Rosa is a student in the third grade. She is eight years old and from a family speaking Spanish,
but not fluently. Her family is from Mexico, and even though they speak predominantly Spanish
at home they also speak English. Her parents are not proficient in either language. In
kindergarten Rosa was not able to speak English, but since she received early intervention in
English for Speakers of Other Languages, she was able to make great gains. In fact, by second
grade she was able to pass the test to FES, or Fluent English Speaking. She was at risk based on
the DIBELS, but at the end of second grade and beginning of third she had made gains to
medium risk. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT-4) was administered,
which is a norm-referenced instrument that assesses receptive vocabulary for individuals ages 2
years 6 months through 90 years and older. This test is intended to be used with English
speakers, which is a problem since Rosa’s assessment revealed she is in the high-risk category
throughout Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade (Overton, 2016). Since her receptive
vocabulary shows she is having difficulty understanding what she is reading, this is an area of
concern. When her Stanford 10 Reading Comprehension was assessed, it showed she was at the
45th percentile in first grade, but in third she was at the 3rd percentile. The breakdown in the
comprehension of vocabulary is a problem for Rosa. This is clear in her writing and struggles
with math word problems. To scaffold instruction, Rosa needs Tier 2 interventions to reinforce
the vocabulary on grade-level. If RTI is implemented with fidelity and Progress Monitoring
documented with not much progress for the 6-week period, then the data will drive the
intervention (Overton, 2016). Tier 3 RTI should be implemented. This should be in a small group
setting and instruction should be planned to meet her instructional gaps. This should also be a 6week period and data should be documented. If Rosa shows gains, she should continue in Tier 3
interventions but changing her objectives and goals as she masters each one. Since she was
evaluated by a speech pathologist, she will also work on goals at speech therapy concerning
vocabulary acquisition. If interventions and therapy are not yielding adequate progress, further
testing or evaluations may be considered for a Special Education evaluation.
Reference:
Overton, T. (2016). Assessing learners with special needs: An applied approach (Eighth).
Pearson.