Amanda Peterson CI 475 10/24/11 Individual Child Assessment Project I chose to observe Caleb in my fifth grade gifted classroom

at Stratton Elementary. On my first day at Stratton I asked my co-op, Ms. Snyder, which student she would suggest that I do this project on based on someone who could qualify for Tier 2 RTI intervention. Ms. Snyder was actually the teacher of the same group of students we have this year when they were in third grade, so I felt that she would know who I should pick. She suggested that I pick Caleb because he was the most behind in the class. In third grade she tried to bring him up for an IEP, but his parents were extremely adamant about him not needing special services. In fourth grade, his teacher once again attempted to bring up the discussion of an IEP for him. His parents were against it once again. The reason that Ms. Snyder and Calebs fourth grade teacher both tried to bring him up for and IEP is his extreme lack of focus. He is the most easily distracted and offtrack student that I have ever seen. He loses focus extremely easily, cannot keep himself organized, often forgets things at home, and becomes spaced-out very quickly. His parents truly believe that he is beyond his peers, but this is not the case as I will point out later in this paper. At Stratton, all students must take an exam to get into the gifted class. Several students who are in the class now did not actually pass the test, but they were allowed in the class because of recommendations by previous teachers. Caleb did not pass this test and did not receive recommendations from his previous teachers. The reason that he is in the gifted class is because his father went in to the school district office and demanded that he be put in the classroom for

diversity purposes. Many of his behaviors are not on par with the behaviors of the other students in the class. Caleb is a happy 10 year-old in Ms. Snyders class. He is half white and half African American. He has a younger sister. While I have been in his classroom I have observed several things about him. The first is how easily distracted he is. He has trouble staying focused on what he is doing and he often does not pay attention to what is going on in class. I am not sure why he does this. It may be that the class is too difficult for him or it may be that it is too easy for him. I frequently catch him looking like he is deep in thought about something else. I have also noticed that he becomes obsessed with things if they are out of place on his desk. For example, he was obsessed with moving his water bottle around to the correct place when he would open and close his desk to the point where he was no longer allowed to have a water bottle. Another thing that I have noticed about him is his love of technology. He loves the SMART board and when we go to the computer lab. He is very good at using different types of technology. For example, Ms. Snyder and I were having trouble setting up the SMART Board to link with the computer and Caleb fixed it for us. Technology and math are two things that he is very good at. Math comes quite easily to him. He understands what he is taught, but once again has difficulty paying attention when he is completing math worksheets. He is generally capable of doing the work that is presented to him, but he loses his focus so easily that it is difficult for him to complete his work on time. The first time that I talked to Caleb about reading, he told me that he loves to read and that he tries to read for 30-60 minutes every night. He also told me that he spent a good portion of his summer reading. He told me that reading is one of his favorite things to do. I noticed that he was reading the sixth book in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Whenever I see him reading to

himself during the daily 3 he often gets distracted from what he is reading and begins thinking about something else without paying attention to his book. I have not asked him what he is thinking about because he always seems flustered when I catch him spacing out. He automatically apologizes and get back to work. I should try to ask him the next time I spy him doing this. I have observed him also having trouble focusing on what he is doing when he is doing a writing assignment. He eventually always finishes his writing assignments and they are normally of pretty good quality, but it takes him so much longer than the other students to complete his work. I collected and conducted four different types of assessment. The first is a collection of some examples of Calebs written work. I collected a story that he wrote about Ms. Snyders hair catching on fire, a poem from the point of view of someone who helped after 9/11, and collection of sentences that used that weeks vocabulary words. Ms. Snyder gave his story an 81%. His story was well organized and was about the topic that it was supposed to be on. The major problem that he encountered was making over seven spelling mistakes, several capitalization mistakes and many grammar mistakes. His poem from the point of view of a 9/11 helper received a 96%. It was very neat, followed the organization that was expected, did not have any spelling or grammar mistakes and was creative. I think the reason that he did so well on this poem was because he had several days to write a rough draft (which is typical for all of the class writing assignments) and a final draft of the poem which seems to work very good for him. I was with the students in the computer lab when they typed their poems. Caleb was one of only three or four students who were unable to complete his poem at school. The next day, he brought in the typed poem. He may have received help from his parents at home with it. His artifact that included sentences that contained vocabulary words received a 55%. He did not follow the

