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Introduction
Introduction
It is no secret that the pandemic and long-term school closures had a lasting and devastating impact on student learning opportunities. The access to new opportunities, relationships, collaborative connection that make learning in a classroom so meaningful were challenging if at all possible to achieve. In East Oakland, the educational inequities and limited access to resources that already made learning so challenging for my school community were exacerbated during this time. Our scholars struggled to gain access to working technology, consistent wifi, and a quiet, designated learning space while their families suffered from high rates of unemployment, food and housing insecurity, and sickness. It was not uncommon for scholars to simultaneously look after younger siblings, help bring in groceries for their grandparents, and have to leave home to attend daycare during the Zoom classroom day. I am often humbled and overwhelmed by the knowledge that the 2022-23 4th grade class is currently in their first uninterrupted school year since kindergarten.
Through these challenges, our school still worked hard to offer creative solutions to digital learning, hold scholars to high academic standards, and ensure that academic growth remained a priority. From Spring 2019 to 2022, our school's SBAC data indicates that we went from nearly 35% of our scholars being proficient at grade-level before Covid to only 9% in our first year back on campus. These numbers are challenging to digest, and don't tell the whole story of student academic gains throughout the pandemic. This reality has further pushed our staff community to rethink our approach to Universal Design of Learning (UDL), developmentally appropriate supports with tiered small groups and co-teaching pilot programs, and professional development training. With a lot of courage, conviction, and creativity, I have worked hard to repair learning loss through scaffolds, differentiation, and innovative solutions.
The following section, therefore, should be read with relevant context and rich understanding that learning during this time was an unbelievable challenge. Despite what can sometimes feel like a devastating story of educational inequity at its worst, students show tremendous resilience in their commitment to growth, learning, and their own education.
Overview of Diagnostic Assessments
Overview of Diagnostic Assessments
The main diagnostic used at my school site to measure reading growth is iReady. This assessment is administered to scholars over the computer four times a year, or once a quarter, for ELA and math. iReady is computer adaptive and assesses students on the following domains: phonological awareness, phonics, high frequency words, vocabulary, reading comprehension for literature, and reading comprehension for informational texts. Our charter network chose to utilize iReady as it reliable, evidence-based, and standards-aligned with the state of California. iReady predicts SBAC scores extremely accurately, based on our school's anecdotal experience. Further, iReady tracks student growth incrementally throughout the year and provides meaningful lessons, grouping strategies, and growth goals for each individual scholar.
Administering and leveraging iReady has proved to be a meaningful literacy tool for several reasons. First and foremost, this test helps inform a scholar's independent and instructional reading level. I affirm the belief that students can access nearly any text with appropriate scaffolds and background knowledge. I believe that increasing access is one of the best ways to produce equitable outcomes and opportunities for all scholars in their independent reading. To that point, I am also able to utilize iReady data to determine which students are missing key foundational skills in phonics, phonological awareness, and high frequency words so that I am able to provide immediate intervention through tiered small groups. The data provided below from students who received Tier 1, 2, and 3 supports with Systematic Intervention of Phoneme Awareness, Phonics, and Sight Words (SIPPS) Plus and Challenge level learning indicates a direct correlation to increase in iReady scores.
Finally, because the data is thorough and easily accessible (the score report determines a student's associated grade level based on standards mastery) I can immediately discuss test results with children. Students are additionally able to see their past scores upon completing their assessment and track their own growth digitally and in their own data tracker. This feature provides an opportunity for academic ownership as students are invested in seeing tangible growth as a result of their effort. Further, celebrations of growth and discussions of next steps create a meaningful opportunity for relationship building with scholars.
As we administer iReady quarterly, I am able to share thorough student growth updates with families easily during progress reports and family conferences. Since the score report generates an approximate grade level for the student's content mastery down to beginning, middle, or end of each grade level, families are able to understand that we hope to see scholars on 4th grade level throughout the year and approaching 5th grade level by the end of the year. Even still, our class' goal is for all scholars to grow by 1.5 years in a given school year. For this to be possible, I must enlist the support and develop strong partnerships with families. Every young person's journey with literacy and joy of reading looks a little different as everyone's brain maps information differently, so I provide a wide range of reading techniques and skills for each family. With the support of families, student buy-in, and rigorous data driven intervention plans, students have been showing tremendous growth from the beginning to the end of their 4th grade below (more on that below!).
