April 2012

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 7

Response to Intervention

The Intervention Insider

Monitoring Marshalls Progress in the Elementary World of RtI

The Countdown Begins

Calendar of Events April
16th - SMMS RtI Transition Meetings JES 8 10 SME 1 3 18th SME RtI Day 19th BMS RtI Transition Meetings @ 1:00pm 23rd CCES RtI Day 25th BES RtI Day 27th CES RtI Day

After Spring Break there is always a collective feeling of We can do this! Only ____ more days!! And while I know the feeling all too well, I want to encourage you to live in the moment that you are in right now. After this year, you will no longer have this same group of kids together in the same way. Some of you might be rejoicing in this, however if you reflect on this past year what I hope you realize is that you have learned as much from these students as they have learned from you. Whether your year was challenging or the best year youve ever experienced, it has been a year that has shaped who you are as a teacher and in some cases, who you are as a person. So as we countdown to summer, lets remember to take time to enjoy each day for what its worth and hold on to these memoriessome of which these kids will hold on to forever.

May
2nd SES RtI Day 3rd JES RtI Day 18th Students Last Day

June
20th Progress Monitoring @ Ms. Scarletts www.wkec.org

July
23rd 24th 2012 Summer Institute www.wkec.org

Jackie Reid
Now Now is the only time there is. Make your now wow, your minutes miracles, and your days pay. Your life will have been magnificently lived and invested, and when you die you will have made a difference.

- Mark Victor Hansen

Thank you for participating in the recent surveys that you received via e-mail. We are ethe Kcurrently looking at the information regarding K-1 early awareness screenings to determine what you feel is most beneficial and informative for your instructional purposes. We are also working to put together a professional development opportunity for the district that we hope will be beneficial for everyone. We will use your responses to determine the areas for which you are most interested in receiving training and information and design the day according to your input. We appreciate your time and feedback.

RtI Riddle of the Month

For struggling students, what should be the focus of instruction during Flex Time?
*Hint* Review the March RtI Newsletter to discover the answer.

The answer to Marchs RtI Riddle of the Month. Riddle: What is the most essential item needed for effective monthly RtI meetings? Answer: DATA!!! Congratulations to Ella Gilliland and Sarah Peck for being the first correct responders! Many of you answered with myself which is a great answer! However I made sure to state most essential item so unfortunately, I could not accept that answer. But I greatly appreciate your participation!

The first person that sends a correct response via e-mail will receive a prize. (Prizes for all winners will be delivered in May)

Plans to Retain?
This time of year is always the time when we have decisions to make about which students would benefit from another year in his/her grade level. At this point, conversations with parents should have already taken place throughout the year so that it comes as no surprise that this decision is being considered. Now, Im not going to get in to all of the factors that we weigh that make us consider this decision. However, I do want to discuss what implications this has for our RtI students. If we are considering retaining a student that has been receiving RtI services, I want us to begin trouble-shooting and asking ourselves why we feel this retention is necessary. And when we do this, I dont want us to focus on the student. I want us to focus on our programming. Did we not provide enough intensive interventions? Were the interventions meeting this students deficit? Was this student receiving the appropriate core level of instruction? Were we able to determine if this student is cognitively able to function at the same level as his/her peers? These are all questions that we need to ask ourselves before deciding whether or not the student is ready to move on to the next grade level. As student growth becomes accountability reality, we have to really investigate the techniques, methods, and styles we are using to determine if they are effective for student learning. If we feel confident that we exhausted all efforts in helping this student grow and he/she just isnt ready academically, then we have to develop a plan for next year. We have to ensure that this student begins RtI academic interventions immediately. This student may be one that we think will start off as average when they repeat a grade level, however we need to make sure that we have a plan in place so that this student does not fall below average when content becomes challenging. This plan may include continuing RtI services for added support or being placed in a flex group designed to meet his/her individual needs. We also need to make sure that our instruction for this student is different than what was received the first time. If this student didnt understand the information first time, we need to determine what we need to do differently the second time to make sure the learning is meaningful and effective.

We are currently looking to make a software purchase that will benefit both academic and behavior RtI students. This software will be designed to hold all of our data and information about our RtI kids. We will be able to graph all progress monitoring data, benchmark results, classroom grades, etc. using this software. Once we have worked out the details and made the final purchase decisions, we will provide you with more information. But just know, its goodreally good.

Diving into Data

Once MAP, AIMS, and STAR testing comes to close, I will begin the fun and exciting job of analyzing all of this data. Based on the results, I am going to be setting guidelines for typical Tier 2 and Tier 3 student profiles. For example, if I determine that the majority of our Tier 3 students are falling within the 1 10%ile on MAP assessment, then I will look at that as one piece of criteria for student placement in Tier 3 intensive services. This will effect how much time and what type of interventions we will be providing these students. My plan is to begin next year with guidelines to follow when looking at Tier placements for students. This will give a more concrete structure to our RtI model and will allow us to really start looking at the programming we have in place for all students. I will also have an idea as to what core areas we will need to direct our focus, in order to produce the most growth for our students in the upcoming year. I just wanted to give you a heads up so that when guidelines for RtI placement are developed, you will know where they originated!

