Revised 3/5/10
Learning Disability Eligibility Report 2009-10
Name: Daisy Duck
Birthdate: 4/9/03
Evaluation Team: Minny Mouse, Learning
Sc School: Durham Elementary School
Grade: 1 st
Report Date: 9/1/010
Specialist; Mr. Pluto, School Psychologist;
Mrs. Goofy, First Grade teacher; Daffy Duck,
Lit Specialist.
Section 1: Background Information
Daisy was referred for a special education evaluation by the school’s Effective Behavior and Instruction
Support (EBIS) team due to concerns about her skill development in the area of reading. She moved in to the district at the beginning of first grade and has received additional instruction in reading in a Title I program since that time. Records from her previous school indicate a pattern of difficulty in reading but no additional intervention documented. Daisy’s parents describe her as an eager learner, though they have noticed displays of frustration from Daisy when she engages in reading activities. She is happy to listen to a story being read, but is hesitant to practice reading herself. A review of Daisy’s progress reports indicate that her skill development in math and writing are on target, and this is supported by work samples provided by Mrs. Goofy, Daisy’s first grade teacher.
Section 2: Students who qualify for special education as having learning disabilities have very low skills relative to expectations for the student’s age, or relative to the student’s progress toward Oregon achievement.
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
All elementary school students in the Tigard Tualatin School District are assessed using the Dynamic Indicators of
Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), a collection of simple assessments designed to measure progress toward early reading acquisition. Students learning to read in Spanish are also assessed with Indicadores Dinámicos del
Éxito en la Lectura (IDEL), an assessment which is very similar to DIBELS. The following tables reflect Daisy’s scores for each trimester of kindergarten and first grade. When available, percentiles are also reported (the 50 th percentile is average, with the 25th to 75 th percentiles reflecting the low- to high-average range).
Initial Sound Fluency (ISF) assesses a student’s skill in isolating and naming the beginning sound of common objects. Daisy’s skills in this area have been consistently low (below the 10 th percentile) from Fall to Winter of kindergarten.
Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) assesses how quickly a student names uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet in random order. Rapid naming is a key indicator of early literacy skills. Daisy’s skills in this area have been consistently low (below the 16 th percentile) from kindergarten through the fall of first grade.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) assesses a student’s skill in breaking a word into the smallest units of sound (phonemes). A student is presented a word (orally) and asked to repeat the individual phonemes in that word. Daisy’s skills in this area have been consistently low (most scores below the 11 th percentile) from kindergarten through first grade. She did score at the 34 th percentile at the end of kindergarten, but the overall pattern of scores indicates difficulty in this skill area.
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Revised 3/5/10
Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) measures a student’s application of basic letter-sound relationships (phonics).
“Non words” are presented for the student to read as if they were real words. Daisy’s skill’s in this area have been consistently low (below the 20 th percentile) from kindergarten through first grade.
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) considers how well a child reads grade level text aloud, with scores reported as correct words per minute, reflecting both the speed and accuracy with which the student reads. Daisy’s skills in this area have been consistently low (below the 22 nd percentile) throughout first grade.
DIBELS Tables
K Fall
Score %ile
Screening
Benchmark
K Winter
Score %ile
Screening
Benchmark
K Spring
Score %ile
Screening
Benchmar k
ISF
LNF
0
0
8th
9th
8
8
10 10
7 8 th th
25
27
N/A
24 15th 40
PSF
NWF
N/A
N/A
5 9 th
1 9 th
18
13
46 34th
15 10th
35
25
LNF
PSF
NWF
1 st Fall
Score %ile Benchmark
13 8th
30 9th
16 19th
37
35
24
1 st Winter
Score
N/A
14 3 rd
35
%ile Benchmark
19 th
35
50
1 st Spring
Score
N/A
%ile Benchmark
38 10th
40 18th
35
50
ORF N/A 5 7 th 20 30 21st 40
Phonics Inventory
The Phonics Inventory is an informal assessment of early reading skills such as discrimination between vowels and consonants, digraphs (common consonant blends) and diphthongs (common vowel blends), silent letters and compound words.
Daisy demonstrated strengths in the following areas:
-Letter naming (96% upper case and 100% lower case)
-Vowel names (100%)
Daisy struggled with the following items:
-Consonant sounds (71%)
-Consonant diagraphs (29%)
-Consonant blends (27%)
-Identifying short vowel sounds (60%)
-Double vowels making the long vowel sound (50%)
-Silent ‘e’ long vowels (10%)
-Reading words with short vowel sounds (25%)
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Revised 3/5/10
Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition (WIAT-III)
The WIAT-III is a standardized test designed to allow comparison of a student’s performance to same age peers.
Performance is reflected in a standard score; 100 is average. 85-115 represents the low average to high average range.
Academic
Area
Reading
Word Reading
Reading Comp.
