What We Know
vs.
What We Do
Nora Chahbazi, Owner/President
Ounce of Prevention Reading Center
EBLI: Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction
www.ebli.org
[email protected]
The Impetus:
Colleen’s Story
Wuts a poad a tiem thar wus a
toun cold clawdy with a chans
of gothin rechrevres and I wus
the olea wun thar I had 101
Dogs me and my sistr Love
Dogs thats wiey wea went
thar.
Background
• Personal journey
• Ounce of Prevention Reading
Center
• Evolution of EBLI
Questions to be answered:
• How many of your students are not reading to
their potential?
• How do you know?
• Who are they?
• What is hindering them from reading
to their highest potential?
• What is currently being done in your
school/district to address this?
• What measurable changes would show you that
student’s reading and writing are improving?
MEAP reading results 2008
3rd, 6th, 8th grade
MME reading results 2009
Where We Are Currently and
How Far Can We Go?
100
80
87
80
76
60
60
40
20
0
3rd grade
6th grade
8th grade
11th grade
1
Why do reading results decrease
each year past 3rd grade?
• Most struggling readers are reading at a
2nd-4th grade reading level.
– Memory capacity: 3,000- 5,000 words
– Often maxed out by 3rd grade
– By 9th grade, should have a reading
vocabulary of 20,000 – 80,000 words
– Rarely much improvement, even with Special
Education or Title I interventions
– Focus on comprehension as opposed to
providing a foundation to manage the English
alphabetic code
Statistics for Michigan
• 72.2% graduation rate (2005-06)
• ACT:
– 18% of students are college ready (expected to
receive a C average or better in all 4 subject areas)
– Average score of ACT composite and reading subtest
(college reportable students only)
Composite
Reading
18.8 (2007)
18.9% (2007)
18.8 (2008)
18.8% (2008)
19.0 (2009)
19.0% (2009)
• # of students in Special Education doubled from
1995 to 2005
Diploma to Nowhere Report
http://www.strongamericanschools.org/diploma-nowhere
• More than $2 billion is spent yearly on
remedial classes in public colleges
• In 2004, over 1,300,000 college students
sought remediation, 43% of students in 2
year colleges and 29% of students in 4
year institutions.
• Over 80% of students seeking remediation
had a GPA of 3.0 or higher in high school
Who are they?
What do they need?
How do we give it to them?
Who Are They?
ACT factors
• Behavior issues
– The Teacher Who Couldn’t Read by John Corcoran
• Students strong in math, art, mechanics/building,
engineering, drawing, and often science
• Good hands-on learners
• Good story tellers
• Oral reading less than 160 words per minute
and/or don’t like to read
• Poor spelling (before editing)
– Give spelling assessment
• Much of the ACT tests reading ability
• Many students do not have time to finish
sections, especially Reading, English, and
Science
• Students who score high on Math often get a
lower score on Reading and English
• Students with a high GPA (3.5 and above)
often score lower than expected on their
Composite score
2
EBLI Results - Summary
The intention of EBLI instruction for
secondary students is to:
 Effectiveness – bringing all students at all grade
levels to their highest reading potential
• Improve student’s reading accuracy, speed,
vocabulary, and comprehension
• Help students of all levels perform better in
content areas as well as on the
EXPLORE/PLAN/ACT
• Provide prefix, suffix, and root word
instruction to help more efficiently
teach vocabulary
• Infuse strategies into content area
instruction
 gifted, average, slightly below, significantly below students all
benefit dramatically.
 Efficiency – significant gains
• instructional hours rather than instructional years.
