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Step 4: Progess Monitoring & Exiting SLIFE Status
Step 4: Progess Monitoring & Exiting SLIFE Status
🎯 Purpose
🎯 Purpose
To observe, document, interpret, and reflectively act to enhance the growth, achievement, and well-being of SLIFE. Progress monitoring also helps determine the appropriate time to transition a student out of SLIFE status.
📝 Description
📝 Description
Progress monitoring plays a crucial role in assessing whether SLIFE are receiving appropriate services to facilitate their educational progress. Beyond mere data collection, effective progress monitoring involves interpreting and reflecting upon the data, which then informs future SLIFE instruction, services, support, and programming.
At various levels—classroom, school, and district—progress monitoring provides valuable feedback to teachers, schools, and districts. An essential component of progress monitoring in Massachusetts is the use of English Proficiency Benchmarks, which offer indicators of language growth. As a whole, regular data reviews allow educators to assess student progress, identify areas of growth, and make informed decisions. These reviews can occur quarterly or more frequently, with additional check-in points as recommended by those closely involved with the student.
SLIFE is considered a temporary status, and the SLIFE Planning Team plays a crucial role in utilizing data-driven approaches to guide educational pathways for these students. The determination of such pathways should be an inclusive process that actively incorporates the perspectives of SLIFE and their families/caregivers.
It is also essential to note that the needs of SLIFE should be met through appropriate support systems and programming without unnecessarily segregating them from the broader student community. Educational programming for SLIFE should be carried out in the least segregative manner consistent with achieving the program’s educational goals.
🛠️ Tools
🛠️ Tools
MA DESE Tools
SLIFE Success Portfolio, Part C: Ongoing Progress Monitoring (MA SLIFE Guidance)
Description: The 2024 Massachusetts Guidance for SLIFE Identification, Services, and Support provides sample progress monitoring resources as part of Appendix A: Sample SLIFE Success Portfolio. These sample tools are designed to track and asses various aspects of SLIFE development and achievement. Schools or districts may choose to customize these tools to meet their needs or develop tools of their own. Schools and districts may also use existing systems that they have to conduct ongoing progress monitoring.
Other Tools & Resources
Individualized Learning Plan (ILP)
Source: Worcester Public Schools (MA)
Description: Form used to collect academic information about SLIFE including parent concerns, student strengths, and progress information. Developed August 2023.
Numeracy Assessment and Monitoring tools
Source: Easy CBM
Description: Free progress measure instruments to assess and monitor skills across multiple grades (K-8). Educators need to create an account and can then access the free materials. Specifically, the math measures offer grade-aligned assessment tools with minimal-to-no language.
Strengthening SLIFE Pathways to Graduation Goal Setting and Planning
Source: SupportEd
Description: Free resource for graduation goal setting for SLIFE
SLIFE Transition/Reclassification Form
Source: New Bedford Public Schools (MA)
Description: This is the form New Bedford uses to support the transition for students classified as SLIFE to mainstream classes.
ML Formative Assessment Checklist
Source: SupportEd
Description: A checklist to help educators plan effective formative assessments for multilingual learners, including SLIFE.
The Five Pillars of Equitably Grading ELLs: Article , Webinar, and Checklist
Source: SupportEd
Description: Article, webinar, and checklist about equitable grading practices for ELLs, including SLIFE
📸 Spotlight on Practice
📸 Spotlight on Practice
Snapshot: Incorporating intervention and (WIN) blocks into the general schedule
Two members of the SLIFE Community of Practice hosted site visits that showcased innovative approaches to supporting SLIFE. Through careful progress monitoring, these schools demonstrated how incorporating targeted intervention or What I Need (WIN) blocks into the regular schedule can accelerate learning and yield significant benefits for SLIFE.
Flexibility through progress monitoring: Both schools emphasized flexibility through progress monitoring. They implemented a data-based approach to scheduling, staff allocation, and adjustment of instruction, allowing for adaptability to meet the diverse needs of SLIFE. With frequent progress monitoring, educators could identify areas where students required additional support and adjust interventions, materials, and instruction accordingly.
Flexibility through scheduling: Both schools adopted a high-leverage approach to intervention, WIN blocks, and scheduling. Educators utilized data to provide personalized support to SLIFE who required extra assistance in specific areas such as foundational math skills. One school strategically allocated time for these flexible blocks within the regular schedule. The other used progress monitoring to move students in and out of instructional clusters, moving them among groups as their learning progressed in specific areas. Both schools accelerated learning by addressing individual learning needs of students.
Foundational skills and grade-appropriate content: Importantly, the educators at both schools recognized the importance of balancing foundational skills with grade-appropriate content. They understood that developing foundational skills is crucial for SLIFE but emphasized that this should not delay their access to challenging material. Instead, students received targeted support through intervention, WIN blocks, and flexible clusters, all the while continuing to be introduced to grade-level content. For both schools, the goal was not just to catch up, but to propel students forward.
PHOTO CREDIT: Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.Page updated
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