OrRTI Spring Training
May 3 rd , 2011

• What is your current role in your school/district?
• How do you or your staff currently set goals for students in interventions?
– Benchmarks?
– Percentile Ranks?
– Growth Rates?

Setting Appropriate Goals Is
Important
18 WCPM
Benchmark
36 WCPM

• Progress monitoring as an “indicator”
• Writing objective and complete goals
• Things to consider when setting goals:
– What is the goal?
– When will they get there?
– What progress can we reasonably expect?

Progress Monitoring as an “Indicator”

Curriculum-Based Measures
(CBM)
General Outcome Measures
(GOMs)

What are some commonly used progress monitoring tools?
AIMSWEB
Reading
Reading CBM, Maze
DIBELS NEXT FSF, PSF, NWF, ORF, Daze easyCBM PSF, LSF, WRF, PRF, MC Reading Comp, Vocab
AIMSWEB easyCBM
Math
M – Computation, M – Concepts & Applications, CBM –
Early Numeracy
Numbers & Operations, Measurement, Geometry, Algebra
Written Language
Writing – CBM (Total Words Written, Correct Writing Sequences, Words
Spelled Correctly)

What are NOT good progress monitoring tools?
• Phonic Screeners
• Report Cards
• OAKS
Reading
• DRA
• Running Records
Math
Curriculum weekly tests
Teacher created math probes*
OAKS
Writing rubrics*
Written Language
OAKS
• Reading curriculum weekly or monthly tests
or fluency passages
* when not administered and scored in a standardized and reliable way, or checked for consistency of multiple probes

The progress monitoring tool should match the skills being taught.

Additional Progress Monitoring Tools
For more info and a review of available tools, visit www.rti4success.org
(Progress Monitoring Tools Chart)

What information does it give you?
Reading Curriculum Fluency
Passages/Weekly Tests
VS.
Progress Monitoring Tools
(CBM)

What information does it give you?
Reading Curriculum Fluency
Passages/Weekly Tests
VS.
Progress Monitoring Tools
(CBM)

What information does it give you?
Reading Curriculum Fluency
Passages/Weekly Tests
VS.
Progress Monitoring Tools
(CBM)

Do we have the right “indicators”?
Most Miserable U.S. Cities
Seattle
Least Miserable U.S. Cities
Cleveland
Minneapolis
Denver
Detroit
Portland
Chicago
New York
Phoenix
Based on 1) Unemployment, 2) Gas Prices, and 3) Home Values
Wall Street Journal, 2011

Questionable data leads to questionable decision-making

• In what areas does your school/district have good progress monitoring measures?
• In what areas does your school/district need additional progress monitoring measures?

Writing Objective and Complete
Goals

What are the 6 essential parts of a
Goal?
1. Goal Date – date by which student is expected to reach goal
2. Condition under which student will perform the behavior
3. Student
4. Behavior – clearly defined, observable, measurable behavior
5. Criterion – performance level required to achieve mastery of the goal
6. Evaluation Schedule – frequency of assessment

• By (goal date), when given (condition),
(student) will (behavior) (criterion).
Progress will be monitored (evaluation schedule).
By June 1, 2011 , when given a DIBELS PSF probe , Mikhail will segment words at a rate of 35 sounds per minute . Progress will be monitored weekly.

• In 36 weeks, Edward will read aloud at a rate of 85+ words per minute with 4 or fewer errors. Progress will be monitored weekly.
condition
• In 36 weeks, when given a 4-minute, 4 th grade AIMSweb M-
CBM math computation probe, Jackie will perform at grade level. Progress will be monitored monthly.
behavior
• When given a 3-minute story starter, Keith will write 40+ total words in three minutes. Progress will be monitored once every other week.
goal date
1-goal date 2-condition 3-student
4-behavior 5-criterion 6-eval schedule

• By June 7 th 2010, when given a DIBELS PSF probe, Frank will orally segment 35 phonemes per minute. eval schedule
• By May 28 th 2010, Sarah will complete a math probe with 45 digits correct with less than 4 errors. Progress will be monitored monthly.
condition
• In 36 weeks, George will get 80% correct on a 2 nd grade math probe. Progress will be monitored once every other week.
condition behavior
1-goal date 2-condition 3-student
4-behavior 5-criterion 6-eval schedule

• Goals should be:
Measurable Able to be
Monitored
Meaningful
Moves Harry from needing intensive support to needing strategic support
AND
3 wcpm per week growth
By June 9, 2011 when given a 2 nd grade level DIBELS passage, Harry will read
80 wcpm with 95% accuracy.
Progress will be monitored weekly.

Goal Setting:
Things to Consider
1. What is the goal?
2. By when will they get there?
3. What does reasonable growth look like?

Goal Setting:
Things to Consider
1. What is the goal?
– Criterion-based
• Research-based benchmarks/proficiency
– Norm-based
• Minimum of 25 th percentile (bottom limit of average)
• School, District, State, National

Goal Setting:
Things to Consider
2. By when will they get there?
– Long term goals always at proficiency
(i.e., grade placement benchmark)
– Short term goals may be an incremental step towards proficiency (i.e., instructional level material)

How do we determine appropriate materials for progress monitoring?
Do we monitor at grade level or instructional level?

• A process used to determine a student’s instructional level
• Step 1: Administer 3 separate passages at grade level. Record median words correct per minute (WCPM) and errors.