Pseudoword
Standard
Score
82
88
81
Percentile
13
20
11 th th th
Range
78-84
85-91
76-85
Math
Numerical Operations
Math Reasoning
Written Language
Spelling
Alphabet Writing Fluency
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Oral Language
Listening Comp.
Oral Expression
WIAT-III Subtest Descriptions:
95
N/A
45th 92-98
The Word Reading subtest measures a student’s fluency and accuracy in differentiating between words with similar and different sounds, and reading basic sight words. Daisy named all of the letter sounds presented, differentiated between sounds in words, and read sight words such as the and so correctly.
Daisy incorrectly read words such as school, into , and how . Her standard score of 82 on the Word Reading subtest is low.
The Pseudoword subtest is designed to assess the student’s fluency and accuracy in identifying phonics patterns and rules in an approach similar to DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency. Daisy decoded simple consonant-vowel-consonant “words” correctly, but struggled with vowel combinations such as /oy/ and /oo/.
Daisy’s standard score of 81 on the Pseudoword Decoding subtest is low.
Reading Comprehension looks at a student’s skill in gaining meaning from what she reads. Students read a short passage or story and are the asked to answer how questions related to the reading. The reading passages were very difficult for Daisy to read. Using other strategies she has developed, such as looking for picture clues, Daisy answered 3 of the 9 first grade level questions correctly, and continued to the second grade passage. With this passage, Daisy was answered none of the questions correctly. Daisy’s standard score of 88 on Reading Comprehension is in the low average range. It should be noted that the examiner believes this low average score to reflect poor decoding, hence lack of opportunity to read the questions, not deficits in comprehension. Daisy’s reading teacher also reports that decoding is interfering with comprehension in reading class; comprehension is not a “stand alone” issue.
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Revised 3/5/10
The Listening Comprehension subtest assesses a student’s receptive and expressive vocabulary skills.
Students are given a word by the examiner and asked to point to the corresponding picture among several choices. Next, the examiner reads a sentence and asks the student to answer an orally presented question based on the sentence they heard. Daisy responded correctly to most word and sentence prompts. She struggled to find a suitable response to the picture and prompt. Daisy’s standard score of 95 on Listening
Comprehension is in the average range.
Daisy’s skills in reading are best described as low as compared to her typical peers. She consistently scores below the 20 th percentile as compared to typical grade level peers on multiple reading measures.
She has not made enough progress to catch her up to the skill level of her same age peers. She struggles with decoding (breaking down) words, encoding (spelling), and identifying sounds and sound blends.
Section 3: Students with learning disabilities have academic skill deficits that are resistant to well-planned and implemented research based interventions that were designed to increase the child’s rate of learning.
Daisy moved in to the district in the beginning of first grade, at which time she was identified as struggling with phoneme segmentation skills and basic letter-sound relationships. In Nonsense Word Fluency, she started the year with a score of 16, below the expected level of 24. In October, she was placed in a group intervention, which involved joining a group of four students for 45 minutes per day for instruction using
Reading Mastery, Fast Cycle , an intensive, comprehensive reading curriculum that uses an explicit modellead-test format. The group was taught by a trained instructional assistant. Observations conducted on
October 23 rd , 28 th , and 31 st using the Reading Mastery fidelity checklist indicated that 100% of intervention components were implemented with fidelity. In January, Daisy’s DIBELS scores indicated continued difficulty in phoneme segmentation and identifying and blending sounds, despite intensive intervention.
At this time, she scored 35 on the DIBELS Nonsense Word Fluency and 5 on the DIBELS Oral Reading
Fluency benchmark assessments. This placed her in the intensive range for Oral Reading Fluency. Starting in January, her intervention was changed to include a “double dose” of Reading Mastery, Fast Cycle : two
45 minute intervention sessions per day in addition to 45 minutes in the core reading instruction using
MacMillan . Her group sizes for the two intervention sessions were 4 and 3 students. In addition to
Nonsense Word Fluency, Daisy received weekly Oral Reading Fluency probes to track her progress.
Observations conducted on February 4 th , 10 th , and 17 th , indicated a minimum of 95% of intervention components were implemented with fidelity for all sessions.
Progress monitoring data and Reading Mastery checkout data indicated that Daisy was not making sufficient progress to catch her up to her typical peers. After reviewing progress monitoring data, and meeting with the problem solving team, it was determined that Daisy’s intervention would be changed from
Reading Mastery, Fast Cycle , to Reading Mastery: Classic on February 25 th . The group sizes remained the same for these intervention groups. This was done in order to provide more explicit instruction in decoding skills with increased opportunities for practicing reading connected text. Observations conducted on March
19 th , 24 th , and 26 th indicated that 100% of intervention components were implemented with fidelity.
