Derry Township School District Using Progress Monitoring in a Response to Intervention Model

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Derry Township School DistrictUsing Progress
Monitoring in aResponse to Intervention Model

• Cindy H. Goldsworthy
• Director of Curriculum and Instruction
• Joe McFarland
• Hershey Primary School Principal
• Derry Township School District
• Hershey, PA
• October, 2006

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Todays Agenda

• Introductions and agenda setting
• Quiz Getting to Know You
• Embedding Progress Monitoring
• Making it Happen
• Implementation Experience
• Closure

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Derry Township School District
3500 Students K-12 1450 Students K-5
ECC K-1

• 9 Low income
• 10.4 Special Education
• 3 Elementary principals
• 2 psychologists, 2 F/T interns
• 2 Literacy Coaches (K-3, 4-6)
• ECC (K-1) (19 Classroom Teachers)
• 1 Early Intervention Specialist Aide
• 1 Intervention Specialist/IST Aide
• Primary (2-3) (23 Classroom Teachers)
• 1 Intervention Specialist/Reading Specialist
• ½ Intervention Specialist/IST
• Intermediate (4-5) (23 Classroom Teachers)
• 1 Intervention Specialist/Reading Specialist
• ½ Intervention Specialist/IST Aide

High School 9-12
Primary 2-3
Intermediate 4-5
Middle School 6-8
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Derry Township School District

• About the Community
• 15 miles east of Harrisburg, PA
• 27 square miles
• Over 21,000 residents
• Median Household Income-52,290 (PA-46,300)
• Median Home value-142,700 (PA-116,530)
• Home to the The Hershey Company (chocolate),
  Penn-State Milton S.
• Hershey Medical Center HersheyPark
• Area thrives with local business, convention, and
  recreation centers
• Millage rate 15.54 mills
• Millage ranked fifth out of ten school districts
  in Dauphin County
• Collected mill generates 1,770,721
• 87 of revenue generated from local sources

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Derry Township School District

• About the School District
• 3,533 students
• 99 graduation rate, 92 attend post-secondary
  school
• 14 Advanced Placement Courses
• Average SAT Score-1682 (State-1476,
  National-1518)
• 6 Merit Semifinalists in 2006 (8 finalists in
  2005)

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Derry Township School District

• About the School District
• 10 Free/Reduced Lunches
• Demographics
• 89 White (Non-Hispanic)
• 7 Asian/Pacific Islander
• 2 Black (Non-Hispanic)
• 1 Hispanic
• lt1 American Indian/Alaskan Native
• 264 Professional staff, 200 Support staff, 20
  Administrators
• 45,993,831 budget (86.5 funded locally)

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Derry Township School District
2006 PSSA Results
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Essential Questions

• What is progress monitoring and why is it a key
  component in intervention practices? How does it
  fit with a Response to Intervention model?
• How does progress monitoring result in better
  outcomes for students?
• How can progress monitoring be successfully
  implemented in a school district?

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Core Beliefs and Principles

• Effectively reaching all students requires
• Research based/evidence-based practices and
  interventions in regular education classrooms
• decisions informed by student performance data
• Progress monitoring necessary to systematically
  determine if students are learning
• Intervention is preferable to remediation
• Prevent rather than autopsy
• Intervene early
• Intensity and frequency (through Response to
  Intervention tiered model) is more effective
  than random/eclectic responses

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Defining Progress Monitoring

• refers to formative assessments that are done
  regularly through the year to determine whether
  an individual student or group of students is
  making sufficient progress related in a
  particular skill area so the end of year goals
  will be met
• (Safer, American Institutes for Research, 2006
  LRP)

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Defining Progress Monitoring

• Figuring out along the way if kids are
  progressing as a result of the instruction
• Provides teachers with more precise information
  as to the efficacy of their instruction
• Timed to provide information for teachers to
  allow for adjusting instruction before it is too
  late

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Connections RtI (Response to Intervention)

• the practice of providing high-quality
  instruction and interventions matched to student
  need, monitoring progress frequently to make
  decisions about changes in instruction or goals
  and applying child response data to important
  educational decisions (NASDE, 2005).

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Progress Monitoring What It Looks Like at Derry
Township in 2006

• All teachers, K-5 engage in progress monitoring
  in reading
• Weekly, bi-weekly, every 3 week basis
• Required for all students below benchmark
• Some teachers have moved to progress monitoring
  all students
• Used to inform instruction along the way
• Used to make decisions about tiered levels of
  support
• Used for special education eligibility decisions

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What It Looks Like, continued..

