Evaluation-of-a-School-Program-Final-Draft

b.The literacy program at the school includes the principal, the assistant principal, two reading specialists, an academic interventionist, forty-nine general education teachers and five

Evaluation of a School-wide Program

Edith P Rudd

READ 605 Organizing and Implementing Reading Programs

Dr Valerie Robnolt November 25, 2018

Evaluation of a School-wide Program

1 Overview

Oak Grove - Bellemeade Elementary School is located in the city Southside of

Richmond, Virginia in a high economically challenged area The OakGrove-Bellemeade Elementary School serves approximately 675 students in PreK - 5 This school is under Title I and is the largest federally funded program developed to provide additional

educational services to help disadvantaged students meet state academic standards

reading, math, and science Ninety-nine percent (99%) of these students are low-income students

I have been a literacy tutor in this school for the last two years I volunteered last year in

a 4th-grade special education class where the entire class was reading far below grade level This year I volunteer in a fourth-grade general education class of twenty-three students

Personnel:

Reading Specialist Summary:

As a reading specialist, Ms Carpenter’s job entails promoting literacy, managing data, new teachers and core instruction In addition, she assists teachers in helping them understand what a student needs as well as organizing and modeling small groups Her goals are usually determined by the principal but are focused on solving specific issues that students may have While tutoring students, Ms Carpenter has found MAPs,

PowerSchool and PALS to be the most helpful in identifying the reading needs of the children The results of the PALS assessment are used to assure that the students who barely above receive the necessary daily intervention Along with the other two tests, the results help identify low students who need support and different strategies The reading specialist indicated that if she were able to make any changes to the assessment program, she would emphasize a global approach because the current tests overlap each other She would also modify the PALS assessment to have it be more of a screening mechanism so

it can be less subjective and less about teacher evaluation Furthermore, she would adopt the format of MAP to align with the SOLs because of the challenges it would represent The reading specialist also recognizes that these students are faced with obstacles such as trauma and behavior Too many students do not know how to read or hold a pencil, so it makes them further behind the average student As a result, a teacher has to fit two years

of teaching into one, and there is just not enough time in the day Therefore, it becomes too much of a challenge for the students to overcome As a reading specialist, some of the issues she faces include students not having a foundational literacy when they arrive Trying to balance meeting those needs plus other responsibilities which makes the job difficult She also stated that trying to figure out their needs as well as scheduling can be

a hassle

b.The literacy program at the school includes the principal, the assistant principal, two reading specialists, an academic interventionist, forty-nine general education teachers and five special education classroom teachers The principal’s role on the literacy team is to ensure that the literacy teamwork works collaboratively to improve reading through K-5 grade levels He also works closely with the team to invest in strong literacy instruction from the time students enter the school through fifth grade Further, the Title I Reading Specialist is Jessica Carpenter She is responsible for promoting literacy, managing data, new teachers and core instruction She also performs professional development through

an ongoing program of reading, coaching, working with individual teachers and small groups, do workshops to demonstrate literacy strategies and best-practices The reading specialist also assists in the preparation of data for local, state and federal reports She also contributes to the collection of data for providing appropriate intervention Ms Carpenter also participates in faculty committee meetings; chaperoning, counseling and other similar responsibilities that are part of the school’s service in loco parentis; and, exercise discretionary authority over day-to-day teaching functions and performs other related duties as assigned She also has to work with individuals or small groups of students in teachers’ classroom and serve as a coach to teachers in the school

Assessment wise, Ms Carpenter helps teachers to prepare students for the SOLs and other evaluations During my interview, she indicated that specific goals are determined

by literacy/language arts goals, and Standards of Learning for each grade, as well as graduation requirements for students Students are assessed using the MAP and the SOL

as well as running records, chapter, and unit tests, and other forms of assessments deemed necessary by the classroom teachers In addition to MAP testing, students take an

assessment at the end of each unit in PowerSchool Test items for this assessment are created by the building reading specialists using an item bank in PowerSchool MAP, SOL, and PowerSchool results are used to drive instructional decisions overall for the school For example, a low average on a topic would increase the teaching of that topic for all students