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Revised 3/5/10
DIBELS
NWF
Oct 6
Oct 13
Oct 20
Oct 27
Nov 3
Nov 10
Nov 17
Intervention 1:
-Reading
Mastery Fast
Cycle
-4 students
-45 minutes per day
20
26
30
24
26
39
31
DIBELS
ORF
Jan 20
Jan 26
Feb 2
Feb 9
Feb 16
Feb 23
Intervention 2:
-Reading Mastery
Fast Cycle
-4 and 3 students
-Two 45 minute sessions per day DIBELS
ORF
4
5
7
5
10
12
March 2
March 9
March 16
March 30
April 6
April 13
April 20
Intervention 3:
-Reading Mastery
Classic
-4 and 3 students
-Two 45 minute sessions per day
20
25
30
20
27
22
31
Nov 24
Dec 1
30
29
April 27
May 4
26
27
Dec 8 35
An average 1 st grade student gains 1.9 words per minute per week on the Oral Reading Fluency measure.
Daisy gained 1 correct word per minute per week from January to the end of February. During this same period, the other first graders in the intervention cohort increased by an average of 2 words per minute per week. From the end of February to the end of May, she increased 1 word per minute per week. Cohorts in the intervention increased an average of 2.3 words per minute per week. Daisy’s progress in acquiring these early reading skills has been slow. Despite research-based interventions designed to increase her rate of learning, Daisy can be described as having skill deficits that are non-responsive to intervention.
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Revised 3/5/10
Intervention results indicated that Daisy benefited most from explicit model-lead-test procedures focusing on decoding simple words, with additional practice across two different intervention sessions. She also benefitted from receiving immediate corrective feedback from the teacher, ensuring that she was not practicing errors. Additionally, she was able to focus better and respond more accurately when provided with a structured reinforcement allowing her to earn points for being on-task and giving her best effort.
Section 4: The student’s academic performance and behavior were observed in a regular classroom setting.
In addition to the fidelity observations of each intervention, Daisy was observed for 30 minutes on May 15,
2007 by Minnie Mouse, Learning Specialist. The observation took place in her core reading class, taught by 1 st grade teacher, Mrs. Goofy. 24 students were present during the reading class. Daisy was on-task
78% of the time, as compared to her peers, who were on-task 75% of the time. She was seated in the front of the room near her teacher, and often raised her hand to share responses to the lesson. During a group sound-blending activity on white boards, Daisy’s written and oral responses were frequently incorrect.
Daisy’s teacher needed to model correct responses and practice them with Daisy before Daisy could generate correct sounds and words independently. Daisy was engaged and eager to participate throughout the observation, yet she struggled to demonstrate mastery of the skills and concepts presented. Also, during fidelity observations during intervention time, Daisy was more engaged when a structured reinforcement system was used by the interventionist. During this time she was on task 94% of the time.
Section 5: The student has been provided the opportunity to learn the skills. ( written by learning specialist or school psychologist)
Daisy has attended Durham Elementary since first grade. A review of her cumulative file revealed that her attendance has been excellent (present 153 of 156 school days). She also had excellent attendance at her previous school, missing only 2 school days. In the Tigard-Tualatin School District, all 1 st -5 th grade students receive 90 minutes of reading instruction per day, of which, at least 45 minutes is skill-grouped. Tigard-
Tualatin’s adopted reading curriculum is MacMillan Treasures , a comprehensive research-based program
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Revised 3/5/10 which emphasizes phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Daisy has participated in the 90 minute reading block every day. Daisy also receives 45 minutes of skill-grouped core math instruction per day. She has had the opportunity to learn the skills.
Grade
K
1
School Tardies
Smith Elementary 0
Durham
Elementary
0
Absences
2
3
Section 6: The student does not have another disability or sensory problem. ( written by learning specialist, school psychologist, speech language pathologist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist)
Daisy has passed the annual hearing and vision screening each of her two years at Durham. Mr. Pluto, school psychologist, conducted a developmental history with Daisy’s parents as part of the EBIS process at
Durham Elementary. According to the developmental history, Daisy reached developmental milestones such as crawling and talking within a normal timeframe. No other areas of concern have been raised by any team members.
Section 7: The student’s problem is not the result of cultural factors or environmental or economic disadvantage.
Daisy’s family is supportive and involved in her learning. She attended preschool and kindergarten at
Smith Elementary school prior to enrolling at Durham, and she has access to books and enriching experiences outside of school.
Section 8: The student’s problem is not the result of limited English proficiency.
Daisy’s primary language is English.
Section 9: Is there sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that this student is eligible for special education as a student with a learning disability?
Daisy has been provided intensive, research-based intervention in reading. Despite that, she has not made sufficient progress to meet age or Oregon grade-level standards. Daisy’s reading skills are low. She struggles with decoding (breaking down) words, encoding (spelling), and identifying sounds and sound blends. She demonstrates strengths in math and motor skills. This evidence supports the conclusion that Daisy is eligible for special education as a child with a learning disability in reading. (insert summary of team discussion here)
The above information will be used to make decisions regarding eligibility and educational planning. If you need further information, or have any questions regarding the content of this report, please contact_______________,
Learning Specialist at (503) 431-----.
___________________________________
Learning Specialist
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