Student ProfileDIFF 50310/30/13

Devin Fitzgerald & Tonya Lathrop

Student Data and Background Information

A. Students Pseudonym: Jack SullivanB. DOB: April 16th 2000 Age: 12C. Currently Jack is enrolled in a 7th grade general science classroom that is taught by a

general education teacher. The 7th grade is split into two separate sections. Jack is in the 7A section. Section 7A has five students total and all of the students are twelve years old. Jack is the only student with any type of exceptionality in the class. There is no aid or additional support in the classroom, but Jack does leave the general education classroom during tests to have a special education teacher read the tests to him.

D. Reason for referral: Jack was referred because of his difficulties with reading and writing. He was assessed and found to be reading at a below average reading level. Jack is in the 7th grade, but he is reading at a 2nd grade reading level. His reading fluency is low and he doesn’t always use the reading comprehension strategies that he has been taught to help him. He can identify the characters and settings of stories, but he has difficulties determining the plot of a story. Jacks participation in class is fairly average. He tends to participate more when he has background information about the subject area. Jack also has difficulties with writing. He has an extremely hard time generating his own topics to write about, but if he is given the topic he can generate details to support the topic. Jack tends to rush through his writing just so he can get it finished and he needs to be reminded to edit his writing. Jack has been classified by IDEA to have a learning disability. Jack participates in a resource room program. He goes to a special classroom five times a week for thirty minutes to work on his reading and writing skills. (See attached referral form in Appendix A)

E. Family History: - Family composition: Jack has one older sister and two parents. His sister is currently

away at college, his mother is a nurse, and his father works in construction. - Cultural and language background: Jacks ancestors are of German and French

descent. The primary language of the student and his family is English and there are no known speech or language issues.

- Family history of exceptionalities: There is no history of any family members being gifted or having a disability.

- Medical background: There are no medical issues. However, Jack does wear glasses because he has trouble seeing objects that are far away.

- Peer relationships/extracurricular and community involvements: Jack has been having difficulties with his peer relationships this school year. He has been acting out in school and on the school bus. There was an incident on the school bus where he was bullying a few second graders. He has been distant with his teachers and seems to not care about the consequences. Jack is in the school band and in religion club. Outside of school he likes to work on cars at his cousin’s garage.

F. Education History:

- Attendance record: Jack has attended St. Aloysius since kindergarten (2007-2013). Jack does not have any attendance problems and is in school on a regular basis.

- Achievement: Overall, Jack is an average student and he does well in math, science, and social studies. Math is one of Jacks strongest subjects. His scores in math are usually in the 80’s or above. His addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills are very strong. He also has the ability to solve one and two step equations, but struggles with word problems and often needs to have them read to him. Jack does well in Science and Social Studies as well. His grades are always above 75 percent in these two subjects. Jack’s reading test/quiz scores are usually between 55-75 percent. Jack is reading below grade level and struggles to reach his goals. Currently he ranges from the 9th to the 64th percentile in reading. Scott is very organized and has excellent study skills.

- Disciplinary record: Jack has only recently begun having disciplinary problems. He is beginning to act out in classes and on the school bus which has resulted in a two day suspension.

Present Levels of Performance

A. Checklist to Guide Description of Student:- See attached PELP reading checklist in Appendix B.

B. *Complete this chart

Meeting Grade-level Expectations

Relative Strengths Relative Weaknesses

Interests/ Preferences

Reading/ Writing

Not meeting grade level.

Jack is very successful in making predictions about the readings he is given.

Jack can identify with 90% accuracy the characters and setting of a story.

When Jack comes across a word he does not know he uses the finger-spell technique he has learned to spell out the word.

When given a topic to write about Jack can

Jacks reading fluency is low and he does not use the reading comprehension techniques he has been taught.

Jack has trouble making inferences about readings when a comprehension question asks him to do so.

Jack has great difficulty identifying the plot

Jack does enjoy reading when the topic is something that interests him. The topics that interest him are non-fiction pieces and Time for Kids magazine articles.

Jack enjoys using comprehension dice to answer various questions about a selected reading.

Jacks ability to edit his writing is

come up with supporting details that support the topic.

of a story.

When reading at grade level his word accuracy is very low.

Jack has difficulty generating his own topics when writing.

Jack tends to rush through his writing just to get it done.

greatly improved when he has 1:1 assistance from a teacher.

Jack learns best when information is presented to him visually or through hands on activities.

Math Meeting grade level.

