Student Profile

DIFF 503: Fall 2014

Katelyn Lesandro Springer
Nicole Langone
I. Student Data and Background Information (4 pts)
A. Students Pseudonym:
Willow Smith
B. Date of Birth, Age:
4/12/2007, 7 years: 10 months
C. Current Placement:
The student is currently in a 1:8:1 self-contained classroom. The classroom currently has 4 students,
two of which are in second grade, and 2 of which are in third grade. There are no students without
disabilities in the classroom, and it is primarily taught by a special education teacher with the
support of a classroom aide with 14 years of educational experience. The speech language
pathologist pushes into the self-contained classroom twice a week to support Willow and other
students.
D. Referral Information:
Before entering Kindergarten, Willows mother requested a psychological evaluation because she felt
that Willow had unusual difficulty paying attention and expressing her thoughts. Following
evaluation, Willow was classified as a student with a learning disability. Currently, Willow has low
achievement in all academic areas, mathematics is a particular area of frustration for her. Her
mother has expressed concern over Willows frustration with math over the course of her educational
history. Willow knows math facts with addends of 1 and 0. However, she counts on her fingers for
all other basic addition and subtraction facts, and often counts incorrectly. The student is classified as
a student with a disability under the Learning Disability category of IDEA. She receives all
academic instruction in a 1:8:1 self contained class and receives speech services twice a week for 30
minutes.
E. Family History
1. Family composition:
The student lives with her mother, father, step brother, and younger sister (grade K) in a rural
town in Western New York. Both parents are gainfully employed. Willows father co-owns
and operates a manufacturing company and Willows mother works there when school is in
session.
2. Cultural and language background:
The student is of European-American ancestry. In the home, English is the primary spoken
language. Speech and language issues are related largely to memory and attention. These
issues do not have a noticeable impact on the students ability to communicate with peers or
adults.
3. Family history of exceptionality (gifted/talented, disability):
The student has no known family history of exceptionality.
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4. Medical background:
Willow was the result of an uncomplicated pregnancy. According to her mother, she reached
all developmental milestones at appropriate ages.The student has no significant medical
background issues. However, her mother notes that she is sensitive to sugar and red dye #40.
Her mother has concluded that these environmental factors often contribute to inattention.
Previous teachers have suggested that Willows parents to seek medical consultation
regarding her attention span.
5. Peer relationships, any extracurricular and community involvement, anything noteworthy
related to socialization or school adjustment:
The student has verbalized that she does not have many friends in her class, as there are only
4 student. She has also stated that she likes going to specials, morning meeting, and science
with the general education class. Outside of school, she enjoys swimming and horseback
riding lessons.
F. Education History:
1. Attendance record:
The student has been attending North Collins Elementary School since pre-kindergarten
and has had exemplary attendance.
2. Achievement (briefly summarize history of academic strengths and difficulties, note learning
preferences, summarize report card performance, note any retention, acceleration, or other educational
placements, etc.).
In kindergarten, Willow received consultant teacher and resource room services. In first
grade, Willow was in a 1:12:1 kindergarten and first grade class as a first grade student.
She requires a small teacher-to-student ratio program with minimal distractions in order
to academically progress. She struggles to maintain attention, even in a small group
setting, and often requires individualized attention to maintain focus on tasks. Constant
teacher redirection and extra time to complete tasks are necessary in order for Willow to
successfully complete her work. Willow benefits from a structured environment in which
she knows the routines and expectations. Even with these supports in place, she often
does not finish assigned work.
3. Disciplinary record (e.g., detentions, suspensions, other disciplinary actions).
Students disciplinary record shows no evidence of disciplinary measures.

II. Present Levels of Performance (10 pts). The goal here is to provide meaningful and helpful information for
teaching the student.

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Meeting
Grade-level
Expectations?

Reading/Writ Student is not

ing (incl.
meeting grade
spelling)
level
expectations in
reading and
writing.

Relative Strengths
(list specific
skills/concepts)

Rereads words and selfcorrects to the best of her

ability
Predicts oncoming words
in read alouds

Relative
Interests/Prefere
Weaknesses/Nee
nces
ds
(be specific,
(list specific
i.e., topics,
skills/concepts)
types of
assignments,
ways of
receiving
information,
ways of
demonstrating
knowledge)
Needs to
increase
independent
application of
decoding skills.

