Read Naturally Encore: Monitoring student performance
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Monitoring student performance is the process of analyzing student data in order to make necessary changes to the student’s level or goal and adjustments to the student’s program. In Encore II, you monitor student performance by evaluating the data on each student’s graph and story pages. Monitoring student performance is integral to checking initial placement, validating improvement, keeping the student challenged, and troubleshooting—the four areas discussed in this section.
CHECKING INITIAL PLACEMENT
Checking initial placement is the process of analyzing the student’s performance in Encore II in order to make the necessary changes to level and goal to ensure the student’s level and goal are appropriate. This process involves a step-by-step analysis of the relationships of the level and goal to the cold-timing, hot-timing, and comprehension scores, and the number of practices.
It is best to complete this process after the student has finished two or three stories. Because the cold-timing scores are used to check placement, you must be present for the student’s first few cold timings. The student’s story pages and resulting graph page contain all the data necessary to check initial placement and to decide whether to continue, raise, or lower the student’s level and/or goal.
Learn more about checking initial placement
VALIDATING PROGRESS
Evaluating student progress is one of the most important things you do as an Encore II educator. Personal knowledge of your students, as well as the objective data you collect via the graphs, allows you to make informed instructional decisions and effectively communicate with parents or guardians. In Encore II, the student’s graphs offer a quick way to analyze student performance and are an easy way to communicate student performance to parents.
Analyze the Graphs
First, consider the number of levels the student has completed. Steadily advancing through levels is an indication of a student’s reading progress.
Then analyze the goal, and the cold-timing, quiz, and word list scores for each level, as shown on the graphs. Compare the student’s first three scores in each of these categories to the last three scores, which compares average performance, rather than performance based on a single story.
- An increase in the cold-timing score is an indication of progress in fluency, especially if the cold timing is done by the teacher.
- An increase in the goal is an indication of progress in fluency.
- An increase in the comprehension scores is an indication of an improvement in comprehension. Comprehension scores of 80% or higher indicate adequate comprehension for the level.
- A decrease in the number of practices is an indication of progress in fluency.
- A decrease in the number of errors is an indication of progress in fluency.
- An increase in the retelling score is an indication of improved recall and/or improved writing ability.
- In Phonics, a decrease in the number of seconds to complete a word list is an indication of improvement in decoding.
In any of the above categories, an increase from the first three scores to the last three scores within a level is an indication of improvement. An increase across levels is an even stronger indication of improvement.
In addition to the data from the graphs, scores from oral reading fluency assessments offer critical information about progress in fluency. Compare the student’s initial WCPM with his or her current WCPM score. An increase in the WCPM score is an indicator of improvement in fluency.
KEEPING THE STUDENT CHALLENGED: LEVEL AND GOAL
After checking initial placement and making any needed changes to level and goal, focus on keeping the student challenged and supported in order to accelerate his or her achievement. The student’s story pages and resulting graph page contain all the data necessary to regularly evaluate the student’s level and goal to decide whether to continue, raise, or lower the level or goal.
Data Analysis
Use the data on the student’s story and graph pages to calculate the averages of the student’s scores for the last three stories completed. Compare these averages to the level and goal criteria below. The closer the student’s data are to meeting the following level and goal criteria, the more confident you can be that the student is working in an appropriate level and with an appropriate goal.
Level Criteria
- The student’s average percent correct on the comprehension questions is at least 80% (or 60-79% with comprehension support from the teacher).
- The student’s average number of practices is between 3 and 10
Goal Criteria
- The student’s goal exceeds the average cold-timing score by approximately:
- 30 in grades 4 and below.
- 40 in grades 5 and above.
- The student’s goal is equal to or slightly less than the average hot-timing score.
- The student’s average number of practices is 3 to 10.
Level Decisions
After comparing the student’s data to the level criteria, you have three choices: continue, raise, or lower the level.
Continue the Level
Generally, the student continues in the same level:
- If the student’s data fit the level criteria.
- Until he or she finishes all 24 stories in the level.
Raise the goal to increase the challenge rather than change the level if the student shows progress while working within a level.