Math is Jacks strongest subject according to his teachers.

Jacks addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division skills are above average.

Jack can solve one step equations very efficiently.

Jack understands place values, orders of operations, math language, estimating, rounding, and finding area.

Jack has great difficulty solving word problems.

Jack benefits from having word problems read aloud to him.

Jack likes to highlight key words in word problems to help him devise a strategy to solve the problem.

Jack is a visual learner and likes to work with charts, tables, graphs, and lists.

Science Meeting grade level.

Jack is doing well in science.

Jack excels in using microscopes in lab.

Jack has difficulty reading scientific articles.

Jack says science is his favorite subject because it is the most interesting.

Social/Behavioral

Not meeting grade level.

Prior to this year:

Jack was patient, kind, and respectful towards

This year:

Jack has been distant in classes

This year it seems that Jack prefers to work alone.

adults.

Jack has many friends in the classroom.

and refusing to participate.

His attitude is negative and he seems depressed.

He has been bullying younger students.

He has been refusing to do work in order to appear “cool.”

Other areas of special interest (e.g., arts, music, athletics, extracurricular activities, hobbies, etc.)

Meeting grade level.

Jack is in the band at school.

He enjoys these activities and demonstrates a good work ethic.

Due to the recent changes in Jacks behavior he has been having issues with his interactions with his peers in band.

Jack is very interested in learning to play the guitar.

C. Individual Goals:

Student’s Current Goals: Students Characteristics: Example:

1. When given an oral reading fluency probe, Scott will read 107 correct words per minute.

Jacks reading fluency is weak. He often has to pause to sound words out and this disrupts his fluency.

While watching Jack read you will notice that when he comes to certain words he must stop and finger spell the word and this causes a problem with his reading fluency.

2. Jack will score 22 correct responses when given a 6th grade comprehension measurement.

Jack has trouble comprehending what he is reading.

When answering questions about a specific reading Jack needs guidance and further probing questions to determine what the plot of a story is.

3. Jack will be able to write a multiple-paragraph essay on a given topic including a topic sentence, supportive details, and a conclusion.

Jack has trouble developing supporting details for the topic sentence he writes.

When watching Jack write an essay he often rushes through just to get it done and he does not re-read or edit on his own he must be

asked to do so.

Summary and Recommendations

A. Jack is a quiet student and often has to be prompted to give responses in class. He is very respectful to his peers and teachers. He often struggles with reading and writing assignments when they are above or at his grade level. Jack often spends more time on in class assignments than his peers and needs direct instructions from his teachers.

B. Research-based Recommendations:

Professional literature citation: (APA citation)

Instructional strategy How this Strategy would look in a lesson?

How might other needs be approached?

Shah, N. (2011). Special Education Pupils Find Learning Tool in iPad Applications. Education Week, 30(22), 1,

Using an assistive technological device of an iPad in the classroom would allow Jack to access supplementary reading material at his own level, use apps to aid in writing and organizing data such as pages or inspirational maps. This device has been scientifically proven to increase reading and writing abilities of students with learning disabilities by using various apps, reading tools, and online resources.

Jack could use an iPad to construct lengthy witting assignments, such as lab write-ups, persuasive essays, and short responses. He can organize content materials using inspirational maps to organize his thoughts and use pages to create written documents that would allow him to work on spelling, punctuation, and will read aloud to him electronic text to aid in reading comprehension.

An iPad might also become more engaging to Jack allowing him to focus and be more on task with his assignments. This might allow him to engage more in class and complete assignments more accurately and efficiently. Jack could also use a variety of literacy apps to improve literacy skills.

Kozen, A. A., Murray, R. K., & Windell, I. (2006). Increasing All Students' Chance to Achieve: Using and Adapting Anticipation Guides with Middle

Using adaptive anticipated reading guides with content chapters to help break down understanding of content using reading strategies such as pre

Jack could use an adaptive reading guide for his content studies such as science. He can fill out the guided reading outline as he reads content chapters

These anticipated reading guides could help Jack with reading comprehension and can be assessed by his teachers to check for understanding. Jack

School Learners. Intervention In School And Clinic, 41(4), 195-200.

reading strategies, organizational charts, comprehension questions, checklists, ect.

and complete reading strategies activities to help him obtain content material. His 7th grade life science textbook comes with student guided reading worksheets for each chapter. Jacks science teacher could copy guided readings out of the teacher’s manual and have him complete them for each chapter they cover in class.

often has to read entire chapters for homework in science and take notes in his notebook for homework credit, but could receive homework credit for completing guiding readings.

