he beginning of a new school year is a time for teachers and students to make
a fresh start: a new classroom, new routines and, of course, new books. But for
struggling readers, starting over year after year may not be such a good thing.
Research shows that teachers and reading specialists don’t often have
a clear idea of how struggling readers fare long term in their districts.
Additionally, teachers get very little information about the type of instruction
and intervention struggling readers have received prior to arriving in
their new class, and almost no information about how the students do once
they move on to the next grade level. Because of this, teachers and reading
specialists are often left to start from scratch every year when it comes to
the struggling readers in their classrooms. This problem often becomes even
worse when students change schools within the district, such as when moving
from elementary to middle school.
However, districts can better serve their struggling readers by adopting a
long-term, multiyear view toward helping struggling readers.
Action #1: Leverage existing assessment data.
Because of data collection requirements to calculate value-added scores for
teachers, many districts are now in a unique position of collecting longitudinal
data that measure reading achievement on a vertically aligned scale. For example,
the Measures of Academic Performance (NWEA), i-Ready Adaptive Diagnostic
Assessment (Curriculum Associates), and Star Reading (Renaissance Learning)
can be used to measure reading assessment across multiple grade spans.
Districts can use these existing data to take a systematic look at their own
students by determining the different trajectories of growth in reading students
take. Many districts now have an in-house data analyst, and those that don’t
could look to partner with local universities. This type of long-term data can
help districts answer specific questions about their own districts and students,
including:
What are the differences between struggling readers who make progress
and those who don’t?
Is there a grade level where struggling readers are most likely to catch up or
fall behind?
What skills are our struggling readers having the most difficulty with?
Action #2: Communicate district trends in reading to
teachers.
After taking a systematic look at district data, school leaders should take
time during professional development or staff meeting days to communicate
the district trends in reading achievement. Teachers should have a clear
understanding of the long-range development of the students in their district.
Teachers, aided with this knowledge, will have a better understanding of how
the instruction and intervention they provide at a specific grade level fits in with
How districts can adopt a new approach to struggling
readers
A LONG-TERM VIEW
By Laura Northrop
Laura Northrop
(l.northrop@csuohio.edu),
an ILA member since 2002,
is an assistant professor of
literacy education at Cleveland
State University in Ohio. She
is the recipient of ILA’s 2017
Outstanding Dissertation of
the Year Award.
LITERACY
LEADERSHIP
8
literacyworldwide.org | July/August 2018 | LITERACY TODAY