Raise the Level
After the student has completed 24 stories in a level, generally the student will move to the next level. Occasionally, the student’s data may indicate that you could raise the level before the student completes all 24 stories. In a few cases, a student may even skip the second 12 stories in a level, especially if the student’s Encore II level is several years lower than the student’s actual grade level.
Consider raising the level before the student has completed the level if all of the following indicators are true:
- Cold-timing scores have significantly improved.
- Comprehension scores are above 90%.
- Error rates on hot timings are low.
- The number of practices is fewer than 3. (If practices are high because the student is waiting for a teacher to pass, this indicator is not required.)
Lower the Level
Only lower a student’s level in rare circumstances. The student may feel a sense of failure that can negatively impact motivation if you lower a level. However, the following situations may necessitate lowering a student’s level:
- Comprehension scores remain below 60% even after explicit comprehension instruction.
- The troubleshooting adjustments you made did not result in a lower number of practices or did not alleviate student frustration. For information on making adjustments, see Differentiation (Troubleshooting and Adjustments) in this manual.
Goal Decisions
After comparing the student’s data to the goal criteria, you have 3 choices: continue, raise, or lower the goal.
Continue the Goal
If the student’s data fit the goal criteria, continue the goal.
Raise the Goal
Consider raising the student’s goal if the data show most of the following are true:
- Cold-timing scores improve significantly.
- Hot-timing scores exceed the goal by more than 10.
- Comprehension scores are 80% or higher.
- Error rates decrease or remain low.
- The number of practices decreases significantly.
- The student loses motivation because he or she is not challenged.
Lower the Goal
Only lower a student’s goal in rare circumstances. The student may feel a sense of failure that can negatively impact motivation if you lower a goal. However, lower the student’s goal if one or more the following are true:
- The student cannot meet the goal even after 10 practices.
- The troubleshooting adjustments you made did not result in an increase of the hot-timing scores or subsequent cold-timing scores. For information on making adjustments, see Troubleshooting and Adjustments in this topic.
- Most comprehension scores remain below 60% even after explicit comprehension instruction, and you are not lowering the level.
Guidelines for Changing the Level or Goal
Once you’ve decided to raise a level or goal, follow the guidelines below to ensure the student’s continued success.
- Change only one element at a time, either level or goal. When only one element is changed:
- The student has a better chance of experiencing success than if the difficulty of both elements is increased at the same time.
- You can measure the effect of the change.
- Raise (or in rare cases lower) the level by half a year (for example, from Level 2.0 to Level 2.5).
- Wait to make a change until comprehension scores are 80% or higher. However, you have to raise:
- The level, if the student has completed all the stories in a level.
- The goal, if the student’s cold-timing score exceeds the goal.
- Raise (or in rare cases lower) the goal by 10 words at a time.
- Discuss any change with the student, asking for his or her input.
- Record change on the student’s graph page.
TROUBLESHOOTING AND ADJUSTMENTS
Differentiating instruction often requires you to identify a barrier to the student’s progress in reading achievement, to create a solution, and to implement an adjustment that enables the student to overcome the barrier and become a more successful reader.
Often, minor adjustments to Encore II can change the course of progress for a student. This section troubleshoots some common difficulties a student might experience and recommends adjustments that have worked for other students.
Though an area of concern may have more than one possible solution, it is best practice to make one adjustment at a time and see if it is effective before making an additional change. Some areas of concern are:
If one or more students are not making the progress you expect, check to make sure the students are correctly and efficiently following the program steps. Use the Read Naturally Encore II Fidelity Checklists located in the appendix of this manual, and observe the students as they work through a story. If necessary, reteach the steps to individuals or to the group. Then coach the students to follow the guidelines as they internalize the best practices for each step. The most critical procedures the student must complete with fidelity are the following:
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Read quietly aloud and underline each difficult word during the cold-timing step.
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Look at and read each word quietly aloud during the read-along step as the narrator reads the story.
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Read each word quietly aloud while practicing.
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Underline difficult words while practicing, and then read along again to learn these words.
