PLCs & Data: Key Drivers for
Successful Response to
Intervention
Matthew Burns, Ph.D.
University of Minnesota
Contributions to Learning –
Hattie 2009
• The student
d = .40
• The school
d = .23
• The teacher
d = .49
• The curriculum
d = .45
Interventions for Children with LD
Reading comprehension
Direct instruction
Psycholinguistic training
Modality instruction
Diet
Perceptual training
Kavale & Forness, 2000
1.13
.84
.39
.15
.12
.08
Individualized instruction , at no cost to the
parents or guardians, to meet the unique
needs of a child with a disability.
The answer??
General Education
Special
Education
Education
Remedial
Education
Gifted Education
“All hands on deck” – Judy Elliott, Chief Academic
Officer of Los Angeles Unified Schools
And DATA!
Unique learning needs =
Education that is SPECIAL
Keys to Success
St. Paul Pioneer Press June 4th 2006
• Reading Above All Else
– Emphasize reading and writing especially K-2
• Beyond the Classroom
– After school programs and social services
• Continuous Assessment/Small-Group Instruction
– Formal and informal assessments to provide an
appropriate level of challenge
• Effective Staff
– Strong leadership and cohesive staff with co-planning
• Structured, Disciplined Environment
MTSS
The systematic use of assessment data to
most efficiently allocate resources in order
to enhance learning for all students.
Burns & VanDerHeyden, 2006
Professional Learning Communities
• Teams of teachers
– All of those who teach a particular grade level
– A forum to collectively problem-solve at the
school, classroom, and student level (DuFour,
Eaker, DuFour, 2005)
• PLCS focus on student data and a culture of
collaboration (DuFour, 2005).
• Many do not have common assessments,
criteria to judge student proficiency, or a
process to collaboratively analyze data
(DuFour et al., 2005; Love, 2009).
PLC Meetings:
Agenda
PLC: 1st weekly
meeting of the
month (Content
Focus)
 Grade level teams and coaches with additional personnel as
appropriate
 School-site established PLC focus on various topics (e.g.,
math, STEM, behavior, environment, or other school topical
initiatives)
 Grade level teams and coaches with additional personnel as
appropriate
 Examine various formal and informal data to drive core
instruction
 Agenda will include embedded professional development on
topics that address opportunities and challenges for core
instruction
 Grade level teams and coaches with additional personnel as
appropriate
 School-site established PLC focus with schools studying varied
topics
 Grade level teams and coaches with additional personnel as
appropriate (data management team)
 Analyze screening/benchmark data
 Analyze progress monitoring data
 Discuss, monitor and adjust tiered interventions.
PLC: 2nd weekly
meeting of the
month RTI (Core
Instruction
Literacy Focus)
PLC: 3rd weekly
meeting of the
month (Content
Focus)
PLC: 4th weekly
meeting of the
month RTI (Data
Analysis)
Four Purposes of Assessment
Program evaluation: How is the education system
working for students overall?
• State test
Screening: Which of my students are not meeting
grade level expectations given Universal Instruction?
• E.g., MAP
Diagnostic: What are the specific needs of students
who struggle with reading or math?
E.g., measures of specific skills
Monitoring Progress: What does the student’s growth
look like?
E.g., CBM
Screener
MAP < 25th %ile
MAP > 25th %ile
Total
276
145
421
A
B
46
501
C
D
322
646
968
90
189
279
A
B
200
367
C
D
290
556
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF)
ORF < Benchmark Goal
ORF > Benchmark Goal
Total
547
Informal Reading Inventory (RI)
RI < Benchmark Goal
RI > Benchmark Goal
Total
567
846
Sensitivity = a / (a + c) = .86 for ORF and .31 for F&P,
Specificity = d / (b + d) = .78 for ORF and .66 for F&P,
Overall Correct Classification = (a + d) / N = .80 for ORF and .54 for F&P
Monitor
Screening/
Benchmark
Monitor Progress
Progress
Skill
General
Diagnostic
Emergent
Alphabetic
Quick
Weekly
Every other week
(Typically K-1)
Principle (PA)
Phonemic
DIBELS PSF
DIBELS PSF
Awareness
(Specific PA task –
(QPA)
e.g., Rhyming Task, )
PA to decoding
Beginning
(Typically 1st -2nd)
Decoding
ORF
QPA, NWF, & Weekly
Every other week
WTW
ORF
DIBELS NWF
(Specific NWF - e.g.,
long vowel sounds)
Monitor
Screening/
Benchmark
Transitional
ORF & MAP
(Typically 2nd – 3rd)
Decoding to Fluency
Monitor Progress
Progress
Skill
General
Diagnostic
MAP, ORF, & Weekly
Every other
Word Their
week
DIBELS NWF or
Way (WTW) DIBELS
ORF
Instructional-level
ORF
Intermediate
(Typically 3rd)
Fluency to
ORF & MAP
MAP, ORF, & Weekly
Every other
WTW
week
DIBELS
Instructional-level ORF
Comprehension
ORF
Path to Reading
Excellence in School Sites
w
www.cehd.umn.edu/reading/PRESS/default.html
MTSS and Problem-Solving
TIER III
TIER I I
TIER I
Problem Solving
• Tier I – Identify discrepancy between
expectation and performance for class or
individual (Is it a classwide problem?)
