“Without data, you’re just another person with an opinion.” W. Edwards Deming

Your work matters.

At this point in the school year, you or those you lead have most likely given some sort of assessment to determine a baseline for reading proficiency. It is even probable that small group plans have been developed based on this assessment data. But I ask, how well do we really know our readers?

Let’s check. Using the assessment data you’ve gathered so far, can you place students into the four quadrants shown below?

Using the Simple View of Reading, we can better understand the two elements that are converging in this quadrant graphic. In this multiplication formula, word recognition and language comprehension work together to produce reading comprehension. We see evidence (or lacking evidence) of these two key elements in each of these profiles.

Here is how this breaks down:

Q1 - Students in this quadrant have strong decoding skills and strong language comprehension. These students are considered proficient readers.

Q2 - Students in this quadrant have deficits in decoding and strong language comprehension. These are students who might excel at discussing text read aloud but falter when independently reading.

Q3 - Students in this quadrant have strong decoding and deficits in language comprehension. These are students who can read the words but struggle to understand or answer questions about what they read.

Q4 - Students in this quadrant have deficits in both decoding and language comprehension. These students are considered “poor readers”.

Universal screening assessment data is an important place to begin when we are striving to know our readers and allocate resources, time and instruction appropriately. DIBELS 8 and Acadience are examples of screeners you might use. But these don’t give us enough information to be responsive. We may even misplace students into these quadrants if using only a screener, but it’s a start.

Once we know who is at-risk, we can begin to dive deeper into what our readers require.

• Students in Q1 will benefit from Tier 1 instruction, INCLUDING small group instruction. We don’t want to abandon plans to work with these students and continue their trajectory of success in both decoding and language comprehension skills - if we do, we may find that they move to another quadrant because of a lack of instruction.
• Students in Q2 will benefit from systematic and structured decoding instruction, such as UFLI Foundations. Using diagnostic assessment tools to better understand where to begin with decoding instruction will be helpful in narrowing the focus for student learning and mastery.
• Students in Q3 will benefit from systematic and structured language instruction. This is more complex than it seems as this includes skills such as background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, etc. Embedding knowledge-building within core comprehension instruction will be imperative for deepening students’ skills - this will also allow educators to focus on building text sets that deepen vocabulary skills and background knowledge. Small group instruction can focus on sentence-level comprehension, text structures, etc. A helpful course related to this area of instruction is KAT. Learn more here. Apply for the course here.
• Students in Q4 will benefit from instruction that addresses both parts of the Simple View of Reading. However, too many goals of focus during small group instruction will be distracting for the students. Use diagnostic assessments to determine the highest level of need, then work on intensifying instruction with frequency/duration to accelerate mastery.

Links to helpful assessments:

Screeners:

• ​DIBELS 8 via University of Oregon
• ​DIBELS 8 via Amplify
• ​Acadience​
• ​CUBED​

Diagnostics:

• ​PAST assessment​
• ​Really Great Reading​
• ​Spelling Inventories​

Knowing our readers and what small-group instruction they need, how can we provide it? Often, classroom teachers alone will not be able to provide the level of frequency and time all students need in a small group. In this approach, we see teachers focus on the students in Q4 (understandably) but sometimes at the expense of the other quadrants. Figuring out how to maximize our human resources in the building is of utmost importance. Your team may benefit from implementing a Walk to Read model with all hands on deck. Investing in curricular resources that provide small group instruction guidance is helpful to align across your tiered instruction, and scripting can help ensure all students are receiving equitable instruction, no matter the educator providing them support

My final point - If you are using a running record assessment system, you don't’ have enough information to truly support students. While it is helpful to listen to our students' reading (listen to this podcast for more), using this type of assessment alone does not allow you to truly know where students fall in our quadrant and therefore a missed opportunity to provide strategic instruction to improve literacy outcomes.

Leadership Moves:

1. Use the quadrant approach to determine students’ reading profiles.
2. Use reliable assessment tools that provide clear and strategic information.
3. Maximize your human resources to provide students the support they need.

What does this mean for me?

It is time to reflect on how you’re using assessment data to guide literacy instruction. One-time or three-time assessments will not provide enough information to flexibly group students based on their skills. Are you using what you need to achieve the literacy outcomes you desire?
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Revolution Resources

Coming soon: Two self-assessments that are focused on analyzing your current literacy and coaching systems. Keep an eye out for the final versions releasing soon!

Introduction: Our work in education does not happen in silos - rather, there are many pieces to the puzzle that moves our work forward. This assessment provides a perspective of four broad categories - people, process, product and culture. It is through these four lenses that we will assess your literacy or coaching system. By engaging with these assessments you are establishing a baseline of your system’s current status. This assessment serves as that “pinned location” on the map. Understanding where we are is the only way to decide where we are going.

Where have we been?

Friendsgiving with clients I’m deeply passionate about relationship-building. It’s one way my core values show up in my work. Breaking bread with others, finding joy together, and simply sharing our lives with each other deepens our ability to move our work forward. It’s one reason I seek long-term engagements with clients. ​ I’m so proud of this little “work family” and the impact they are having on improving outcomes for students with disabilities. Thank you for letting me be part of your coaching journey!

I joined Always A Lesson's Teacher Leader Mastermind as a guest speaker. We talked about "Chewing the KUD" to unpack our goals and develop strategic actions. It is such an interesting exercise to do with leaders and coaches, because inevitable, I will hear "This was so helpful for me to really think through how to meet my goal." I'm reminded how difficult it can be to coach ourselves even when we have the skills to do so. Applications are open for the Spring Cohort of Always A Lesson's Teacher Leader Mastermind! Learn more here.​

Where can we connect? Bold font shows events at which I'm presenting. 7/9 - 7/10 - Get Engaged Coaching Con | Learn more here​ 10/8 - 10/10 The Reading League 9th Annual Conference | Learn more here​ ​ Check out my calendar

Opportunities to work together

1. Audits & Strategy Development: Identify a starting point for improvement by establishing what is working (and not) with an objective and personalized review of your current system. Work together to develop a strategic plan using audit results to improve system outcomes.
2. Professional Development & Trainings: Virtual or in-person workshops, self-paced or guided courses to address gaps in instructional methods, coaching skills, or literacy knowledge.
3. Literacy & Coaching Implementation: Long-term consultative engagements to improve coaching or literacy systems that impact student outcomes.

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