Mixed Ability Group Analysis

In the United States today, 38% of children in the fourth grade have been recognized as reading way below the level of their peers. Many of these children are identified with a learning disability and receive remedial instruction in the resource rooms. (Aaron, P. G., Joshi, R., Gooden, R., & Rentum, K. E.)

Early reading success is the foundation of a student’s knowledge and self-esteem. The foundation also provides future opportunities for growth. Students must learn to read proficiently so that they are able to learn more in future grades, post-secondary schools, and the workforce. Beverly Tyner’s Small-Group Reading Instruction: A Differentiated Teaching Model for Beginning and Struggling Readers states “In the United States, which offers few career opportunities for the illiterate, teaching children to read proficiently is the most important single task in education.” (Tyner, 2009). Beverly Tyner created the Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model which incorporates research-based strategies for teaching beginning reading skills and skills

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:

In every school across America, effective practices of reading instruction are being discussed. Calkins (2012) suggests that over 85% of students being tested on grade level literacy standards are non-proficient. Research suggests that students, who are unable to read proficiently by third grade, are not predicted to ever learn to read or have successful lives when they reach adulthood (Martinez, 2008). For these reasons, it is important that districts implement literacy models and instructional reforms that have been well researched and shown to be successful. The instructional reform method of Balanced Literacy is being used throughout the country to meet the challenging standards of the Common Core. Teachers will need

The researchers goal was to know if the effects of small-group reading interventions implemented positive behavior in support model, on elementary students that show any emotional and behavior disorders or that do not show any emotional and behavior disorders. The following are the research questions they addressed: (a) the differences in reading instruction in a general classroom for students at risk and to compare schools that combine behavior/reading risk. (b) differential effects with small-group instruction. (c) how do any of the observable differences translate to the outcome of students’ growth in reading.

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

Is there any ability grouping or tracking in literacy? If so, please describe how it affects your class.

In regards to the reading program it is appropriate for each special education and at-risk student. The reading program is implemented with specifications acquiescing to their individual education programs (IEP), and recommended reading levels. Although the students are working together in a small group in the second tier of the intervention process, each student progresses according to individual achievement based on goals designated in their IEP, and teacher recommendations based on their current reading grade level. The individual responsiveness of each student determines whether they transition to the third tier of the RTI process, or if they are able to appropriately progress at the current level of intervention. Presently, the two at risk students have maintained the status quo, not progressing sufficiently, and have

Reading and writing is crucial for increasing achievement among people of all ethnicities. For many young kids, books are their primary source of learning how to read and write besides the parameter of the classroom. However, there is a significant decrease in the literacy rate found in African-American communities. There is a need for stronger literacy education for this particular group of the population. A huge problem associated with that can be attributed the failure of the public school system to effectively educate the youth. According to the 2009 NAEP data, only 33 percent of 4th graders and 32 percent of 8th graders in the U.S performed at or above proficiency in reading on national tests. These results are very discouraging, in the African-American community, but the results are even worse because only 16 percent of African American 4th graders and 14 percent of African American 8th graders performed at or above the grade proficiency level in 2009.

As the United States falls farther behind on education tests in math reading and science, there has been a push for a redesign of the education system. Of the 64 countries tested in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2012, 19 other industrialized countries ranked ahead of the United States (United States, n.d.). Because of these results and the stagnating American education, parents, teachers, and the government are pushing even more standards for math, reading, and science even more. To try to resolve from the problem from its root means that there needs to be a change in how reading is taught. By improving the reading skills of students, it has the potential to promote higher success in other subjects like

In Implementing Response to Intervention in Reading General Education Class, I gained new insights that I am starting to implement in my 8TH Grade Reading Classroom. The three chapters that spoke the loudest to me and that I agree with Allington is about: why struggling readers continue to struggle, matching reader and text level, and using text that are interesting to students. Overall I feel that these three chapters correlate well with each other. Therefore, in my first part of my paper I am going to discuss what I learned from those three chapters and how I am starting to implement them into my classroom. The second part of my paper is going to focus on three issues that Allington brought up that I agree with his idea, but I see how it can be a challenge to incorporate in my classroom. The three issues are: not having the paraprofessionals solely work with struggling readers, but having all staff members work with struggling readers and then ensuring that the intervention is delivered by an expert teacher.

The use of formal and informal reading assessments provide important data that allow educators to identify at risk students (Tompkins, 2010). The data collected from the assessments address any factors that may prohibit the development of students’ reading and writing skills. In addition to the assessments, the more an educator can learn about students’ backgrounds and their past reading, language development, and writing experiences the more instructional strategies can be designed to specifically meet the needs of diverse learners in the classroom.

In this article, the study was to see if intervention in reading help the reading disability reduce. In the study they had three different tiers to separate each grade levels and methods. Tier 1 consisted of professional development for teachers of reading. Which focused on the findings from the National Reading Panel Report of the Subgroups in 2000. Additional instruction was provided for children whose achievement fell below average as early as kindergarten. Professional development (PD) had included information on how to interpret assessment results for students and assessments of reading progress. Each teacher received printouts of their class roster with each student’s scores crosswise each measure over time. Teachers tried to match instructional activities to their students’ needs. To see average performance the researchers suggested benchmarks.

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.

How widespread is ability grouping? No reliable national surveys of ability grouping in elementary schools have been conducted, but a consistent picture emerges from several local studies. According to the article “Ability-Group Effects: Instructional, Social, or Institutional?,” (Pallas, 1994) ability grouping for reading instruction appears nearly universal, especially in the early grades. Schools seek to create teachable groups of children within classes containing a broad range of skills, from students who independently breeze through children's novels to those who have yet to learn basic letter sounds. Ability grouping in math is less frequent and only in the upper grades, but remains rare at the elementary