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Comprehensive Plan of Action for
Improving Student Achievement on the
TCAP
&
SAT 10
for
Elementary and Middle Schools
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TARGETED DIFFERENTIATION PROCESS
The following instructional configurations should be considered when planning for additional
student support. Principals should select the configuration(s) that best match the needs of
students and staff availability.
Push-in Support- A data driven strategy in which two or more teachers share teaching
responsibilities within a classroom. Both the push-in and traditional teachers interact with all of
the students at different times using various group size arrangements and instructional
differentiation to aid in recognizing and supporting each student’s educational potential
(District MAY send support to provide assistance, if available).
Example # 1
One teacher works with a large group while the other teacher is working with a small group of
students.
Example # 2
Both teachers simultaneously pull small groups for pre-teaching, re-teaching, enrichment,
interest groups, special projects, make-up work or assessment groups.
Example #3
The class is divided in half (homogeneous groups) and both teachers plan instruction jointly and
are teaching the same lesson at the same time.
Example #4
The Coaching Cycle may be used if you have additional staff, Academic Support team members
if available, or if the district is able to provide additional assistance.
Debrief
Observe
Co-Teach
Model
Observe
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Procedure to set-up Push-in Support:
 Determine a time in which the students who need remediation and/or enrichment will be
serviced.
 Sort the list of identified students by overall percentages on the Discovery Formative
Assessment, in descending order (from highest to lowest).
 Identify data trends by classrooms. Within the classrooms, group the students by common
data points and student levels.
 Determine how many push-in facilitators you will need during each period. These push-in
services should be facilitated by teachers, coaches, specialists, etc.
 Create a push-in support schedule, including times, dates, locations and personnel in order
to contribute to a consistent implementation.
 Utilize supplementary resources available at the school or on the various district websites to
guide the push-in support activities.
 Facilitate collaborative planning between the regular teacher and the co-teacher. This is an
essential component for success.
 Example #3 should be used in cases where teachers are identified as having instructional
regression patterns as evidenced by student performance on the Discovery Formative
Assessment. Scheduled coaching support should be provided for teachers in these
instances to ensure co-teaching and the parallel format.
Pull-out Support: A data driven strategy is needed to remediate and/or enrich the content
implemented in the regular classroom to increase the level of complexity and critical thinking
for this group of able students. When designing a pull-out group activity, educators should
consider the curriculum for core subject areas and build a re-teaching or extension activity.
This will ensure that differentiation is occurring with materials covered in the student’s regular
class.
General Procedures
 Determine a time and location when the students who need remediation and/or
enrichment will be serviced.
 Sort the list of students in each category by overall percentages on the Discovery Formative
Assessment, in descending order (from highest to lowest).
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 Consider scheduling an assembly with these students prior to providing the services in order
to inform them of the importance of this program and its academic benefits.
Example #1
Small Group Pull-Out
 Divide the students into maximum groups of 20 by ranking (for example, top 20, next 20,
next 20 etc). Determine how many facilitators you will need to implement this support. The
pull-out support services should be facilitated by teachers, coaches, specialists, etc.
 Instruction provided during small group pull-outs should be driven by the State
Performance Indicators not mastered. Resources should be pulled from the available
materials in the school and on the website that are aligned to the State Performance
Indicators.
LANGUAGE ARTS
Students currently in Reading/ Language Arts
Revisit the students in Reading/Language Arts who scored at proficiency levels during Discovery
Formative Assessment A, B & C.
 Look at their latest results on the Discovery Formative Assessment results to ensure that
students have maintained or surpassed their proficiency level.
 Intensify the type of academic services for students who have maintained or surpassed
their proficiency level to maintain skills mastered and ensure success on the TCAP/SAT 10
Exam.
 If students did not, this is an indicator of regression in performance. Provide students with
extended support (push-in, pull-out, tutorial programs). See Targeted Differentiation
Support Process defined within this document on page 3 to determine the one that
appropriately meets the needs of the students.
Students currently in Reading/ Language Arts who were almost at proficiency during the
previous two Discovery Formative Assessment
 Revisit Discovery Formative Assessment A, B & C for each student.
