McDowell County McDowell County SchoolsSchools

McDowell County McDowell County SchoolsSchools

Closing the Gap for Closing the Gap for

Struggling ReadersStruggling Readers

April 29, 2009April 29, 2009

Chuck Aldridge and Teri QueenChuck Aldridge and Teri Queen

Goals for Today!

• Ensuring fidelity and strategies are in place to increase the percentage of students reading and performing mathematics at grade level each year

• Ensuring fidelity and strategies are in place to decrease the percentage of students with serious reading difficulties each year at each grade level.

Percentage of SWD in McDowell County Schools AAGL

2002-2003

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

2006-2007

2007-2008

READING 44.9 52.8 70 73.1 72.1 25.8

NC 54.8 55 57.4 63.2 64.8 26

MATH 71.8 73.6 78.8 37.2 42.6 44.2

NC 65.9 66.6 65.7 36.4 39.9 43.2

• COMPARISON OF READING PROGRESS OF ALL STUDENTS

• AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES (SWD)

• 2001-2007 • • Percent At or Above Grade Level

GAIN 00-01 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07

• ALL NC• STUDENTS 77.1 79.5 84.9 85.3 85.7 86.7 87.4 10.3

• • NC SWD 44.3 50.1 54.8 55.0 57.4 63.2 64.8 20.5

Western Region % AAGL

Reading Grades 3-8• Henderson- 55.5• Yancey- 34.6• Jackson- 33.1• Haywood-31.6• Buncombe- 28.2•McDowell- 25.8• Mitchell- 24.7• Rutherford- 21.6

I Have a Dream

• We have come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of NOW…

• We have no time for the tranquilizing drug of gradualism…

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.August 28th, 1963

Challenges…• Educators must begin to embrace

data as a useful indicator of progress. They must stop disregarding or excusing unfavorable data and honestly confront the sometimes-brutal facts.

-Dufour, 2004

“Why weigh the hog unless you are going to feed it?”

Reid Lyon, Language! TOT, 2005

Goal: All children are reading at or above grade level by grade 3

Scientifically Based Reading Research

Phonemic Awareness

Phonics

Fluency

Vocabulary

Text Comprehension

Classroom based screening, diagnostic and ongoing assessments used in

instructional planning

Evidence-based instructional approaches, materials, and programs for classrooms and interventions for

struggling readers

Professional Development

Instructional Leadership

Connecting SBRR with instruction

Adapted from ncpublicschools.org/readingfirst

Without Proper Implementation, SBR

Will Not Matter• We are faced with the paradox of

non-evidence based implementation of evidence based programs.

• Even “research based practices” are like raw material: of very limited value until they are intelligently integrated in context.

Table Talk• Tell the strengths and needs of your school system in

regards to literacy.

• Does your school currently have in place research-based reading programs for at-risk, intervention or EC students?

• Is your school system currently using a research-based core reading program? If so, are you also using the intervention supplement that comes along with it?

The essential elements for success

Practices from effectiveDistricts, Schools, and

Classrooms

Provides information about how to assemble

and integrate all the components that are effective in improving

achievement.

Scientific research in reading and

reading instruction

Provides information about the instructional and assessment procedures that are most effective

Factors In Sustained Use Of

Research-Based Reading Programs

• Deliberate and realistic plan

• Teachers understand rationale

• Support systems in place

• Sufficient administrative support

• Explicit link between assessment

data and changes in instruction

Scientifically Based Interventions

• They always increase the intensity of instruction – they accelerate learning

The STANDARDAll policies, programs, and practices are

considered through the lens of:How does this impact student learning? Those that encourage

learning are embraced. Those that interfere with learning are discarded.

Using Intervention Programs

Pros

• Supportive Research• Professional Development• Predetermined Scope and Sequence• Pre-Published• Ability to match the materials to the

needs

Using Intervention Programs

Cons

• A single program may not meet every child’s needs

• Several different programs may be required

• Cost

Developing An Implementation Plan

Who?

– Target students – identification process

– Assessment tools and areas to assess

– Data collection

– Staff

Developing An Implementation Plan

Does it Work?

– Frequent assessment of students

– Assessment drives instruction

– Formal review process of student progress and program effectiveness

– Strong leadership and commitment of all involved/incentives

To Be Effective, Instruction For Students With Reading Difficulties, Must Be…

“more intensive, more relentless,

more precisely delivered, more

highly structured and direct,

and more carefully monitored

for procedural fidelity.”Ken Kavale, 1996

To Be Effective, You Must:

• Know your stuff,

• Know who you’re stuffing,

• Know why you’re stuffing,

• Stuff every minute of every lesson.

The Three Commandments of Relentlessness

The first commandment: Let no child ‘escape’ from first grade without being proficient in phonemic decoding skills

The second commandment: As children become accurate and independent readers, encourage, cajole, lead, beg, support, demand and reward them for reading as deeply and broadly as possible.