Ms Carpenter doesn’t only work with struggling readers but also coaches teachers and aides to help improve reading instruction throughout the school Also, the academic interventionist utilizes her time in classrooms reinforcing strategies from reading

specialists and assisting struggling readers before going through a referral process The special education teachers work with students who have intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, multiple disabilities, and OHI They also collaborate with the general education teachers to assist them in

implementing specific strategies for special education students who may be in general education for a portion of the day Equally important, are forty-nine general education teachers These teachers at Oak Grove- Bellmeade use a variety of instructional strategies

to fit the needs of all students, including those students who are in inclusion classes, or participating in RTI

i Develop and implement reading strategies that facilitate optimal learning opportunities for struggling readers, in particular

ii Foster a culture of collaboration with real-time form sharing and teacher reflection in the area of literacy improvement for disadvantaged students

2.Materials

a

Neither of these grades has reading textbooks The reading program that this school uses

is Benchmark Literacy Instead of a reading textbook, the Benchmark Literacy series uses leveled readers The leveled readers are grouped into 10 units that address a variety

of skills and genres This small leveled library is also used for teacher read-aloud, guided reading and student independent reading time These libraries were crafted

collaboratively with teachers to support the varied and diverse interests and needs of their students The publishing company of Benchmark Literacy is Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Classroom Library: The classroom library is stocked with books from readiness

level to about 6th-7th-grade level The library is color coated and organized by genre and level of the text

Benchmark Literacy: For guided reading groups, she uses Benchmark Literacy

from level E to O (She also can print out handouts online from Benchmark too.)

Technology-related Materials:

All classes in this school have access to Google chrome books during school hours Also, a large part of the reading instructional materials comes from the district reading program called Benchmark Literacy There are also classroom

libraries, leveled books in the Title I Reading Room, and Reading A-Z books

Smartboards are used primarily in place of reading textbooks to introduce lessons Laptops are also available for students, and each teacher has one Epic! is an online resource where students can log on and listen to books being read to them

b

The school does not have reading textbooks The reading program that this school uses is called Benchmark Literacy Instead of a reading textbook, the Benchmark Literacy series uses leveled readers The leveled readers are grouped into 10 units that address a variety

of skills and genres The publishing company of Benchmark Literacy is Benchmark Education Company, LLC

However, I chose a leveled text from each grade level classroom and performed the Fry Readability level to determine the reading level

Reading Materials:

Along the Way: 4th grade Average number of syllables per word: 137, the average number of sentences per 100 words: 10.1

Terrapin Races Rabbit- Fry: 2nd grade Average # of syllables per 100 words: 133,

Average # of sentences per 100 words: 9.7

Casey Jones- Fry: 3.0 Average # of syllables per 100 words: 145

Average # of sentences per 100 words: 8.3

Recommendations:

i. My recommendation would be to purchase new classroom libraries; nonfiction leveled books and trade books on various grade levels for

independent reading

ii. Create literacy centers for materials and activities that contain independent practice of the essential components of evidence-based reading instruction

—writing, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and word work

3 Assessments:

a

The school uses three major assessments called PALS, SOLs, and MAP for

literacy/language arts Both MAP and PALs assessments are done three times a year- fall, winter, and spring

b

●The primary purpose of PALS is to identify students who are performing below grade-level expectations in literacy skills and may need additional reading instruction beyond what is typically provided to developing readers PALS is a valid, reliable, and research-based assessment tool for early literacy skills PALS 1 3 is used with children in grades 1,‐

2, and 3 to identify students at risk of reading difficulties It is designed to measure young children’s knowledge of essential literacy skills and can be used as a diagnostic tool to provide teachers with explicit information to guide their teaching

In addition to the PALS assessment, the students are administered the Reading SOL (Standards of Learning) assessment The Standards of Learning (SOL) is a public-school standardized testing program that sets forth learning and achievement expectations for core subjects for grades K-12 in Virginia's Public Schools The SOL is given prior to the end of each school year

