Building a Comprehensive Assessment System

The Role of Assessment in Supporting RTI

Rhode Island RTI InitiativeModule # 3

2007

RTI A coordinated system of supports for all students

• What is it? • A problem-solving process• A school-wide instruction and intervention

system • A way to make data-based decisions• A shared responsibility• Part of the special education, personal literacy

plan and secondary reform process

RTIGoals of Session

Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the following:

• Assessment data drives instruction and intervention decisions.

• Assessment ensures that progress is being made (individual student, classroom, school, and district).

• Assessment gives teachers and students frequent and useful feedback about learning.

RTI What does it take to meet the needs of 100% of the students

100% of the time?

• Use assessment to drive instruction• Use data to make important educational decisions• Monitor student progress to inform instruction• Use a problem solving approach to make decisions• Intervene early• Use a collaborative model of service delivery (shared

responsibility)• Use research-based instruction/intervention matched to

students’ needs

RTIA More Powerful Vision

“If assessments of learning provide evidence of achievement for public reporting, then assessments for learning serve to help students learn more. The crucial distinction is between assessment to determine the status of learning and assessment to promote greater learning.”

Stiggins (2002, Phi Delta Kappan)

Turn and Talk

RTIActivity

Jigsaw the article “Assessment Crisis: The Absence of Assessment FOR Learning” by Richard J. Stiggins

The purpose of this activity is to create a shared understanding among school team members of the difference between assessment for learning and assessment of learning.

RTI Jigsaw Assignments

• Introduction: Everyone• The Evolution of Our Vision of Excellence in

Assessment: #1• The Flaw in the Vision: #2• A More Powerful Vision: #3• Are Teachers Ready? #4• Relevant Position Statements: #5• Balancing Assessments of and for Learning: #6• Anticipating the Benefits of Balance: #7• An Action Plan: #8

RTI Raising Student Achievement Through

Assessment “Summative assessment requires that

teachers (or other assessors) become members of a community of practice, while formative assessment requires that the learners become members of the same community of practice.”

Dylan Wiliam

RTIKinds of Assessment

Outcome Measurement• Provides data about what has been accomplished over a

period of time

• Provides broader information about programs and student learning

Screening • Predicts which students are likely to experience difficulty

• Identifies students who are at-risk and in need of further diagnostic assessment

RIDE PreK-12 Literacy Policy December 2005

RTIKinds of Assessment

Diagnostic Measurement• Provides more precise and in-depth analysis of a student’s strengths and

weaknesses• Determines more specifically problematic areas for the student• Pinpoints needs and helps determine appropriate interventions

Progress Monitoring • Informs the teacher about a student’s progress• Determines if the student is making progress• Provides timely measures to inform instruction

RIDE PreK-12 Literacy Policy December 2005

RTI What is the purpose of each kind of assessment?

Of Learning For Learning

Turn and Talk

RTI What types of assessments does your school/district

currently use?Activity: Identify the name and type of

assessments used by your district in the area of literacy. Align each assessment with the GLE Content Cluster each assesses.

Example: The GRADE is a screening and diagnostic measure in the areas of vocabulary and comprehension.

Grades:__________

Phonemic Awareness□Accuracy□RateExpression

Word Identification□Phonics□Spelling□Structural Analysis

Fluency□Accuracy□Rate□Expression

Vocabulary□Word learning strategies□Breadth of vocabulary

Comprehension□Literary □Informational□Self-monitoring□Reading Strategies□Breadth of Rdg

Writing□Habits of □Structures of Lang□Conventions

oGrammaroSpelling

Writing Genres□Response to Lit□Report Writing□Procedural□Narrative□Persuasive (6+)

Core Curriculum

ALL KIDS

Targeted/Strategic Interventions

SOME KIDS

Intensive Interventions

FEW KIDS

OUTCOME/SCREENING

DISTRICT/CLASSROOM PROGRESS MONITORING

DIAGNOSTIC

INTERVENTION/PROGRESS MONITORING

DIAGNOSTIC

INTERVENTION/PROGRESS MONITORING

Grades:__________

Phonemic Awareness□Accuracy□RateExpression

Word Identification□Phonics□Spelling□Structural Analysis

Fluency□Accuracy□Rate□Expression

Vocabulary□Word learning strategies□Breadth of vocabulary

Comprehension□Literary □Informational□Self-monitoring□Reading Strategies□Breadth of Rdg

Writing□Habits of □Structures of Lang□Conventions

oGrammaroSpelling

Writing Genres□Response to Lit□Report Writing□Procedural□Narrative□Persuasive (6+)

Core Curriculum

ALL KIDS

Running RecordsDevelopmental Spelling Inventory

Targeted/Strategic Interventions

SOME KIDS

Phonemic Awareness Test

TOWRE Oral Reading Fluency – Aimsweb

Intensive Interventions

FEW KIDS

CTOPP Oral Reading Fluency – Aimsweb

RTI Response To Intervention is …

the practice of providing high-quality instruction and interventions matched to student need, monitoring progress frequently to make decisions about instruction so that we meet the needs of 100% of the students 100% of the time. Adapted from: National Association of State

Director’s of Special Education (2005)

RTI Monitoring Progress Frequently

Grouping students for instruction based on student skill,

monitoring their progress over small periods of time,

adjusting instruction based on the data and

providing kids feedback on their performance…

one of the most powerful sets of educational practices that exists.

Dan Reschly

RTI THREE LEVELS OF PROGRESS MONITORING:

District/School: provides evidence to make informeddistrict/school decisions for resource allocations, professionaldevelopment planning/ implementation, program planning andevaluation.

Classroom: is on-going and includes tasks typically used during the instructional process (curriculum embedded). It measures student’s learning based on systematic observation and guides the specifics of instruction within the curriculum.

Intervention: occurs frequently (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly) for students with intervention plans. The results of this type of progress monitoring inform instructional decisions (e.g. the PLP process is used for reading interventions) and shows the effectiveness of the interventions.

RTI

• Are assessments to monitor progress

• Are designed to serve as “indicators” of academic achievement.

• CBM doesn’t measure everything, but measures the important things.

• Are sensitive to improvement in short periods of time.

• Are designed to be as short as possible to ensure “do-ability”.

• Are curriculum-independent.

Intervention progress monitoring using CBM

RTICharacteristics of CBM

• Standardized

• Enable multiple forms

• Inexpensive

• Quick and easy to administer

• Rely on visual displays of the information to determine progress and make instructional decisions

RTI

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Available: from

http://www.proedinc.com

Math Computation

RTI

Research Indicates:

• CBM produces accurate, meaningful information about students’ academic levels and growth;

• When teachers use CBM to inform their instructional decisions, students achieve better.

RTI Charting Progress Monitoring Results

CBM

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How do we know if the Intervention is working? AND…

How do we use these data to make decisions?

RTI

Action Planning

• What does our school need to do differently to make assessment effective in the Response to Intervention (RTI) process and to meet the needs of all learners all of the time?

RTIAction Planning

RTI

If you’re not hopelessly confused, you’re out of touch!

If you are hopelessly confused, then you only have one choice

— try stuff.

Tom Peters, Embracing Chaos, 1993