GOALS & PROGRESS MONITORING
Once a student has started dyslexia intervention, the next step is to measure the effectiveness of the intervention to determine if the student is making progress and closing the gap with peers reading at grade level. Progress monitoring looks different depending on where a student is served.
Students served by an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) via Special Education
When students are served by an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) via Special Education, schools have several steps that are part of the process to ensure a student is making progress and closing the gap with their peers. Each of these steps is a section of the IEP document, and they build on each other.
Regardless of the primary disability that initiated the IEP (speech, ADHD, anxiety, etc), the IEP should reflect all disabilities a student has (including dyslexia), the student’s present levels of performance in each area, and needs a student has, goals in each area of need, and then the instruction planned to meet these goals. The IEP is a powerful document and parents should contribute significantly to it...but parents must know how to use it in order to advocate well for their children.
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Present Levels: Present Levels answer the questions: what can this student do and what does he/she know right now? The needs should be based on objective (not subjective) data and show how the student’s weaknesses impact progress in the curriculum. The first step to addressing a student’s need is an accurate description of how they are doing currently.
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Goals: Individualized goals for the student based on the needs identified in the present levels. The needs drive the goals, and the goals drive the services.
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Schedule of Services: Lists which campus staff are accountable for the goals and how much time they spend with the student and/or other staff to support the student in achieving the goals.
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Progress Monitoring: Reporting on progress of the student’s individual goals that occurs at the end of each grading period. Parents receive a report on goals at the same time as each report card is issued. If appropriate progress is not made, the ARD committee should meet to discuss possible causes and next steps, including if instruction needs to be adjusted.
Note: The IEPs for dyslexic students contain a dyslexia supplement. This is totally separate from the process described above (Present levels, goals, schedule of services, progress monitoring). A dyslexia supplement typically reflects a dyslexia intervention delivered as it would be to all students who are on a 504 plan (group-paced Take Flight) vs. an individualized approach specific to your child’s needs as documented in the IEP. The presence of a dyslexia supplement does not mean your child’s dyslexia is fully integrated into the development of the IEP. If your campus is not fully including dyslexia in the development of your child’s IEP, you can share TEA’s Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia in the Individualized Education Program.
To learn more about each of these steps and how to ensure your student’s plan is fully developed, read more at Maximize the Plan - coming soon!
Students Served by a 504 Plan
In HPISD, the progress monitoring measure administered by dyslexia therapists to measure a student’s reading at the beginning, middle, and end of the year is the Burns and Roe Informal Reading Inventory (IRI). This is separate from “end of book” checks that are part of the Take Flight curriculum. Progress monitoring that is separate from a dyslexia program is important to ensure student progress in the program is reflected on work done outside of the program, and ultimately in the classroom.
HPISD’s goals for students upon completion of the Take Flight program are below and based on the “Story Reading” of the Burns & Roe IRI. Parents should review the progress monitoring reports that come home three times a year to compare their students’ scores with these goals:
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Fluency - 50th percentile with correct words per minute (cwpm) for grade-level reading
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Comprehension - 85% correct on grade-level passages
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Accuracy - 95% accuracy on grade-level material *
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Spelling - Improvement
If your child’s progress monitoring does not include how their fluency number (correct words per minute) scores in terms of percentile, see percentiles at this link.
Dyslexia therapists also monitor student’s classroom grades. Parents with a student who is frequently using the re-take system in grades 5-8 should keep documentation of their student’s original grades. Sometimes the re-take grades inflate a student’s report card and conceal difficulties that will quickly become apparent in high school (where the policy does not exist).
Below are graphics that provide a visual for 80% accuracy and 95% accuracy:
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