The PALS 1-3 is a good assessment because it screens and identifies students in need of additional instruction based on their Entry Level task scores It also identifies specific skill deficits in student whose Entry Level scores do not meet a benchmark that

represents minimum grade level criteria The PALS 1-3 is also good because it helps ‐ teachers group their students into their guiding reading groups and also shows their growth over time However, the assessment data is insufficient to determine whether students are meeting grade-level expectations and teachers cannot use it as a growth measure for individual students However, PALs give a more accurate result for each student as far as reading level, spelling, and comprehension

●The SOL is a good standardized test because it lets individual teachers know which students need further instruction and monitoring, and how well they are all doing on average in the classroom On the other hand, this test is controversial because students who have learning impairments, special needs, or who are far below reading level are required to take the test That aside, teachers are concerned about the amount of time they spend preparing for the test; the SOL was not intended as a practice test until the test is given

There are significant difficulties faced by students at this school in the area of literacy The scores fall far below the state average This suggests that students at this school are likely not performing at grade level Oak Grove-Bellmeade is rated below average in school quality compared to other schools in the state Students here perform below average on state tests, are making below average year-over-year academic improvement, and it has below average results in how well it’s serving disadvantaged students

Significant disparities in absenteeism rates exist at this school, which is concerning Overall, the students score may improve within the next couple of years when teachers and the administrators find time to scrutinize the student performance data to plan for higher literacy improvement and examine the amount of time they prepare for and review past SOL assessments and focus more on the literacy/language arts curriculum that has the same SOL Standards

c

Analysis of Data:

Analysis of NWEA (MAP, or the Measure of Academic Progress), is a computerized

adaptive test which helps teachers, and administrators improve learning for all students and make informed decisions to promote a child's academic growth Overall, The RIT score is the scaled score that MAP uses to measure the performance of students on the test The RIT range will show three scores The bold score in the middle is the actual

score that the student obtained The first and last score in the RIT range are the standard errors of measurement of -3 or +3 This indicates that if the student were retested his score should fall somewhere within this range Additionally, the percentile range shows how the student performed in comparison to other students on a national level The middle score shows the percentile that the student's score ranks compared to others who took the test nationally The first and last numbers reflect the standard error of

measurement In addition, the projected RIT is the projected score that the student is expected to make by the end of the school year given his or her beginning score and the weeks of instruction he will receive The projected growth shows how many points the student's initial score is predicted to increase and is reflected in the student's projected RIT

Fourteen fourth-grade students participated in the MAP reading assessment during the fall 2018 testing window The Mean RIT score range from 174-202 with a percentile range of 6-26 which means all students scored below the rounded mean of 198 The projected RIT range from 183- 190 with the expected growth range from 5-8 The results

of these students’ scores suggest that all fourteen students fell below or were low average

in reading comprehension The results also indicate that these students need additional instruction in reading compression I learned that unfortunately, there was no area of strength for any of these students in reading comprehension This group will need

continued support in reading comprehension

Recommendations:

i. Collaborate with teachers and provide professional development to

support intervention reading programs that make a difference

ii. Provide support and professional developments to train teachers how to differentiate instruction and pinpoint individual reading difficulties of all students using PALs and MAP

4 Organization of the Reading Program:

a

The three literacy/language arts blocks at this school are 120 minutes daily All three of these blocks are organized similarly

b

Description of the literacy/language arts blocks:

Fourth-grade literacy/Language Arts Block:

The language arts block is a 2-hour block broken down into school mandated

components The lesson begins with a read-aloud of a continued book from the previous day for about 10 minutes The next segment is the whole group mini-lesson that lasts approximately 20 minutes During the mini-lesson, a reading comprehension skill is introduced and modeled The mini-lesson also includes the guided practice of the

comprehension skill for about 10 minutes After the whole group mini-lesson and guided practice, students participate in 4 stations for 20 minutes each: small group guided

reading, independent reading, vocabulary, and technology During small group guided reading, students read leveled readers, and practice targeted reading comprehension skills Vocabulary and writing are also interwoven into the small group guided reading The vocabulary station changed from an independent station to a teacher-led station so that it would be more effective and student-focused Instructional websites are used during the technology station to enhance word study and comprehension Currently, they are using Freckle The students typically use I-Ready, but the division has not renewed its subscription this term During independent reading station, students read a leveled book of their choice

