I feel like that's all we ever do! But unfortunately right now it's a necessary evil for me in order to begin my action research. This past week I was able to test all of the students who are in my sample to check on their English reading proficiency. The students are third graders, but the results showed that the majority are reading at a 1st grade level in English. Next week I will be testing their reading proficiency in Spanish. I already know that based on Istation reports some of these same students are also reading at a 1st grade level in Spanish. I know that my action research project is focusing on the efficiency of this intervention program, but seeing results like this leads to more wonderings...
- What are the causes for students struggling in both languages?
- Is it a confusion of language?
- Is the one-way dual program the best for our students?
- How can Tier 1 instruction be improved, especially in grades K-2, so that teachers are more efficiently differentiating instruction which will lead to fewer students in need of interventions?
I could probably go on and on with the questions that pop into my mind. I have a feeling that at least one of these will evolve into an action research in the future. I have to put all my wonderings to the side for now though. Must finish Week 3 assignment!!
Oh! You are using I-Station? What do you think of it? I know the state is funding it for this year, but I had to wonder what would happen next year, you know? We purchased Classworks this year, and that's what I'm evaluating in my action research project. I focused on our LEP students because, like you, I had a million questions that popped into my mind about what I should investigate. Lol! Can't wait to hear about your research.
ReplyDeleteIs I-Station only for bilingual students? I am interested in your project not only as an educator, but also as a mom because my son who is in second grade uses this program at school. He is not in bilingual ed though, that is why I'm wondering who this program is targeted to. I heard a rumor at my middle school campus, that my district is planning on incorporating it at the middle school level. I'll let you know in the future if this really happened and my perceptions of the program.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed in our preliminary Istation data that, whatever mechanism the ISIP uses to determine comprehension and text fluency, my ELL kids (and most of my native English speakers, as well) are testing higher than I would have thought in these areas. They are swimming in the sewers in Word Analysis and Vocabulary. Now, with ELL kids, that makes good sense and lets me know that these kids are fully operational, they just need to continue to learn more words in English. But I SEE THE SAME THING WITH MY NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKERS. For the most part, I am dealing with an issue that, according Dr. Joyce Juntune's research out of Texas A&M, goes all the way back to 3 and 4 and 5 years old. Children are coming to us out of low-SES households with little to no academic vocabulary and many primary grade teachers are at a loss as to how to build that vocabulary while continuing to push the children who come to Kindergarten equipped with years of formal Pre-K education and/or families who pushed them to perform academic feats long before they reached school age. Now my question is, How do I fix this when my children are in 6th and 7th and 8th grade? We will see. We will see.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if any of that is going to help put any perspective on your study. But I feel better. Thanks. Let's get back together again soon and swap Istation trash. Okay?
This is the third year that our district is using istation. We're actually saving some money now that the state is paying for it! We use it for all of our elementary students, but there is a Spanish component available for grades K-3. Just like any program, it has its pros and cons. The past couple of years we've used it to identify struggling students at the beginning, middle, and end of the year as well as an intervention for Tier 2 and 3 students. This year however, the district has asked that only K-1 students use the interventions. I'm not sure what the reasoning is behind it.
ReplyDeleteA lot of teachers complain about the accuracy of it, especially at the K-1 level. A lot of the kids don't even know how to use a computer! I like it because it lets me test all of my students at once and gives a pretty comprehensive look at what they are struggling with, but it's not 100% fool-proof. That's where teaching and formative assessments come in! :)
Farley, I couldn't agree with you more! The only place that most of the students at my school hear any sort of academic vocabulary is at home. We also have a lot of students who enter kindergarten, sometimes even 1st grade, without any former schooling. It's a tough situation! Unfortunately it's a domino effect. If we are not able to close the gap enough in elementary school, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger as they progress through their school career! Ugh, sometimes I feel like it's an uphill battle that does not seem to get any easier. Oh well, I better go put my battle gear on!