Rafferty, E., & Barnard, E. (2012). Improving Reading Proficiency via Interactive Online Lessons. E-FLT: Electronic Journal Of Foreign Language Teaching, 9([Supplement 1]), 366-380.

Using reading efficiency programs to monitor and keep track of student reading comprehension levels. These online programs can email teachers with progress reports and allow students to assess their own learning.

Jack could use the online program Kid Biz to keep track and monitor his reading comprehension levels. It is a fun interactive program that allows him to read passages and practice reading comprehension on his own. There are reading passages with questions and many games that allow him to practice and advance to different levels.

Kid Biz goals could be added to Jacks IEP goals in order to monitor and set short term and long term goals to improve literacy skills.

References

Kozen, A. A., Murray, R. K., & Windell, I. (2006). Increasing All Students' Chance to Achieve: Using and Adapting Anticipation Guides with Middle School Learners. Intervention In School And Clinic, 41(4), 195-200.

Shah, N. (2011). Special Education Pupils Find Learning Tool in iPad Applications. Education Week, 30(22), 1.

Rafferty, E., & Barnard, E. (2012). Improving Reading Proficiency via Interactive Online Lessons. E-FLT: Electronic Journal Of Foreign Language Teaching, 9([Supplement 1]), 366-380.

Appendices:

A. Referral Form:

B. PLEP Reading Checklist:

C. Student Observations: Jack seems to be struggling this year both socially and academically. He is often very quiet in class and is struggling with his reading comprehension. He has been having some behavioral problems at school and parents have been noticed about these changes. Jack is below reading level compared to his peers and is the only one in his grade with an IEP. Jack is doing well in math and maintains at least a 75 average in science and social studies. He does well in religion but struggles in ELA. Please see appendix C for observations and students interest for more details.

Observation Data SheetStudent info: Name: Jack Sullivan Date of evaluation: 9/4/2013DOB: 4/16/2000 age: 12Teacher: Mrs. Vant grade: 7th

Data collected by: graduate students Tonya Lathrop and Devin FitzgeraldObservation Protocol: each of Jacks teachers and principal was asked in a personal one-one

interview how Jack was doing in their classroom. The questions consisted of: How he was keeping up with classes, how he seems to be doing socially, what does he excel at, what are his

struggles, and any concerns? Their responses were summarized and reported below. School Record:ELA: 55 Math: 82 Science: 76 Social studies: 79 Spanish: 58 Religion: 83Current overall Status:Jack seems to be struggling this year both socially and academically. He is often very quiet in class and is struggling with his reading comprehension. He has been having some behavioral problems at school and parents have been noted about these changes. Science Teacher report:Jack has been in her science classes since 6th grade, he usually loves to participate in class and work in small groups. This year his science teacher reports that he is much quieter in class, prefers to work alone, and sometimes has a difficult time handing in assignments in a timely fashion. Math Teacher report:Jack’s favorite subject is math and his math teacher claims that he is doing very well in her math class. He often participates in formulating answers and has fairly high scores on tests and home works. Jack does use extended time sometimes on longer tests that involve word problems. Spanish Teacher Report:Jack has a hard time memorizing vocabulary and writing in Spanish. He often needs direct instruction and encouraged to work with others on projects. He is very silent in class and often has to be encouraged to get verbal participation. ELA Teacher Report:Jack is struggling with multi paragraph essays. He needs a lot of extra time and supports to finish assignments. He often gets frustrated with grade level reading material and sometimes chooses not to hand in written assignments. Principal Report:

Jack has been having a few behavioral problems on the bus at school. He was in trouble for bullying a few second graders on the bus and had to be talked to. His principal thinks he is slightly depressed and has contacted his parents in hopes of getting him some counseling or additional professional support, but his parents have refused to do so or act upon it.

Interventions attempted:

Reach out to parents for potential counseling Additional special educational support Weekly principal advising meetings Teacher intervention meetings

D. Analysis of Student Work:Jacks written work sometimes is hard to read and make sense of. In work Sample A: cells pre- test, students were asked to read the introductory chapter on cells from their text book and were given this pre-test first thing the next morning to assess reading comprehension and any pre knowledge (grades were not actually computed in their science grade). Jack received a 12.5% on his cells pre-test in comparison to other classmates that received a 60% or higher. This pre-test really expressed how Jack has difficulty comprehending content material from a 7th grade textbook. In work sample B Jack was asked to complete a ticket out the door after an analogy lesson describing how cells organelles function similar to a school, in this sample you can see that Jack has a hard time explaining his thoughts in a way that made sense…for example the Golgi body is like a mail room but he needed to explain why. In sample C, Jack made a cell poster where he was given the nucleus and compared it to the principle. Sample C showed that it was difficult to read his Venn diagram and he labeled some things incorrectly and received a 75% on an open notebook project.

