Diagnostic Assessment
Shoreline School District
April 2, 2010
Purpose of Workshop
• To clarify the role of diagnostic
assessments in the RtI model;
• To review our current use of diagnostic
assessments in the district;
• To discuss our next steps in using
diagnostic assessments.
The multi-tiered model of assessment
If not, either modify
or change
intervention
Universal Screening (all students)
Who is at-risk?
Progress Monitoring
(only at-risk students)
Is what we are doing
working?
If yes, either continue
intervention as is
or discontinue
Diagnostic Assessment
(only at-risk students)
Why are they at-risk?
Intervention Design
Universal Screening
• Administered to ALL students
• Quick, low cost, repeatable, and test age
appropriate skills
• Flags students in need of additional diagnostic
assessment
• Screeners themselves are NOT diagnostic
Examples of Universal
Screeners
• DIBELS
• easyCBM
These serve to flag students but do not
alone tell you what the instructional deficits
or needs are of your individual students
Diagnostic Assessment
• Diagnostic assessments are focused and
provide direction. This type of assessment must
tell us what exactly should be worked on to
achieve progress.
• A student is flagged through DIBELS, what
then? Need more data to identify what the
issue/problem area is and how to support that
student.
Purpose of Diagnostic
Assessment
• A skill specific assessment designed to
assist in matching the correct intervention
with the individual need of the student
• Turn and Talk: What skills are embedded
in reading and math?
What questions do diagnostics
help us answer?
• In what area(s) does this student need
targeted intervention?
• What exactly is preventing this student
from adequately progressing in a specific
area?
Imagine…
• Taking your car into a mechanic and telling
them it isn’t running right. They start to
change things that typically contribute to a
car not running right -- spark plugs,
carburator, even generator -- but without
performing any diagnostics to hone in on
the problem.
The hospital… The place for diagnostic
assessment in our ER model
• What if you are still ill after leaving ER,
going home, taking aspirin, resting and
drinking fluids?
– Tier 1 intervention didn’t apparently work and
you feel worse with fever continuing
– What’s next?
Reading Diagnostics
• Administer follow-up testing:
–
–
–
–
QRI
DRA
CORE
Have student read to teacher with book off shelf
(look/listen for specific reading difficulties)
– Purpose is to:
• Validate or counter findings from screening
• Clearer picture of student’s reading strengths/weaknesses
• Evaluation of the five essential reading components
– Phonemic awareness; phonological processing; fluency,
vocabulary comprehension
Purpose of Math Diagnostics
• Deeper analysis of why the student is
having problems with math:
– Adequacy of math concept vocabulary
– Adequacy of prerequisite computation skills
– Ability of a student to decipher and solve a
math word (application) problem
What other math skills did you discuss
earlier?
Math Diagnostic Activity:
Playing Sherlock Holmes
You be Sherlock Holmes and find the miscue trends.
I. 14
II. 23
III. 32
+17
-14
x12
211
11
64
32
96
• When this student adds, (s) he…..
• When this student subtracts, (s) he….
• When this student multiplies (s) he…
• During diagnostic assessment, we focus on the
miscues, not the number correct.
Written Language Diagnostics
• Focus on identifying source of writing
difficulty
– Handwriting/letter formation
– Writing fluency
– Proper use of conventions
– Syntactic maturity (e.g. use of more complex
words or varied sentence starters)
– Semantic maturity (sentence sophisticationlength)
– Flow (transitions)
– Organization/planning
How are you using diagnostics?
1. What tools are you using?
2. How do you share the information?
Role of RtI Leadership Team
Create and evaluate building systems
• Identify:
– Diagnostic tools you will use.
– Who will administer tools?
– Who will track the data?
– How the data will be shared and used to
make instructional decisions.
– The role of SSTs/A Teams/Kid Councils,
PLC/Grade Level teams in process
What is our plan for the future in
Shoreline?
• Our Math Screener is easyCBM and our
progress monitoring tool is easyCBM
• We are exploring math diagnostics
attached to curriculum adoption as well as
something more general (MAP?)
What is our plan for the future in
Shoreline?
• Reading Diagnostics:
– Use of DRA and QRI
• Title/LAP teachers are a key resource
• Share tools and strategies across the
district (Title/LAP teachers, principals,
Instruction Staff)
Resource
• www.interventioncentral.org
Exit Slips
• What are the benefits of using diagnostic
assessments?
• What are the barriers/challenges in using
diagnostic assessments?