directions, it was not neat, and it contained an excessive amount of spelling and grammar mistakes. The reason that he did not do well on this assignment was because he was because he could not stay focused enough to follow all of the guidelines that were given to him. This was not his best work and since this assignment, his vocabulary artifacts have improved. These types of artifacts are created every two weeks based on a packet of about 20 words that the teacher has assigned the students. I like the idea that students have a good amount of time to really interact with the vocabulary words, but I think that it would be better if the students were able to each create their own lists of words that they do not know. Overall, I have decided that when Caleb is given the chance to correct his work and if he takes advantage of this time, he can produce good work. The second assessment that I completed was an in-depth observation and some intervention into Calebs reading behaviors that I conducted over the first few weeks of my placement in Ms. Snyders class. As I mentioned before, on September 6th I asked Caleb about reading and I noticed which book he was reading. On that day I asked him to read a page from his book to me. He had a lot of difficulty with the book, he often lost track of where he was, had difficulty reading many words, and could not answer questions that I asked him about what he read. The following week, I listened to him and another student reading to each other. Caleb was still attempting to read the Chronicles of Narnia book that was too difficult for him. I told him that I thought the book was too difficult for him and that he should try reading a book that was just right for him. I asked him to read a page of the book Wayside Stories by Louis Sachar. This book was more appropriate, but he still made several mistakes. Caleb told me that he had trouble with fluency and that he would read better if he had on his glasses. I have never seen him wear glasses and my co-op said he did not have glasses so I figured that it was just excuse. We

could ask his parents about this at the upcoming parent-teacher conferences this week. After discussing this interaction with Ms. Snyder suggested that I help him pick out a book that was more appropriate for him. So Caleb and I looked at the classroom library to find a book for him. He was being very indecisive and I could tell that he was averse to this, but we eventually we compromised and found a more appropriate book for him. We chose Horrible Harry Moves up to the Third Grade by Suzy Kline. The following week, I listened to him read from the book we chose. He did such a better job. He was also able to answer comprehension questions that I asked him afterward. I think that finding a more appropriate book that he was interested in really helped set Caleb up for success. The third assessment tool that I gathered was the results from Calebs AIMS web testing. AIMS web assesses fluency. The reason that the administration and reading specialists at Stratton Elementary believe that this is a worthwhile assessment tool is because research tells them that fluency is one of the best predictors about how students will perform on standardized tests. I printed out the results of Calebs performance on the tests in the fall of his fourth grade, the winter of his fourth grade, and the fall of his fifth grade year. In all three instances, Caleb scored well below what is expected of students his age (not just the gifted students). The program suggests that Ms. Snyder immediately begin some problem solving to increase Calebs fluency. The results also show Calebs performance on this assessment in comparison to the performances of the other students at Stratton Elementary. At all three assessment times, Caleb performed below average for all of the students at Stratton. This fact clearly shows Ms. Snyder and me that Caleb has some major difficulties that impair his ability to read fluently. Since he is in the gifted class, he should be performing above average, not below average. I think that his fluency is low in general compared to the other students in my class, but he can still eventually

get through a passage. I think that if he were to have more one-on-one time reading out loud, his fluency would improve greatly since he is aware of when he makes mistakes. The fourth assessment tool that I gathered was Calebs DRA score and the running record that went along with the level that he tested at. A DRA is a Developmental Reading Assessment that tests a student on their fluency, comprehension, prediction skills and other related writing skills. The students receive a score that should be equivalent to the grade level that they are in. For example, at the beginning of fifth grade, it would have been ideal for Caleb to be reading at a level 50. However, my teacher decided that he was at level 40 on his DRA at the beginning of this school year. This is supposed to represent that he is a whole school year in reading behind where he should be. I was there when Ms. Snyder completed the running record portion of his DRA. He only made one error which was leaving the end off of a contraction, but it took him a longer period of time to finish the reading than would be expected. He was at the lower end of the independent reading section in terms of words per minute which I think is fine, but Ms. Snyder feels that he is not fluent enough to be tested at the level 50. As I mentioned before, Caleb seems to have some difficulty with fluency that he is quite aware of. Ms. Snyder has decided to put him in a group with another student who also tested at a 40, but she has them both doing guided reading groups at level 50 because they are both independent 40s. She believes that this little extra push may bring them up to where they need to be. I think that the DRA is a good reading assessment because it assesses so many different aspects of reading rather than just fluency, like the AIMS Web assessment. I think that reading and writing are made up of so many different components and that each component needs to be taken into account. In terms of recommendations that I would see fit for Caleb in regards to his reading and writing abilities, I believe that four major things need to be changed or put in place. The first