The Three Commandments of Relentlessness

The third commandment: Beginning in Kindergarten, teach vocabulary and thinking skills as intensely, and robustly as possible.

Torgesen, 2004

Differences in Learning to Read

• Able to read:

• Learn with ease:

• Learn with support:

• Learn with intensive support:

• Have pervasive reading disabilities:

Adapted by B. Bursuck based on Lyon, 1998

Other Estimates Of The Reading Problem• 1/3 of poor readers come from college

educated parents • 20% of all students have serious reading

problems• Another 20% do not have enough skill to

read with enjoyment• Reading researchers have shown that

95% of students can learn to read with high levels of fluency and comprehension

(Louisa Moats, 1999)

Catching Up?

How fast could How fast could

a 3rd grader, a 3rd grader,

reading 2 years reading 2 years

behind, catch behind, catch

up to grade up to grade

level?level?

1

6

5

4

2

3

7

2

4

Progress per year

6 mo.

1

6

5

4

2

3

7

4

2

Progress per year

12 mo.

2

6 mo.

1

6

5

4

2

3

7

4

2

Progress per year

2

18 mo.

2

12 mo.6 mo.

The Effects of Weaknesses in Oral Language on Reading Growth

(Hirsch, 1996)

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

16

15

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

Re

adi

ng

Ag

e L

eve

l

Chronological Age

Low Oral Language in Kindergarten

High Oral Language in Kindergarten

5.2 years difference

Measures of Parent and Child Language

Families

Professional Working-Class Welfare

Measures Parent Child Parent Child Parent Child

Recorded Vocab. 2,176 1,116 1,498 749 974 525

size

Average utterances 487 310 301 223 176 168

per hour

Average different 382 297 251 216 167 149

words per hour

Hart & Risley, 1995

Differences in exposure to words Differences in exposure to words

over one yearover one year

Children in Professional Families -- 11 Children in Professional Families -- 11 millionmillion

Children in Working-Class Families -- 6 Children in Working-Class Families -- 6 millionmillion

Children in Welfare Families -- 3 millionChildren in Welfare Families -- 3 million

(Hart & Risley, 1995)

The Expanding Achievement Gap

Grade in School

Ach

ieve

me

nt

K 1 2 3 4

HIGH GROUP

HIGH GROUP

MIDDLE GROUP

MIDDLE GROUP

LOW GROUPLOW GROUP

Brainstorming Activity

What are some What are some

common causes of common causes of

reading and spelling reading and spelling

problems?problems?

Causes of Persistent Reading Difficulties • 90% of poor readers have problems

with word reading accuracy

• Reading difficulty is related to inherited brain differences

• Phonological processing problems are the cause of most reading difficulties:– Phonological awareness– Rapid naming/word retrieval– Working memory

Students With PhonologicalAwareness Problems...

• Have difficulty segmenting words into sounds

• Have difficulty mapping sounds to letters or letter patterns

• May try to memorize words or over rely on context

• May be misdiagnosed as having comprehension problems

Students With Naming Problems...

• Difficulty quickly naming even familiar concepts such as colors, numbers, letters

• Difficulty learning names

• Recall information in context but not in isolation

Students With Naming Problems...

• Describe items rather than giving specific name

• Confuse names of items within categories: blue-green; here-there

• Appear to learn names but then “forget”

Students With Working Memory Problems...

• Have difficulty holding sounds in memory as they sound out a word

• May have difficulty holding words in memory to get the meaning of a sentence

Double And Triple Deficits• Students may have a combination

of 2 or all 3 of these problems:– Phonological awareness– Rapid naming/word retrieval – Working memory

• Double and triple deficit students are the most difficult to remediate

Struggling readers and spellers

• poor readers tend to be poor spellers

• deficit in phonological awareness

• poor PA makes memory of letter patterns difficult

• cannot deal with several layers of language because no layer is automatic

• improvement in reading often faster than improvement in spelling

Moats, 1996

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is

neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by

difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word

recognition and by poor spelling and decoding

abilities. These difficulties typically result from a

deficit in the phonological component of language

that is often unexpected in relation to other

cognitive abilities and the provision of effective

classroom instruction...

specific learning disabilityspecific learning disability

difficulties with accurate and/or difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognitionfluent word recognitionpoor spelling and decoding abilitiespoor spelling and decoding abilities

deficit in the phonological deficit in the phonological component of languagecomponent of languageunexpected in relation to unexpected in relation to

other cognitive abilitiesother cognitive abilitieseffective classroom instructioneffective classroom instruction

neurobiologicalneurobiological

What Is Dyslexia?

… “Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and

reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and

background knowledge.”

Secondary consequencesSecondary consequencesproblems in reading comprehensionproblems in reading comprehension

reduced reading experiencereduced reading experienceimpede growth of vocabulary and impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledgebackground knowledge

What Is Dyslexia?

Normal vs DyslexicNormal vs Dyslexic

LLRR

Brain Imaging

Neural Response to Intervention

Does the pattern of brain activation change in response to intervention?

