Schools

District 61's Use of Testing Anything But Standard

Lace Elementary School hosted a roundtable Tuesday about how teachers use testing data to adapt programs to students' needs.

It’s all about the individual in .

That was the message Tuesday night during a roundtable at about how teachers use student data to tailor academic intervention programs to individual student needs. 

Lace Principal Marty Casey said the school has always emphasized a personal approach to education. But he said Lace began a push for even greater individualization after the Illinois Board of Education (ISBE) issued its Response to Intervention (RTI) Plan in 2008.

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ISBE defines RTI as the practice of monitoring student performance and then adjusting instruction to meet specific student’s academic needs.

Lace first identifies children who need support beyond the regular curriculum through the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) test, said reading specialist Betty Faron.

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DIBELS helps group students into three learning tiers based on how much assistance they need with reading. Tier I students, which comprise about 80 percent of the school’s population, follow the regular curriculum; tier II students need some extra help; and tier III students require extensive supplemental support.

Once divided into these tiers, further assessments determine what kind of help tier II and tier III students need.

The spelling test “Words Their Way,” for example, breaks down the parts of each word that challenge third-grade students with identified spelling difficulties. The teacher can then group the students based on who has trouble spelling short vowel sounds or any other word feature.

Among three third-grade classrooms, Emily Becker said Lace teachers have divided the students into seven reading groups that range from those who have spelling troubles to kids who are ready to study words’ Greek and Latin roots.

“It allows us to see what they really need,” Becker said. “It gets to the how and the why words are spelled way they are." 

Teachers also track student performance in a database that charts results from tests administered on a monthly or weekly basis, depending on the student's needs.

The graphs provide a clear way to identify whether intervention measures are working, said fifth-grade teacher Janel Smith. Teachers can then adapt the instruction as necessary to ensure students get the appropriate support.

As an added benefit, the system encourages students, parents and teachers to look beyond simply whether the children pass or fail the tests.

“Even kids who aren’t actually passing are making amazing growth within the amount of time we’re presenting the material,” she said. “It’s another way to build up their confidence so they don’t always have to say that I failed again. What they’re doing is good; they’re making progress.”


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