at the borderline or right above the cut score and should be placed in a “watch” and observe mode to monitor their progression of grade-level instruction. Some students may have parental support to assist in working with them. Some students may have classmate or friend that can help them.

Kindergarteners usually arrive at all different levels. Some will need small group instruction, while others will need more intense instruction to bring them up to grade-level achievement. Students should leave Kindergarten with good foundational skills for learning how to read and write. Every kindergarten student should be able to write a sentence, know their letters-sound correspondences and be able to read a simple sentence before moving on to Grade 1. Many will be able to read short stories and write fluid sentences. Students not at grade-level will likely be in a catch-up mode throughout their academic career.

*Universal Screening: A series of short, easy-to-administer probes of 1-3 minutes used to determine those students who are at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is usually administered school or district-wide three times a year. The screening should identify 90% of the students who may be at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is often used to monitor student progress and as a diagnostic assessment to determine students’ individual learning needs.

**Universal Screening Grade Level Timeline (Ray, J., 2017).

Reading Skill	Column A Gersten et al., 2009	Column B Kashima et al., 2009	Column C Lam & McMaster, 2014	Column D NJCLD, 2011
Letter naming & fluency	Grade K-1	Grade K-1	Grade K-1
Phoneme segmentation	Grade K-1	Grade K-1
Phonemic awareness Nonsense fluency	Grade 1		Grade K-3
Word identification	Grade 1-2		Grade K-3
Oral reading fluency	Grade 1-2	Grade 1	Grade K-3	Grade K-3
Sound repetition		Grade K-1
Vocabulary		Grade 1
Reading comprehension		Grade 2-3		Grade K-3
Listening comprehension		Grade 2-3		Grade K-3
Written expression				Grade K-3
Basic reading skills				Grade K-3
Oral expression				Grade K-3

References

Ray, J. S. (2017). Tier 2 intervention for students in grades 1-3 identified as as-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/

In my last post I defined universal screening as: a series of short, easy-to-administer probes of 1-3 minutes used determine student learning level. The data from universal screening is used to determine those students who are at-risk for reading acquisition and for student placement in the response to intervention model. Universal screening is usually given three times a year. This screening should identify 90% of the students who may be at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is often used to monitor student progress and as a diagnostic assessment to determine students’ individual learning needs.

Universal screening is a vital component of the response to intervention (RTI) model. Screening students with the right assessment probes at the right time is essential to an effective RTI model. Students should be assessed for proficiency of their current grade level. Students not showing grade level proficiency should be placed in tiers or groups of focused instruction to improve their literacy skills. The groups may look different in each classroom or school depending on the current learning needs of present students. Students should be monitored to ensure that current placement is effective for them.

The following is a timeline for the types of universal screeners that should be used to determine students who are at-risk for literacy acquisition. This table was developed while I was conducting research for chapter 2 of my dissertation.

Table 1

Universal Screening Grade Level Timeline

Reading Skill	Column A Gersten et al., 2009	Column B Kashima et al., 2009	Column C Lam & McMaster, 2014	Column D NJCLD, 2011
Letter naming & fluency	Grade K-1	Grade K-1	Grade K-1
Phoneme segmentation	Grade K-1	Grade K-1
Phonemic awareness Nonsense fluency	Grade 1		Grade K-3
Word identification	Grade 1-2		Grade K-3
Oral reading fluency	Grade 1-2	Grade 1	Grade K-3	Grade K-3
Sound repetition		Grade K-1
Vocabulary		Grade 1
Reading comprehension		Grade 2-3		Grade K-3
Listening comprehension		Grade 2-3		Grade K-3
Written expression				Grade K-3
Basic reading skills				Grade K-3
Oral expression				Grade K-3

Note: Column A was adapted from “Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades” by R. Gersten et al., 2008, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2009-4045, p. 13. Column B was adapted from “The Core Components of RTI: A Closer Look at Evidence-Based Core Curriculum, Assessment and Progress Monitoring, and Data-Based Decision Making by Y. Kashima, B. Schleich, and T. Spradlin, 2009, Center for Evaluation & Education Policy, p. 6. Column C was adapted from “A 10-Year Update of Predictors of Responsiveness to Early Literacy Intervention” by E. A. Lam and K. L. McMaster, 2014, Learning Disabilities Quarterly, 37(3), p. 143. Column D was adapted from “Comprehensive Assessment and Evaluation of Students with Learning Disabilities” by The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, 2011, Learning Disability Quarterly, 34(1), 3-16.

Other references

Gilbert, J., Compton, D., Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (2012). Early screening for risk of reading disabilities: Recommendations for a four-step screening system. NIH Public Access, Author Manuscript. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3903290 doi:10.1177/1534508412451491

Kilgus, S. P., Methe, S. A., Maggin, D. M., & Tomasula, J. L.(2014). Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading (r-cbm): A diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis of evidence supporting use in universal screening. Journal of School Psychology, 52, 377-405. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2014.03.002.

Ray, J.S. (2017). Tier 2 interventions for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/

Assessments—Commonly Used in the Classroom

There are many types of assessments that can be used to inform student achievement and instructional needs. Some assessments can be used for multiple purposes. Determining why your assessing students should drive the types of assessments to use and the timeframes to give them. The more common assessments are:

Formative assessments: Any set of measurements used “to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning” (Eberly Center, 2010).
Summative assessments: Any set of measurements that “evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark” (Eberly Center, 2010).
Observation assessment: Educators note particular traits; such as behaviors, skills, or attitudes of a student that occur during an instructional task. Educators usually chose particular times of instruction to record observational or anecdotal notes. Anecdotal notes should be kept confidential. Anecdotal notes should be used to strengthen other assessment outcomes and to inform student placement and instruction.
Progress monitoring: A process that involves assessing students’ academic performance, quantifying student rates of improvement or responsiveness to instruction, and evaluating the effectiveness of instruction (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2015). Progress monitoring is used monitor student progress over a set timeframe, usually related to an intervention instruction. Progress monitoring can also be used for student placement.
Diagnostic assessments: Used to evaluate individual student abilities in order to identify strengths and deficits of a specific academic domain (Mellard, McKnight, & Woods, 2009). These assessments can be used to reduce the false positives of universal screening—students assessing higher or lower than their learning level. Diagnostic assessment data is used to inform student placement and instruction.

Universal Screening: A series of short, easy-to-administer probes of 1-3 minutes used to determine those students who are at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is usually administered school or district-wide three times a year. The screening should identify 90% of the students who may be at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is often used to monitor student progress and as a diagnostic assessment to determine students’ individual learning needs.

In my next post, I will further describe universal screenings and what types of assessment probes should be used to determine those students who may be at-risk for reading acquisition in Grades K-3.

References:

Eberly Center, Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation (2017). Formative vs Summative Assessment. Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved from www.cmu.edu/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

Mellard, D. F., McKnight, M., & Woods, K. (2009). Response to intervention screening and progress-monitoring practices in 41 local schools. Learning Disabilities Research &Practice, 24(4), 186-195. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5826.2009.00292.x

National Center for Learning Disabilities (2015). RTI Action Network. Retrieved from http://rtinetwork.org.

Tag: universal screening

The Benefits of Determining and Addressing Students Literacy Needs – Early

Evaluating Assessment—Why Are We Assessing?

Universal Screening

Assessments—Commonly Used in the Classroom

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