Name: George
Date of Birth: 5/20/92
Age: 11 years old
Sex: Male
Grade: 5
School: PS 4
Dominant Spoken Language: English
Testing Administered by: J. Smith
Reason for Referral
According to George's mother, George is demonstrating both academic and
behavioral difficulties which are impeding his performance in school. In particular, his
family is concerned about George's reading ability. At home, he is unable to read or do
homework. He has told them that he hates reading, and will often refuse to even attempt
it. They are hoping this remedial reading program will benefit George.
Background Information
George is a shy 11- year old Hispanic male attending PS 4 in the Bronx. His
mother is a single parent who is living with George and his two younger brothers. He
also has an older sister who is living in an apartment close to them. George is
particularly close to his mom and his sister, and enjoys spending time with them.
His mother only speaks Spanish, but his sister is bilingual, and was able to translate
during the interview. George's mother is suffering from asthma and some other illness,
and George has expressed fears to Ms. Smith about her dying.
According to George's mother, George does not have any medical alerts, other
that the fact that he is taking Adderall once a day. He did not have any pre/post-natal
difficulties. His sister and his mother are more concerned about his performance in
school, and his behavior at home. They report that he has poor sleep habits, a bad
temper, and he does not help around the house. He must constantly be encouraged to do
chores, and often gets angry and yells at his mother. In terms of friends, he has shown
aggression when provoked.
Interest Inventory
In terms of George's interests, he enjoys baseball, computers, animals, Simpson
cartoons, playing games, PlayStation, building things, and wrestling. He would like to be
\,
a professional baseball player, and is currently on a little league team (comprised mainly
of cousins and friends). His favorite colors are red and blue, and he states that his worst
subject in school is reading.
Behavioral Observations
During the initial assessment and informal testing, it became clear that sustaining
George's attention and interest would be challenging. During a fifteen minute period,
George demonstrated fidgety behavior, and he kept asking if the task was finished. It
was clear that every fifteen minutes, it would be necessary to provide him with an
opportunity to move around or do another activity, before returning to the task.
George spoke in a very low tone, and often needed to be prompted to speak louder
so he could be understood. His initial responses alternated between impulsive one-word
answers, and silent shrugging of the shoulders. However, after repeated encouragement
and prompting, the length of his verbal responses increased.
It was noted that he especially disliked giving written responses (writing a word
or sentence, etc.), as he would often state that he did not want to do the task, or complain
that he did not know how to spell. In general, it was noted that as soon as he reached the
slightest point of difficulty, his restlessness and agitation heightened; he would squirm in
his seat, ask to take a break, keep looking at the clock, etc.. In addition, it is important to
state that assessment took place in a room in which another child was also being assessed.
During initial assessment, George would notice when the other child was given a break,
become distracted, and have to be redirected to the task. These conditions improved after
a few days.
Tests Administered
Stieglitz Informal Reading Inventory (SIRI)
Teacher Made Tests (TMT) - spelling (1stgrade words- 3/10 = 30%)
Stielditz Informal Reading Inventorv (SIRI)
The SIRI is an extensive reading assessment designed to measure both typical and
atypical reading levels. Five parts of the SIRI were administered to George: Graded
Words in Context, Graded Reading Passages, Graded Words in Isolation, Stieglitz
Assessment of Phonemic Awareness (SAPhA) and the Dictated Story Assessment
Strategy. Below is a brief description of what each section actually measures.
Graded Words in Context - estimates what the student's base level/independent reading
level is, and which passage in the Graded Reading Passages to begin with.
Graded Reading Passages - determines the student's independent, instructional, and
frustration reading levels. The instructor chooses between narrative and expository
passages.
Graded Words in Isolation - provides the instructor with an idea of how well the student
decodes words, and his/her level of sight vocabulary
Stieglitz Assessment of Phonemic Awareness (SAPhA) - assesses phonemic awareness
skills; sound-letter relationships.
Dictated Story Assessment Strategy - is designed to assess the reading skills of those
whose base level/independent level on the Graded Words in Context section was below
Grade1
SIRI Results
Graded Words in Context:
Pre-primer - 90%
Primer - 90%
First Grade - 65%
Graded Reading Passages Text:
First Grade - comprehension (independent level = 0 errors), word recognition
(frustration level = 11 miscues)
Stieglitz Assessment of Phonemic Awareness:
Rhyming words -19/20 (=above mean score), Blending Speech Sounds into words
25/30 (=above mean score), Isolating Speech -12/15 (=above mean score),
Complete Segmentation of Phonemes - 8/22 (= 4 points below mean score)
Dictated Story Assessment Strategy (photo # 6 - Man and Beast):
\
Questions - 6/7 (Good with literal questions, difficulty with interpretive question)
Dictated story - very difficult; needed several prompts to stimulate ideas so he could
form 3 sentences; did not seem aware of how to tie sentences together to create a
story. He was able to copy the 3 dictated sentences.
