RtI: Data-Based Decision Making – Case 1

BACKGROUND

Student: Fabio

Age: 10

Grade: 4

Time of Year: November

Problem Identification: Based on his AP1 FAIR data and county decision trees, it was determined at the beginning of the first semester that Fabio might have some decoding issues which were impacting his reading assessments. He was screened with the Phonics Screener for Intervention (PSI) and it was determined he could not decode multisyllabic words.

Intervention: As you can see on the Teacher Data Team record, at the first meeting an intervention was decided, goals were set and a follow up date was scheduled. An intervention was designed in multisyllabic words with silent-e for a 3 week cycle. After cycle 1, Fabio moved to a Tier 2 word study group with a focus on open syllables. The Teacher Data Team decided to monitor Fabio’s progress with the PSI and record his words correct per minute (wcpm) on oral reading fluency ORF. As of today, Fabio has received Tier 2 services for eight weeks. Intervention groups meet for 30 minutes, five times per week. At the first Teacher Data Team Meeting it was decided to continue the decoding intervention. Also, a goal was set for Fabio to show growth from an ORF score of 84 to 92 wcpm over the next four weeks. His Tier 2 interventionist believes he has made some progress with the more targeted instruction.

Hypothesis: The teams’ hypothesis was that if Fabio’s fluency with decoding multisyllabic words improved, his overall fluency would improve which would also lead to improved reading comprehension.

You are part of the Teacher Data Team that is meeting now after eight weeks of intervention. Use the data below to make informed decisions about Fabio and answer the questions on the back of this page.

WEEKLY (Cold Read) READING TESTS
Date / Score / Date / Score
Week 1 / 45 / Week 5 / 68
Week 2 / 48 / Week 6 / 70
Week 3 / 50 / Week 7 / 68
Week 4 / 65 / Week 8 / 65
DRLA
Date / Score / Class Avg.
Plcmt. / 55 / 80
Fall / 65 / 86
FAIR
Date / FPS / Read. Comp. / Maze / Word Analysis
AP1 / 35% / 40 / 25 / 24
Oral Reading Fluency – 2 week cycles
Date / Week / Score
9/20 baseline / 0 / 80
10/4 / 2 / 84
10/18 / 4 / 89
11/1 / 6 / 91
PSI Results
Skill / Initial Score
Sept. 18 / Progress Monitoring
Oct. 4 / Progress Monitoring
Nov. 1
Silent –e syllables / 2/7 / 7/7 / 7/7
Open syllables / 3/7 / 5/7 / 7/7

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 Weeks

Tasks:

1.  Plot Fabio’s ORF data.

2.  Using the graph, determine what type of response the student is having to the intervention (positive, negative, questionable). Positive

3.  Is the rate of progress acceptable? yes

4.  Should the intervention continue? Yes. The intervention should continue with progress monitoring to make sure the gap is closing.

5.  What should the teacher data team expect to see in Tier 1 and Tier 2 over the next 4 weeks if this rate of progress continues? Teacher data team will be looking at progress monitoring data to ensure student is learning targeted phonics skills, oral reading fluency is improving and also be looking for improvement in comprehension in Tier One.

6.  Complete the Teacher Data Team Meeting records by filling in the rest of the information for meeting 2. Update the team suggestions, status of interventions, progress monitoring and follow up.

Points to ponder:

1.  Does Fabio show a need for increased intensity in his intervention? Not at this time

2.  How big is Fabio’s gap? Fabio 92 (orf) Benchmark mid year 112

How far below grade level is Fabio? Approximately ½ year, but since decoding skills are weaker could be further.

3.  If Fabio continues at this rate, will his gap be closed in 4th grade? There approximately 24 weeks left for instruction. His scores went up by 4 words, 5 words and 2 words every 2 weeks for an average of 3.67 wpm (every 2 weeks). If this rate continues, after 12 two week periods, his ORF should go up by 43 words, which should put him at 135 wpm.