8 children with severe dyslexia (7 to 17)8 week intense phonologically- based

intervention (2 hours a day= up to 80 hours of instruction)

Very large improvements in reading ability

Simos et al., Simos et al., NeurologyNeurology, 2002, 2002

Strong activation Strong activation patternpattern

Weak activation Weak activation patternpattern

Decreased activity Decreased activity in right hemispherein right hemisphere Increased activity in Increased activity in

left hemisphereleft hemisphere

Dyslexia• Is an appropriate label for 5% of

students with reading problems

• Is a matter of degree of difficulty with reading and not a different type of problem

• Is not seeing words backwards or seeing shaking letters

• Verbal intelligence

• Visual problems

• Attentional difficulties

• Lack of appropriate instruction

• Pre-school language delay or impairment

• Limited English Proficiency

Additional Factors In Poor Literacy Skills

Components Of Reading Instruction

COMPREHENSION

DECODINGPhonemic AwarenessPhonics/Word Attack

Sight words FLUENCYRate

AutomaticityExpression

Background KnowledgeVocabularyStrategies

Text Structure

Principles of Reading Instruction

– Principles of Instruction for all students• explicit

– Principles of Instruction for at-risk students• systematic

– Principles of Instruction for persistent reading problems• multisensory

– Principles of Instruction for double-deficit students• decodable text

Principles Of Reading Instruction

For All Children• Teach phonemic awareness and

phonics explicitly, systematically, and early (kindergarten & grade 1).

• Provide frequent opportunities for guided, oral reading.

• Teach vocabulary and a variety of strategies for comprehension.

Felton & Lillie, 2001

Teaching At-Risk Children To Read

• Teach phonemic awareness skills early.

• Teach sound-spelling associations explicitly and in a careful sequence.

• Teach sounding out and blending directly.

• Use decodable text for practice.

• Read good literature to students for language comprehension.

Felton & Lillie, 2001

Principles Of Remediation for students with persistent

problems learning to read • Base instruction on assessment.

• Use systematic, cumulative, explicit, direct, and multisensory instruction.

• Use guided discovery and guided practice.

• Teach for mastery and automaticity.

Felton & Lillie, 2001

Teaching Students With Double Deficits

• Use explicit phonological awareness instruction. Blend and segment words with three sounds.

• Teach a few letter-sounds to make CVC words. Use cues for recall. Letter-sounds more important than letter names.

• Use explicit instruction at all levels of decoding/encoding.

Felton & Lillie, 2001

Teaching Students with Double Deficits

• Use decodable text until skills well established

• Use explicit instruction in reading and spelling irregular words

• Teach each skill to mastery and automaticity. Use over-learning, systematic review, and sufficient cues

Teaching Students With

Double Deficits• Teach fluency and comprehension

strategies throughout reading instruction.

• Strengthen word associations and meanings and provide strategies for retrieval.

• Provide continual instruction so skills are not lost. Instruction during school breaks may be needed.

Felton & Lillie, 2001

Learning to Read and Spell: A National Problem

Summary• From 20% to 40% of students experience

difficulty with reading and spelling

• Problems with reading and spelling persist throughout schooling and adult life

• Most reading problems are at the level of decoding words

Learning to Read: A National Problem

Summary

• Most poor readers have problems with phoneme awareness, rapid naming, and/or working memory

• To become a skilled reader a child must link letters to sounds

• To become a skilled speller a child must link sounds to letters

• There are recognized stages of reading and spelling development

Insuring all Students Make Expected Yearly

Growth• Strong Core Reading instruction for all students• Enough Time spent to meet the needs of many

students who do not typically receive powerful support at home

• Enough quality so that the increased instructional time is spent effectively

Instructional time X Quality =

GROWTH

Whether of not we achieve these goals

depends on the strength of our instruction to do two things during the

year

• Insure students who are behind make expected yearly growth PLUS catch up growth

Fidelity of Reading Instruction

• Average of Sessions at end of Feb. 2009-

43 3630 3840 56IC IC

Fidelity of Reading Instruction

• Average of Sessions Missed at end of Feb. 2009-

50 4538 6536 50IC IC

Average- 47

Our Challenge

• Ensuring fidelity and strategies are in place to increase the percentage of students reading and performing mathematics at grade level each year

• Ensuring fidelity and strategies are in place to decrease the percentage of students with serious reading difficulties and math difficulties each year at each grade level.

Sources

• Adams. M. (1990). Beginning to Read: Thinking and learning about print. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

• Dickman, G. (2003). “Theme editor’s summary: The nature of learning disabilities through the lens of reading Research.” Perspectives, Spring.

Sources• Moats, L. (1999) Teaching reading is rocket science: What expert teachers

of reading should know and be able to do. A publications of the American Federation of Teachers.

• National Assessment of Education Progress (2003) . Website: nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.

• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2003). Website: ncreportcards.org.

• Shaywitz, S. (2003). News Release. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.