A Research Paper on Remedial Program

The leveling system is used to determine the reading levels of the students, as measured by scale of Fountas and Pinnel Guided Reading on A through Z, proficiency reading scores F-Far Below Proficient, BP- Below P-Proficient, and AP-Above Proficient. The researcher only measured levels B through V for second and third grade student in this study. In addition the researcher also analyzed advanced degree level teachers. The teachers in the study took the added steps to add valued contributions to reading instruction and assessment. The researcher also, looked at varying years of experience of national board certified teachers, advanced degree teachers with school as the random effect. There were several schools who participated in the study. The study provided valuable data of national board certified teachers that may prove to be useful to implement more rigorous programs to recognize effective reading

Mesmer, E.M., & Mesmer, H.A.E. (2008). Response to intervention (RTI): What teachers of reading need to know. Reading Teacher, 62(4), 280-290.

he most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers. Recent scientific studies have allowed us to understand more than ever before how literacy develops, why some children have difficulty, and what constitutes best instructional practice. Scientists now estimate that fully 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society:

The steps of Response to Instruction and Intervention are to begin with Universal Screen and Pre meeting prep. This is the point when the classroom teacher will assess the student’s ability in reading. The assessment is brief, easily administered, and will assess the risk level for academics. It will examine the skills of fluency, oral reading, phonemes, segmentation, letter naming, and other reading strategies. Once all the students have been screened the results will be reviewed by a school professionals. There are data management system where the scores are calculated and the students risk level is assessed. If a school district does not have this system available to them, the “core team” will use a spreadsheet and determine the students risk level. Once the risk level has been determined there will be e a core team meeting; this will consist of principal and teachers, reading specialist, literacy coaches, curriculum specialist and a school psychologist. This is the overall group that can make up a

Addison read a narrative and an expository passage at Level P, “Plenty of Pets” a narrative passage and then an expository passage, “Animal Instincts”. Addison read both passages with 96% and 99% accuracy respectively. She scored satisfactory on both passages. When reading Level Q, she read a nonfiction passage, “Not Too Cold for a Polar Bear” with 97% accuracy and excellent comprehension. At Level R, she read with 95% accuracy and satisfactory for comprehension, although it is deliberate and arduous. However, when Addison read a narrative and expository text Level S, “Could Be Worse” and “Amazing Animal Adaptations”, reading both passages below 95% accuracy. When considering a fluency score, Addison primarily reads in three and four word groups, however it is not smooth and lacks expression with a slow rate most of the time. Aimweb progress monitoring data were considered to determine Addison’s correct word per minutes. According to the data, Addison’s word recognition skills significantly impacts her ability to read fluently, thus causing frustration. She is currently being progressed monitored at a third grade level, indicating she falls near the thirty third percentile when compared to third grade students nationally, reading a median of 109 correct words per minute.

The Fry Sight-Word Inventory is an informal, criterion-referenced screener which measures high-frequency word achievement. Fry 's Instant Words have been determined as the most common words used in English ranked in order of frequency. Specifically, Fry found that twenty-five words make up approximately a third of all items published, one-hundred words comprise almost half of all of the words found in publications, and three-hundred words make up approximately sixty-five percent of all written material. The first three-hundred words on Fry’s list should be mastered by the end of corresponding grade levels, and lists four through ten should be mastered between fourth and fifth grades. Each hundred words are broken down even further into twenty-five words per list, according to difficulty and frequency, and should be assessed sequentially. The goal of progress monitoring high-frequency word mastery is to increase fluency on high-frequency words in order to further automaticity within our students’ reading, which ultimately impacts overall comprehension.

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information which is essential in being a productive member of society. If and when a student missed an opportunity to learn the skills necessary for reading, it’s has a profound impact on their lives. As educators we realize that teaching all children to read requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction. We are also aware that children, who are struggling with reading must receive

Reading is an essential skill students should have in society. Word identification aids are advantageous for students with decoding deficits. With a decoding deficit, students’

Research indicates that among students, poor readers evolve into poor thinkers, devoid of strategies to structure the writing assignments that contribute to academic success (Alfassi, 2004, p.1), and teachers who fail to model effective literacy strategies to their students, simply compound the problem. For educators attempting to meet the diverse range of learning needs, the ever increasing number of students with learning difficulties is overwhelming. The decisions regarding the types of interventions and the limited research on numerous strategies currently available are both misleading and confusing. However Walker, (2004) warn that reliance on untested methods and dependence on strategies that have limited evidence have resulted in unrealistic and unreasonable expectations for students. Significantly whilst there has been an exponential increase in research evidence collected around many popular interventions, there is very little

Teachers routinely monitor and assess the reading levels and progress of individual students. This ongoing evaluation directs and informs instruction.

The group of students being presented this intervention program are lower performing readers. Data from multiple measures is collected early on in the school year. All students are given universal screeners to see what intervention they would most likely benefit from according to what skills gaps they currently have. The data is collected from a STAR Reading test, a one minute timed reading fluency inventory, as well as teacher classroom observation and assessment data. As the first two measures are normed assessments, the students all receive a percentile rank. The students who fall in the 10th percentile or below show they are in need of intensive targeted intervention. They are placed into a small group of up to 6 students to participate in this intervention called Enhanced Core. Once identified as needing targeted intervention, these students are also given a CORE Phonics survey which gives the teachers specific data about what phonic skills they are missing exactly.

Measuring Richard accurate Words Per Minute he reads DIBELS ORF at a 1st grade reading level. To monitor Richard’s progress he was timed for 1 minute to determine his reading level. The total words Richard read was 21 and the words he read misread 5 words. During the reading, Richard was able to blend and sound out words that he was not able to read. For example, when reading “went” he first read it as “when” but continued to decode and blend the words. Richard eventually self-corrected his reading of “went”. Richard was able to read high frequency words within the passage automatically. When Richard was not sure of the word, he would attempt to repeat the word before moving on the next word. Knowing Richard is reading at a 1st grade level

Word recognition involves an individual’s ability to identify words independently without requiring related words for contextual help. A widely examined topic in the field of cognitive psychology, it deals with understanding printed letters as a word which has been kept in the lexicon. The word frequency effect is important in the recognition of words. It suggests more common words in printed language are easier, faster and more accurate to distinguish than words that appear less frequently. Outlined in their journal article, Howes and Solomon utilized Thorndike-Lorge’s word count for word frequency and measured the threshold of recognition. They found correlation coefficients of -.68 to -.75 between word frequency and threshold or duration.

Many students around the United States have reading difficulties, which can be due to a variety of reason such as: low socioeconomic status, family history of learning disabilities, a neurological disorder, limited exposure, etc. Reading difficulties can lead to further problems with education and learning, therefore the struggles should be addressed and intervention techniques should be implemented promptly. The interventions need to be individualized for the student based on their needs in order to improve the student’s reading to the best of their abilities.

The failure of students being able to read and comprehend what they are reading is a great concern for most schools. When students enter the fifth grade and are not on grade level, they are already behind their classmates. Teachers are then responsible for remediating the students to get them on grade level. Unfortunately, these same students are unable to keep up with on grade level standards teachers are required to teach, because they lack the skills needed. These students will continue to struggle throughout their education because they will not be able to catch up to their grade level. Many educators have realized there is a gap between fluency and comprehension. Because of this realization, special instruction such as guided reading and remedial teaching has been implemented.