 Look at these test results to determine their level of performance.
 If they scored at proficiency, then the students are on the right track to reaching
proficiency. At this time, the students must receive continued instruction on the
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challenging content and skills across the State Performance Indicators designated for
Reading/Language Arts.
 If they scored below proficiency, the students must receive targeted interventions and
remediation (use guide on page 3) in the areas of concern, and continued instruction on
the challenging content and skills across the State Performance Indicators designated for
Reading/Language Arts.
Tutorial Programs
 Revisit the students who have been regularly attending your tutorial programs that you
have had in sessions.
 Compare their levels of performance on Discovery Formative Assessment A ,B & C . Make a
professional judgment call as to whether the program is effectively attaining learning gains
for the school.
 If yes, then continue the process as stipulated in your plan.
 If not, then make material and instructional adjustments as needed, immediately.
Notes
 Access resources that can be found in Spring Test Prep materials.
 Create school-wide test taking strategies. Test-taking tips should be firmly embedded DAILY
during instruction.
 Use appropriate support materials to promote stamina and build endurance for the
Reading/Language Arts test.
Home Learning Activities in Language Arts
 Teachers should send home a mini-skill package every Friday for each student in
Reading/Language Arts in accordance to the test format of the TCAP/SAT 10 to be
completed on the weekend. This package should focus on the State Performance Indicators
that were taught in September-January to maintain the skills fresh in students’ mind.
 This package should be reviewed on Mondays as part of the opening class activities.
Mathematics
Students currently in Mathematics Accountability Area
 Revisit the students in Mathematics who scored at proficiency levels during Discovery
Formative Assessment A, B & C.
 Look at their latest results on the Discovery Formative Assessment results to ensure that
students have maintained or surpassed their proficiency level.
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 Intensify the type of academic services for students who have maintained or surpassed
their proficiency level to maintain skills mastered and ensure success on the TCAP/SAT 10
Exam.
 If students did not, this is an indicator of regression in performance. It is recommended that
students be provided through extended support (push-in, pull-out, tutorial programs). See
Targeted Differentiation Support Process defined within this document on page 3 to
determine the one that appropriately meets the needs of the students.
Students currently taking Mathematics who were almost at proficiency during the fall
Discovery Formative Assessment
 Revisit the fall Discovery Formative Assessment for each student.
 Look at all their Discovery Formative Assessment results to determine their level of
performance.
 If they scored at proficiency, then the students are on the right track to reaching
proficiency. At this time, the students must receive continued instruction on the
challenging content and skills across the State Performance Indicators designated for
Mathematics.
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 If they scored below proficiency, the students must receive targeted interventions and
remediation (use guide on page 3) in the areas of concern, and continued instruction on
the challenging content and skills across the State Performance Indicators designated for
mathematics.
Tutorial Programs
 Revisit the students who have been regularly attending your tutorial programs that you
have had in session.
 Compare their levels of performance on Discovery Formative Assessment A, B & C. Make a
professional judgment call as to whether the program is effectively attaining learning gains
for the school.
 If yes, then continue the process as stipulated in your plan.
 If not, then make material and instructional adjustments as needed, immediately.
Notes
 Access resources that can be found in Spring Test Prep materials.
 Create school-wide test taking strategies. Test-taking tips should be firmly embedded in the
DAILY instruction.
 Use appropriate support materials to promote stamina and build endurance for the
mathematics test.
Home Learning Activities in Mathematics
 Teachers should send home a mini-skill package every Friday for each student in
Mathematics in accordance to the test format of the TCAP /SAT 10 to be completed on the
weekend. This package should focus on the State Performance Indicators that were taught
in September-January to maintain the skills fresh in students’ mind.
 This package should be reviewed on Mondays as part of the opening class activities.
Software Support Programs in Mathematics
 Print the usage reports and performance level reports for each student on the Stanford
Math Program
 Conduct an analysis of the results to see the progress of students compared to the usage
rates (fidelity needs to be considered prior to making an assessment).
 If the program is making a difference in the student’s academic performance, intensify the
usage. If the program is not making a difference in the student’s academic performance,
consider alternate sources of remediation or enrichment immediately.