Identifying
Answers who, what, when, rhyme
where questions with 80%
accuracy
Omits unfamiliar
words
Writes simple sentences
Improve story
Segments words and
retelling in a
applies known phonetic
sequential order
patterns to spell
(beginning,
middle, end)
Spells sight words
correctly or uses word wall Needs
sentence
Inconsistent use of
starters or
capitalization and
additional
punctuation
prompting to
answer
comprehension
questions in
full sentences

Enjoys
nonfiction texts
Enjoys writing
about her family
in personal
narratives.
Enjoys books
relating to
holidays and
dragons.

Reverses b, d, q,
and p (will
pronounce
written word
with reversal)

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Mathematics

Student is not
meeting grade
level
expectations in
mathematics.

Reads equations (addition

and subtraction)
Counts by 1s to 50, 2s to
20, 5s to 50, and 10s to
100
Writes the number to
represent the number of
base ten blocks in a set to
999.
Orders numerals and sets
in a sequence within 20.

Reverses
The student
numbers
benefits from
(e.g. 9 looks like being taught in
P)
a 1:1 teacher to
student ratio
Needs to
independently The student
retains and
apply
generalizes
strategies for
concepts better
adding within
when learning
20.
activities allow
for creativity
Inverts digits
(e.g. 41 may be
written as 14)

Can use fingers to add and

subtract to ten.
Demonstrates
difficulty
Knows addition facts for
retaining focus
plus one and plus zero
during problem
solving activities
Knows 50% of doubles
facts when given a visual
Count mixed
cue (i.e. spider for 4+4=) piles of coins
Identifies all coins
Beginning of the year
testing shows strengths in
measurement concepts
Recognizes basic fractions
Self-talks through problem
solving
Science

Student is
meeting grade
level
expectations in
science

Student will work with

partners to fill out
observation forms and
make predictions
Student frequently
volunteers backround
knowledge in whole group
discussions in an inclusive
environment

Needs to
develop writing
skills to answer
comprehension
questions and
express
knowledge
pertaining to
science related
topics

Willow has a
variety of
animals at home
Willow has
expressed that
she would like
to be a vet
when she grows
up
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Social/Behav Student is not

ioral
meeting grade
level
expectations in
regards to
social and
behavioral skill
development.

Student is kind to and

Student needs to Student enjoys
plays well with well-known increase her
playing with
peers
time on task.
toys
Asks to join activities
Expresses wants and
needs (e.g. Can I have a
privacy board? I am
distracted.)

Student needs to
increase her
ability to focus in
a small group.

Student has
difficulty
Makes appropriate choices interacting with
about what to do in an
less-familiar
uncomfortable situation
peers
with other students
Physical
Education

Student is not
meeting grade
level
expectations in
physical
education.

Student will participate in

athletic activities within
the self-contained
classroom with 3-4 peers.

Student needs to
increase her
participation in
physical
education class
with 30-40
peers.

Student
expresses
preferences for
desired athletic
activities. For
example, she
requests yoga
and specific
Student needs to dances on Go
increase her
Noodle during
endurance for
brain breaks in
performing
class.
jumping jacks in
physical
Student enjoys
education class. her trample

C. Individual Goals (from IEP if available, or informal goals if there is no IEP). How do the student's
existing goals relate to the strengths and needs youve identified above?
Student's current goals

Student's Characteristics:
For each goal, identify the
specific characteristic
observed in the student
leading to that goal (you
may find it helpful to
interview the teacher or
parent).

Example: For each

characteristic, give a
specific example of
something the student does
that exemplifies each
characteristic.

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On seven out of ten trials,

Willow will complete 10
addition and subtraction
problems within 20 using
objects, drawings or a
number line, with no more
than 2 verbal prompts and
with at least 80% accuracy.

Student inaccurately uses

the grade appropriate
counting on strategy

Student will skip numbers or

repeat numbers that were
already accounted for

On three out of five trials,

Willow will produce a
written response to a
teacher provided prompt,
consisting of at least two
sentences with appropriate
capitalization, spacing, and
punctuation, with no more
than 2 verbal prompts.