• Bi-weekly data review meetings
• Weekly, K/1 level
• Intervention Planning Meetings
• K/1- monthly
• 2-5 quarterly
• Intervention Team meetings
• Formerly Instructional Support Team meetings
  (PAs prereferral model)
• Includes parents
• Outgrowth of monitoring progress over time
• Team vs. unilateral decision

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Making Progress Monitoring Work- the Essentials

• Nested in structured frameworks
• One part of an established and communicated
  belief system that all students can learn
• Based on the knowledge that the teacher is what
  makes the difference
• Leadership and support from administration
• Careful selection of progress monitoring tools
• Examination of data regularly, following
  prescribed protocols or lines of inquiry
• Use of structured intervention models to respond
  to the information provided through data

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Rationale for Progress Monitoring

• Make accurate decisions about program
  effectiveness (general and remedial
  instruction/interventions)
• Early identification and early intervention
• classroom as first line of intervention
• Reduce swelling numbers in remedial programs
• Prevents unnecessary and over-identification of
  students in need of special education

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Progress Monitoring Benefits, continued

• More emphasis on prevention rather than
  remediation (especially at earlier ages when
  prevention has high success probability)
• Problem solving rather than problem admiration
• Shared ownership of all kids
• (my kids/your kids instead of our kids)

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Problems with Historical Discrepancy Model Wait
and See Approaches

• Wait to Fail
• Needs known in K or 1st grade huge enough
  discrepancy often not present until 3rd or 4th
  grade
• ..the use of discrepancy models forces
  identification to an older age when interventions
  are demonstrably less effective (Fletcher et al.,
  1998)
• LD is arbitrarily and inconsistently defined in
  policy and practice
• They are just not developmentally ready yet
  hope is not a strategy!

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Implementation Experience

• Derry Township School District Hershey, PA

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Getting Started

• Reading
• Availability of progress monitoring tools
• Response to Intervention gaining ground across
  the nation
• District literacy program initiated
• Asking ourselves questions is this working?

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The Impetus for Progress Monitoring

• Despite good PSSA scores, data showed we were not
  closing the gap
• Despite intensive training in literacy,
  preliminary data was showing stagnation or lack
  of growth
• Numbers increasing for remedial reading
• Instructional support referrals on the rise

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2006 PSSAs Mathematics
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2006 PSSAs Reading
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2006 PSSAs Writing
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1st Grade Derry Township School District
TRENDS
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4th Grade Derry Township School District
TRENDS
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Making the shift happen - moving towards progress
monitoring

• Determining the assessment picture
• Screening
• Diagnostic
• Outcome
• Careful selection of assessment tools
• benchmark
• Progress monitoring

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Assessment Balance

• Norm-referenced tests (outcome measures)
• Not sensitive to change over time
• Do not inform instruction
• Measure individual differences, not growth
• Cannot be administered frequently or quickly
• Progress Monitoring
• Sensitive to change
• Directly related to instruction
• Allow for goal setting
• Allow for prediction
• Can be administered frequently and quickly
• Measure individual differences and growth

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District Assessment Calendar

• Identifies the required assessments at the
  national, state, and local level
• Including progress monitoring at classroom level
• Teacher input and teacher decision making
• Administrative non-negotiables
• Revised and distributed annually

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District Assessment Calendar
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Assessments at Building Grade Levels

• Further clarity and specification through grade
  levels maps
• Use of literacy coaches
• Classroom teacher responsible for progress
  monitoring
• DIBELS
• Core Phonics
• STAR

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Dibels History

• DIBELS assessments
• Benchmark assessments first
• screening . then 1st then 2nd then 3rd up
  to 6th during 05/6
• All staff trained in purpose and administration
• SWAT team conducted benchmark assessments
• Progress Monitoring
• Initially Learning Support, Psychologists, or IST
  conducted progress monitoring
• 05-6 all regular class teachers, K-5, conducted
  progress monitoring (DIBELS/Core Phonics)
• Began showing progress with graphs and
  proficiency charts for individual students
• Established team analysis meetings

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Team Meeting Structures
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Proficiency Plan Process

