Julia Kaufman

SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment

UDL Rationale

A students knowledge of phonics is essential to developing and improving their reading

fluency, comprehension, and writing. Phonics is the correlation between sounds and letters, or

groups of letters, as it relates to written word. This method of instruction helps students to sound

out unknown words. Students with dyslexia and similar specific learning disabilities require

systematic and explicit phonics instruction to have access to the general education curriculum.

There are limitations to phonics instruction, as the English language does not have a pure

phonetic base. However, for students with previously stated disabilities, the explicit instruction

provides the necessary instruction. The National Reading Panel (2000) concluded from their

meta-analysis that systematic phonics instruction enhances childrens success in learning to read

andis significantly more effective than instruction that teaches little or no phonics (p. 9).

Specifically, findings provided solid support for the conclusion that systematic phonics

instruction makes a bigger contribution to childrens growth in reading than alternative programs

providing unsystematic or no phonics instruction (p. 2-92).

The program focuses on the Big Five of literacy (phonemic awareness, phonics,

vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension). There is further evidence supporting the connection

between direct phonics instruction, decoding skills, and a students comprehension of text. It is

essential that the Big Five of literacy are taught in tandem with one another to increase a

students overall ability to read and understand text. Fluency and decoding skills are essential to

a students comprehension. Kamil, et. Al (2008) stated, There is accumulating evidence that an

inadequate ability to decode printed text accurately and fluently may be one reason for students

failure to meet grade-level standards in reading (pg. 32). The Barton Program gives students
Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment
the skills needed to decode text accurately and fluently, breaking down that barrier to

comprehension.

Throughout this project, the instructor will teach phonics skills using the Barton Reading

and Spelling Program. Barton is a research based, multi-sensory phonics program created

specifically for dyslexic students. Fifteen independent studies from public and private schools

prove that the program is effective. In Duval County, Florida, Barton was given as an

intervention to third, fourth, and fifth grade students with a significant reading delay. The study

found (2013), On the Word Attack subtest of the Woodcock Reading Mastery 3 test, students

showed an average grade-level gain of 1 year and 1 month after just 3 months small-group

intervention. On the easyCBM, a nationally normed test of reading fluency and comprehension

which is aligned with the Common Core State Standards, on a grade-level passage, Barton

students increased their score by 61.9 percentile points in just 3 months (p. 1). This program is

aligned to the Common Core State Standards and can be done as a small group, but for the

purposes of this intervention, will be done one on one. The instructor has the Barton Reading

and Spelling Program levels one through six and will instruct using the program for a minimum

of 45 minutes, 4-5 days per week. The instructor has been trained in using the Barton program

and has effectively implemented the program in previous years. For this project, the instructor

will investigate the effects of Barton using a fifth grade, male student.

The student is currently on Lesson 4, of Level 5, of the Barton Program. The instructor

plans to complete Level 5 and start Level 6 of the program with the student during the time

restraints of this class. Level Five looks at Prefixes and Suffixes. Level Five is broken down

into ten lessons: Lesson 1: Plurals S versus, Lesson 2: Constant Suffixes, Lesson 3: ED and
Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment
ING, The Doubling Rule, Lesson 4: Other Sounds of ED, Lesson 5: Vowel Suffixes, Lesson 6:

Spelling The Change Rule, Lesson 7: Spelling TION versus SION, Lesson 8: Prefixes: dis,

in, un, and non, Lesson 9: Prefixes: mis, sub, re, pre, Lesson 10: Prefixes: inter, mid, over, up.

Level six of the program focuses on the on six reasons for silent-e.

Student Description

EH is a fifth-grade student who qualified for special education services with the

exceptionality of Specific Learning Disability in the third grade. The student has completed

levels one through Lesson 4, Level five of Barton as of March 17, 2017. The student currently

receives 45 minutes of direct instruction in reading, in the special education setting, daily. The

following assessment were given prior to starting Level 5. The program focuses on phonics and

decoding, so comprehension and vocabulary will be assessed less often, but still assessed.

Instructional Goals and Projected Outcomes

Ethun has the following goals on his IEP, completed in October 2016, as part of an

evaluation. The instructor hopes to be at 80% of higher for each of the following goals by the

end of this project:

1. Ethun will be able to read multi-syllable words that consist of Open, Closed, Silent-E,
Consonant-LE, Units or Vowel Team syllables, contain Schwas, or consist of a Silent-E
or Consonant-LE base-word with prefixes and/or suffixes with 90% accuracy.
2. Ethun will be able to spell words, phrases, and sentences containing multi-syllable words
made up of Open, Closed, Silent-E, Consonant-LE, Units or Vowel Team syllables,
contain Schwas, or consisting of a Silent-E or Consonant-LE base word with prefixes
and/or suffixes. Ethun will use a variety of double-checking techniques to prove his own
spelling (spell checker, spelling rules notebook, dictionary), With 90% accuracy.

