1. Assessing Struggling
Learners
Joseph Morgan, M. Ed.
EDSP 411 – Summer 2009

2. Objectives
 Identify areas that general education teachers should reflect
upon before referring a student for intervention.
 Define screening and discuss why it is important for
identifying struggling learners.
 Define the RTI process and describe each tier of intervention.
 Analyze graphs and make decisions about the progress of
students.

3. Agenda
 Beginning with Reflection
 Screening Students for Problems
 Response-to-Instruction
 Tier One – School-wide Interventions
 Tier Two – Targeted Interventions
 Tier Three – Intensive Individualized Interventions

4. Beginning with Reflection

5. Beginning with Reflection
 Problems may be _________________ to the teacher.
 Questions to ask:
 How are all the other ____________________ doing in this particular
area? How does the struggling student compare?
 What is the state of my classroom ________________________?
 What __________________ am I using to deliver the instruction?
 What strategies have I used to __________________ the struggling
student?
 How am I explaining the assignment to the student? Are the
________________________ clear?
 Can I change _______________________ factors to support the
struggling student?
 What is my ______________________ about the struggling student?

6. Beginning with Reflection
 After careful reflection of teaching practice, begin to collect
data.
 Clearly stated, what is the student’s deficit or area of need.
 Be ____________________________.
 “____________________ in learning” and “doesn’t pay attention”
statements do not provide any guidance.
 Determine if the problem is ______________________.
 Ensure that there is nothing in _________________________
causing an attention problem.
 Ensure problem is not a __________________________ part of
childhood.

7. Beginning with Reflection
 Collect __________________ to determine if problem is increasing.
 If student dips in achievement, and then recovers, he or she may
not require intervention.
 Determine if there is a _____________________ of behavior.
 Patterns help address educational deficits.
 No pattern often indicates there may be a problem.
 _________________________ the parents.
 Seek assistance from other professionals.
 ________________, __________________, ____________________!
 If it is not written down, it did not happen.

8. Screening Students for
Problems

9. Screening Students for Problems
 Screening = _____________________ all students in order to
determine deficit areas where more assistance may be
required.
 Broad _____________________of where students are at.
 Does not provide a lot of information about what student deficits
may be.
 Assesses the level that ALL students are performing at.
 Allows for _________________________ between struggling
students and their typical peers.
 Helps schools identify areas where they may need improvement.

10. Screening Students for Problems
 Screening is a Preventative Act
 Helps ensure that all struggling students are
_______________________.
 Helps schools to identify ________________________ where
they may need improvement.
 Helps struggling students get ________________________
earlier in their school careers.
 Gives educators an idea of where ______________________
students are at for planning purposes.

11. Response-to-Instruction
(RTI)

12. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 RTI is part of the reauthorization of IDEA (2004).
 Historically, students with learning disabilities and emotional
and behavioral disorders were identified after they had
_______________________ in the general education classroom.
 LD = discrepancy between ________________________ and
_________________________ ability.
 EBD = severe behavioral or emotional problems that disrupt the
flow of the general education environment.
 __________________________ associated with LD and EBD are
generally obvious fairly early in school career.
 Wait to fail places students way _______________________
their typical peers.

13. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 RTI is a research-based intervention process.
 Different levels require more intensive intervention services.
 RTI interventions are driven by data.
 Generally seen as a three-tier model of intervention (used in CCSD).
 Tier 1 Instruction = _____________________ instruction in core
curriculum for ALL students.
 Tier 2 Instruction = ______________________
_______________________for at-risk students; supplemental to the
core instruction.
 Tier 3 Instruction = Intensive ________________________
interventions; additional to other interventions.

14. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
_____ – _____ percent
of students should
perform here.
_____-_____ percent
of students should
perform here.
_____ – _____
percent of
students should
perform here.

15. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)

16. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 1 Instruction (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 Summative assessment = assessments given at the
______________ of a unit of instruction.
 Determines, overall, what the student has __________________ as
a result of instruction.
 Final assessment of learning.
 _____________________ be used to make instructional decisions.
 Examples: final exams, final projects, statewide assessments,
national assessments (e.g., SAT or ACT), proficiency exams.

17. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 1 Instruction (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 ________________________ Assessments
 Usually curriculum-based measurements (CBM).
 Given __________________________ throughout the year.
 Generally 3-4 times).
 Measures student ______________________ towards a standard.
 Compares student progress to others on that standard.
 Some benchmark assessments are tied to a curriculum.
 For example, DIBELS uses benchmark assessments.
 Districts create benchmark assessments (CCSD uses IDMS).

18. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)

19. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 2 Instruction (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 Characterized by:
 Targeted instruction in student deficiency area.
 Usually occurs in _________________ groups (no more than 5
students).
 Provided by someone trained in intervention.
 __________________________ time to core reading instruction.
 Usually 30-45 minutes per week.
 Use of scientifically-based interventions.
 Read 180, REACH program, instruction in phonemic
awareness, fluency instruction.

20. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 2 Instruction (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 Assessment and instruction is more focused on
_____________________ students and his or her needs.
 Use ___________________ to closely monitor student progress.
 Implement interventions.
 Determine their efficiency.
 Alter interventions as necessary.
 Progress monitoring = short, ___________________ given
assessments used to track student progress.
 Monitor progress toward a learning goal designed to help them
move forward.

21. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 2 Instruction (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 Progress monitoring should:
1. Assess skills from the local standards being used.
2. Assess marker skills moving student toward proficiency in learning
goal.
3. Be sensitive to small changes.
4. Be administered over short periods of time.
5. Be administered frequently.
6. Provide data that is teacher-friendly.
7. Be comparable to other students.
8. Be applicable to monitor progress over time.
9. Be relevant to instructional strategies being used by teacher.

22. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 2 Instruction (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 Common Tier 2 assessments:
 Reading site words.
 Math probes.
 Letter-sound probes.
 Functional behavior assessments of student behavior.
 Maze assessments.
 Several ______________________ used for progress
monitoring.
 AIMSweb, DIBELS, Intervention Central

23. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 2 Instruction (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 Chart data and make decisions about progress based on agreed
upon goal.
 Look at _____________ ______________and ____________ of
growth
 Performance level = how student is doing compared to other
students in the same grade, a standard, or agreed upon goal.
 Rate of growth = the slope of the performance line as it moves
towards the goal.
 If either one of these is increasing, then the student is stated
to be making adequate progress.

24. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
Performance
Rate of Growth Outcome
Level
YES YES
YES NO
Student is
meeting criteria.
NO YES
NO NO

25. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
Is this student
making adequate
progress? Why or
why not?

26. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
Is this student
making adequate
progress? Why or
why not?

27. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
Is this student
making adequate
progress? Why or
why not?

28. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
Is this student
making adequate
progress? Why or
why not?

29. Response-to-Instruction (RTI)
 Tier 3 Intervention (Shores & Chester, 2009)
 Intensive ____________________ Instruction
 Usually accompanied with a referral to special education, as this
level of intervention is often unsustainable in the general education
classroom.
 Eligibility for LD requires that RTI take place in the state of
Nevada.
 Beginning to look at eligibility for EBD in the same way.
 Generally, _____-____ weeks of intervention are required
before a referral.

30. Monday – hear from
general educators actually
doing RTI!!
Looking forward .