• Tier II – Identify discrepancy for individual.
Identify category of problem. (What is the
category of the problem?)
• Tier III – Identify discrepancy for individual.
Identify causal variable. (What is the
causal variable?)
Grade Level Team Meeting
• Is there a classwide problem?
• Who needs Tier 2?
• Did we miss anyone?
• What should we do for Tier 2?
• Should we go to Tier 3?
Developmental Activities
1st grade – Phonemic awareness and phonics
instruction
2nd grade – Explicit phonics instruction, writing,
and fluency
3rd grade – Fluency and comprehension
4th grade – Read to learn
Upper elementary & Middle School – Vocabulary
and comprehension
High school – Comprehension and application
What is the Class Median?
• Median: the middle value in a list of
numbers when the values are arranged
from lowest to highest.
• Finding the class median:
– Order student scores from the lowest to highest
value.
– The score in the middle of the list is the
median.
– If there is an even number of scores, take the
average of the middle two scores.
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
What is the Class Median?
MODEL
Student
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
Winter Benchmark
ORF
Grade
WRC
3
21
3
18
3
87
3
110
3
46
3
92
3
89
3
98
3
119
3
96
3
50
3
122
3
97
3
49
3
105
3
86
3
89
3
76
3
112
3
141
3
94
101
Errors
8
6
1
0
6
1
3
1
2
2
8
2
1
6
0
6
2
3
3
1
2
Class Median
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Winter Benchmark
101
ORF
Student
Grade
WRC Errors
B
3
18
6
A
3
21
8
E
3
46
6
N
3
49
6
K
3
50
8
R
3
76
3
P
3
86
6
C
3
87
1
G
3
89
3
Q
3
89
2
F
3
92
1
U
3
94
2
J
3
96
2
M
3
97
1
H
3
98
1
O
3
105
0
D
3
110
0
S
3
112
3
I
3
119
2
L
3
122
2
T
3
141
1
Class Median
92
MODEL
Student
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
What is the Class Median?
Spring Benchmark
ORF
Grade
WRC
2
64
2
22
2
77
2
68
2
21
2
18
2
60
2
70
2
84
2
77
2
26
2
89
2
54
2
46
2
70
2
75
2
32
2
35
2
51
2
71
90
Errors
5
5
0
4
1
2
0
2
0
0
4
1
0
8
3
0
6
2
1
1
Class Median
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Spring Benchmark 90
ORF
Student Grade
WRC Errors
F
2
18
2
E
2
21
1
B
2
22
5
K
2
26
4
Q
2
32
6
R
2
35
2
N
2
46
8
S
2
51
1
M
2
54
0
G
2
60
0
A
2
64
5
D
2
68
4
H
2
70
2
O
2
70
3
T
2
71
1
P
2
75
0
C
2
77
0
J
2
77
0
I
2
84
0
L
2
89
1
Class Median
62
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
3
4
4
5
5
6
8
1.5
GUIDE:
1. Find class
median for
WRC and
errors on
the
“Second
Grade
Practice
Data”
worksheet
Is there a problem?
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Classwide Need and Instructional PLC
• What do highly effective teachers do?
• What will we as a TEAM do?
• How will we know if it works?
•
•
•
•
What data can we collect (outcome)?
For what will we look (process)?
How will coach provide feedback?
What will we do next?
– What is the implementation plan (e.g., observe, first steps,
etc.)?