April 2012

Volume 1, Issue 7

Whats in an IQ?

Other intelligence tests for specific populations

The Final Installment of this Series

In this final piece of understanding the IQ testing that occurs in our district, I am going to relay information from our testing psychologists about the IQ tests that we have available for use in our district. They have also provided reasoning behind why certain types of IQ tests are chosen over others. The following are the most commonly used IQ tests in Marshall County: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) (first choice) It provides a Full Scale IQ score (FSIQ) and provides information regarding the verbal and nonverbal intelligences of a student. Woodcock Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III) Generally used if student has a physical or motor limitation since it is a more verbal type of test; It provides a General Intelligence Ability (GIA) Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT) It is often used if communication or hearing problems exist. It is a nonverbal test. It is also given to a student if there is a significantly higher Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) (or nonverbal abilities) score on the WISC-IV. It provides a Standard Full Scale IQ score. The Factors of a WJ-III Verbal Ability (VA) Measures ability to process and comprehend language-related tasks. Students that are high here are usually good at academic skills and good at learning details. Thinking Ability (TA) Measures ability to manipulate and respond to visual-spatial stimuli. Students that are low here have trouble copying information down, using maps, may miss details. Cognitive Efficiency (CE) Measures how quickly they can process routine, simple information. Students that are low here may be slower at completing work, have poor short term memory and take a long time to make a decision. The Factors of a UNIT Memory Quotient Overall short-term recall and ability to recognize meaningful and abstract material. Ability to pay attention to relevant details. Reasoning Quotient Problem-solving abilities for a range of different situations. Ability to analyze, synthesis, and reorganize visual stimuli. Symbolic Quotient Ability to solve problems that involve meaningful material. Language-based information. Problem solving from accumulated knowledge. Non-symbolic Quotient Ability to solve problems involving abstract material. Nonverbal problem solving. Immediate problem solving.

Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence Third Edition (WPPSI-III) Ages 2 years 6 months to 7 years 3 months Wechsler Adult Intelligence ScaleFourth Edition (WAIS-IV) Ages 16 years to 90 years 11 months Slosson Intelligence Test - Extremely low functioning Developmental Profile-Second Edition (DP-II) Severely nonverbal & preschool aged.

Intelligence screeners
Sometimes we want to get an estimate of general cognitive functioning. In order to do this, we can use intelligence screeners. These screeners also allow us to see if there is split between verbal and nonverbal abilities. Some examples include: Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition (KBIT-2) Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) Woodcock Johnson-Third Edition Brief Intelligence Ability (WJ-III BIA) The Cognitive Skills Index (CSI) from State testing can also be used as an informal measure.

The Facts of Life on IQ http://www.evtv1.com/Player.aspx?itemnum=2347

The Factors of a WISC IV Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) Measures verbal reasoning, verbal concept formation, word knowledge, social reasoning, common sense reasoning, ability to evaluate and use past experiences, ability to demonstrate practical information, the ability to acquire, retain, and retrieve general factual knowledge, verbal comprehension, general reasoning, and verbal abstraction. It is most highly correlated with academic performance---low verbal comprehension usually equals poor schoolwork. Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) Measures analysis and synthesis of abstract visual stimuli, nonverbal concept formation, visual motor coordination, abstract and categorical reasoning, fluid intelligence, analogical reasoning, visual perception, concentration, and visual recognition of essential details. This is usually high in students that are good with hands-on projects. These students can show you better than tell you. Vocational/tech kids usually have good scores on this section. Working Memory Index (WMI) Measures auditory short-term memory, sequencing, attention, concentration, mental manipulation, long-term memory, mental alertness, mental math skills. This is usually low in students with ADHD and sometimes depression and other psychological disorders. Processing Speed Index (PSI) Measures short-term memory, visual scanning, cognitive flexibility, visual/ selective attention, and vigilance. This section deals with the ability to do easy visual-motor tasks quickly.

Here is some additional information about a persons IQ and what IQ testing tells us. Im not sure if I agree with everything stated, but there are some interesting points to consider.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200107/iq-the-test http://mindgames.us.mensa.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=13709

April 2012

Volume 1, Issue 7

The Intervention Insider

How May I help you?

As the school year comes to a close, several of you are making plans for next year. If there is a day or time in May that you would like for me to come sit down and trouble-shoot with you on ways to better utilize your schedule and/or flex time, please let me know. We can also review data from your incoming students and start pinpointing strengths and weaknesses that need to be considered for both core and flex planning. I am here to help you however you need me. Im just an e-mail away!

Help meHelp meHelp You. Help me, help you. Help Me, Help Yooou. - Jerry Maguire to Rod Tidwell

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes. - Charles R. Swindoll

Questions? Comments? [email protected]

http://rtiformarshall.blogspot.com