To encourage students to try their best, I present testing reminders and tips ahead of each diagnostic assessment.
Sample Questions from iReady
Sample Questions from iReady
Sample iReady ELA test questions and format for 4th grade scholars. As seen above, iReady is computer adaptive and determines the rigor of the next question based on performance on previous questions.
While it is hard to confidently say any standardized test is student-friendly, I believe iReady assessments provide students with an optimal testing experience. With integrated breaks in the form of fun games, student-friendly user interface complete with vibrant visuals, standards-aligned content, and personalized learning opportunities, this test is meant to be as stress-free and trauma-informed as possible.
To produce equitable outcomes, the test is intentionally individualized for each scholar. Most scholars take the test in our classroom, and some receive designated accommodations in the form of a private testing environment, read aloud questions and answer choices by adults, and preferred testing time. Ensuring that these accommodations and modifications are met, I allow students to showcase their learning in a more reliable and supportive manner.
Scoring Charts
Scoring Charts
iReady provides a comprehensive look at individual student and whole class performance through scoring charts. I am able to see how students performed overall as well as how students performed on each domain. The chart uses color to visually demonstrate how far above or below students are in relation to grade level standards mastery.
2021-22 4th Grade Beginning of the Year Data broken down by domain and grade level placement.
As I analyze my student's data at the start of the school year, I find it helpful to additionally zoom out to review school-wide and district-wide trends of academic learning loss exacerbated by the pandemic. As shown in the data in the two graphs above and below, 4th grade trends were almost identical to that of the whole upper elementary community. Of the six 3rd-5th grade students at or above grade level that took iReady ELA, four of them were in the 4th grade. 4th graders and the entire upper elementary school community exhibited challenges with phonics, reading comprehension (especially for informational texts), and vocabulary acquisition. The data highlights the loss of skill, belief in self, and content knowledge that took place during virtual learning in the 2020-2021 academic year.
2021-22 3rd-5th grade data broken down by domain and grade level placement.
Student and family facing iReady score chart with grade equivalent for 2021-22.
4th Grade Sample iReady Data.pdfiReady beginning of the year results and analysis report.
Individual Student Reports
Individual Student Reports
Immediately after students complete the untimed diagnostic assessment, which can take 45 minutes to a few hours depending on student pace and rigor of questions, iReady produces an individualized score report for each scholar. As seen to the left, the report provides a thorough overview of student areas of growth and of mastery to determine their overall grade level placement. Additionally, this report provides a yearlong, individualized typical and stretch growth goal for the scholar.
In addition to offering family-facing resources, iReady supports teacher instructional decisions and grouping strategies by specifically identifying focus areas for each scholar. To support teachers in instructional strategies, the report highlights the specific areas students have mastered and need to focus on. For example, in my student's report to the left, it suggests more direct instruction in affixes to support his vocabulary growth, story elements, and theme. Access to such an in-depth report and analysis allows me to target differentiated support, create small groups based on shared areas of challenge, and determine class-wide trends to plan for Tier 1 instruction. The report also approximate a student's Lexile level and provide teacher specific support strategies for independent reading.
Overall Academic Growth in Reading
Overall Academic Growth in Reading
Below is my comprehensive ELA data tracker from August 2021 to June 2022. Even with setbacks from Covid-19 school closures and distance learning, my class grew by an average of 1.2 years in the 4th grade. At the start of the year, only 35% of scholars were at or approaching grade level (measured as less than one year below grade level) but by the end of the year, 80% of scholars were at or approaching grade level. Additionally, our class went from 12% on grade level reading at the start of the year to 33% on grade level by the end of the year.
Overall, students made the most significant gains in reading comprehension for literature, vocabulary, and phonics. Our class went from 79% over two years below grade level in phonics to just 26% in one year. Of the 26% still over two years below grade level, the average growth was nearly 2 years (Ex/ Kindergarten to second grade). I believe that this growth can be largely, though not exclusively, attributed to the phonics intervention and support our school provided through SIPPs, which is discussed at length below. By providing the important decoding skills necessary to access higher level texts for comprehension and vocabulary, 100% of scholars grew by over a year in both domains. Specifically, our class grew by 1.7 and 1.4 years in vocabulary and reading comprehension for literature, respectively.
