Norma M. Perez
Bea Fuller Rodgers Intermediate School 528
180 Wadsworth Avenue
New York, NY 10033
How can effective use of student data help teachers provide differentiated
instruction to increase student achievement?

Our literacy staff took on an initiative to address word attack deficiencies in our
student population. We commenced a Plan of Action that would propel vocabulary
acquisition to the forefront of curriculum planning.
 Implement a Word Study Unit that would create a charge of excitement about
words & their usage.
 Foster word consciousness through inquiry by exposing students to inquiry-based
investigations of words.
Process
 Inquiry Team is formed by a select number of teachers and trained in the use of
ARIS to help them understand and utilize the available data in the system. The
team is involved in researching/assessing vocabulary acquisition with a targeted
group of 8th graders to measure student gains in reading comprehension- including
planning a comprehensive word study unit for the general student population.
 Professional development was provided for the staff on “Differentiated
Instruction.” The team identified specific resources that provided additional
teaching strategies for those students that were targeted.
 We had weekly meetings after school to solicit members’ input in establishing
the necessary criteria for forming a query that will assist in accelerating reading
comprehension in the targeted/general student population based on the use of Aris,
item analysis of Predictive Assessment & DRA. As a result of these assessments, a
consensus was reached that Literacy was to be the content area focus.
Steps that informed process were:
1. Analyzing data to determine patterns in Reading Comprehension deficiencies
--A 3 year decline in ELA test scores relating to specific students
2. Evaluating data to distinguish targeted population for purposes of
investigating (and preventing reoccurrence) significant drop in ELA test scores
from the previous year
--Targeted sub-population identified: Fifteen 8th grade students based on needs (Raw
score range: 596-657)
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
A school wide initiative in vocabulary acquisition. The Inquiry Team
collaborated with the literacy staff to work towards an incremental 6 month
projected gain in reading comprehension proficiency. The initiative involved:
 Direct & concept instruction of tiered vocabulary
 Student exposure to an eclectic; systemic & cyclical curriculum through
staff development
 Direct instruction in cues analysis; morphological/graph phonic,
definitional/contextual
 Periodic assessments
 Provide after school tutorials
Assessment Insights
 Successful performance in target population & across grades in identifying context
clues within short sentences as opposed to a short passage
 Increased proficiency in targeted population & across grades in the use of prefixes &
suffixes
 Marked vocabulary achievement gains of 19+% in grade 7!
 Poorer performance identifying/using base words in target population and grades
6&8
Obstacles






An ever-shifting staff complicated efforts to turn-key understanding of formative
assessment and its application.
Providing adequate time for meeting and training teachers in using data analysis to
inform instruction.
Helping teachers understand effective means of using student data to accelerate
achievement has been an ongoing challenge.
Motivating and differentiating among teachers
Providing planning time and proper resources for teachers
Lack of experience in using data to differentiate instruction
Outcomes
 Creating assessments with less ambiguity and considerations for our ESL population
 Continue integration of effective strategy instruction that will lead to a more eclectic
curriculum & significantly impact reading comprehension and teaching practices
 Teacher commitment to curriculum’s success through reflective practice across the
content areas
 Collaborating on possible inclusion/extension of vocabulary study into 37 ½ after
school program in addition to targeted tutorial to service differentiation
49
Preliminary Data Analysis (2007/2008):
Assessment #1- Context Clues [8th Grade TARGETED GROUP]
GRADE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
SUMMARY
100
Grade 6 ………. 67
Scores (%)
80
Averages:
Assessment #1- Context
Clues [8th Grade
TARGETED GROUP]
60
40
20
Grade 7 ………. 65
0
1
Grade 8 ………. 68
3
5
7
9
11
13
Performance Summary
Grade 8- Target group ……… 72
Assessment #1- Context Clues [6th Grade]
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
120

1.
2.
3.
Successful performance across
grades in identifying context
clues within short sentences.
Poorer performance across
grades in:
100
Scores (%)

80
Assessment #1- Context
Clues [6th Grade]
60
40
20
Identifying BASEWORDS
Use of BASEWORDS &
suffixes to complete cloze
sentences
Clues in Context when
determining word meaning in
short passages
0
1
8 15 22 29 36 43 50 57 64 71 78
Performance Summary
Assessment #1- Context Clues [7th Grade]
100
PLAN OF ACTION
Scores (%)
80
60
Assessment #1- Context
Clues [7th Grade]
40
20
0
1 6 11 16 21 26 31 36 41 46 51 56 61
Performance Summary
Assessment #1- Context Clues [8th Grade]
100
80
Scores (%)
Continue a spiraling unit on Word Study
providing rigorous instruction in
BASEWORDS, SUFFIXES and
PREFIXES to improve overall
performance in our student population.
60
Assessment #1- Context
Clues [8th Grade]
40
20
0
1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45
Performance Summary
50
Final Data Analysis (2007/2008):
GRADE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
SUMMARY
8th Grade- Target Group FINAL ASSESSMENT
Prefixes/Suffixes/Basewords/Context Clues
Averages:
120
Grade 6 …………. 62
Grade 8 …………. 68
Scores (%)
Grade 7 …………. 84
100
80
60
40
20
Grade 8 Target Group ………….. 59
0
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Performance Summary
◊ Successful Performance across
grades in identifying context clues
within short sentences
6th Grade FINAL ASSESSMENT
Prefixes/Suffixes/Basewords/Context Clues
Use of PREFIXES & SUFFIXES
[Marked performance gains in
Grade 7]
CLUES in CONTEXT when
determining word meaning in a
short passage
100
Scores (%)
◊ Poorer Performance in grades 6&
8 identifying BASEWORDS
120
80
60
40
20
0
PLAN OF ACTION
1
5
9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73
Performance Summary
Continue a spiraling unit on Word
Study providing rigorous instruction in
BASEWORDS, PREFIXES/SUFFIXES
and CLUES in CONTEXT to improve
overall reading comprehension in our
student population.
7th Grade- FINAL ASSESSMENT
Prefixes/Suffixes/Basewords/Context Clues
120
Scores (%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
1
4
7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 64 67 70 73
Performance Summary
8th Grade FINAL ASSESSMENT
Prefix/Suffix/Basewords/Context Clues
120
Scores (%)
100
80
60
40
20
0
1
3
5
7
9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47
Performance Summary
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Leadership Reflections




Professional development to differentiate among our staff was vital in enabling us to
launch a unit of study for which there weren’t any clear curriculum directives.
Collaborating with the Inquiry Team to share, reflect & proceed with a Plan of
Action required everyone to be flexible, patient and “trust in the process of things”.
In essence, forcing us to take one step at a time and not overlook the details.
This process allowed the administration to work & learn alongside our teachers (as
indicated by the data analysis submitted).
There is no easy fix and the work ahead will continue to challenge & stimulate us.
Our target group did not improve by “leaps & bounds” (7th grade did measurably well
& gained proficiency in vocabulary/reading). But, we did create an opportunity for a
clearer examination of how data plays a crucial role in informing instruction
Resources
Books:





Words, Words, Words by Janet Allen
Bringing Words to Life by I. Beck, M. Mckeown, L. Kucan
When Kids Can’t Read by Kylene Beers
Sadlier-Oxford Vocabulary Workshop New Edition by Jerome Shostak
Miscue Analysis Made Easy by Sandra Wilde
Texts:
 Glencoe Literature Reading with Purpose, Courses 1-3
 The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists, 5th edition (K-12)
Articles:


The Value of Direct & Systematic Vocabulary Instruction by Jerome Shostak
The Vocabulary Challenge by Kate Garnett
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