Willow uses capital letters in Willow will write dad MoM

place of lowercase letters
instead of mom.
inappropriately.

On three out of five trials,

Willow will maintain her
attention for 10 minutes
during classroom instruction
with no more than 2 verbal
prompts.

Willow requires over 5

prompts to task when in an
instructional group of more
than two students.

Willow will begin self talk,

shuffle papers, scribble in
answer spaces, etc. when in
an instructional group of
more than two students.

Ex: A goal to improve spelling skills may be related to the characteristic of confusing long and short vowel
patterns. A specific example would be misspells "coat" as "cot."
III. Summary & Recommendations
A. Summary:
Willow is a kind, friendly, second grade student. Overall, her greatest area of difficulty lies within
mathematics. An overview of academic records shows that mathematics has been an area of
difficulty since entering school. In addition, the topic of parent-teacher communication is often the
frustration that Willow encounters when completing mathematical tasks at school and at home. Since
mathematics is an area of frustration and deficit, and one of Willows annual goals is to add and
subtract within 20, addition within 20 will be the focus of a professional literature search.
B. Research-based Recommendations: (5 pts)
Strategy

Description

Student-Specific Illustration

APA Citation

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Boost Fluency Explicit time drills can take many

Through Explicit forms. They provide a
Time-Drills
measurement for fluency and
encourage students to compare
their performance to their own
performance instead of comparing
their performance to that of their
peers. Time drills are best
completed with less-complex
tasks. The author suggests that the
teacher hands out a worksheet,
and tells the student to underline
the problem of that they are
working on at one minute marking
points for a total of three minutes.
The objective is that fluency will
increase as each minute of worktime passes.

I would utilize this recommendation Rhymer, et

by giving students a worksheet of
alia, 2002
basic addition facts and giving them
three minutes to work on it daily. I
would then count up the number
that Willow got correct and have
her graph the results on a simple
bar graph. We often use student
made bar graphs, and Willow finds
the visual of her progress
motivating. When all facts on the
sheet are mastered within three
minutes, I will choose a new set of
facts and we will start a brand new
graph.

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Support Students
Through a WrapAround
Instruction Plan

Wrap-around instruction plans are

designed for teaching problem
solving skills in mathematics,
wrap-around instruction plans can
help support the acquisition of
most new mathematical skills.
First, the teacher must determine
the students current skills.
Secondly, the teacher must
provide explicit instruction in the
new skill via highly organized
math lessons. The researchers
suggest over learning the skill in
this step of the wrap-around plan.
Next, the teacher should use a
think aloud to model application
of the skill to problem solving.
After the teacher models the
problem solving think aloud, they
are to involve students in the
problem solving process (i.e. What
should I do next?) The students
are then to use the think aloud
when working in a small group.
Finally, the students are supposed
to use the think aloud strategy
during independent work. Finally,
the students are given feedback on
their application of skills and use
of the given strategy. After
instruction has concluded, an
important part of a wrap-around
instructional plan is to review
previously taught material to
improve retention.

The wrap-around instructional plan Montague,

would be an effective way to teach 1997
Willow how to apply addition skills
to basic word problems. Our current
math program suggests that skills
are taught within one day, and that
problem solving should occur
within the same 60 minute
instructional period. To make
problem solving more accessible, I
would use this design to teach
identification and discrimination of
key words. While this may work
within the general education
environment, a great deal of
modification is needed for Willow.
Therefore, I will use the wraparound instruction plan to modify
and supplement the general
education curriculum. First, I will
use the beginning of the year test
(see Appendix D) to determine
which skills need to be taught.
Then, I will teach explicit skills in
highly organized lessons on the first
day of instruction, and will not
move on until I feel that the basic
skills have been mastered. The next
day, I will use the think aloud
strategy and a release of
responsibility model to support
Willows acquisition of new
problem solving skills. Finally, I
will periodically review mastered
skills to improve retention.