 Universality – meeting the needs of diverse
learners/instructors
• Pre-K- Adult Learners
• Whole class, small group, individual instruction
• Diversity of Instructors (administrators, teachers,
paraprofessionals, volunteers and parents)
Study Design
Results
• ACT Studies
• Individual Instruction Studies
• MEAP results 6th-8th grade
• 70 Seniors received EBLI instruction
• Students participating had previously taken the
ACT
• All students were scheduled to retake the ACT
• Each group received 1.25-1.75 hours of EBLI
• Each group consisted of 7-15 students
• 5 Michigan High Schools participated
–
–
–
–
–
ACT score results of students receiving an average of 1.5 hours of group (7-15 per
group) EBLI instruction. Students from 5 Michigan High Schools
n=52
Harbor Beach ACT scores
18 students 5.8 hours of in class EBLI instruction
English + 1.3
Math +0.5
Reading + 3.0
Science +0.6
Owosso High School
Milan High School
USA High School (2 groups)
Lapeer-East High School
Lincoln Alternative Ed High School
Composite +1.3
English +1.2
26.6
25.3
26.3
27.2
26.8
25.4
26
Reading +2.2
Science -0.5
Composite +0.9
25.6
24.2
25
Math +0.5
26.9
25
20
20
15.4
16.6
17
17.5
18.6
18.4 17.9
16.4
16.9
17.8
15
15
pre
post
pre
10
post
10
5
5
0
0
English
Math
Reading
Science
Composite
pre
25.3
26.3
24.2
25.4
25.6
post
26.6
26.8
27.2
26
26.9
English
Math
Reading
Science
Composite
pre
15.4
17
16.4
18.4
16.9
post
16.6
17.5
18.6
17.9
17.8
3
Control group ACT pre and post scores for students
NOT
n=20
English -0.1
Math -0.1
Reading +1.4
taught EBLI
Science -0.3
Summary Comparison
Composite +0.1
• Gains of EBLI taught students over the
control group are as follows:
25
20
18
18.5
18.1 18
17.9
19
18.7
17.1
– Composite
– English
– Math
– Reading
18.2 18.3
15
pre
10
post
• Both groups had average decreases in
Science. The EBLI taught group was -0.5
and the control group -0.3
5
0
English
Math
Reading
Science
Composite
18
18.1
17.1
19
18.2
17.9
18
18.5
18.7
18.3
pre
post
EBLI
English +1.7
taught
students
Math +0.3
with initial ACT composite of
21 or
n=8
Reading +1.6
Science -0.4
Composite +0.5
25
22.3
22.3
23.3
22.6
23.5
higher
Control group Non-EBLI taught students
Initial ACT composite score higher than 21
English +0.3
25
23.1
22.5
+0.8
+1.3
+0.6
+0.8
23.9
Math -0.2
Reading +0.3
24.2
23.6
23
21.7
21.6
Science -2.5
24.1
23.9
n=8
Composite -0.6
23.5
22.9
21.6
21.4
20.6
20
20
15
15
pre
pre
post
10
5
0
post
10
5
0
English
Math
Reading
Science
Composite
English
Math
Reading
Science
Composite
pre
20.6
22.3
21.7
23.5
22.5
pre
23.9
21.6
23.6
24.1
23.5
post
22.3
22.6
23.3
23.1
23
post
24.2
21.4
23.9
21.6
22.9
6th Grade – Individual Intervention
Summary Comparison
• Gains of EBLI taught students with an
initial ACT composite score of 21 or higher
over the control group are as follows:
– Composite
– English
– Math
– Reading
+1.1
+1.4
+0.5
+1.3
• Both groups had average decreases in
Science. The EBLI taught group
decreased -0.4 and the control group -2.5.
Average grade level of students
before/after treatment
•
•
•
•
•
Quincy Schools (MI)
Pull-out treatment by parapro – 2003/04 school year
25 students
Average 9.52 hrs/student
Woodcock Johnson III
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
+3.53
+3.49
+4.20
+1.79
Before
After
Word ID Attack Vocab Comp
4
6th Grade - Data Analysis
High School–Individual Intervention
% of students at/above grade
level before/after treatment
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
•
Effect Size
•
Word ID
Attack
Comp
1.07
1.36
1.66
Before
After
Effect Analysis by: Matthew K. Burns, PhD,
School Psychology Program, University of
Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
•
•
•
•
Owosso Public Schools
(MI)
Pull-out instruction by
multiple para-pros – late fall
2002 thru winter 2004
19 special ed/high risk
students
Average grade level – 10
Average 5.26 hrs/student
Woodcock Diagnostic
Reading Battery
Word ID Attack Vocab Comp
% of students at/above grade
level before/after treatment
Effect Size
70%
60%
50%
Word ID
Attack
Comp
1.95
2.52
.95
Before
After
40%
30%
20%
Effect Analysis by: Matthew K. Burns,
PhD, School Psychology Program,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
10%
0%
Word ID Attack Vocab Comp
• East Jordan Middle
School -- Grades 6th- 8th
• Whole class instruction
by all teachers from
beginning of school
(September) until MEAP
testing (October)
• 8th grade improvement:
62% to 89% proficient,
7th grade: 73% to 85%,
6th grade: 80% to 88%
+2.19
+3.59
+2.81
Before
After
Word ID Attack Vocab
Comp
Middle School MEAP – % of
students Level 1 and 2
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2005
2006
8th
7th
6th
grade grade grade
+ 27% +12% + 8%
2010 East Jordan
Current 6th Graders
East Jordan MEAP Scores 2010
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
+9.05
Middle School MEAP gains
6th-8th grade Classroom Instruction
High School - Data Analysis
80%
Average grade level of students
before/after treatment
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
95
90
85
East
80
75
70
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
3rd
4th
5th
6th
5
What do they need?
They need instruction in the building blocks
of the English alphabetic code!
Their ‘house’ has a weak foundation.
• They need the to know the foundational skills
and concepts of the English code in order to
comprehend text and write.
• They need effective and
efficient instruction
EBLI ACT Accelerator
• Administrators as students
Fluency Check
• Read text for 1 minute
• The goal is for you to read as
quickly as you can while
understanding what you are
reading
Why are these strategies and
techniques so powerful?