– Coaches role (what will be modeled/shared)?
– Who else will help?
– What process and outcomes will be reported at the next
meeting?
National Reading Panel
• Google
– National, reading, panel, and teachers
• Tim Shanahan
• Get PLCs using this
Partner Reading
Partnerships
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Procedure
Partner Reading
Paragraph Shrinking
1. Stronger reader reads
aloud for 5 minutes
2. The weaker reader reads
aloud the SAME text for 5
minutes
3. Weaker readers sequence
the major events of what
has been read for 1 minute
1. For 5 minutes the stronger
read continues reading new
text in the story, stopping
after each paragraph to
summarize
2. For 5 minutes the weaker
reader continues with the
new text, stopping after
each paragraph to
summarize
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Timeline
Collect Data: Pre-test (fluency and comprehension)
• Day 1: Train Students on Set Up Procedures and
Partner Reading, Practice Reading for 10 minutes,
Error Correction
• Day 2: Train Students on Paragraph Shrinking, Practice
Reading for 10 minutes
• Day 3-10: Partner Reading, Paragraph Shrinking 15
minutes every day
Collect Data: Post-test (fluency and comprehension)
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Partner Reading
• First Reader reads
for 5 minutes.
• Second Reader
reads the same text
for 5 minutes.
• Second Reader
retells for 1 minute.
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
RULES
Talk only to your partner and
only talk about Partner
Reading
Keep your voice low
Help your partner
Try your best!
Paragraph Shrinking
• Name the most important who or what.
• Tell the most important thing about
the who or what.
• Say the main idea in 10 words or less.
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
STOP. That word is______________
What word?
______________________
Correction
Procedures
Good Job!
Go back and read that line again.
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Point System
• Transitions
• Staying on task
• Following correct
1 Reader
procedures
Mohamed
st
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
2nd Reader
Jibril
Sally
Keisha
Farhiya
Jackie
Sam
Roger
What we found: 3rd grade Partner
Reading data
Third Grade
Third Grade
Benchmark
Class 1
Class 2
91 Words Read Correctly
(WRC)
Pre
Post
Slope (WRC)
Intervention Intervention
Class Median Class Median
(WRC)
(WRC)
81
104
11.5
87
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
115
14
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4
Student 5
Student 6
Student 7
Student 8
Student 9
Student 10
Student 11
Student 12
Student 13
Student 14
Student 15
Student 16
Student 17
Student 18
Student 19
Student 20
Student 21
Student 22
Student 23
Median
WRC
48
122
126
82
102
77
51
84
80
102
83
38
104
152
143
115
142
114
13
75
141
87
49
WRC after PALS
92
142
147
113
117
97
70
95
82
127
106
47
115
161
158
125
160
127
40
92
136
105
47
87
113
What we found: 3rd grade Partner
Reading data
Third Grade
Class 1
Third Grade
Class 2
Students Below
Benchmark Pre
Intervention
Students Below
Benchmark Post
Intervention
Total Students in
Class
10
5
20
13
5
23
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
Growth from Winter to Spring
Class-Wide Interventions
10 Classrooms K-3
35
30
25
Actual Growth
Winter to Spring
20
15
Targeted Growth
(one yr of growth)
Winter To Spring
10
5
0
Kindergarten
(Letter Sound
Fluency)
First Grade
(Oral Reading
Fluency)
Third Grade
(Oral Reading
Fluency)
Growth from Winter To Spring
NO Class-Wide Interventions
11 Classrooms K-3
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Kindergarten
(Letter Sound
Fluency)
First Grade
(Nonsense Word
Fluency)
Second Grade
(Oral Reading
Fluency)
Third Grade
(Oral Reading
Fluency)
Actual Growth Fall To Winter
Targeted Growth (one year growth) Fall To Winter
10
Class-wide Interventions Implemented
in 10 of the 21 Classes Below Winter
Benchmark:
9 of the 10 Above Spring Benchmark
9
8
7
6
Above Spring
Benchmark
Below Spring
Benchmark
5
4
3
2
1
0
Class-wide Interventions
NO Class-wide Intervention Implemented
in 11 Classes Below Winter Benchmark
2 of the 11 Above Spring Benchmark
10
9
8
7
6
Above Spring
Benchmark
Below Spring
Benchmark
5
4
3
2
1
0
No Class-wide Intervention
Minnesota Center for Reading Research
[email protected]