Approximate time to complete: 45 minutes 

Note: This is the fourth course in the intervention and assessment sequence. 

Download the Course Companion document before starting this course. You can use the Companion Document to take notes on your learning, address reflection prompts, and as an easy way to retrieve course resources.  

Learning Objectives: 

After completing this course, participants will be able to: 
  • Explain common approaches to progress monitoring for reading growth in adolescents
  • Analyze their current practice to identify areas for improvement based off their learning

Consider This Scenario

Connection Point

In your Course Companion Document, consider these questions:  

  • Can you relate to the above scenario? In what ways are your challenges in literacy instruction similar or different? 

Students at Main Middle School who are identified as at risk for reading difficulties receive intervention several times a week. Each intervention teacher plans their own instruction and uses different measures to monitor the progress that students are making in their intervention group. When the teams come together to review their data and determine the next steps for students receiving intervention, they realize that they don’t have a common understanding of what their data means or how it relates to students’ needs. The team finds themselves relying more on anecdotal evidence than reliable data to make decisions about continuing or intensifying interventions.

What is Progress Monitoring? 

This activity provides an overview of progress monitoring for adolescent students. As you watch, consider the examples of progress monitoring, where progress monitoring fits into a comprehensive assessment system and how progress monitoring should inform intervention. Click the square button in the presentation to make it full screen. 

Progress Monitoring with Dr. Joan Sedita

In this video, Dr. Sedita provides an overview of progress monitoring including basic steps to implement and how it fits into an assessment system. She also provides some examples of progress monitoring for older students. 

Knowledge Check

Take this brief quiz to test your knowledge. Click the square button to expand the quiz. 

Resources

  • For more information on the effect of and evidence behind progress monitoring, review this article on Reading Rockets by Lynn S. Fuchs and Doug Fuchs on scientifically based research on progress monitoring.

Course Reflection

Let’s revisit our scenario from above and see what is different at Main Middle School after adjusting their plans for progress monitoring to determine if instruction is effective or changes need to be made.

To ensure that all teachers providing intervention have a common understanding of what progress for students looks like and whether their instruction is effective, the team at Main Middle School decided to implement common progress monitoring tools aligned to their universal screener and the intervention programs being used. This allows the teachers providing intervention to assess the effectiveness of their intervention and make changes to instructional plans quickly and efficiently. Intervention instructors progress monitor after each week of small group instruction. After collecting five data points, the team meets to determine if students are making progress towards goals or if a change needs to be made.

Reflection Questions: 

Answer the following questions in your Course Companion:

  • How would you explain to a colleague the difference between screening and progress-monitoring assessments?
  • What assessments are you currently using for students who receive intervention supports? After taking the course, do you see any areas for improvement in your approach? 

To Learn More

The following resources may be helpful if you want to learn more about progress monitoring: 

Feedback: 

Please take a moment to fill out this feedback form. We will use your feedback to improve this and other courses. 

Last Modified: 7/5/2023 11:23:39 AM