Explicitly teaching the
3 concepts about the English
alphabetic code along with a
strategy to read and spell
multi-syllable words will
improve the reading speed,
comprehension, and academic
performance of ALL students!
English Alphabetic Code
Segmenting: A crucial skill
• A system of logic for reading/spelling:
– We say a sound
– The sound is represented with a symbol
– The symbol consists of 1, 2, 3, or 4
letters
– The symbols are read or spelled in
sequence for reading and writing
• There are patterns throughout the English
Alphabetic Code and the human brain
learns best by recognizing patterns
• Pulling sounds apart in words
(segmenting) is a necessary ‘phonemic
awareness’ skill for someone to read/spell
to their highest potential
• Research has shown a direct link between
segmenting and comprehension
6
Concepts necessary for any person
to read to their highest potential
1. Sounds can be spelled with 1,
2, 3, or 4 letters
2. The Same Sound can be
spelled in many different ways
3. The Same Spelling can
represent many different
sounds
Each word has 2 sounds
–Up
–Earn
–Though
–Show
–Edge
–Tea
–Itch
u
p
ear
n
th
ough
sh
ow
e
dge
t
ea
i
tch
What do these words have in
common?
• straight – veil – stay – great –
grain – they – sleigh – table - very
OR
• whistle – place – press – city –
best – scene – horse
1, 2, 3, or 4 letters spell a sound
• How many sounds are in each of these
words?
– Up
– Earn
– Though
– Show
– Edge
– Tea
– Itch
Concept #1
1, 2, 3, or 4 letters can spell a sound
• A n There are 2 sounds in this word; both
sounds are spelled with 1 letter
• Sh ow There are 2 sounds in this word;
both sounds are spelled with 2 letters
• Ear n There are 2 sounds in this word; a 3
letter spelling and a 1 letter spelling
• W eigh There are 2 sounds in this word; a
1 letter spelling and a 4 letter spelling
In English, all 40 sounds can be
spelled in more than one way
• straight – veil – stay – great –
grain – they – sleigh – table –
very
• whistle – place – press – city –
best – scene – horse
7
Concept #2
All sounds in English can be
spelled in more than one way
The sound /sh/ has 13 different spellings; some of
them are below:
Shop
Special
Pension
Ocean
Sugar
sh spells /sh/
ci spells /sh/
si spells /sh/
c spells /sh/
s spells /sh/
nation
mission
Michigan
tissue
schwa
ti spells /sh/
ssi spells /sh/
ch spells /sh/
ss spells /sh/
sch spells /sh/
All these words have the spelling
‘ough’ but the sound that go with that
spelling is different in each word
•
•
•
•
•
Though
Thought
Through
Drought
Tough
th ough
th ough t
th r ough
d r ough t
t ou gh
/ō/
/aw/
/oo/
/ow/
/u/ /f/ (2 sounds!)
Multi-syllable word reading
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Observation
Abundance
Neighborhood
Adventurous
Compassionate
Encephalopathy
Otorhynolaryngologist
What do you notice about these
words?
•
•
•
•
•
Though
Thought
Through
Drought
Tough
Concept #3
Some spellings in English
represent several different sounds
The spelling ‘a’ can represent the sounds:
ǎ
in at
ā
in game
ŭ
in about
ǒ
in father
/aw/ in all
ǐ
in luggage
• Observation
ob ser va tion
• Abundance
a bun dance
• Neighborhood
neigh bor hood
• Adventurous
ad ven tur ous
• Compassionate
com pa ssion ate
• Otorhynolaryngologist
o to rhy no lar yn gol o gist
8
Longest word in the English language
Fluency Check
• Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
• Read text for 1 minute
• The goal is for you to read as
quickly as you can while
understanding what you are
reading
Link to printable 5000 word collegiate
word/definition vocabulary list:
http://www.freevocabulary.com/vocabulary.pdf
Instructional models
EBLI Secondary Training Dates
for
Academic vocabulary/ACT prep
$500/teacher
• Whole class instruction using
ACT/SAT/content area vocabulary
– 10-20 minutes of instruction 2-5 days/week
• Individual instruction for lowest 10-20% of
students for 10 – 20 (one 1-hour session per
week - typically taught by a paraprofessional)
EBLI 3-day traditional training
Intended for Paraprofessionals and
Special Education teachers
9am – 4pm
$600/teacher
• December 6th, 7th, 8th Flushing, MI
• January 24th, 25th, 26th Flushing, MI
Monday, Jan. 10th and Thursday, Jan. 20th
Ounce of Prevention Reading Center, Flushing
• Limited availability in Dearborn at
Crestwood High School
Friday, Nov. 19th and Monday, Nov. 29th
For complete documents of all EBLI studies:
visit www.ebli.org and click on the
‘EBLI Research’ tab
or
email [email protected]
810.732.4810
9