• All students below proficient on PSSA are placed
  on proficiency plan
• Moved from problem admiration to problem
  solving through changing the form
• Line of inquiry established
• Principal leadership (principals play key role)
• Scheduled monthly at grades K 1
• Scheduled quarterly at grades 2-5
• Middle School, 3x year
• High School (under development)

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Proficiency Plan Grades K-1
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Proficiency Plan Grades 2-5
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3 Tier Intervention Model (RtI)

• Prevention Model
• Each Tier provides more intensive and supportive
  intervention
• Layers of intervention in response to student
  needs
• Based on progress monitoring data, along with
  summative data

lt5 IEP
- Data
Tier 3

Tier 2
15 Double Dip

Tier 1
80 Regular
Classroom
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Tier 1- Regular Classroom

• How are assessments used to inform instruction?
• Is there a data management system in place?
• Is adequate time allocated for reading
  instruction?
• Is there time for Tier I to meet and assess
  student progress as a response to the instruction
  in place?

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Tier 1- Important Goals

• Establish scientifically-validated core (reading)
  program
• Conduct benchmark assessments 3X per year with
  all students
• Flexible grouping
• 90 minutes a day or more of reading instruction
  (elementary)

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Tier 2 - Standard Protocol

• Errorless teaching tight rigorous instruction
• Sequential scope and sequence - carefully
  scaffolding
• Gradual release of responsibility - I do, we
  do, you do
• Immediate corrective feedback
• Higher number of opportunities to respond (115
  seconds)
• Built-in mastery through repeated practice
  (guided and independent)

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Tier 2 Important Goals

• Acquire scientifically-validated interventions
  that target beginning reading
• Homogeneous small group instruction (13, 14, or
  15)
• Minimum of 30 minutes/day 90 min of core
  instruction
• Progress-monitoring twice per month (minimum)

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What Should Tier 2 Look Like?

• Systematic, explicit instruction
• Pacing to match student needs
• Multiple opportunities to respond
• Providing students with corrective feedback
• Double-dipping (Derry Township)

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Questions for Tier 2

• Who will provide Tier 2 intervention?
• Is additional time scheduled for Tier 2?
• Where will it be delivered?
• Is a system in place for progress-monitoring -
• Every two/three weeks? Every week?
• How will progress-monitoring be used to regroup
  students? change interventions? target
  instruction?
• What are the criteria for entry and exit?

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Proficiency Plans Middle School

• Different structures required
• 2006-07 Year One implementation

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Proficiency Plan Middle School
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2006-2007 Middle School Literacy Assessment Map
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2006-2007 Middle School Literacy Assessment Map
(cont.)
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Whats Next ? (2006-2007 and Beyond)

• Developing skill and independence of teachers to
  analyze reading problems through their progress
  monitoring efforts
• From forming to storming to norming, and then
  performing!
• Development of writing, spelling, vocabulary
  components of literacy program use of progress
  monitoring in these areas
• Institute at Middle School level, 06/7
• Begin more scrutiny of proficiency plans at HS
  level, 06/7

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Whats Next, cont.

• Piloting AIMSweb MAZE (Middle School)
• Focus on Middle School reading program
• Progress monitoring in Writing
• Progress Monitoring in Math

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Howd We Do?
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What has changed

• Teachers growing in the belief that they are the
  first line of intervention
• A shift in ownership (our kids)
• Teachers employing explicit instructional
  strategies
• More focus on phonics at the early grades
• Systematically taught according to prescribed
  scope and sequence
• A deeper understanding of the role of phonemic
  awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary
• A deeper understanding of the long term impact of
  problems in decoding
• An enhanced perspective on the importance of
  prevention, i.e., all kids can learn to read at
  proficient level or higher
• Reallocation of resources
• Role changes

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How did we get there?

• Worked to build common understanding among
  administrative team
• Focused on literacy and effective instruction and
  assessment, not RtI
• Involved all stakeholders
• Not only a special education or regular education
  initiative, but a blended philosophy put into
  practice
• Classroom as first line of intervention
  prevention vs. remediation
• Heightened expectations and increased support to
  teachers

