Alexa Knoderer

2/5/2021
ED 493
Impact on Student Learning Assignment

Initial Disclaimer: Belzer Middle School, where I am student teaching, uses a couple different
structured reading programs. I teach reading using the SRA program, and I teach Language
Arts Intervention with the Reading Plus Program. For this assignment, I will be using the
Reading Plus Program with a student who is in ELA intervention.

For data tracking purposes, it is important to note the distress that many students have
been experiencing during the past year in order to interpret her data and why it is all across the
board. This student performs much better when she is in person and struggles when she must
take assessments at home. This results in the varying data I discuss below. Additionally,
students have figured out that if you do not try that hard on the initial assessment in Reading
Plus then you will have more growth.
Part 1:
1) Pre-Assessment/Assessment:
a) Determine the Present Level of Performance (PLOP):
i) The instructional level of this student is lexile levels between 330-480
according to the Reading Plus placement test (the district program that is
used for students who are struggling with reading and placed into
Language Arts Intervention)
ii) Reading Plus: 330-480, Illuminate (at home:January 2021): 205, Fall
Illuminate (September in person): 709, Feb 2020 7th grade in person:
735.
iii) When you take into consideration all the extenuating circumstances of
COVID, testing at home, the student being identified as having ADHD,
and their assessment scores, it can be determined that this is the most
appropriate instructional level for her right now despite scoring higher at
other times. Currently, she is on Level A in Reading Plus which is in a
Lexile range of 330-480 and at a grade level of 1st and 2nd. The student
is only 4 stories away from leveling up which would put her in the next
lexile range from 400-640.
iv) This student is a reluctant reader and chooses not to engage in the
reading programs that she has been put in to support her. She has
consistently said that she hates reading and doesn’t want to participate in
it. She lacks confidence in regards to reading due to continued failing
grades in the area of reading. With that being said, her lexile score on the
Reading Plus software and Universal Screeners taken at home, do not
accurately capture where this student is.

2) Determine the goal level: Grade Level Student should be reading at in 1 year
(Middle School uses Lexile Points to measure growth):
 a) For students receiving intervention, we expect accelerated growth meaning that
their Lexile should improve by a minimum of 100 points in a year. This is at least
double the average improvement for a typical student.
b) If she continued to stay in the Reading Plus Program for a year, her goal would
be to advance to level D. This would be a Lexile range of 770-870 and that would
be a 4th-5th grade reading level. The goal level for this student is her scoring at
80% percent or higher at Level D in the Reading Plus software.
c) Using her baseline calculations at the 800 lexile level:
i) (36 weeks in a school year x 1.5) + 89 = 143 wpm in a year from now at
the 800 Lexile level
d) Additionally, students much reach a level of 1000L points to not need
developmental reading at the high school level, so it is important that students
get to 1000L if they do not want to take reading in high school.

3) Create/Choose Assessment Materials at Goal Level

a) The reading plus software will generate all passages and comprehension
questions.
b) In order to calculate the baseline, we will be using passages and questions from
Red Kayak which is at an 800 lexile level.

4) Determine Rules for Marking Errors

a) The following will be considered errors: substitutions, omissions, skipped lines,
reversals, self-corrections.
b) Mispronunciations will only be counted once regardless of how many times the
word is included in the passage.
c) Proper nouns are not considered errors, and students will be corrected and
asked to start again at that word.

5) Establish Baseline with Goal Level Material by Administering 3 passages,

Calculate Baseline, Summarize in a Table
Date Passage # Rate/WCPM Comprehension
% correct
All Reading Plus 115 WPM
year WPM
Lower Lexile
than goal
3/9 1 (165/172) x 100 = 100%
95.9%
(165 x 60) / 109 =
90.8 wpm
3/9 2 (181/188) x 100 = 100%
96.3 %
(181 x 60) /
123 = 88.3
wpm
 3/9 3 (171/182) x 100 100%
=94%
(171 x 60) / 117 =
87.7 wpm
Baseline Median* Accuracy: 100%
95.4%
WPM: 88.9

6) Assess student at least twice a week:

a) Baseline data followed by assessment data
Date Passage # Rate/WCPM Comprehension
% correct
All Reading Plus 115 WPM
year WPM
Lexile of around
400L
3/9 1: 800L (165/172) x 100 = 100%
95.9%
(165 x 60) / 109 =
90.8 wpm
3/9 2 Lexile: (181/188) x 100 = 100%
800L 96.3 %
(181 x 60) /
123 = 88.3
wpm
3/9 3: 800L (171/182) x 100 100%
=94%
(171 x 60) / 117 =
87.7 wpm
3/16 4 Lexile: 95.9 % 100 %
850L 78 wpm
3/18 5: 850L 96.5 100%
80 wpm
3/23 6: 850L 95.8% 100%
86.2 wpm
3/25 7:850 L 95.3 % 100%
84.7 wpm

