A Strong Connection:
The Importance of Assessment to Response To Intervention
A well-functioning RTI program uses reading assessments to address and meet the needs of students.
There are four functions of assessment used in an RTI system: screening, diagnosis, progress monitoring and outcome measurement. Our district does a great job of utilizing all four purposes of assessment by using AIMSweb and the Serravallo Protocol as integral parts of our RTI program.
AIMSweb is a benchmark and progress monitoring system based on direct, frequent and continuous student assessment.
In our district, all students are universally screened with assessments three times a year. Those students below benchmark are then assessed from a diagnostic perspective and progress monitored every three weeks. Finally, all students are assessed at the end of the year to show their development in relation to school, district and national norms.
The Serravallo Protocol is a problem-solving approach that utilizes a broad array of assessments to give a full picture of the student.
We use an open RTI system of assessment and instruction in our school. We meet as PLGs weekly and take the time run the Serravallo Protocol on struggling readers. Assessment information is collaboratively discussed and instruction is informed by this data.
Resources:
Afflerbach, P. (2012). Understanding and using reading assessment, K-12 (2nd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
http://wcs.whitfield.k12.ga.us/aimsweb