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Longitudinal Data 2003 - 2006
LNF Letter Naming Fluency PSF Phoneme
Segmentation Fluency NWF Nonsense Word Fluency
(CVC) ORF Oral Reading Fluency
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Kindergarten Derry Township School District
of K students at Benchmark at the end of the
year
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3rd Grade Derry Township School District
of 3rd Grade students at Benchmark at the end
of the year (2005-2006 - 79 after May PM)
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1st Grade Derry Township School District
of 1st Grade students at Benchmark at the end
of the year
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2nd Grade Derry Township School District
of 2nd Grade students at Benchmark at the end
of the year (2005-2006 - 76 after May PM)
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4th Grade Derry Township School District
of 4th Grade students at Benchmark at the end
of the year
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5th Grade Derry Township School District
of 5th Grade students at Benchmark at the end
of the year
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Marriage of Progress Monitoring and Good
Instruction

• Principals focused teachers on doing what works
  in their classrooms as the impetus for the
  changes
• Demonstrating that the question of what works
  is answered through progress monitoring
• Minimalized the term RtI, yet showed
  connections over time
• Emphasized the importance of teachers doing the
  progress monitoring
• Not about keeping kids out of special
  education, but about good instruction in the
  regular classroom
• Let the data (student achievement) do the
  convincing
• Exceptional commitment by principals to support
  the sea of change

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Where we are

• Elementary classroom teachers are meeting
  collaboratively to plan instruction, based on
  data analysis
• Students in need of additional supports are
  provided boosting
• Intervention specialists
• Flexible small groups
• In addition to, not in place of
• Proficiency plans are developed for all students
  deemed to be at some level of risk
• Classroom teachers are providing students with
  focused instruction on their instructional
  levels, based on analysis of progress monitoring
  data

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Commitment District-Wide

• One voice heard
• Support from District Office
• Proficient is not prepared
• You dont have to be sick to need to get better
• Director of C I and Principals
• Meet frequently with staff, small groups, grade
  level teams, individual teachers
• A constant focus on the change process going to
  the next level
• Discussion with staff on 2nd order change (Tim
  Waters, McRel)

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What worked

• Keeping the focus on kids
• Keeping the focus on good instruction
• Keeping the focus on formative assessment and
  progress monitoring as a means of designing
  instruction
• Keeping the focus on prevention
• Keeping the focus on all students can learn to
  read at proficient levels or higher by end of
  third grade

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Conclusion

• Focus is on attainment of learning standardson
  improving educational outcomes and learning
  abilities! (student learning is the focus)
• Regular classroom is 1st line of intervention
• Merges regular, remedial, and special education
• Promotes data-based decisions
• Lack of progress change in intervention
• Not just for special education or for determining
  eligibility

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Helpful Books
Ive DIBELd, Now What? Susan Hall (Sopris
West)
Bringing Words to Life - Beck
The Voice of Evidence in Reading Research-
McCardle Chhabra
Overcoming Dyslexia Shaywitz
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In Conclusion continued.

• Considers cause of learning deficits outside of
  the learner
• Identification process is embedded in the
  intervention process removes wait to fail
• Frequent and regularly scheduled assessment
  drives instruction
• Program and curriculum evaluation.

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More Books
Fluency Instruction Research-Based Practices
Rasinski
Assessing Reading Multiple Measures CORE
Learning
Vocabulary Instruction Research to Practice
Baumann Kameenui
Response to Intervention NASDSE
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and More Books
Phonemic Awareness for Young Children Brookes
Response to Intervention Guilford
Road to the Code - Brookes
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Helpful Websites
www.sopriswest.com
www.fcrr.org
www.projectread.com
www.sedl.org
www.aimsweb.com
www.progressmonitoring.org
www.aea11.k12.ia.us
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More Websites
www.interventioncentral.org
www.nationalreadingpanel.org
www.texasreading.org/utcrla/
http//reading.uoregon.edu/
www.studentprogress.org
www.hershey.k12.pa.us/56039310111408/site/default.
asp
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YesMore Websites
www.fsds.org
http//oregonreadingfirst.uoregon.edu/
www.interdys.org
http//dibels.uoregon.edu/
http//www.nasponline.org/
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More
www.grownetwork.com
http//www.pbis.org/main.htm
https//solutions1.emetric.net/pssa/
www.drc-web.com/reportdelivery
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Questions? Implementation Discussion
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Contact Information

• Cindy Goldsworthy, Director of Curriculum and
  Instruction
• cgoldsworthy_at_hershey.k12.pa.us
• 717 534-2501
• Joe McFarland, Hershey Primary Principal
• jmcfarland_at_hershey.k12.pa.us
• 717 534-5202