• Step 2: Compare median scores (WCPM & errors) to a performance criteria
Instructional
Level
Words Correct Per
Minute (WCPM)
(Expected Range)
1-2 40-60
Errors
(Expected Range)
4 or fewer
3-6 70-100
From Hosp, Hosp, & Howell, 2007
6 or fewer

• Step 3:
– If student performance falls within expected range on WCPM and errors, progress should be monitored at that level or a level higher.
– If student’s performance falls below expected range on WCPM or errors, administer 3 passages from next lowest level and evaluate as compared to performance criteria

• Step 3:
– If student performance fails to meet criteria at
1 st grade instructional level, administer early reading measures (e.g. DIBELS PSF or NWF, easyCBM PSF, etc.)

Example: 4 th Grade Student
4
3
2
1
Survey Level
Assessment Criteria
Student Performance
Grade WCPM Errors WCPM Errors Pass?
70-100 ≤ 6 45 , 49, 39 10, 8, 9 No
70-100 ≤ 6 55, 59 , 64 9 , 9, 7 No
40-60 ≤ 4 58 , 46, 59 4 , 5, 3 Yes
40-60 ≤ 4

Progress Monitoring Level:
Things to consider
• Accuracy is more important than fluency and typically develops first
• If a student is accurate (>95%) on grade level, consider monitoring at grade level
• If a student is not accurate consider monitoring accuracy in addition to fluency
• Can monitor at both grade level AND instructional level
• More frequently at instructional level

Goal setting at a lower instructional level
• Set goal based on instructional level benchmark (DIBELS Next Example)

Example: DIBELS Next Guidelines
• When monitoring a student in below-grade materials, the following steps are recommended:
• Step 1: Determine the student’s current level of performance. (Survey Level Assessment)
• Step 2: Determine the score to aim for based on the end-of-year goal for the level of materials being used for monitoring.

Example: DIBELS Next Guidelines
• Step 3: Set the timeframe so that the goal is achieved in half the time in which it would normally be achieved (e.g., moving the end-ofyear benchmark goal to be achieved by the midyear benchmark date). The intent is to establish a goal that will accelerate progress and support a student to catch up to their peers
• Step 4: Draw an aimline connecting the current performance to the goal.

Goal setting at a lower instructional level
• Set goal based on instructional level benchmark (DIBELS Next Example)
• Set goal based on instructional level growth rates

Goal Setting:
Things to Consider
3. What does reasonable growth look like?
– National Growth rates (Fuchs, AIMSWEB,
Hasbrouck & Tindal)
– Local Growth rates
• District, School, Classroom, Intervention Group

“Using national normative samples allows comparisons to be made with the performance levels expected of typical performing students from across the country and equates more closely with data sets that are used in well developed, published, normreferenced tests.”
Shapiro, 2008

National Growth Rates: Reading
Grade
3
4
1
2
5
6
Average ORF
Growth
(WCPM)*
2
1.5
1
0.85
0.5
0.3
Ambitious
ORF Growth
(WCPM)*
Average
Maze Growth
(WCR)**
*Fuchs et al (1993), **Fuchs & Fuchs (2004)
3
2
1.5
1.1
0.8
0.65
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4
0.4

National Growth Rates: Writing
Grade Average
Growth
(TWW)
7
8
5
6
3
4
1
2
Based on AIMSWEB Norms
0.2
0.6
0.3
0
0.4
0.3
0.3
0.3
Average
Growth (CWS)
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
0.4
0.3
0.4

National Growth Rates: Math
Grade CBM Comp
(Digits correct)
CBM Concepts
& Applications
(Answers correct)
4
5
6
1
2
3
0.35
0.30
0.30
0.70
0.70
0.40
N/A
0.40
0.60
0.70
0.70
0.70
Based on Monitoring Basic Skills Progress (MBSP) Probes

Not all available probes from different sources are created equally
AIMSWEB ≠ DIBELS ≠ easyCBM

National growth rates may be well below those obtained in highly successful interventions and…
…they may not be consistent across the range of your students receiving your instruction

What does typical growth look like in…
…your district?
…your school?
…your classroom?
…your intervention group?

“…use of the combination of local and national norms provides the user of these data with opportunities to evaluate how student performance compares with a national sample of same-grade peers, as well as against the local peers within the particular school.”
Shapiro, 2008

Calculating Local Growth Rates
1. Determine the normative group:
– All students in your district ?
– All students in your school ?
– All students in your classroom ?
– All students in your intervention group ?

Calculating Local Growth Rates
2. Determine the beginning-of-year and end-of-year level of performance for the normative group:
46.9
93.3

Calculating Local Growth Rates
3. Calculate the difference to get the average yearly student growth .
46.9
46.4 words
93.3

Calculating Local Growth Rates
4. Calculate the # of instructional weeks between beginning-of-year and endof-year performance.
46.9
46.4 words
93.3
2 nd week of
September 34 weeks
4 th week of
May

Calculating Local Growth Rates
5. Divide average yearly student growth by # of instructional weeks to get the average weekly growth.
46.4 words
=
1.4 wcpm per week
34 weeks

Which Growth Rates to Use for
Goal Setting?
• For students in interventions, goals must be set higher than average district or school growth rates.
District growth rates:
1.4 wcpm per week
Student goal based on district growth rates

Which Growth Rates to Use for
Goal Setting?
• For students in interventions, goals must be set higher than average district or school growth rates.
District growth rates:
1.4 wcpm per week
Student goal based on intervention group growth rates:
2 wcpm per week

(Baseline score) + (growth rate x number of weeks) = GOAL
( ) + ( x ) = 88 wcpm
Example:
Baseline (Fall ORF) = 20 wcpm
2 nd grade intervention growth rate = 2 wcpm per week
Number of weeks = 34

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.
– Confucious