E. Test Results:- Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test II

1. This test was administered on 12/12/2012 and Jack was eleven years old. 2. Composite IQ: 96 (standard score), 39th (percentile rank), average range

Nonverbal IQ: 100 (standard score), 50th (percentile rank), average rangeVerbal IQ: 92 (standard score), 30th (percentile rank), average range

3. Based on these results we can conclude that Jack is an average student and compared to his peers he does no better or worse. The mean of the assessment is a score of 100 and the standard deviation is 15. This tells us that when looking at a normal curve Jack falls within one standard deviation for the composite, verbal, and nonverbal IQ’s. His verbal IQ Score is lower than the nonverbal IQ, but that is to be expected because of the difficulties he has with reading.

4. The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test II is very quick and easy to administer. It is an attractive choice because of the simplicity of administering and scoring.

- Behavior Assessment System for Children BASC II-SRP (A) 1. This test was administered on 12/05/12 and Jack was eleven years old. 2. Anxiety 44 (t-score)/ Average Range

Attention Problems 49 (t-score)/ Average RangeAttitude to School 48 (t-score)/ Average RangeAttitude to Teachers 43 (t-score)/ Average RangeA-typicality 41 (t-score)/ Average RangeDepression 43 (t-score)/ Average RangeEmotional Symptoms Index Composite 47 (t-score)/ Average RangeHyperactivity 38 (t-score)/ Average RangeInattention/Hyperactivity Composite 43 (t-score)/ Average RangeInternalizing Problems Composite 43 (t-score)/ Average RangeInterpersonal Relations 42 (t-score)/ Average RangeLocus of Control 42 (t-score)/ Average RangeRelations with Parents 41 (t-score)/ Average RangeSchool Problems Composite 48 (t-score)/ Average RangeSelf Esteem 55 (t-score)/ Average RangeSelf Reliance 37 (t-score)/ Average RangeSensation Seeking 54 (t-score)/ Average RangeSense of Inadequacy 50 (t-score)/ Average RangeSocial Stress 41 (t-score)/ Average Range

3. From the results of this test we can conclude that Jack’s behavior is within the average range. Compared to his peers his behavior seems typical of other students his age. This test is something that may want to be re-tested because of his recent changes in behavior. Though it could also be noted that he may

be acting out with his fellow peers in a matter consistent with most adolescent boys.

4. The BASC-II provides a highly detailed scale to assess children’s behavior. The assessment has a heavy focus on the developmental level rather than just looking at a child’s age.

- Woodcock-Johnson Test of Achievement III1. This test was administered on 12/05/12 and Jack was eleven years old. 2. Applied Problems 105 (standard score), 62nd (percentile rank), average range

Broad Mathematics Cluster 101 (standard score), 54th (percentile rank), average range Broad Reading 77 (standard score), 6th (percentile rank), borderline range Broad Written Language Cluster 79 (standard score), 8th (percentile rank), average rangeCalculation 104 (standard score), 61st (percentile rank), average rangeLetter-Word Identification 84 (standard score), 14th (percentile rank), low average rangeMath Fluency 98 (standard score), 45th (percentile rank), low average rangePassage Comprehension 77 (standard score), 6th (percentile rank), borderline range Reading Fluency 87 (standard score), 6th (percentile rank), borderline range Spelling 71 (standard score), 3rd (percentile rank), borderline range Writing Fluency 82 (standard score), 12th (percentile rank), low average rangeWriting Samples 99 (standard score), 47th (percentile rank), average range Written Expression Cluster 87 (standard score), 19th (percentile rank), low average range

3. The results of this test finally give us some indicator of where the problems Jack is having may lie. You can see from the results that Jack falls in the low average range for letter-word identification, writing fluency, and written expression. Then he falls within the borderline range for passage comprehension. These results tell us that Jack has difficulty with reading and writing and is not keeping up with his peers.

4. This is another easy assessment to administer. One of the appeals of the test is that each sub-test only takes about two minutes to administer. This means that the information is being broken down into even smaller subtests so you can really pin point what the student is struggling with.