Interpretation and Analysis of SIRI Results
According to the instructions listed in the Stieglitz manual, the Graded Words in
Context (GWC) helps determine the student's base/independent level, (the level at
which student can pronounce every target word correctly). This base level indicates
the point at which to start on the Graded Reading Passages (GRP). If the student's base
level is below the first grade level on the GWC, the GRP does not have to be
administered, (unless the instructor chooses to do so, to further examine decoding skills,
sight word knowledge, structural analysis, comprehension, etc.).
In George's case, he answered 9/10 questions correctly on the Pre-Primer level of
the GWC. George stated that he did not know how to read the word "ride". He scored the
same on the Primer level of the GWC. He stated that he did not know the word "found".
On the first grade level, however, his scores drastically reduced to 65% (13/20). The
instructor could not proceed to higher levels of testing on the GWC. In addition, the base
level is the level at which George identifies all the target words correctly. Yet, in this
case, in the lowest set (Pre-primer), George had one mistake. In the instructor's
estimation, this placed George's base/independent level between Preprimer and Primer
grades.
Even though it was not necessary to use the Graded Reading Passages (GRP)
because George's base level on the GWC was below first grade, the instructor decided to
use the first grade narrative "A Snowy Day" on the GRP . In terms of strengths, George
scored 5/5 on the comprehension questions. The instructor noted that for the literal
questions (factual questions), George would refer to the passage before giving his
answers. He demonstrated good listening skills and the instructor did not have to
repeat the questions. He also seemed to have a good understanding of what the "WH"
questions were about (i.e.; what, where, and why).
On a different note, there were several sight words in this passage that George did
not know (i.e.; want, go, out, play, could, some, used, etc.). George did not attempt to
sound out, or use context clues to determine the words; instead, he just looked at the
word, and quickly said "I don't know", shrugged his shoulders, and waited for the
instructor to help him. The instructor also noticed that he did not seem aware of past
tense, or plurals. He would omit the "ed", and/or the "s" at the end of words (ie;
want /wanted, ball/balls, etc.). In addition, the instructor noted that
his word-by-word reading interrupted fluency. Overall, the scoring sheet indicated that
George's reading level is below Grade One, as his word recognition was at the
frustration level for this Grade One passage.
The Stieglitz Assessment of Phonemic Awareness (SAPhA) provided some
knowledge about how George perceives letter-sound relationships. George scored very
well on the Rhyming Words section (stating whether or not two words rhyme). On the
Isolated Speech Sounds in Initial, Medial and Final positions, he only had 3 errors out of
15 questions, (placing his scores above the mean score). Two of these errors indicated
that he had difficulty identifying the medial sounds, (gum, and moon - vowel and vowel
combinations). The third error indicated difficulty identifying the sh blend in the final
position (fish).
On the section marked Blending Speech Sounds into Words, George scored
25/30, which was above the mean score. On one item, he was given the sounds (p-ill)
and asked to blend them into the word "pill". Instead, he said "bill" (b/p substitution).
The other three errors indicated difficulty with consonant blends (th, sw, bl) and short
vowels (u, a, i).
These difficulties really became more apparent during the last task- Segmentation
of Phonemes. George scored 8/22, which was 4 points below the mean score (12/22). He
was given the word and asked to break each word into individual sounds (i.e., day = d/a/y).
However, he had difficulty breaking the word into the correct number of sounds (i.e., joke
has 3 sounds: j/olk). Instead of giving 3 sounds he would say j/oke). Another example
would be the word "let" which has 3 sounds (lie/t). George only said 2 sounds (l-et).
Putting it all together, the SAPhA results indicate that George has limited awareness of
consonant blends, short vowel sounds, and sound segmentation.
The Dictated Story Assessment Strategy was a challenging task for George. After
looking at the picture, he was able to answer most of the questions suggested on the back.
However, when asked to create his own story about the picture, George seemed at a loss.
He said he did not know what to say. The instructor had to encourage him by asking him
some of the "Wh" questions (i.e._ Who did you see in the picture? What happened? Where
did it happen? etc.). He had difficulty creating sentences, and needed prompts to expand
beyond three-word answers. He also did not seem to know the importance of having a
beginning, a middle, and an end to a story. It took a long time for him to say three
sentences, and then he copied the three dictated sentences without a problem.