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Strategic Number The student is taught that there are

Counting
two explicit strategies for adding
Instruction
two addends (0-20): know it, or
count up. Know it or count up.
Know it refers to knowing a fact
automatically. Count up refers to
picking the larger number and
counting up on a number line that
is provided by the teacher. In a
three-minute session, the teacher
quizzes the student on preselected
flashcards, and then counts the
number of facts that the student
knew from memory, used counting
up, or was not able to answer.
Then, teacher quizzes the student
on the flashcards again using the
same method. Finally, feedback is
given regarding progress from the
first trial to the second.

Before the lesson, I would select

Fuchs et alia,
the target facts (probably about 20). 2009
In this group of facts I would make
sure that there were at least 25%
that Willow can solve from memory
to ensure that she meets an
encouraging amount of success.
Then, while other students are
engaged with the classroom aide or
working on an independent task, I
would pull Willow to the side to
administer this intervention
individually. During the flashcard
trial, the student would have visuals
for Know it and Count up. She
would also have a numberline. The
interventionist would have a mat to
organize the flashcards into three
piles: know it, count up, and
unable to answer. Following the
first trial with the flashcards, I
would have us graph her data
together. Then, I would have her
graph her data after the second trial.
I would then point out the
difference and provide verbal praise
for using appropriate strategies
independently

2. How might other needs be approached (social/behavioral, other areas of interest discussed
above)? Also describe any other areas that might be helpful to assess, including why and how.
IV. References. At least three peer-reviewed literature (professional journal articles, textbook chapters, or
conference proceedings) citations supporting your recommended instructional strategies (above). Use APA
style.
Fuchs, L. S., Powell, S. R., Seethaler, P. M., Cirino, P. T., Fletcher, J. M., Fuchs, D., & Hamlett, C. L.
(2009). The effects of strategic counting instruction, with and without deliberate practice, on
number combination skill among students with mathematics difficulties. Learning and
Individual Differences 20(2), 89-100.
Montague, M. (1997). Cognitive strategy instruction in mathematics for students with learning
disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 30, 164-177.

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Rhymer, K. N., Skinner, C. H., Jackson, S., McNeill, S., Smith, T., & Jackson, B. (2002). The 1-minute
explicit timing intervention: The influence of mathematics problem difficulty. Journal of
Instructional Psychology, 29(4), 305-311.
V. Appendices
A. Referral and Intervention History forms
See attached.
B. "Checklist to Guide Description of Student
See attached.
C. Student Observations and Interview.
1. Student Observations:
a. Results of Student Observations:
The student observation showed that Willow is a willing participant in
school activities, but often expresses extreme frustration. During the observation
minor distractions caused Willow to loose focus and require several prompts to
task. During math instructional periods, Willow required more prompts to task on
the first day of instruction on a new skill than on the second day of instruction,
showing that she exhibits more off-task behaviors when she in being instructed in
less familiar, more complex tasks. Although she engages in off-task behaviors (i.e.
staring out of the window, making extraneous marks on her paper, et cetera), she
follows school rules and insists that other peers follow school rules as well.
b. Students Performance in Relation to Peers:
When Willow is included in the general education setting, there are
noticeable differences between her and her same age, typically functioning peers.
It appears that Willows coping skills during transitions are not as developed as
those of her peers. For example, if the teacher gives a direction that she does not
hear, but all other students are completing said direction, she will continue the
task or activity that she is doing even though the other students have transitioned
appropriately. A typically functioning second grader would have the coping skills
to assess what her peers are doing and readjust her behavior accordingly. The
same lack of coping skills is seen in her academic work. Most typically
functioning peers can observe and recreate skills without excessive teacher
guidance; however, Willow requires intense, individually administered instruction
to acquire new skills.
c. Completed observation protocol:
See attached.
2. Student Interview:
See attached.
D. Analysis of Student Work
Work Samples
See attached Beginning of Year Test, BOY Test Item Map, & Chapter 2 Part 1 Modified Test re:
Place Value to 1,000
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Analysis
The beginning of year test is given to determine which standards are areas of strength and
which standards are areas of concern. The test covers all second grade material. Willow scored
15%. The math specialist has stated that the average score for the beginning of year test is 33%.
Students without IEPs would be referred to Academic Intervention Services if they scored below
33% on the beginning of year test.
After the test was given, I graded it and used the item map provided by the test
manufacturers to target areas of strength and areas of need. The test results showed that Willows
mathematical strengths lie in the areas of measurement and geometry concepts. This means that
when I get to the chapters on measurement and geometry, I can plan for more higher order
thinking tasks.
However, this left me with quite a bit of area for improvement. Therefore I took each
chapter other than those teaching measurement and geometry and made modification plans,
which involved selecting target skills and teaching them over two days instead of during one
instructional period. This allows the student access to the curricula and ensures that it is
attainable. As part of the modification plan, I split the chapter into two strategic chunks and
selected appropriate questions to match taught skills from the corresponding math test. After
teaching according to my modification plan and giving the modified test (which was individually
administered at the rate of 5 questions per day),Willow answered 9 out of 10 questions correctly.
The question that she answered incorrectly used words to describe the digits in each place value,
and with guidance, Willow was able to identify the correct answer.
Therefore, with a great deal of scaffolding and extended time learning key skills, Willow
can learn grade-level mathematical concepts.
E. Test Results.
Name of test: Young Childrens Achievement Test
Date of testing: 6/26/2012
Student age at time of testing: 5 years, 6 months
Young Childrens Achievement Test

