Data and Decisions

 

Introduction:

Most schools use interventions like the Reading Center to help struggling readers. As schools get more serious about getting results, they begin to make more of their decisions about intervention based upon data.  Many schools still rely exclusively on opinion but research shows that using data to help you make decisions, leads to better decisions.  The three big questions with regard to interventions are listed below along with suggestions about how to use data to answer the questions.

 

Which Students Need Assistance?

The best way to determine who needs help is with Universal Screening.  This involves using a very brief "test" to quickly screen some or all students in a school.   Most districts use a team to "sweep" through a school and one school can be completed in a day or less.  When you have screening scores on all students you can quickly see which students are low and need help.  You can also see if there are problems with the core reading curriculum.  For example, if many second grade students are "low" it makes more sense to look at what is happening in first grade reading than it does to intervene with many second grade students. 

The most common programs for universal screening include the following:

bullet iSTEEP:  System to Enhance Educational Performance

iSTEEP usees a research-based system and it is the quickest and most efficient way to do universal screening in reading.  The fluency assessments require 1-minute per student in Kdg thru 6th grade.  Screening in Reading Comprehension is also available. 

bullet DIBELS

DIBELS is also a research-based system.  Assessments require 5 minutes to 20 minutes per student.  The system offers considerable information about phonemic awareness and other early literacy skills. 

bullet Data Management of Universal Screening

Universal screening collects a lot of information quickly.  To make sense of the information most schools rely on a computerized data system.  Several alternatives are available.  DIBELS has a system which can be obtained for $1.00 per student.  iSTEEP also has a data system which manages data in reading, math, reading comprehension and several other subjects.  The iSTEEP system also manages DIBELS data with options that are less expensive than DIBELS or most other systems. 

What Type of Assistance Do Students Need

Once it is decided that a student needs "help" the next question is:  What type of help do they need.  How do you determine which intervention is appropriate?  This is an area where there is not a great deal of research to guide schools.  Yet, it is one of the most frequently cited areas of need for teachers and administrators.  The Intervention Central web site contains a great deal of information to help schools with selecting a good research-based intervention.  Some computer based reading programs will automatically assess students and provide them with appropriate instruction within their program.  A list of computer-based reading  programs can be found on the Florida Center for Reading Research web site:  www.fcrr.org.   A data based decision-making system is available with the iSTEEP intervention center. 

bullet iSTEEP Intervention Center

The iSTEEP system uses universal screening data to provide a list of who needs help.   It can also "prescribe" the type of reading intervention a student needs.   It does not recommend a particular intervention produced by a specific company.  Instead, it recommends a type of intervention and the user can select from a short list of companies that provide that type of intervention. 

Is the Intervention Working

The key thing to being effective with intervention is tracking student progress.  This means that periodically (usually once per week) a brief assessment is administered to the student.  This is built into the Reading Center.  By graphing the information you hope to see the "dots" on the graph go UP the page.  Several options exist for graphing.

 

bullet Graphing by Hand

There is nothing better for getting a feel for what is going on with a student that doing the progress monitoring and then taking out a piece of paper and putting the "dot" or score on the chart.  This causes you to be more aware of what is going on.  You still have to make decisions about the graph and if you want help in that area, the options below may be of interest.

bullet Chart Dog

The Intervention Central web site has great tool called chart dog that will track student progress and help you make better decisions. 

bullet iSTEEP Intervention Center

iSTEEP also has a student tracking system.  The system is easy to use and helps you determine whether the intervention is working or not.  It is prescriptive and tells you whether you need to make a change of maintain the same intervention.  It is compatible with schools using RTI (Response to Intervention) approaches.