It is worth mentioning that many of the scholars still facing challenge in these areas have IEPs and/or are classified multi-lingual learners (MLLs). To support them, I have advocated for differentiated support in the form of co-teaching for smaller group learning, English Language Development (ELD) learning, and ongoing academic support with SIPPs. Additionally, I have created differentiated homework to support students in practicing the skills they are struggling with most to close gaps more quickly and ensure classroom learning is focused on grade-level skills.While our school still has a long way to go, this growth demonstrates a powerful transformation in my scholar's reading abilities.
Individual Student Examples
Individual Student Examples
Below are the BOY and EOY iReady reading assessments for students 1-3 that were shared with families at our EOY family conferences. Each of these students represents a different gender, ethnic group, and tier of support from the start of the year. Scholars 2 and 3 have been at Triumph since kindergarten and Scholar 1 came to our school in 3rd grade. By the EOY, every child in this sample was on or approaching grade level. In addition, each scholar grew by 1.6 years, surpassing our class average of 1.2 years.
The following reports show growth from August 2021 to March 2022. Our school ultimately decided not to administer iReady at the end of the school year due to the high demands and time allocated to SBAC testing in May.
Student #1
Student #1
Student One began the year approaching grade level, though just barely. Their score indicates that they began the year at middle of 3rd grade. It is also worth noting that this student took nearly three class periods to complete the test as they suffered from immense testing anxiety and needed to take self-regulating breaks.
As a relatively new student at our school, having only attended Zoom school a quarter into 3rd grade, Student One struggled at first feeling like they fit in with their peers. Student One rarely spoke up in class, did not complete their homework regularly, and struggled a lot with self-confidence. As they began the year less than two years behind grade level, they received differentiated instruction through Lexia Core5 blended learning instruction, small group homework support during recess, and participation in an informational text book club during independent reading time. They also participated in Art Club and dance team which served as a huge boost to their confidence. They grew tremendously in their writing ability, reading fluency, and critical thinking skills in reading comprehension. Student one ultimately grew 1.6 years in reading and became one of the most participatory scholars in our class.
Student 1 iReady.pdfStudent #2
Student #2
Student Two began the year far below grade level, at early 2nd grade level. As such, this scholar received Tier 2 differentiated support in my SIPPS Plus group, receiving daily small group intervention in phoneme awareness, phonics, and high frequency words. Scholar 2 struggled a lot with multisyllabic decoding and reading comprehension for both literary and informational texts. At the start of our small group learning, Scholar 2 exhibited a lot of challenge with inflectional endings, CVVC words, and sight word spelling. This scholar is incredibly hardworking and their family was highly engaged in supporting them in their growth, despite challenges with custody at the start of the year. Scholar 2 is now in 5th grade and no longer receiving Tier 2 SIPPS support and is continuing to grow through Tier 1 SIPPs Challenge support. By the end of the year, Student 2 was just a few points away from being on grade level and grew in reading by over 2 years.
Student 2 iReady.pdfStudent #3
Student #3
Student 3 began the year at end of 2nd, start of 3rd grade reading level. Similar to Student Two, Student Three was part of a small group SIPPS Plus group. However, due to such high need at the start of the year as a result of Covid-19, this scholar began working with our reading interventionist, Ms. Angel in our resource room in Tier 3 reading support. As a result of incredible strides and growth made during ELA class instruction, they were quickly moved out of Tier 3 intervention and was only briefly a part of our Tier 2 intervention group before they surpassed their peers as well. This scholar is incredibly shy, reserved, and struggled asking for support at the start of the year. By March, this scholar was approaching grade level and ended the year on grade level. Ultimately, Student 3 grew by 2.2 years in the span of one school year.
It is also worth noting that Student 3 is now the student body president, an avid reader, and a fantastic role model for my current cohort of 4th graders.
Student 3 iReady.pdfSIPPS Growth and Intervention Plan for Differentiation
SIPPS Growth and Intervention Plan for Differentiation
At the BOY, nearly all of my scholars were below grade level and many were far below grade level (two or more years behind). One scholar, a recent arrival to the United States, was unfamiliar with both the English and Spanish alphabet and could not spell his own last name. I had several students who did not know their own birthday by heart. As this was my first year in the classroom and only second year teaching full time, it was overwhelming trying to navigate where to start. Working with the 3rd-5th grade ELA team to analyze BOY data, it was apparent that some form of differentiated instruction would be necessary to fill in the foundational reading skills gaps that resulted from students getting pulled out of second grade mid-year. Not to mention we were bombarded with behavioral challenges that made academic intervention that much more challenging.
