Each and Every ChildQuick news for Parents, Educators and Students

February 2013 Volume 2, Issue 10

An e-newsletter by the Iowa Department of Education’s Bureau of Learner Strategies and Supports

Also in this issue:• Dr. John Hosp• Parent/teacher relations

RtI: Strong results guaranteed

Educators at Hoyt Middle School meet regularly to discuss individ-ual results.

You dont have to convinceLaura Kacer that Response toIntervention, or RtI, is the wayto go for screening studentperformance and providing di-rect intervention. She knows itworks.

Consider: In the time this prin-cipal at Hoyt Middle School inDes Moines rolled out RtIbuilding wide last fall, profi-ciencies have soared.Whereas only 33 percent ofthe sixth-through-eighthgraders were considered pro-ficient last fall, this winterstesting revealed that a full 49percent are proficient. Andthey expect those percent-ages will continue to get bet-ter.

Theres no question it was alabor of love and necessity.Proficiency scores at thisschool in which nearly 9 out of10 students qualify for free orreduced-price lunches wereabysmally low. And unaccept-able to Laura.

“We needed to be diagnosticand break down the complexreading skills,” she said. “Weneeded to determine whatcomponents were missingfrom each childs skills.”

Enter RtI, which focuses onindividuals.

“This year is different than be-

fore because our work has beenspecifically targeted at individualneeds of students,” Laura said.“We care very little about the age,but focus on their needs. It madefor a messy schedule for adultsbut its great for kids.”

RtI is considered a general edu-cation tool, meaning that it is forall students, including those withIEPs.

Liz Griesel, the academicachievement coach, said the fre-quency of progress monitoringdepends upon the individual stu-dent. Some receive it more thanweekly, while others are moni-tored every other week.

Heartland Area Education

Agencys Sue Severson, who hasworked closely with the school onimplementation with fidelity, saysit has been interesting watchingthe school transform.

“Everybody is looking at each kidand asking what is happeninghere? and what do we need todo differently. These students arelucky.”

“Whats going on here is not somuch about materials, its aboutroutine,” Sue said. “How do wedevelop routine to ensure the ef-fort becomes self-sustaining. It isvery explicit in nature.”

“Teachers are really talking aboutwhats happening,” Sue said. “Ihave seen teachers become trulyeffective teachers.”

“Its no longer guesswork,” Laurasaid. “No time is wasted. We takeinto consideration each student. Ifthe intervention isnt working, weadjust. It is not an option for it notto work. Each student will suc-ceed.”

When a student is determined toneed interventions, the informa-tion is shared with student and

“We take into con-sideration eachstudent. If the in-tervention isntworking, we adjust.It is not an optionfor it not to work.”

Principal Laura Kacer

Continued on the next page

parent alike, outlining thestudents deficit and the tra-jectory of improvement thatis expected.

“Teachers are feeling moreempowered,” Laura said.

With the elaborate screeningunder way, students defi-ciencies are readily spotted.

“Especially in middle school,if you cant read by then, thestudent has developed cop-ing skills to get by,” Liz said.“With diagnostics, they canno longer fool us.”

Today, the students at Hoyt are much more engaged –particularly noteworthy since

This graphic shows Hoyts sixth graders went from being 27 proficient, or estab-lished, in reading last fall to nearly 47 percent proficient this winter.

Continued from previous page

Hoyts Academic Achievement Coach Liz Griesel, left, and Teacher KristiBrown confer on a students achievement.

they are middle-school age.

“Students are looking at their (tra-jectory) graphs and watching theirprogress,” Liz said. “We also sharewith the parents and make sugges-tions on what they can do at hometo help reinforce classroom work.”For Laura, this approach is aboutdignity.

“I talk with the students, sayingthis is where you are, and this iswhere we are going with you. Stu-dents know you have a plan for them.”

Theres no question in Lizs mindthat other schools will soon bescrambling to launch RtI.

“When other schools see the in

credible growth, they will to do this,too.”

Liz previously taught social stud-ies, and remembers well the chal-lenging behaviors of some of hermiddle school students.

“But I understand that when thereare behavior issues, oftentimes itsbecause the student feels frus-trated when you ask him to dosomething he cannot do.”

Sue says that without Laurasleadership, the plan would havenever taken off.

“Lauras leadership makes a hugedifference,” she said.

Laura hastened to add, “Youre

only as strong as the teacherswho are around you.”

When Teacher Kristi Brown cameto Hoyt, she became concerned.

“I have a special education back-ground, and Im used to usingdata,” Kristi said. “But when Istarted, I didnt feel like everyoneknew the children. There were alot of assumptions.”

The implementation of RtI makesall the difference, Kristi said. Butdoes RtI take up more time?

“At first, yes, while you are settingup the routine,” Kristi said. “Nowthat were on the routine and thekids know the routine, it justflows.”

Dr. John Hosp is chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at the Universityof Iowa. His teaching and research involve using assessment data for decisionmaking and planning effective instruction. He is a co-author of The ABCs of CBM: Apractical guide to Curriculum-Based Measurement. His wife, Michelle Hosp, is aconsultant with the Iowa Department of Education.