thing that needs to be put into place is more time with guided reading groups. The beginning of the school year was quite hectic for Ms. Snyder and she was not able to begin guided reading groups until the beginning of October. I think that if they had been started earlier, Caleb and the other students would benefit a great deal from the small group very focused atmosphere that is associated with guided reading groups. I really think that Caleb responds well to when he is given more attention. Ms. Snyder and I need to try to work harder at finding time to meet with all of the students who are at lower reading levels in the classroom to read and discuss what they are reading. During the guided reading groups the students learn about different aspects of literature and reading such as inferences and theme. Students also get much more attention from the teacher in smaller groups so this really helps the teacher to see what level each child is at, how they are progressing, and what each child needs. This will really help Caleb because we can make sure that he is making progress and try out different things with him such as different types of books and specific effort to improve certain skills. One of the skills that Caleb could work on during this time is his fluency. I have seen teachers listen to each child read individually to them while the other students are reading to themselves. I believe that Caleb would benefit from this because it would give him the time that he needs to improve his fluency and reading speed with mine or Ms. Snyders help. I also think that with this kind of reading intervention, his AIMS Web score would increase since he is able to work on his fluency. If I was Calebs teacher, I would retest Caleb at a level 50 for DRA. I am not exactly sure why Caleb was labeled as a 40. I asked my teacher about this and she said that it was because he was not as fluent as he should be. I think that with fluency work during his guided reading group, he can definitely improve his fluency and be able to test at a higher DRA level.

The second thing that needs to be changed is for Caleb to discuss which book he wants to read with Ms. Snyder or myself before he begins reading it. As I mentioned before, Caleb believes that he can read more difficult texts than he can right now and this notion really is not helping him. When students are always trying to read things that are too difficult for them they can become uninterested in what they are reading or even uninterested in reading in general. I think that one place we could start would be for us to help him pick a book that interests him and is at an appropriate level for him. And then gradually we would allow him to pick his own books and just get our approval of the book before he begins reading. When Caleb meets with Ms. Snyder or myself about the book he would like to read we will make sure that the book is at an appropriate level for him and that he is interested in it. I believe that if Caleb finds a book that he finds interesting and that is just right for him he will have less problems with losing focus on what he is reading. The third thing that I think needs to happen is for there to be better communication with Calebs parents about the reality of Calebs reading and writing abilities as well as different ways that he could improve. I know that Ms. Snyder has tried talking to his parents about things of this matter and they have been pretty unresponsive about it. Caleb could really do well if his parents were in contact with Ms. Snyder and me about how he is doing, progressing, and what needs to happen in the future. I think that if Calebs parents understood that he needs to pick books that are an appropriate level for him rather than encourage him to read books that are too difficult for him, Caleb will benefit quite a lot. Also there needs to be a discussion with Calebs parents about his written work that he turns in. I think that if Ms. Snyder were to discuss with them about what the assignments were, Calebs parents would be able to make sure that he was on task at home when he was working on his homework. They can also discuss with him the importance of

staying on task during class and different tricks to make sure that he is paying attention to what is being taught in class. Calebs parents and Ms. Snyder need to be more in sync. They need to be on the same page about what is best for Caleb and ways that we can all help him succeed. If I were Calebs teacher, I would try harder to communicate with his parents about the reality of his abilities in the classroom compared to his peers and in accordance with what I expect of him. I am sure that they love him and truly want the best for him. It would be hard for any parent to hear that their child is having difficulty in school, but I think that once communication is established between the parents and the teacher both parties can see that they both want the best for the child. After the parents and the teacher are no longer at odds with each other, they can work together in a partnership to help the child to get what he or she needs to succeed. When students truly have the support of their parents and teacher working together as a team, the student is set up for success. Every child deserves this. The fourth major change that needs to take place is mine and Ms. Snyders responsibility. I agree that I have allowed my teachers views of this child to influence how I felt about him. I think that because she views him so negatively because of past experiences she has had with him and his family, she simply only told me negative things about him before I could even get a chance to know him myself. When I go into my placement tomorrow, I hope that can forget about everything that she has told me so that I can discover how to help him the most and so that I can look at his positive attributes and abilities objectively. I want him to know that I care about his success and that the reason Ms. Snyder and I come down on him hard about being organized and paying attention is because we want him to do well. I think that if we praise him for the good things he is doing, his behavior will begin to turn around. I also think that if we are more positive with him in general, he will start to do better academically in all subjects. Caleb deserves to be

treated like any other student and I should not have just taken what my teacher told me as a fact about him. I should have discovered things about him for myself. This is one major change that I plan on implementing tomorrow. Hopefully this will be a wonderful change for both Caleb and me!