A few months into the school year, our team met with our regional reading specialist and instructional lead, Erin Cox, to discuss implementing blended learning with SIPPS Plus, SIPPS Challenge, and Lexia Core 5, a standards aligned adaptive software to support with ELA learning. We tiered groups based on distance from grade level, and began work almost immediately.
SIPPS Plus is designed for students in grades 4 –12 who are reading on a first or beginning second-grade reading level and teaches phonological awareness, phonics, and high-frequency sight words. This curriculum is curated to be developmentally appropriate and engaging for older students while still teaching key foundational skills. There are mastery assessments every five lessons and our team would meet every other week at the beginning to progress monitor. A copy of our data tracker and a sample lesson can be viewed on the right.
Above are students taking the lead in executing SIPPs instruction to their peers.
The results of SIPPS have, and continue to be impressive. As seen in Student 2 and 3's growth above from before and after SIPPS intervention, their direct phonics instruction provided the skills and knowledge necessary to decode effectively. Of course, SIPPS did not work as immediately for all scholars, and I continue to teach SIPPS Plus and Challenge, respectively, to my current cohort of 4th grade students. I have been excited to see several students already progress so much in just a few short months that they are no longer eligible for Tier 2 support and have graduated from my group.
In addition to SIPPS support, I co-developed an independent reading program for the 4th grade with my principal ahead of the 2022-23 school year. We realized that simply telling students to read or assigning students reading in homework is not enough to produce the growth we desire as a school community. Our program is simple: every day students read books of their choice for about 20 minutes and complete a reading reflection form when they are done. At the start of the month, students set a goal for their reading and complete a contract with their families. As students complete their reading reflection forms, they earn stickers on their chart to track how many pages they have read. The goal is to read 150 pages a month. This goal is accessible to all, as students can make progress toward their goal at home or at school by reading books at their "just right" independent reading level informed by iReady data. Here, we see continuity with iReady as students must have a strong mastery of their independent level in order to choose developmentally appropriate texts. If students meet their goal for the month, they earn high marks in addition to an invitation to a classroom award ceremony complete with snacks and certificate distribution. This program has been so successful this year, the 3rd and 5th grade teams have adopted and adapted this program for their grade levels to spur literacy growth.
Reading Tracker to motivate students to continue their reading journey each month.
The incredible growth and celebration seen in my data is a direct result of family and student investment in learning. Even though the worst of the pandemic seems to be over, the trauma scars and challenges brought on during this time remain. While we cannot control a lot in this world, I do try to instill the belief that we grow as much as we put into our work at school. Of course, education and society are not meritocracies, and I do take comfort that I can guarantee students reading growth if they continuously practice, try their best, and complete their work to the fullest. To support students in motivation and academic ownership, I have created student data folders that they complete weekly to reflect and document their growth. Further, engaging families through conferences, regular updates, and reading contracts keeps them engaged in our classroom learning and their scholar's growth. Growth in the last few years has been no small feat, and the ongoing support from families has been instrumental in ensuring positive outcomes for our scholars.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Placing such a strong emphasis on standardized testing like iReady and SBAC can sometimes feel antithetical to my teaching philosophy. Instead of viewing these metrics in isolation, I use iReady as just one piece of a student's profile so that I can meet their needs as equitably as possible. I work hard to differentiate for each student so that all scholars receive an affirming, accessible, rigorous, and deeply personal education. An important piece of achieving growth is consistently communicating and partnering with scholars and their families around progress and goals. Even at the elementary school level, I want students to feel empowered to progress monitor their own goals, academic and otherwise. More than that, though, I want to set up my students to enter 5th grade more excited readers, curious researchers, proficient writers, and engaged learners.
It is no secret that my school community and classroom community have a long way to go to rebuild the learning loss from school closures. With so much research indicating how 4th grade literacy levels predict future success in school and beyond, it is critical that my students progress to reach their highest potential with the time we have. Through pandemic teaching and all of the challenges that followed, my scholars have all left my classroom exhibiting significant academic growth. As a result of our school's collaborative effort to make academic gains, students have grown by over 1.2 years in their reading alone. Academic growth certainly feels good and is important for accessing knowledge, but it also has the potential to open doors and present opportunities that are unavailable to non-readers.
As I continue teaching 4th grade, I become more familiar with intervention and differentiation strategies to ensure positive learning outcomes for all scholars. I also have a lot of growth to make, and remain inspired to push myself and my scholars farther in their educational journey.
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