By Dr. John Hosp

When most of us hear the word “as-sessment” we think of tests—spelling tests, the ACT, the IowaAssessments, etc. Tests are impor-tant because they help us evaluate ifinstruction was effective and stu-dents learned the material taught.This is why tests help make summa-tive decisions – they let teachersand parents “sum up” the learningthat has occurred. However, theyare only one part of a broader as-sessment system.

Other types of assessment includereviewing prior materials or worksamples; interviewing teachers, par-ents, or students; and observing in-struction or student performance.These can provide additional infor-mation that often cannot be gainedfrom tests to make summative deci-sions. They also can be used to pro-vide information of a different type ofdecision – formative.

Formative decisions are about plan-ning instruction in order to improvestudent learning. In previous issuesof Each and Every Child, Dr. SharonVaughn wrote about differentiatingand intensifying instruction. This iscrucial to meeting the needs of eachstudent. Formative decisions involvehow to differentiate or intensify in-struction and what to focus on whenteaching. So how can reviewing, in-terviewing, observing, and testinghelp us make formative decisions?

• Reviewing prior information aboutthe instruction a student has re-ceived can help us to decide whathas worked or not in the past. If astudent has clearly responded betterto small group work rather than one-on-one, it would be a better optionfor that student.

• Interviewing the student to find outhis perception of his learning andlearning preferences might help usmake decisions about motivation or

how well he understands what hedoes and does not yet know how todo. A student who feels he is an ex-cellent reader when performingbelow grade level may have goodmotivation to read. That can beuseful in providing the studentextra instruction to accelerate hislearning.

• Observing students interact withthe teacher and each other canprovide information on what typesof grouping (small group or wholeclass) might be best for some stu-dents to help keep them on taskand engaged. Observing a studentinteract with the instructional mate-rials can also help determine inter-est and motivation. Often observingand interviewing work well togetherto compare what a student saysand what he does.

• Tests can provideinformation on whata student haslearned. Tests thatare specific to a unit or lesson canprovide evidence ofwhat a student knewbefore the lessonand then what theygained from it. Teststhat are designed to

determine the level of mas-tery can be used to determineif a student is accurate at atask (such as reading or mathcomputation), but slow to per-form it or both accurate andfluent.

Before, during, and after in-struction, teachers mustmake a lot of decisions. Goodteachers base these deci-sions on assessment informa-tion. Because a lot ofinformation is already avail-able or can be collected in dif-ferent ways, having a clearplan of how to collect what in-formation can eliminate a fewof those decisions so there ismore time to teach.

About the author

Formative:Another kind of assessment

I read Each and Every Child today,and decided to respond to your queryabout engaging with parents. As muchas possible, we try to encourage par-ents to feel they are a part of the team.While we have certain deadlines wemust meet, I would never call a parentand say "We need to have a meetingon this day, at this time..." It would bemore like, "We need to have a meetingby the end of the month. What worksfor you?" And I know this does notsound like a big deal, but parents havework schedules and lives, just like wedo. Showing them up front that we ac-knowledge that, and are even honoringthat by getting their input first, tellsthem we care about them. That setsthe stage for ongoing engagement.

I have also found it very helpful to call aparent (or in some cases e-mail or text)when their child did something well, orwas having an exceptional day. Wewould be more likely to call if some-thing went wrong, so I think those occa-sional calls when things are going wellfor their child are a breath of fresh air.

Also, I believe meeting parents on their"turf" has been effective. I know teach-ers cannot do this all the time, butmeeting a parent at the local restaurantafter school, or making the occasionalhome visit if there are several childrenin the household goes a long way inbuilding relationships, and likewise,parent engagement.

Short video touts parent/teacher collaboration

A video shows how parents and teachers can work togetherfor positive change.

Created by Brown Universitys Annenberg Institute forSchool Reform – which is a national policy research and re-form organization – the video shows a real-life situation inwhich parents and teachers in Minneapolis got together tosave the closure of a school. The video also works to rid theblame-and-shame mindset so prevalent in todays Americaneducation system.

The video can be seen at http://vimeo.com/57541641. (Thislink is not live.)

Educators, teachers working together

Kristine Oswald is aschool social worker forthe Mississippi BendAEA, and works prima-rily in the North ScottSchool District.

Establishing a good rapport will benefit the studentFinally, every district has thoseparents who are on top of theirgame- those parents who couldlead a support group or mentoranother parent because of the ex-periences they have had with theirown child. I have a couple par-ents I call on (with permission, ofcourse!) when I meet a parentwho is just starting on their jour-ney with their child. The messageis: "Here is someone who haswalked in your shoes. Call them ifyou think it might help. It's up toyou." Our parents are an incredi-ble resource. We only need togive them the opportunity to step-up, and they rise to the occasionevery time!

Kristine Oswald, LISW

And finally....Over the last several months, weve exploredmany concepts involved in effective teachingin Each and Every Child.

Next month, we will review these concepts,and put it altogether to enable you to see howthese critical pieces fit together.

And, as always, we love to hear from you, whetherits a story idea, a success, a criticism, or anythingyou would like to share with others statewide (or justthe Department). Email jim.flansburg@iowa.gov.

We are working together to ensure success for eachand every child. Its not just their futures, its the veryfuture of our state.