The instructor would like to see EHs STAR percentile rank at least 25 by the end of the

project, his CORE multi-syllable word decoding ability at the benchmark level, mastery on every

section of the Houghton Mifflin Phonics / Decoding Screening Test, and given a fifth-grade

fluency passage, EH will be able to read 100 cwpm with 98% accuracy.
Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment
Baseline Assessment Results

DISTRICT ASSESSMENT: STAR Reading

EH received the following Standard Scores and Percentile Ranks on the STAR Reading

assessment. EH received read aloud, as well as extended time, on both assessments.

Test Date Standard Score Percentile Rank

08/16/2016 302 7
1/17/2017 456 22

Curriculum Based Measures:

Comprehension: EH was read aloud the passages and questions for the fifth grade CCSS

Reading CBM. The CCSS CBM consists of short fiction, non-fiction, and a text feature (table of

contents, graph, picture), with five questions per passage. EH scored 19/25 questions correctly.

placing them in the 42nd percentile (average range). EH was given a mirrored fifth grade CCSS

Reading CBM (different passages) to be completed independently. EH answered 20/25

questions correctly, placing him in the 49th percentile (average range). EH was not reassessed

after Level 4 on comprehension due to his adequate ability to comprehend text and goals

focusing on phonics and decoding skills, he will be assessed after Level Five is completed.

Fluency: Given a fifth-grade Passage Reading Fluency CBM EH scored the following:

Date CWPM, Accuracy Percentile

10/24/2016 77 , 93% 6th

03/01/2017 95, 100% 10th

Vocabulary: Given a Vocabulary CBM 10/24/2016, EH independently answered 9/20

questions correctly placing them in the 7th percentile (below average range). EH will be

reassessed after Level Five.

Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment
CORE Reading Assessments
The CORE Phoneme Deletion assessment includes four-phoneme deletion tasks

arranged in order of difficulty. Within Part A (Initial Sounds), B (Final Sounds), C (First Sound

of Constant Blends), and D (Embedded Sound of a Constant Blend), a fifth grader is within

benchmark if they score 5 tasks correctly and when they score 0-4 correctly, intensive

interventions are recommended. EH scored the following prior to and after the intervention of

the Barton Reading and spelling program.

PART SCORE, Prior to Barton Score, After Barton (Level 1)

10/24/2016
A* 5/5 5/5
B* 5/5 5/5
C* 1/5 4/5
D* 3/3 5/5

The CORE Phonological Segmentation Test contains three parts: Part A: Sentences

into Words; Part B: Words into Syllables; and Part C: Words into Phonemes. Prior to Barton

Level 1, EH answered 21/23 correctly placing them in the strategic range. EH had difficulty with

breaking a word into a syllable, and breaking apart a initial blend phoneme into two sounds.

After Barton Level 1, 10/24/2016, EH answered 23/23 correctly, placing him in the Benchmark

range.

The CORE Phoneme Segmentation Test assesses the students ability to break a word

into its component phonemes, or sounds. Prior to Barton Level One, EH answered 8/15

phoneme probes correctly placing them in the Intensive range. After Barton Level 1,

10/24/2016, EH answered 14/15 correctly, placing them in the Benchmark range.

The Core Phonics Survey assesses the phonics and phonics-related skills that have a

high rate of application in beginning reading. EH was given the following probes on 9/12/2016

and 02/27/2017 (after completing Level Four of Barton) and scored the following:
Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment

Score
Probe Score 09/28/16 Recommendations
02/27/17
Upper Case Letters* 26/26 26/26 Benchmark
Lower Case Letters* 26/26 26/26 Benchmark
Constant Sounds* 21/21 21/21 Benchmark
Short Vowel Sounds* 4/5 5/5 Intensive to Benchmark
Long Vowel Sounds* 5/5 5/5 Benchmark
Short Vowels in CVC Words* 13/15 15/15 Strategic to Benchmark
Constant Blends - Short Vowels* 11/15 15/15 Strategic to Benchmark
Short Vowels, Digraphs, -tch
9/15 15/15 Intensive to Benchmark
Trigraph*
R-Controlled Vowels 13/15 14/15 Strategic to Benchmark
Long Vowel Spellings* 11/15 15/15 Strategic to Benchmark
Variant Vowels* 10/15 14/15 Strategic to Benchmark
Low Frequency Vowel & Constant
9/15 14/15 Intensive to Benchmark
Spellings*
Multisyllabic Words* 14/24 19/24 Intensive to Strategic
*Skill taught in the Barton Program (Levels 1-4)
Red Text indicates growth

