S'More From The AP
Week Ending October 9, 2015
Progress Monitoring by Mrs. Young
Okay, y’all...I have a confession to make. I love data! Okay, I said it! The cats out of the bag! I LOVE to look at data! I know call me a nerd! To me there is something thrilling about analyzing those numbers, and seeing those scores go up even if it’s just 2 little points. Progress is progress! I love to share this progress with my kiddos and their parents. They are excited. Their parents are excited. I am excited! Life is good!
And, then there’s real life…Sometimes that data shows improvement and sometimes it doesn’t. L Other times it shows improvement, but not enough for a kiddo to meet end of grade level expectations. So for me, data is more than just numbers on a page. I use it to drive whole group, small group, and individual instruction.
Personally, I like to put class data all on one page. I like to hi-lite with red the kiddos who are considered tier 3 and with yellow the kiddos who are tier 2. I like to chart exactly the point increase or decrease. I like to know exactly how many points above or below the cut score my students are. I told you I was a nerd!
Now iStation gives you a wealth of information on your students’ reading progress. When I looked at it the first time, I thought great, now what do I do with all of this? I went to an iStation training over the summer that gave incredible insight into how to look at iStation data, but for me that wasn’t enough. I wanted to look at what I wanted to look at for all my students all on one page. So, the nerd that I am, I came up with my own “spreadsheet” if you will. I will admit that you can find all of this iStation data using graphs and reports from iStation itself. But for me, I need something with all my students all in one place color-coded in a way that was easy for me to read and understand.
Here is how I organize my data…
This particular spreadsheet is for overall reading, but I also have additional spreadsheets for vocabulary, spelling, comprehension, and text fluency. On each sheet, I have marked in red the kiddos who are considered tier 3, and in yellow the kiddos who are considered tier 2. I have circled the kiddos who’s score was technically in the tier 1 range, but a little too close to tier 2 for my liking. I have also calculated how many points each kid has increased or decreased in each area. With this system, I can easily see if my students are moving tiers and/or making progress.
Because my data is all on one page, I can quickly see who is falling below grade level expectations. In addition, I can use these spreadsheets to guide my whole group, small group, and individual instruction.
For example, when I looked at my vocabulary spreadsheet, I noticed that I had quite a few kids in the red and yellow area. When I looked deeper into the questions being asked, they were all about synonyms and antonyms. This is a 3rd grade TEK covered later in the year. Because my students show a need for it now, I’m going to go ahead and design a whole group lesson around this area of weakness.
I like to gather all of my students’ individual data on notecards, which I use to plan for small group instruction. I plan my small groups based on grade level TEKS, classroom observations, iStation results from my spreadsheets, and/or my students’ current iStation cycles.
Once I have created notecards for all my students, the students in the same group for that week are grouped together on the same ring. I chose this particular method of organizing individual student data because I like to have it readily available to me, while I am planning and teaching. I can write my students goals on their notecards as well as any notes I am taking as I am teaching/observing in my small group. I also like this method because it allows for flexible grouping. I can easily rearrange notecards and rings without any hassle.
Here is what they look like…
So, now you all know what I like to do in my free time! Just kidding! But I do love to collect, organize, and analyze data! I know exactly what my students need and I do not have to guess when planning for the week. Having clear, focused, and specific goals for my students allows me to better plan my instruction and make better use of my time!
The Principal Ponders
Why Progress Monitoring?
As teachers, we all want what is best for our students – what it is that is going to make them successful or make the light bulb finally turn on! Progress monitoring is an effective way to make informed instructional decisions that can lead students down the path to success.
Progress monitoring is used to assess student progress or performance in areas in which students may be struggling or at-risk of failing. It is a method that teachers use to establish whether a student is benefitting from the instructional program that is in place, identify those students not making progress, and help create interventions for students who are not advancing with regular instruction. As Mrs. Young shared, progress monitoring allows her to quickly see if any of her students are falling below the grade level expectation. In addition, she is able to see which skills her students show a need for NOW, rather than waiting until later in the year. Perhaps most important, she uses the data she gathers from progress monitoring to guide her whole group, small group, and individual instruction.
So you may be asking how progress monitoring will assist you, or better yet, your students, in the classroom? Well, according to the National Center on Student Progress Monitoring, when implemented correctly, progress monitoring has the following benefits:
· Students learn quicker due to receiving more appropriate instruction (makes sense to me!)
· Teachers make more informed instructional decisions (yep!)
· Documentation of student progress is readily available for accountability purposes (Does RTI ring a bell?)
· Communication increases between school and home in regard to student progress (no grading surprises!)
· Teachers have higher expectations for students
· There is a decrease in special education referrals
Progress monitoring provides a wealth of information for anyone working with a particular student – classroom teacher, special education teacher, counselor, etc. It is a quick and easy way to determine the status of your class in order to make the necessary instructional changes to lead your students to success.