If a problem persists even when the student completes the stories with fidelity, consider helping the student write a goal to improve in the problem area, and then monitor progress toward that goal. Reward the student when the goal is reached.
If the student’s cold-timing scores are not improving:
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Require the student to do a minimum number of practices.
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Raise the student’s goal to 30/40 above the most recent cold-timing scores if the goal is too low.
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Increase student motivation. For more information see Differentiation (Lack of Motivation) in the Encore Teacher's Manual.
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Increase the number of minutes the student engages in the act of reading by reducing the amount of time spent writing. Temporarily omit one or more of the following or direct the student to do them orally for you:
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Increase the number of sessions per week and/or the amount of time per session that the student works in Encore II.
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Contact the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) to discuss the lack of progress. They may have information to help you better understand the student or situation. They may also be willing to work with the student at home.
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Make suggestions to the student’s parent(s)/guardian(s) about how to work on fluency with the student at home. Send home a letter that explains how to support teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring at home. The Parent Letter—Fluency at Home is included in each book of reproducible masters and is available as a free download.
Download the Fluency at Home Parent Letter
This letter also provides information about Read Naturally’s home program, One Minute Reader, which interested parents may want to purchase. For more information about using One Minute Reader at home, visit the One Minute Reader website.
If the student is not accurate when attempting to pass:
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Remind the student of the value of accuracy.
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Reteach how to do the read-along step with fidelity.
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Consider requiring more read-alongs.
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Consider lowering the goal if the problem persists.
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Listen to the student read the story without the timer before the practice step. This activity decreases the likelihood the student will practice inaccurately.
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Assess the student’s phonics skills. Add phonics instruction to the student’s reading program if the student has difficulty decoding.
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Assess the student’s mastery of high-frequency words, and work on specific words that prove troublesome.
Consult the student’s comprehension graph. Analyze the student data to see if there is a pattern in the type(s) of comprehension questions the student answers incorrectly. The question types are consistent for each story in a level. See the chart below to understand the question types in one particular series.
Comprehension Questions in Sequenced
Levels | 1. Main Idea | 2. Detail | 3. Vocabulary | 4. Inferential | 5. Short-Answer | 6. Vocabulary | 7. Literal | 8. Inferential | 9. Summary |
1.0–2.5 | X | X | X | X | X | | | | |
3.0–3.5 | X | X | X | X | X | X | | | |
4.0–5.0 | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | | |
5.6 and above | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | X |
If the student struggles with comprehension:
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Remind the student to read for meaning.
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Wait until the student consistently scores 80% or higher before raising the level or the goal.
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Instruct the student on how to answer one of the troublesome question types. Reward the student for subsequent correct answers for that question type. Once the student has mastered one difficult question type, move onto another troublesome question type. It may be worthwhile to give the whole group a quick lesson on how to answer each of the types of comprehension questions.
"A Strategy for Teaching the Comprehension Questions" provides practical suggestions for supporting students. It is available as a free download.
Download the Strategy for Teaching the Comprehension Questions
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Require the student to locate and underline the correct answers or related clues in the text.
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Change from one-minute to whole-story timings for practice and hot timings. The student may understand a story better if he or she practices reading the entire story, rather than just part of the story multiple times. In addition, the student may increase reading endurance. However, a student who is reading the whole story needs to be self-motivated enough to practice for a longer time before seeing an improved score.
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Require the student to read the comprehension questions before beginning the practice step in order to encourage reading for meaning.
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Acknowledge the student in some meaningful way when all comprehension questions for a story are answered correctly on the first attempt.
If the student is on task, it should take between 30 minutes and an hour to complete each story, depending on the story length and the number of steps you require. If the student takes too much time to complete a story:
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Observe the student’s progress through a story in order to determine how to best help the student complete stories more efficiently.
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Check how long the student must wait for a teacher to conduct the cold timing and pass step.
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Change the seating arrangement if a student is distracted.
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Consider lowering the level or goal ONLY if student frustration is high.