George’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Throughout the course of the assessment, George demonstrated several strengths.
He was able to listen and follow tbrough on oral directions. He demonstrated good turn
taking skills. George was able to distinguish consonant sounds in the initial and final
positions of words. He did very well on the rhyming section of the SIRI. George also
demonstrated the use of self-correction throughout the testing.
In terms of weaknesses, George demonstrated limited ability to segment words
into individual sounds. While reading the Graded Words in Context, George showed
limited sight word recognition, limited knowledge of consonant blends, and difficulty
distinguishing between long and short vowels. In addition, George had great difficulty
producing sentences; regardless of spelling ability.
IEP Goals
Long Term Objective: By the end of the Summer Reading Program, George will
increase his knowledge of vowel sounds.
Short Term Objective: Given the task of distinguishing between words with long and
short vowel sounds, George will be able to state if the vowel sound that he hears in the
words dictated to him is long or short; with 80% accuracy; in 4 out of 5 times as
measured by teacher observation.
Long Term Objective: By the end of the Summer Reading Program, George will
increase his knowledge of consonant blends.
Short Term Objective: Given the task of using the S consonant blends to create words.
George will pick the correct blend needed to complete 5 words for each blend; with 80%
accuracy; in 4 out of 5 times as measured by teacher observation.
Long Term Objective: By the end of the Summer Reading Program, George will
improve his writing skills.
Short Term Objective: Given the task of writing simple sentences using the sight
words learned,George will write 5 sentences (of at least 5 word length) without teacher
assistance; with 80% accuracy, 4 out of 5 times as measured by teacher observation.
Long Term Objective: By the end of the Summer Reading Program, George will
improve his reading comprehension skills.
Short Term Objective: Given the task of showing that he understood a read-aloud,
George will be able to answer 5 WH questions about the story; with 80% accuracy; in 4
out of 5 times as measured by teacher observation.
Long Term Ob1ective: By the end of the Summer Reading Program, George will
increase his knowledge of sight words.
Short Term Objective: Given the task of identifying sight words, George will name at
least 50 sight words presented individually on flashcards, with 80% accuracy; in 4 out of
5 times as measured by teacher observation.
Progress towards IEP Goals
It is important to note that, at least two factors may have int1uenced George's
ability to meet and/or exceed his goals. These factors included: George's fluctuating
behavioral problems (ie; refusal to do work, moodiness, not coming to class, etc.), and
working within a distractive environment (ie; noises made by the other student in the
room, teachers walking in to retrieve things from the closets, etc.).
Regardless of these factors, George was able to accomplish 4 of his goals. He
was able to name more than 50 sight words (exceeding his goal), and he was able to
successfully answer 5 WH questions upon hearing 5 Read-Alouds. George was also able:
to distinguish between short and long vowel words, and he was able to use the correct S
blend to complete a group of word endings. The one goal that George had extreme
difficulty in meeting was the ability to write 5 sentences (each at least of 5-word length
using sight words), without the teacher's assistance. The teacher had to continually
prompt George with ideas on how to expand his sentences, and how to create novel
sentences rather than repeating the sample sentences given to him.
Summary
On the basis of George's performance on the SIRI, George reads below his age
and grade level. The Graded Words in Context and the Graded Reading Passages
showed that his independent reading level was below Grade 1. He also presents with
emotional/behavioral issues which can complicate or delay both instruction and learning
For certain tasks, particularly writing his own sentences, he needed numerous prompts
and encouragement to complete the task.
The three factors which greatly increased George's ability to work were: frequent
breaks, the school point system, and being able to do something physical (ie; throw the
basketball into the hoop). These things were necessary for each session; needed several
times in each session. It is felt that if the use of the computer was an option, this too
would have been a great motivator for George, (as well as great for independent practice)
In sum, George was able to complete 4 out of 5 goals. He was unable to form 5
sentences without teacher assistance, and will need continued help in this area. It is
recommended that George be placed in a similar independent remedial program this
September, with continued emphasis on vowel sounds, sight words, word families,
consonant blends, and phonics.
Teacher Self-Evaluation
Strengths:
Good use of verbal praise.
Keen observations.
Patient demeanor.
Use and development of various game formats.
Weaknesses:
Need to establish a more time-saving way to record data during the session (ie;
points, performance, etc.).
Better time-management so that there is time left over at the end of each session to
review what was learned.
Guardian of: George
Date: 8/05/03
Dear Ms. Cruz,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for allowing me to work with George. I was able to work with George for four weeks. It was a challenging, yet rewarding experience.