The MASI-R Oral Reading Fluency Measures are used to represent a portion of the

Multi-Level Academic Skills Inventory, Revised (MASI-R). The measures use three oral reading

fluency (ORF) curriculum-based measures (CBM) at each of Grades 1-6.

Date WCPM Average WEPM - Average Accuracy Percentile

10/13/2016 60 3 95% Below the 10th

03/02/2017 78 1 99% 10th

The CORE Reading Maze Comprehension Test is a task that measures how well

students understand text they read silently given a three-minute time period; it assesses the

students syntax ability of what they read and the meanings of the words as they are used in the

text.
Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment
Date Score

10/13/2017 10

03/01/2017 13 correct

Houghton Mifflin Phonics / Decoding Screening Test: EH was assessed on

10/13/2016, after one month of the Barton and Spelling Reading Program intervention. Results

of the assessment shows that EH has mastered all skills assessed, expect reading and decoding

long vowels (mastery 8/10), two syllable words (mastery 19/24), multisyllabic words (6/8

mastery), long vowel spelling skills (mastery 2/5).

Skill Area: Alphabet Skills

Part Score Accuracy Score Accuracy
10/13/2016 02/28/2017
Letter Name: Upper Case* 26/26 100% 26/26 100%
Letter Name: Lower Case* 26/26 100% 26/26 100%
Constant Sounds* 23/23 100% 23/23 100%
Long-Vowel Sounds* 5/5 100% 5/5 100%
Short-Vowel Sounds* 5/5 100% 5/5 100%
Skill Area: Reading and Decoding Skills
Part Score Accuracy Score Accuracy
10/13/2016 02/28/2017
Short Vowels in CVC Words* 10/10 100% 10/10 100%
Short vowels, digraphs, and TCH 10/10 100% 10/10 100%
trigraphs*
Short vowels and constant blends* 20/20 100% 20/20 100%
Long-Vowels* 6/10 60% 10/10 100%
R and L-Controlled Vowels 9/10 90% 9/10 90%
Vowel Diphthongs* 8/10 80% 9/10 90%
Two-Syllable Words* 13/24 54% 20/24 83%
Multi-syllabic words* 3/8 38% 6/8 75%
Skill Area: Reading and Decoding Skills
Part Score Accuracy Score Accuracy
10/13/2016 02/28/2017
Initial Constants* 5/5 100% 5/5 100%
Final Constants* 5/5 100% 5/5 100%
CVC Words* 5/5 100% 5/5 100%
Long-Vowel Words* 2/5 40% 3/5 60%
Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment
*Skill taught in the Barton Program (Levels 1-4)
Red Text indicates growth

Collaboration, UDL Strategies

The instructor collaborated with her mentor to choose this student, as his anticipated

needs as a student with a SLD, fit with the explicit, multi-sensory nature of the program. The

instructor and mentor teacher discussed other programs as a part of the students evaluation in

October, but the research on the program helped to determine Barton was the best instructional

fit. While the student does not have a formal dyslexia diagnosis he presents with several of the

indicators for dyslexia, further showing the need for the multi-sensory program. Throughout

instruction, several UDL strategies will be put used to increase learning. The routine will be

clear throughout each lesson, as well as stay consist. The student will have several opportunities

to self-monitor each lesson. Throughout instruction, letter tiles, as well as explicit examples, and

non-verbal cuing are used to teach the student.

Citations

Barton, S. (2013). 2013 Fall to Winter Improvement Data. Retrieved September 05, 2016, from
https://bartonreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/FL2013Results1.pdf

Kamil, M. L., Borman, G. D., Dole, J., Kral, C. C., Salinger, T., and Torgesen, J.
(2008). Improving adolescent literacy: Effective classroom and intervention practices: A
practice guide (NCEE #2008-4027). Washington, DC: National Center for Education
Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of
Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc.

National Reading Panel. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to
read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and
its implications for reading instruction (Reports of the subgroups). Washington, DC:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Julia Kaufman
SPED 875
Assessing Student Learning Assignment
Feedback

Very thorough -- I look forward to reviewing the final presentation.

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