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TAPR Recommendation

Lynette ONeal

University of St. Thomas

Instructional Leadership

Dr. Landry

June 7, 2017
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TAPR Recommendation

The teachers, students, and staff of Parker Intermediate should be congratulated for

meeting the standard set by the state. A review of the 2015-2016 Texas Academic Performance

Report (TAPR) for Parker Intermediate indicates several opportunities for growth for the

campus, however. Areas for growth include improving Math instruction, Science instruction,

services provided to the English Language Learners (ELL), and students serviced under Special

Education. The recommendations for this report will only consider Reading instruction for both

5th and 6th grades.

The TAPR indicates that the campus in 5th Grade Reading, 68% of the students were at

the satisfactory or above level compared with 81% for the state (TEA, 2016). However, only

44% if the ELL students were at the satisfactory level for 5th Grade Reading, while 24% of

students receiving Special Education services, and 68% of economically disadvantaged students

were at the satisfactory level or above. Sixth grade Reading had similar results, with 61%

passing overall, 32% satisfactory for ELLs, 35% for Special Education students, and 60% for

economically disadvantaged. Improving reading instruction must become a part of the school

improvement plan. This data suggests that more attention should be given to student performance

in relation to the standards, classroom instruction, instructional practices, and responsiveness to

data in instruction. A review of the research on effective reading instruction and effective

teachers of reading is recommended for the leadership team and members of the Language Arts

department (Taylor, Frye, Peterson, & Pearson, 2003).

In addition, a plan for professional development should be developed that will provide

opportunities for teachers to learn and improve their success as teachers of reading. Once

teachers become familiar with what research says about effective reading instruction and how to
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become effective teachers of reading, they will need ongoing support and development to

become such teachers. Teachers should be engaged in professional development that helps to

shape their pedagogical knowledge and skills so that they are able to effectively implement

research-based instruction (Brownell, et al, 2017). It has been suggested that general and special

education teachers support professional development that

(a) alignment with teachers and schools efforts to improve teaching and learning, (b) a

focus on a few key ideas and strategies, (c)concrete ideas for implementing strategies, (d)

opportunities to collaboratively analyze the effectiveness of implementation efforts in

terms of student performance, and (f) varying levels of implementation assistance

depending on individual teacher need

(Brownell, et. al, 2017). The campus must allocate the necessary time and resources, make a

commitment, and stay focused on the professional development plan to ensure proper

implementation.

An additional recommendation is that a schedule be created by the leadership team, and

possibly an external facilitator, to visit classrooms and provide support and peer coaching to

teachers. Through continuous and ongoing observation and feedback, the leadership will be able

to provide support and immediate feedback, and ensuring that the students are engaged. The

teaching of strategies is not enough for increased reading comprehension, students must engage

and taught how to self-monitor their understanding (Elleman & Compton, 2017). During

classroom visits, attention must be given to the quality and content of the instruction so that

teachers receive feedback aimed at improving the effectiveness of their reading instruction.

By implementing the strategies suggested, the campus should experience growth in

reading across both grade levels. Through reflection, research, professional development, and
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continuous support, teachers should gained increased effectiveness in teacher reading for all

populations.
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References

Brownell, M., Kiely, M. T., Haager, D., Boardman, A., Corbett, N., Algina, J., & ... Urbach, J.

(2017). Literacy learning cohorts: Content-focused approach to improving special

education teachers' reading instruction. Exceptional Children, 83(2), 143-164.

doi:10.1177/0014402916671517

Elleman, A. M., & Compton, D. L. (2017). Beyond comprehension strategy instruction: What's

next?. Language, Speech & Hearing Services In Schools, 48(2), 84-91.

doi:10.1044/2017_LSHSS-16-0036

Taylor, B. M., Frye, B.J., Peterson, D. J., & Pearson, P. D. (2003). Steps for School-wide

Reading Improvement. Washington, DC: NEA. Retrieved from

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/mf_schoolwidereading.pdf

Texas Education Agency. (2016). 2015-2016 Texas Academic Performance Report. Retrieved

from

https://rptsvr1.tea.texas.gov/cgi/sas/broker?_service=marykay&year4=2015&year2=15&

_debug=0&single=N&title=2016+Texas+Academic+Performance+Reports&_program=

perfrept.perfmast.sas&prgopt=2016%2Ftapr%2Ftapr_spec.sas&ptype=P&level=campus

&search=campname&namenum=parker&campus=101902065