Maggie Kearns Informal Assessment 10/30/12 Student: Description: J is a 7th grade female that has an intellectual disability.

J spends time during the day in a self-contained classroom. For ELA, J spends of a period (20 minutes) with four other 7th graders with mild disabilities, as well as a period (40 minutes) with three 6th graders with mild disabilities. Skill: The target skill that we are looking to increase is Js reading fluency. She is currently reading at a rate much lower than the seventh grade level and we aim for her to raise her reading fluency rate.

Questions What is the average fluency rate for a student in the 7th grade in the Fall? Why? To find out where Js achievement is compared to the typical fluency rate at the seventh grade level Source: AIMSweb & Edison Middle School

Answer: Edison Middle School in AIMSweb: 140 words per minute in the Fall AIMSweb: 144 words per minute in Fall Why? To get an idea of Source: Js Special what J is working on her in Education teacher class to improve her reading skills.

What reading programs are currently being used with J to work on reading? Answer: Lexia: Level 2 Corrective reading: -Comprehension: A -Decoding: B2

What reading leveling system do her teachers use?

Why? So that I can accurately assess J compared to how she has previously been assessed.

Source: Js special education teacher

Answer: AIMSweb fluency data: below 25% at 3rd grade level, met 2nd grade level at 25%

Data collection What will help to increase Js fluency rate? Is her fluency rate consistent over different passages? The same passage?

Why? To determine Js needs to increase her fluency rate. To determine if different passages or situations alter her fluency rate.

Source: 6 Minute Solutions

Procedures: 1. Select passage at Js reading level. Explain to her that she will read for one minute and that she should take her time and sound out words. Also explain that you will take notes on words she misses and how many words she reads in that minute. 2. Sit next to J with a copy of the same passage inserted into a dry erase sleeve. 3. Start timer for one minute and follow along as J reads. Use a dry erase marker to put a slash through each word that she incorrectly reads or skips altogether. 4. When the timer goes off, put a bracket next to the last word that she read. Inform J that the minute is up and she is done reading. 5. Use the number of words in each line to determine how many words J read during that minute. 6. Have J count the number of errors (slash marks). Set up a subtraction problem on the sleeve of the number of errors being subtracted from the total number of words read. Assist J in solving the problem. The answer to this problem is the number of words per minute J read that day. 7. Write the name and passage number (found in the top right corner) on the data collection sheet. Have J graph the number of words per minute that she read. 8. Discuss with J her results compared to other days of the same passage or other passages. 9. One by one, go through all of the words that J missed by asking her to sound them out, assisting her if she can not get the word. This can be done by simply locating them in the passage and having J sound them out, breaking them down on a white board, or writing different forms of the word so that J to be able to identify the differences. 10. Have J read through the entire passage, helping her when she gets stuck on words. Encourage her to take her time and sounds out words, instead of making quick guesses. 11. When finished with the passage, ask J some questions about the content of the passage. 12. Every week, select a new passage for J to read each day repeat the steps above. Results: Js reading fluency is very inconsistent. Some days J reads many words but also makes many mistakes, and some days she reads fewer words but also makes many less mistakes because she focuses on decoding words, which is important for her to do. Her reading fluency does not appear to be consistent over passages or weeks.

Summary: Js reading fluency is much lower than the typical seventh grade student. Because reading is such an important part of daily life, it is very important to raise Js reading fluency rate. Js fluency rate varies greatly on a daily basis. Some days Js fluency rate is around 80 words per minutes, and some days it is only around 40 words per minute. This inconsistency shows that J does retain the information that she is reading, but on a daily basis cannot apply the information to her reading. I believe that keeping J completely focused on the passage and making sure that nothing is putting her mind in a different place, such as the need to go to the bathroom or still being upset from something that happened earlier in the day, is important in helping J become a better reader. J is continuously significantly below the average fluency rate of a seventh grade student. This being said, it is important to raise Js reading fluency rate in order to ensure that she will be able to read during her daily life. Objective: In English and language arts class while doing 6 Minute Solutions at the 2nd level, J will read at a rate of 90 words/minute for three consecutive probes.

Rationale: It is extremely important for J to increase her reading fluency so that she will be able to effectively and efficiently read throughout her daily life. Reading is not only used in reading class, but also in most every other class that J will have each day. Reading is also a part of immeasurable aspects of life outside of school, including ordering food at restaurants, taking medication, and passing the driving test. Without suitable reading skills, J could have trouble in many aspects of her daily life that will limit her ability to properly care for herself and participate in social activities, something that no student or adult should have to experience.