Universal Literacy Screening: First Steps Toward Prevention &
Intervention
1
Dr. M
arcia Invernizzi, University of V
irginia
Why Early Intervention? An estimated 1in 5 children has difficulty
learning to read in school (NRC) As many as 45% have difficulty learning to
read (NICHD) Most poor readers at the end of 1st are still
poor readers at the end or 4th (Juel, 1988) Lack of achievement in the early grades is
associated with a declining spiral of negative effects (Stanovich, 1986)
Good News! Most reading problems can be prevented…
when indicators are detected early intervention is implemented immediately
Evidence suggests that the percentage of children with reading difficulties can be reduced…… from current levels (20 - 45%) to 5% or fewer through EARLY INTERVENTION
Who Are These Children? Oral language delays
or impairments
Phonological insensitivity
Difficulty learning the alphabet or letter sounds
Poor spelling
Difficulty reading single words & nonsense words
Good listening comprehension but poor decoding
Oral reading dysfluencies
Produce Spoonerisms
Avoid reading & writing activities
Have difficulty pronouncing big words
alphabetic principle
Struggling readers have trouble with individual sounds within words & their orthographic mappings
phonemic awareness
The awareness that words may be broken into the smallest units of individual speech sounds—phonemes
Is related to the ability to decode single words independent of intelligence
Most Difficult Tasks:
1. Identifying speech sounds 2. Cracking the alphabetic code3. Spelling4. Single word reading5. Oral Reading Fluency
General Intelligence
Vocabulary
Word Identification
Reasoning
Concept Formation
Text
Decoding
Meaning
How can we Find and Help these Children?
Practice universal literacy screening
Administer instructionally transparent diagnostic assessments
Provide early intervention
Virginia’s Early Intervention Reading Initiative (EIRI)
Established by the 1997 Virginia Acts of Assembly to help participating school districts identify K and 1st
grade children at risk for reading difficulties to provide early intervention services to those students
with diagnosed needs in reading
In 2000, the General Assembly expanded the EIRI to include students in grades K-3
EIRI Purposes:
To provide a valid & reliable screening tool to help teachers identify students at risk for reading difficulties : PALS
To offer incentive funds for school divisions to provide 2 ½ hours of additional reading instruction to identified students per week
To provide specific information necessary to tailor instruction & intervention to diagnosed needs
PALS-K Beginning Sounds Rhyme Alphabet Naming Letter Sounds Spelling (# of phonemes)
Concept of Word
Summed Score
& Benchmarks
PALS 1-3 Entry (Screening) Level)
Single Word Reading (in graded word lists)
Spelling (phonics) Oral Reading in Context
Diagnostic Levels Alphabetic Knowledge Phonemic Awareness
Summed Score, Benchmarks,
& Reading Levels
Criteria-Referenced Forms a dichotomous
distribution Samples domain-specific
items deeply Indicates specific skills
Informs instruction Provides benchmarks for
what a child @ a given grade should know
Forms the basis of remedial instruction
Generates benchmarks & reading levels
Norm-Referenced Forms a normal distribution
useful for big picture Samples items broadly and
sparingly Does not inform instruction
Shows where a child is located on a distribution in relation to the average child in the normative sample
Generates standard scores & percentiles
Why Criteria-Referenced?
RtIntervention vs. Discrepancy Approach
1. Wait to fail vs. Prevent failure2. Questionable validity of IQ
achievement/discrepancy3. Discrepancy approach inflates number
of LD because itdoes not distinguish experiential/instructional deficits from biological/ cognitive deficits
4. Eligibility testing often provides little direction for instruction
5. Reactive vs. Proactive instruction & intervention
Vellutino, Scanlon, & Lyon, 2000
Universal Screening & the Early Identification of Risk
The earlier the intervention, the more likely they will catch up.
The earlier the intervention, the less likely students will end up in special education.
Phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, orthographic knowledge, word recognition, and actual reading, are potent predictors and provide the diagnostic information necessary for instruction.
Virginia’s EIRI & RtI
EIRI lays the foundation for RtI by providing: A statewide infrastructure for universal literacy
screening in the early grades Easy access to diagnostic information necessary
for instruction Incentive funding for early intervention in reading Additional assessment windows for progress
monitoring
How Does this Work? Universal screening identifies risk Diagnostic information provides…
benchmarks for what a child should know in specific literacy skills the basis for instruction & intervention
Early intervention provides… individualized targeted instruction a proactive approach to preventing reading failure
EIRI + RtI =
Comprehensive school-wide processes for the early identification of students likely to experience reading difficulties through universal screening
Common criteria and assessment tools for measuring reading and related skills.
Consistent, targeted instruction in the classroom and in the intervention program
Collaborative professional development agendas to address high quality, research-based standards and evidence-based, differentiated instruction
Virginia: First in Nation to….. Practice universal literacy screening K-3 Bank student-level data over time Transfer student scores as they move Encourage schools to provide 2 ½ hrs of
additional instruction Harvest population-level data annually
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
num
ber
of s
tude
nts
instructional oral reading level
Number of First Graders at Different Instructional Oral Reading Levels, Spring 2006 (n = 72,129)
The Predictive Power of Universal Screening Using a Common Tool Matched Cohort 1 (N=27,725):
Of the 90% of the K students who met PALS benchmarks at K entry, 84% also passed the 3rd grade SOL in Reading 4 years later.
Matched Cohort 2 (N=27,840): Of the 88% of the K students who met PALS
benchmarks at K entry, 87% also passed the 3rd grade SOL in Reading 4 years later.