The key activities of this block include a read aloud, whole group mini-lessons, guided practice; small group guided reading; independent reading, vocabulary, writing, and technology

Third Grade literacy/language arts block:

The third-grade reading block is from 9:55-12.20 Within this time the teachers do whole group warmup, reading, and a short activity Then she moves her students to stations, seat work, and independent reading while she works with reading groups

There are four reading groups in this class- Level E, G, K, and O The teacher always meets with both two lowest groups no matter what- Level E and G per Benchmark She also usually meets with her second highest group and then briefly check in with her highest group With the highest group, they can read independently and work either with their group or on their own

Key activities include:

• Read Aloud, teaching the students specific strategies and skills- for

example, the main idea, the sequence of events, etc.; Word Work- students are given different word study words per level each week Work Stations- usually includes and SOL passage, task cards, writing, independent reading, or other sample passages Guided Reading- There are four guided reading groups, so each day she meets with at least 3, if not all 4

Second Grade literacy/language arts block:

The literacy language arts block for second grade includes whole group reading; whole group shared reading, reading stations along with teaching stations, phonics, and writing The literacy block begins with a lesson with whole group reading whereas the teacher does a read aloud The next component includes questions based on the reading

strategy/metacognitive strategy that she will focus on all week The whole Group Shared reading consist of digging deeper into those reading/metacognitive strategies for that week During a whole group the mini-lesson, a poster or a big book is used to teach the lesson, and a reading or metacognitive strategy is introduced and modeled After this activity, the students transition to reading stations for one hour with each group

transitioning to another station after spending 10-12 minutes at a station The teacher uses

a stopwatch so that students will know when it’s time to transition to the next station While the teacher is working with a group at the teaching station, the other groups are participating in the Daily 5 Rotation which includes: A Read to Self-station, a Read to Someone station, a Work on Writing station, a Word Workstation, and a Listen to Reading station For listen to reading, the students choose to either listen to reading on CD or play

a reading game on their iPads After stations are over, the class meets as a whole group, and the teacher incorporates 10 minutes of phonics and 15 to 20 minutes of writing

The key activities are read-aloud, reading strategy for the week, reading stations, phonics instructions and writing

Fourth Grade 120-Minute Literacy Block Schedule

Time Component

9:10- 9:20 Read Aloud- a continued book from the

previous day Teacher reads a book aloud for whole group to model good reading strategies; expose children to a range of text genres; build background knowledge; explore new vocabulary; engage in

inferencing and prediction activities; discuss the role of illustrations, ask questions of different types including “what if…?” questions

9:20-9:30 Whole Group Mini Lesson: Reading

comprehension skill is introduced and modeled

9:40-10:00 Literacy Stations: small group guided

reading/guided reading, vocabulary, and technology

10:00- 10:20 Independent reading

10:20-10:40 Vocabulary (Word-Sort) and Writing- Small

groups

Second-Grade Schedule with 120-Minute Literacy Block Schedule:

Time Component

(Read-aloud) and mini-lesson Teacher reads

a book aloud for whole group to model good reading strategies; expose children to a range of text genres; build background knowledge; explore new vocabulary; engage in prediction activities; discuss the role of

illustrations, ask questions of different types including “what if…?”

questions

1:45-1:50 Reading/Metacognitive Strategy

(Draw conclusions) 1:50-2:30 Literacy Stations: Students engage in

independent work while the teacher works with small groups and reinforces literacy skills such as phonics, reading, spelling

Stations: Read to Self-Station, Read

to Someone Station, Work on Writing Station, Word Work Station, Listening

to Reading Station 2:30-2:45 Phonics Instruction- Introduced

high-frequency words 2:45-3:00 Writing-Dinosaur Writing Prompt