Part 2:
1) Create Lesson Plans (use Reading Plus Plans)
a) Evidence Based Strategies used in Reading Plus:
i) First and foremost, Reading Plus is a diagnostic teaching program.
Students take a test at the beginning to determine what their areas of
need are. It addresses fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension
development. Then it generates specific readings, questions, and tasks
 that respond to the needs of the student. Additionally, it has features
within its comprehension questions that allow teachers to view specific
skills that students need to improve upon.
(1) For example, it tells you what percentage of questions regarding
main ideas and supporting details students are getting right.
Teachers can take this information to then create lessons and
direct instruction opportunities in their classes that respond to this
need. This allows specific students to be grouped together based
on their needs to receive direct instruction in the form of a mini
lesson. The Reading Plus software acts as a database that
enables teachers to plan a comprehensive program that utilizes
the software, addresses student needs, and evaluates their
progress.
(2) Additionally, it will be crucial to create a classroom environment
that is conducive of supporting growth in reading. This looks like a
quiet, focused atmosphere, trained teachers, and a positive
classroom culture based on growth.
(3) Studies have shown that a comprehensive approach to reading
that addresses the multiple components of reading is must
effective. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1129864.pdf
(4) Hock, M. F., Brasseur-Hock, I. F., Hock, A. J., & Duvel, B.
(2016). The Effects of a Comprehensive Reading Program on
Reading Outcomes for Middle School Students With Disabilities.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 195-212.
doi:10.1177/0022219415618495
(5) Use of graphic organizers, charts, tables, or drawings to
demonstrate comprehension through reading

ii) Many of the student’s errors were in regards to tracking as she is reading.
This student is diagnosed with ADHD and has trouble staying focused
while she is reading. She is also a relatively strong reader when she is
able to stay focused. To complete these running records, she is pulled
into a one-on-one situation where there are few distractions. This is not
the case when using the Reading Plus program or completing
assessments. She did very well with the baseline material, so I upped the
lexile level by 50 points for the next tracking.
(1) To address the tracking issue, she will continue working with the
Reading Plus Program that has the the build in line tracker. She
will also be able to use this on State Assessments as that is a built
in tool. We are working with her in using this in other reading
contexts, paper and digital. The software frequently assesses
students without the tracker to see how they are developing with
their tracking skills.
 (2) Miller, B., & O'Donnell, C. (2013). Opening a Window into
Reading Development: Eye Movements' Role Within a Broader
Literacy Research Framework. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3875174/

iii) Additionally, she seems to perform better when reading the text aloud as
opposed to silent reading fluency. The Reading Plus Program is designed
to strengthen silent reading fluency which is an essential skill to be
successful in high school where the reading demands are much greater.
The software addresses needs in fluency, comprehension, and
vocabulary. Data generated from this software is able to be analyzed by
teachers to determine students areas of need that aren’t being addressed
by the general education curriculum or the individualized program.
Teachers can then create mini-lessons that directly address the areas of
need in the students in their classrooms.
(1) To support the student in developing skills in silent reading
fluency, we will discuss the importance of a quiet reading
environment that promotes focus as well as ensuring that in our
classroom this environment is achieved. We will also give
allocated practice time to use these skills. In areas of need for
students, we will ensure that we provide them with direct
instruction in engaging with texts, comprehension strategies, and
what it means to read fluently. These are essential skills in
developing silent reading fluency.
(2) Hock, M. F., Brasseur-Hock, I. F., Hock, A. J., & Duvel, B.
(2016). The Effects of a Comprehensive Reading Program on
Reading Outcomes for Middle School Students With Disabilities.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 195-212.
doi:10.1177/0022219415618495

Part 3:
Please note that there is a nonfiction and fiction baseline. They are at vastly different
levels. When creating this summary of findings, I realized that I did not assess the
student with non-fiction texts. If I were to do this project again, I would have assessed
the student on both nonfiction and fiction texts to ensure that I determine what the areas
of need are with a wide variety of texts that they will encounter across content areas. I
focused too much on the fiction and literature lexile and not as much on the nonfiction
and content specific reading abilities.

Additionally, there is no goal line because WPM is not an appropriate goal for
middle/secondary students as the vocabulary is increasingly complex. We expect growth
in Lexile points. Those changes have been noted in the data points on the x-axis. The
student was at 100% comprehension over the course of the assessment. Her accuracy is
already at the goal level, so again there is no goal line. This data indicates that the
student is ready to advance to an increasingly higher Lexile levels in fiction reading.
Please notice that there is not a non-fiction baseline here due to Reading Plus not
generating running records. I should have assessed the student in both fiction and
nonfiction by completing running records.