EIRI & PALS Align the Mission of RtI Screening: identifies students not meeting
minimal literacy competencies who are in need of additional instruction
Diagnosis: provides explicit information about what literacy skills students know and which they need to learn
Progress Monitoring: shows student growth over time in specific literacy skill areas
Universal Literacy Screening
Purpose #1: Identification of children in need of further
assessment and/or intervention
EIRI Solution: PALS class reports available on the PALS
website: http://pals.virginia.edu
Universal Literacy Screening
Purpose #2: to provide feedback about class performance to adjust curriculum & identify instructional needs
EIRI Solution: PALS class reports available on the PALS
website: http://pals.virginia.edu
Tier I: Excellent Classroom Instruction
differentiated small-group instruction
informal assessment
adequate resources
collegial support
classroom management
culturally responsive
professional development
instructional level
RtI Tier IImprove overall quality of classroom instruction
Responsiveness of teacherComprehensiveness of instructionPALS helps differentiate reading instruction
Universal Literacy Screening
Purpose # 3: Diagnosis of children who may have had a poor
testing experience. EIRI Solution:
PALS individual student reports available on the PALS website: http://pals.virginia.edu
Teachers Use PALS Data to Plan Additional Small-Group Intervention
Who needs additional instruction? What has been their history? What reading level are they on? What letter sounds do they know? Need
to learn? What phonics/spelling features do they
know? Need to learn? Do they have phonemic awareness? How
much?
Tier II: Small-Group Enhancements
all NRP components
classroom coordination intensetargeted to individual
needs
instructional level
in addition to
classroom
culturally responsive
Provide 2 ½ hours of additional instruction OVER & BEYOND What is Given in the Classroom
Use PALS STUDENT REPORTS to individualize
Interactive Strategies Approach (Vellutino & Scanlon)
TIER II
Why Screen 3 Times a Year?
Ensures that students who need support receive additional instruction/intervention before it’s too late!
Helps identify the “point of entry” into the tiers of RtI intervention & the kinds of supports needed.
Monitors student growth over time
Student Growth Over Time:Progress Monitoring
Student concerns are discussed by instructional staff.
Classroom instruction is adjusted Additional Intervention is planned Existing intervention is tweaked or
intensified
Interventions are similar to Tier 2 except they are provided at a more intense level
Flexible and ongoing - students may return to lower tiers
Students who continue to struggle throughout Tier 3 may be evaluated for special education services
in addition to
Tier III: More Intensive Intervention
more time
more focusedclassroom
coordination More intenseindividualized
all NRP components
instructional level
culturally responsive
MORE! MORE! MORE!
Tier I: Excellent Classroom Instruction
differentiated small-group instruction
informal assessment
adequate resources
collegial support
classroom management
culturally responsive
professional development
Tier II: Small-Group Enhancements
in addition to
all NRP components
classroom coordination intensetargeted to individual
needs
Tier III: One-on-one Tutoring
more time
more focused
classroom coordination more intense
individualized
all NRP components
instructional level
instructional level
instructional level
in addition to culturally responsive
culturally responsive
For Reading, RTI means…
Growth in oral reading level
Growth in alphabet, phonics, and spelling
Growth in word recognition in isolation
Growth in phonemic awareness
Gain scores
Long-term retention (no summer loss)
EIRI and RtI: Fail-Safe Continua of Support
Differentiated instruction in the classroom
Additional small-group enhancements
More intense, individualized intervention
Evidence-based practice at all levels
Ongoing progress monitoring with instructional adjustments
ProfessionalDevelopmentThrough Data Scrutiny
The PALS website helps schools and districts look at their own data and to use their data to make instructional decisions:http://pals.virginia.edu
Instructional Oral Reading Level, Spring 1st grade
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
16.00%
18.00%
20.00%
level
per
cen
tag
e o
f st
ud
ents
VA
Wobegon
Woebegone 2005-2006
Oral Reading Levels of 2nd Graders at Mid-Year & Spring
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1st 1,2 2nd 2,3 3rd 3,4
MidYear
Spring
Looking at PALSData Informs Policy Initiatives such RtI
The PALS Internet database provides unique population-level data http://pals.virginia.edu
First Grade Instructional Oral Reading Levels by SES Decile Groups, Spring 2006
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
0 - 10.1% 10.1 -20.2%
20.2 -27.0%
27.0 -34.6%
34.6 -40.9%
40.9 -49.0%
49.0 -55.8%
55.8 -63.4%
63.4 -73.6%
> 73.6%
SES decile groups (% free/reduced lunch)
perc
enta
ge o
f stu
dent
s
Below
On
Above
50
55
60
65
70
75
Fall 2003 Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006
Per
cen
tag
e
Year
Percentage of Students Entering First Grade Already Reading Fall 1st Grade
PALS Online Assessment Wizard Teachers score directly online Results are calculated immediately Interpretive reports available immediately Provides Item-level data Saves time by reducing paper work Free
Instructional Support
Teachers receive live support in the PALS office through the hotline, email, the PALS website, and the Online Assessment Wizard.
Universal Screening +Early Intervention = Prevention ! Matched Cohort 1 (N= 27,725):
Of the 10% who did NOT meet PALS benchmarks at K entry, only 50% failed the 3rd grade SOL in Reading.
Matched Cohort 2 (N=27,840): Of the 12% who did NOT meet PALS benchmarks
at K entry, only 33% failed the 3rd grade SOL in Reading.
Please contact me at the PALS office if you have any questions or concerns!
1-888-UVA-PALS [email protected]