Blah, blah, blah. Boring title. I'm sorry. Except that. I'm not. Not at all! Because we actually are in the process of using data to really, truly help a student. I can't wait to share how:
We have a 3rd grade boy going through the RtI process right now. (The photo is of all our 3rd grade ELLs.) As a non-reader moving into 4th grade, naturally, we're very concerned! We adminstered the Woodcock-Munoz test (Spanish AND English) to determine if a disability was present in both languages or just English. If it was both, we could say an official "yes" and start getting him the help he needs. If it was just English, we would know that that was due simply to the second language acquisition process.
The Woodcock-Munoz showed us that in reading and writing, his CALP level is a 1 in both languages but that his oral expression and oral comprehension are both 3.5 (again, both languages!). That's a huge contrast. I decided to ask Millie to go through a long test he had recently taken, noting the number correct from the ones I had read to him and the number correct from the ones he had read to himself. You'll never believe this:
Ones I read # correct: 10/13
Ones he read # correct: 4/32
Wow! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! We're going to administer one more set of tests for reading comprehension with us reading it and not. We're also going to give him a writing prompt where we scribe for him and not. (That's a theory that the SpEd teacher has.) I'm so excited that we may actually be able to help this poor kid in a way that he can receive the help! Will keep you posted on how those tests go...
P.S. If this is truly a visual disability (as opposed to an auditory one), he's at a real advantage. Most activities in classrooms are auditory, so at least he's able to pick up on what's been talked about!