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Direct the student to write the last step completed at the top of the story page when class ends, or to write the number of his or her current step on a class chart. The following day, the student can quickly identify where he or she left off and begin working. A Class Step Tracker Worksheet is available as a free download.
Download the Class Step Tracker Worksheet
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Privately share with each student the number of stories he or she has completed. Publicly provide the range of the number of stories completed by all of the students in the group. The bottom of the range should be lower than the lowest number of stories completed by anyone in the group; the top of the range should be higher than the highest number of stories completed by anyone in the group. Tell the students to compare their own number of completed stories to the range to see if their number is low or high in the range. Seeing how their efforts compare to the efforts of their classmates is often motivating for all the students in the group and shames none.
If a student is not motivated or loses motivation:
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Provide encouragement or set up a reward system for such things as: completing a set number of stories per week, getting specific comprehension questions correct, getting all comprehension questions correct, improving expression ratings, reducing errors, completing required number of practices, etc.
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Reproduce the story labels available as free downloads. Give them to students to put them on their Read Naturally folders as visual proof of each story completed.
Download the Encore story title labels
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Set an individual or group goal to improve in an area of concern.
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Send home Certificates of Achievement on a regular basis because parental approval is motivating.
If the student is doing the cold timing independently but inaccurately:
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Reteach student how to do cold timings correctly and observe the student’s next few cold timings.
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If the student exaggerates the cold-timing scores, try setting a temporary rule: the student must exceed the cold-timing score by 25 to 30 words in order to pass, regardless of the goal.
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If the problem persists, conduct student’s cold timings.
If the student is not reading with expression:
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Remind the student to read like he or she talks. Demonstrate what proper expression sounds like, reminding the student to pause at periods and other punctuation.
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Require the student to read along with the audio again at the expressive rate (track 4 or 9 on each CD) focusing on the expression used by the narrator.
If the student practices more than 10 times before passing:
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Reteach the read-along and/or practice step(s) if the student is not doing them with fidelity.
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Increase the number of read-alongs.
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Check how long the student must wait for a teacher to conduct the pass step.
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Consider lowering the goal, especially if it is more than 30–40 above the cold-timing scores.
If the student’s vocabulary interferes with comprehension:
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Require the student to listen to the pronunciation and definition of each bold-faced vocabulary word before reading along in order to introduce the vocabulary.
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Require the student to use some of the key words in the prediction.
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Require the student to use vocabulary words in the retelling or summary.
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Assign the crossword puzzles to reinforce the vocabulary words.
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Consider a lower level more suited to the student’s language development.
If, after practicing 10 times, the student cannot read the word list in a minute with 3 or fewer errors:
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Require the student to read along with the audio of the word list to be sure the student can read the words accurately before practicing.
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Require the student to slowly read the word list with you before practicing the words to verify that the student is able to read the words accurately before practicing independently.
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Consider reducing the standards for passing the word list in one of these ways:
When a student has made good progress in Encore II and passes stories easily, consider continuing the level and goal but increasing the challenge by reducing the student’s dependence on audio support. Help increase student independence in the following ways:
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Reduce the number of read-alongs to just one or two.
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Allow the student to skip the read-along step.
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Direct the student to read the key words without audio support.
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Require the student to do whole-story timings on the practice and pass steps.
EXITING THE PROGRAM
The student is ready to exit Encore II when he or she has met the long-term fluency benchmark goal of reading unpracticed, grade-level material accurately, expressively, with understanding, and at a rate that is at or above the 50th percentile of national norms for the student’s grade level. It is best practice to use a benchmark assessment to determine whether or not the student has met his or her long-term benchmark fluency goal.
You should not use the student’s goal or hot-timing scores to determine if a student can exit the program. Be aware that when a student is working in grade-level material in Encore II, the student’s goal or hot-timing score does not reflect the rate at which he or she reads unpracticed, grade-level material. In Encore II, the student has extra support: the student reads along with audio of the stories and practices each story multiple times in order to reach the assigned goal.
However, the scores from teacher-conducted cold timings can be an indication of student progress and may be used to support your decision to exit a student, especially if the student is working successfully in Encore II material that is above grade level.