F. Teacher/ Parent interviews:

Teacher InterviewTeacher: Jan Vant science teacher at St. Aloysius School in Springville, NY

1. How does the student interact with his/her peers in the classroom?He has become somewhat anti social, he talks less in class and sits mostly by himself.

2. How does the student interact with his/her peers outside of the classroom?He is having problems on the bus and has been in trouble bullying second graders, so many students have been avoiding him outside of school. He does have one best friend which is the only other boy in his science class that he does work well with.

3. How does the student interact with his/her teachers and adults?He is always respectful and does what is asked of him. Lately he just has been kind of down and many of the teachers and adults keep trying to cheer him up and get him to talk about what is bothering him. We suspect maybe he is having some family issues because he has never had any problems in school in the past.

4. What are the student’s academic strengths?He excels in math and does well in science and social studies maintaining at least a 75% average.

5. What are the student’s academic weaknesses/difficulties?Completing academic tasks in a timely fashion, Reading above a 4th grade level and has a difficult time writing and organizing thoughts.

6. What are the students learning preferences?Hands-on activities such as lab

7. How well does the student adapt to school adjustments?He does not do well with change and seems to get really upset about trying something new he does not know how to do.

8. Has there been any retention, acceleration, or other educational placements for the student?’

He receives extra time on tests and tests read to him by a special education teacher. He also spends some time in resource on written assignments.

9. What is the student’s disciplinary record like? Have there been any detentions, suspensions, or other disciplinary actions?

He recently has been in trouble to bullying younger kids on the bus, provoking them to hit him. The principal has been meeting with him and talking to his parents.

10. Do you have any emotional/behavioral concerns about your child? Such as ability to adapt to various situations, attention/activity level, school adjustment problems, level of cooperation, or perfectionism.

He seems depressed, is very quiet and sometimes has very abnormal responses to questions directed towards him. For example when asked on his student profile what good advice could he gave another person about something he knows a lot about he stated “ I don’t

know I have not lived long enough” and when asked what he likes to do on the weekends he replied “Nothing”.

11. Have there been any tests for exceptionalities done for the student? If so include date and name of the test.

Yes they are all documented on his IEP, concluding he has a low 4th grade reading level and writing ability.

12. How does the student’s performance vary from his/her peers?Takes him more time to write out answers, read materials in class, and sometimes he forgets to address all the tasks on an assignment.

13. As the teacher what are your goals for the student?To get counseling and work a little more on improving his writing legibility and reading comprehension.

14. What are the testing needs of the student if any?Resource, Special Educational services, and possibly professional counseling

Parent InterviewWe would appreciate it if you could take the time to answer a few questions about your child. You do not have to answer anything you do not wish to, but we are looking to get as much information about your child so the profiles we make are as accurate and beneficial as possible.

1. Name of parent(s)/guardians:N/A remaining anonymous for the write up of this evaluation study

2. Parent/guardians emails:N/A

3. How many people are living in the home?3

4. What are the occupations of the parent(s)/guardians?Mother is a nurse, father works in construction

5. What is the cultural background of your child and what is their primary language?English

6. Does or has your child ever had any speech/language problems?Not that we are aware of

7. Is there any family history of exceptionalities (gifted/talented or disabilities)?Nope

8. Please give a brief medical background of your child. Including any vision, hearing, allergies, or other known medical problems?

He has never had any severe medical problem

9. Do you have any emotional/behavioral concerns about your child? Such as ability to adapt to various situations, attention/activity level, school adjustment problems, level of cooperation, or perfectionism.

No he has been having some issues at home, but we are dealing with it he is a typical teenage boy.

10. Does your child participate in any extracurricular activities or his he/she involved in any community events?

School band and religion club

G. Collaboration: All the professionals that are involved with Jack all want to see him be successful. There are numerous changes and transitions that are coming up in Jacks life., the main concern being his transition from a private school into a public school. There are many professionals at the school that are working hard to make sure he will be successful with the transition. There has been a lot of communication lately between the school and the parents due to a disagreement about whether Jack should be kept in the private school or moved to a public school early. There will be a person-centered-plan conducted in November that will hopefully devise a plan that will meet the students needs and fulfill the parents’ wishes.

Student Project Disclaimer: Readers of this report are asked to interpret the results and recommendations with the understanding that is has been developed as a project for a graduate-level assessment course. The author is a qualified teacher in an advanced academic program. The contents may be limited by the as-yet-developing expertise of the author, time limitations of the course, etc.