Universal Assessment Summary

Howard Gardner said it best “The biggest mistake of the past centuries in teaching has been to treat all children as if they were variants of the same individual, and thus to feel justified in teaching them the same subjects in the same ways”.

All students have needs whether they are the diversity of academics, behavioral, what they may face outside the classroom, or the multitudes of other things they may go through. As a core teacher we want students to feel good about themselves and to have the confidence they need to ask a question, answer a question, or to complete a task. At our school this year we have began a new way of assessing the students. Last year as a core teacher we implemented Tier 1 and Tier 2 within the classroom. Tier 1, was to be 3 – 4 days per week, for 10 -20 per day. Tier 2, we would divide 3 -5 students according to abilities between 4 first grade teachers. We switched with these students 5 days a week, for 30 minutes of intervention. This year we are only instructed to work with the Tier 1 students the required time.

Tier 2, and Tier 3 interventions are completed through certified teachers that were hired to work only with those Tiers. This addition has been very valuable for our school. We choose the Tier students by using DEA (Discovery Education Assessment) scores to determine the level of apprentice and novice. These tests are given within the first few weeks of school. We use that data to give us a starting point, along with core assessments using graphs, placement tests that are used with intervention programs such as Number Worlds and Moby Math. Number Worlds is used with kindergarten and beginner first graders. This is a placements test used for ability grouping. Moby Math is also a placement assessment, but works a little different. This is an individual assessment tool used to assess and lead student to the next step. Tier 2 – 3, are pulled for math interventions on Thursday and Friday of each week for 30 minutes of each tier.

The Tier 1 student that I chose is a first grader that is below level in number recognition. She also has difficulties in addition within 10 and subtraction within 10. The Core instruction she receives is 15 minutes daily using strategies. Strategies used are manipulatives, EducationCity.com, and MoreStarfall.com. The Tier 2 Student chosen is in Kindergarten. He has difficulties and is working to complete touch counting. In Tier 3, the focus student is also in Kindergarten. This student is also a female student, and she still is in need of first number recognition and counting numbers as objects.

The two students I chose for the area of special needs are two males. The first student is in the second grade, and is nine years old. He was referred for an evaluation due to academic difficulties at the end of his first grade year. Response to Intervention Data (RTI) indicated limited improvement in academic skills therefore a referral for special education was initiated. He has made improvements in the area of math skills with the use of a number line. He can write the numbers one to ten with prompting and recognizes numbers up to number ten. The classroom teacher was also concerned that his lack of attention may contribute to classroom struggles. Some interventions used in the classroom include one on one instruction, modified assignments, working at his level, pacing instructions to his level. He currently receives special education services as a student with speech/language impairment. The suspected disability is a Mild Mental Disability.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children was attempted with this student, however due to his speech impairment and attention the examiner determined that the evaluation was not valid. The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children was administered to him to assess his current cognitive abilities. His score on this assessment was 67, which was within the Lower Extreme range. His Academic Functioning the Woodcock-Johnson-II was used to provide a measure of academic achievement in reading, math, and written language. His broad math score was in the low average range. Broad math provides a comprehensive measure of math achievement, including math calculation skills, problem solving, and the ability to solve simple addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts quickly. His math calculation skills were in the average range. His math reasoning was very low range.

Student two is in the first grade and is eight years old. He was referred for an evaluation due to academic and behavioral difficulties at the beginning of his first grade year. This student has weaknesses in basic reading, math, and written expression skills. His classroom teacher described him as a nonreader and is not cooperative in the classroom. He struggles to copy letters and cannot copy sentences from the board. He also struggles to maintain the topic discussion in small groups. His reading and math scores were within the novice ranges according to the Fall DEA assessments. Socially, he experiences difficulty interacting with peers and adults as well as acceptance of rules and correction. He hits his peers. He has mood swings. He cries when a request is made of him and often states that he hates things or calls things stupid. Cognitively, he experiences weaknesses understanding new concepts and applying knowledge. His attention to task is limited in the classroom and he does not work without verbal prompting to continue an activity. He is unorganized and cannot successfully complete an activity.
Assessments: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, his on overall cognitive abilities fell within the Borderline range of functioning; he received a standard score of 70. He received a verbal Comprehension Index of 89 which is within the Low Average range. His Perceptual Reasoning Index (73) was within the Borderline range. His working memory index score (62) was within the extremely low range and the Processing Speed Index (70) was within the Borderline range of functioning.

His broad math score was in the very low range. Broad math provides a comprehensive measure of math achievements, including math calculation skills, problem solving, and the ability to do simple math addition, subtraction facts quickly. His math calculation skills were in the very low range. Math calculation skills provide a measure of basic computations skills and ability to do simple math quickly.
Effective Planning and Teaching
After analyzing the results of the universal assessments choose one area of common weakness from the group of students assessed to create a unit of instruction. The unit must include the following: a pre assessment and post assessment used to measure student growth; five lesson plans with focused instruction on the identified weakness; and specific interventions used to help students. Information regarding math from student IEP’s and other assessments should be considered when creating instruction. The use of worksheets is discouraged in daily lessons. Student lessons must show active student engagement. ONE LESSON OF YOUR UNIT SHOULD BE TAUGHT! A one page reflection after teaching the lesson should be included. Specific tasks that should be included are from the TPA document that can be found electronically on the Campbellsville University School of Education web page. Task A-1, 5 Task A-2 (One for each lesson),
Task D
Case Study
A case study is required on the graduate level. Students will conduct a case study using the five students who were analyzed with the universal assessments for RTI. Information to be included is IEP information (if there is any) related to math, analysis of instructional strategies and interventions that have been used with the student in the last three months, analysis of student work, (what error patterns are revealed), labeling and proposed interventions with relationship to common core content to be taught are to be included in the case study.

Field Hours
The field study should be done on one student that is to be used throughout the course for the assignments given. This needs to be a student identified as having problems in the area of mathematics. The six (6) hours of field study should be used to complete the universal assessments along with the other assignments. The focus of the field study is student assessment and how it relates to student learning in math. Choose one student to look at in depth… Gather information addressing the students A.) learning styles that are observed, B.) strengths and weaknesses observed while approaching problem solving, C.) if manipulatives and visuals help the student, D.) information gained by having the student talk through a difficult problem, E.) students present attitude toward mathematics F) Interventions being used. Write a 2 page reflection of the observation including the above elements. Substitute a pseudonym for real names when you write about learners and teachers to keep confidentially.
SED 698
Designing and Assessing Effective Instruction in Mathematics 6 Administer and analyze a criterion referenced assessment to a student with an identified math disability.
Shadow a general math teacher to observe for questioning techniques used with diverse learners.
Write a reflection on the observation.
Using the end of the grade level assessment, analyze the math scores the class.

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