Part 4:
1) Did the student make adequate progress? Will the student reach his or her goal by
the end of the school year?
a) It seems like the student will make adequate progress towards her goal.
However, the concern isn’t necessarily in assessments in isolation where the
student is tested one-on-one in a running record format. In order to meet the goal
of not needing developmental reading in high school, students must consistently
show that they are reading at the 1000L level. However, it does appear that she
has the capabilities to meet the goal that would be expected of a student in
Language Arts intervention of between 800-900L. This IS consistently
demonstrated in her running records collected with me, but is NOT consistently
demonstrated with the school-based assessments. In this way, the student is
extremely complex; she doesn’t understand why she needs to demonstrate this
ability in reading despite being able to do it. In short, the student impact study
revealed that she is already able to read at the goal level but needs more
instruction in a couple of different areas: content specific literacy skills and
demonstrating her abilities within assessments and tests that less preferred
adults are asking her to complete.
2) Which strategies work best for this student? Why?
a) For this student, specific strategies that address tracking needs are crucial. As
texts get longer, she needs specific skills in ensuring that she is following along
with the text. For her, the tracker that highlights each word or line of the text is
particularly helpful.
b) Additionally, specific instruction in making sure she is understanding what she
reads is important. For example, this can look like frequent checks for
understanding while reading aloud or a graphic organizer to be completed while
reading. This helps the student from just zoning out while reading.
c) When considering reading for standardized testing, we have discussed pre-
reading strategies such as reading the questions or the task being asked of you
to give ourselves purpose and focus during reading.
3) How did your results compare to those in the research studies you cited?
a) In regards to the first article and the comprehensive approach to reading,
teachers that addressed the multifaceted nature of reading and better results with
their students. This is something my cooperating teacher and I really try to
replicate in our reading and language arts intervention classes either through
Reading Plus, direct instruction and lesson planning, or in our classroom routines
and culture. The study found that these things conditions create stronger readers
especially in students with disabilities, and that seemed to be true with this
student who is in the program and was assessed for this student impact project.
 b) The second article discusses the importance of eye movements and scanning in
developing readers. They looked at young or developing readers and compared
their eye movements to those of strong adult readers. They tend to move slower,
skip fewer words, and stay on the same word for longer than an adult reader.
They noted that collecting data on a reader’s eye movement can help support
teachers and specialists in determining areas of need in developing readers and
readers who are diagnosed or at risk of being diagnosed with a reading or other
disability. This study was limited in that it did not have a test done on many
students, but rather is a first step into eye movement affecting literacy skill
research. It showed that different eye movement patterns can indicate struggles
in reading, and this is inline with the noticings, observations, and data included in
the student impact study. When working with this student without the Reading
Plus software, she skips at least one line in every passage she reads. This
makes sense considering that she is a developing reader with ADHD. This shows
that she still needs more practice using the line and word reader to continue to
train her eyes and develop tracking skills. The study supports this practice.
c) The last article discusses the four components for supporting silent reading
fluency: allocated practice time, supportive classroom environment, student
engagement, and teacher scaffolds and instruction. This connects to the student
featured in this study because her non-fiction engagement is so much lower than
her performance in fluency and comprehension with fiction texts. The student has
openly said that she doesn’t understand why she has to read for science or for
social studies and is automatically turned off to informational texts. Because that
is so much of what is assessed on ILEARN, Illuminate, and other universal
screeners, her abilities do not show because she is not engaged with the reading
and therefore does not perform well. This illustrates that specific literacy skills in
non-fiction reading and reading to learn still need to be taught.
4) Should changes be made to the instructional plan? What recommendations would
you make for future instruction?
a) I would continue to push this student to read more non-fiction texts. Upon
reflection, I noticed that I, as the assessor, did running records using fiction texts,
but Reading Plus assesses skills in non-fiction reading. As content demand as
well as text length increases, it will be important to ensure that the student is
provided with specific skills and instruction in nonfiction texts.
b) I would recommend providing direct instruction in staying engaged and
monitoring for understanding while reading nonfiction. This is a challenging skill
for many students but especially for students who have ADHD and are a
struggling reader. Reading guides can also be helpful as they give students a
purpose for reading.
c) This student is able to engage with texts that she deems interesting or are a
story, but struggles with engaging in texts that are about content areas in school.
Her reading skills are there, but her continued, ongoing engagement in reading-
to- learn is where she struggles. Without direct instruction in content area literacy
skills, she will continue to struggle with content-area reading. Reading like a
scientist is very different than reading in language arts, so along with direct
instruction on reading strategies in these classes, I advocate for the use of
organizational tools to support making meaning and ensuring comprehension of
more challenging, content heavy texts.