SCREENING ASSESSMENTS
Given to ALL students to measure risk in terms of accessing grade-level core content
According to Bradley Witzel and Paul C. Riccomini (Response to Intervention in Math, 2010), screening assessments are given to all students three times per year to help teachers identify those students who are at risk or already struggling in math, so that teachers can intensify instruction. These assessments also provide a means for monitoring students who may not have struggled at the beginning of the year, but begin struggling mid-year. Screening data also evaluates the impact of core instruction, leading collaborative teams to analyze data to improve that level of instruction (Gibbons, Brown, Niebling, 2019).
Universal screening assessments must be reliable, valid, and efficient. Specific recommendations for criteria for these features can be found in the IES Math RtI Practice Guide (Gersten et al., 2009a). It is recommended that a universal screening assessment take less than 20 minutes to administer. Universal screening in MTSS addresses basic critical skills/concepts, not every concept taught in the classroom. A reminder that universal screeners are formative and their purpose is to identify students at risk of not meeting current and future benchmarks. When selecting a screening tool, look for measures that are valid, reliable, simple and quick.
Universal Screening for Grades K-1
Universal screening for kindergarten and first grade assesses the skills and concepts related to number sense. Measures typically include constructs of numeral recognition (number identification), magnitude comparison (quantity discrimination), and strategic counting (missing numbers). In some assessments, strategic counting and magnitude comparison have been identified as key predictive variables (Gersten, Clarke, & Jordan, 2007). All students in kindergarten and first grade should also be screened on early numeracy skills three times a year.
The early numeracy assessments are often administered individually and typically take one minute per subtest. Students who fail to reach the benchmark on one or more of the early numeracy subtests are grouped for instruction during the MTSS Implementation process and sorted into groups for intervention for early numeracy skills.
Universal Screening for Grades 2-12
All students in grades 2-12 should be screened three times per year. Universal screening measures for math can be given to an entire classroom and do not require individual administration. The screening data will identify students who are at, above, or below benchmark. Students who are below benchmark will be further grouped for intervention.
Taking the Next Step: Digging into the Data
Leading Collaborative Data Conversations
Collaborative teams are a vital part of a district's infrastructure. Armed with screening data, collaborative teams can engage in meaningful conversations that help move the needle on student achievement by reflectively analyzing the data, identifying specific areas for instructional improvement, setting forth a means for measuring progress within a specific area, and committing to make time for ongoing collaboration around improvement (Gibbons, Brown, Niebling, 2019). In order to get the conversation started, Kansas MTSS & Alignment recommends using the following Objective, Reflective, Interpretive and Decisional framework that allows participants to meaningfully analyze and process the data.
ORID Focused Conversation for Academic Screening Data: Adapted from Orchestration Template for Virtual Meetings, Ester Mae Cox, & The Art of Focused Conversations for Schools, Jo Nelson.
Process Flowcharts
The following guides were developed to assist collaborative teams in analyzing next steps for specific groups of students following universal screening. Don't see your system here? Contact one of our team members, and we can help assist your team in taking next steps following screening.
Aimsweb Plus Kansas MTSS Process Flowchart
Aimsweb Plus Kansas MTSS Process Narrative (508 Compliant)
FastBridge Kansas MTSS Process Flowchart
Fastbridge Kansas MTSS Process Narrative (508 Compliant)
Webinars
The 13 Critical Questions the FastBridge s2i Report Answers for Teachers After Screening | Illuminate Education
Data-Based Intervention Training Module | National Center on Intensive Intervention
Matching Intervention to Students' Needs (Amanda VanDerHeyden, PaTTANpod.org)
Now What? Using FASTTrack for Instructional Decisions |IlluminateEducation.org's Disrupt the Prediction, Fall 2020 Webinar Series