Test Results:
Scale

Composite
Score

Percentile
Rank

General Information

83

13

Reading

88

21

Mathematics

73

Writing

79

Spoken Language

75

Early Achievement
Composite

72

Student Performance:
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Willow was administered the Young Childrens Achievement Test (YCAT) in 2012. She is
due for reevaluation at the end of the current academic year, so these results should be
interpreted with the timing in mind. The YCAT assesses academic achievement in several
subject areas including reading, mathematics, writing, spoken language, and knowledge of
general information. Within the areas assessing her knowledge of general information (e.g.
where do you find a tiger, where is your shoulder) (General Information = 83) and within the
area of reading (Reading = 88) Willow performed within the low average range when compared
to other individuals her age. On the subtests assessing her math skills (Mathematics = 73), to
write and copy (Writing = 79) and to demonstrate expressive language skills (Spoken Language
= 75) Willow performed within the low range when compared to her same age peers.
Technical Adequacy:
The Young Childrens Achievement Test is an individually administered test that assesses
achievement of children aged 4 years 0 months to 7 years 11 months, putting Willow in the
middle of the range at the time of testing. The test takes between 25 and 45 minutes to administer
individually, so test fatigue should not have been a significant factor at the time of the
administration. The format of this test is flexible, meaning that the subtests do not have to be
administered in any particular order.
F. Parent Interview:
See attached
Results:
Willows mother is positive about her daughter. She takes solace in knowing that her daughter is
able to be in a class where she can be instructed at her own level with minimal distractions. She
understands that Willows attention problems make it more difficult to function in the school
environment, and cites that the same problems carry over when she has to do math homework.
However, she stated that Willow enjoys reading nightly and chooses the same book repeatedly.
She also stated that Willow has difficulty with organization and from time to time needs many
tasks to complete her morning routine. Willows mothers main goal for her daughter this year is
to develop accuracy and fluency in completing basic addition and subtraction. So far this year,
she has been happy with the academic progress Willow is making.
G. Other Sources of Information: Optional
H. Collaboration:
To create this student profile, we collaborated with many people. First, we sought out the help of
he school psychologist, who administered the testing for the childs psychological evaluation, to gain
access to the students standardized testing scores and discuss possible implications for instruction.
The speech-language pathologist was also helpful in pointing out needs in the areas of writing and
social interactions, which were not the focus of this profile, but will require further investigation in
the future. In addition, the school math specialist helped by providing us with a copy of the students
beginning of the year test and suggesting that we located the students strengths using an item map.
Finally, the students parents were open and helpful during the construction of this profile.
Student Project Disclaimer: Readers of this report are asked to interpret the results and recommendations
with the understanding that it has been developed as a project for graduate-level assessment course. The
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author is a qualified teacher in an advanced academic program. The contents may be limited by the as-yetdeveloping expertise of the author, time limitations of the course, etc.

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