Notes on New Jersey Dyslexia Handbook Webinar Series - Session 2
Overview of the Webinar Series
The New Jersey Dyslexia Handbook aims to specifically guide school districts in the development of early literacy programs and in addressing reading difficulties that students may encounter. It provides structured frameworks and resources to facilitate effective reading instruction and interventions.
This comprehensive four-part webinar series is designed to ensure that school districts become well-acquainted with the critical contents of the handbook, promoting community engagement and stakeholder understanding.
The primary goal of the series is to assist district stakeholder teams—including educators, administrators, and specialists—in making informed, research-based educational decisions that will enhance student outcomes in literacy.
Emphasizing a preventative model, the series encourages early screening and interventions for students displaying signs of reading struggles, thus fostering an environment that aims to prevent literacy difficulties before they escalate.
Session Focus
The focus of this session revolves around universal screening practices as well as the early dyslexia screening protocols outlined in the New Jersey Dyslexia Handbook. These practices are integral for identifying students at risk of reading failure before substantial difficulties arise.
Renowned expert Joe Torgesen, in his influential article "Catch Them Before They Fall," underscores the necessity for early identification and proactive measures to prevent reading failure, reiterating the effectiveness of timely interventions.
NJTSS Framework
NJTSS (New Jersey Tiered System of Supports) provides a robust data-driven prevention model that allows schools to implement systematic support at various levels.
Universal reading screenings are effective tools administered in grades K-3, occurring at multiple intervals: the beginning, middle, and end of the academic year. This regularity ensures comprehensive monitoring of student progress and early identification of at-risk individuals.
Quick screening assessments concentrate on discrete skills that have been established to be both reliable and valid, ensuring accurate identification of student needs and guiding subsequent interventions.
Purpose of Universal Screening
The primary purpose of universal screening is to effectively identify students who are at risk of experiencing future reading failures, paving the way for timely intervention.
It is important to note that universal screening is not intended for diagnosing learning disabilities or dyslexia, but rather serves as a preliminary measure to identify students who may require additional support without formal diagnoses.
These screenings offer critical insights regarding the effectiveness of core reading instruction implemented within schools, enabling educators to refine their approaches based on data-driven findings.
Indicators of Risk
Family history of dyslexia significantly raises the likelihood of a student developing similar difficulties, with a 50% risk associated when first-degree relatives are affected.
Important screening predictors include specific skills measured across different grade levels:
Kindergarten: Key factors like phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, sound-letter identification, and phonological memory are essential for early reading readiness.
1st Grade: Focus shifts to phonemic awareness, oral vocabulary development, word recognition fluency, and mid-year assessments of oral reading fluency.
2nd Grade: Attention is given to word reading accuracy, oral reading fluency, and the development of reading comprehension skills, which are crucial for higher-level literacy tasks.
Importance of Multiple Assessments
It is vital to acknowledge that no single test can comprehensively measure all facets of reading skills effectively, making a variety of assessments necessary to capture the full picture of a student’s reading abilities.
The use of both timed and untimed assessments during the evaluation process is crucial for capturing a student's deeper understanding and skill set.
Utilizing multiple measures enhances classification accuracy for identifying at-risk students, enabling targeted support and intervention strategies.
Selection of Screening Tools
Selecting effective screening tools is critical; they must exhibit both high classification accuracy and predictive validity to ensure reliability in identifying students in need of support.
Resources such as "Selecting a Universal Screener" provide guidelines for evaluating potential tools, alongside NJTSS Screening Mapping.
An action plan template is offered within the handbook to facilitate documentation of decisions made regarding screening tool implementation and future action plans.
Additional Resources
Further information on effective screening and intervention practices can be accessed at the Center for Response to Intervention website.
Training programs for school personnel on the effective use of screening tools are essential for the collection of valid and reliable data, supporting the success of literacy interventions within schools.
Progress Monitoring
For students identified as at risk through screening assessments, they should receive structured literacy interventions that are tiered based on individual needs, along with regular progress monitoring to assess their advancement.
The recommended frequency for monitoring is monthly, with an ideal practice of conducting these assessments weekly or bi-weekly to ensure timely interventions can be implemented as needed.
Key Skills to Monitor
Key areas of focus for monitoring student progress include phonemic awareness, decoding skills, encoding abilities, and word recognition, particularly emphasized in grades K-2.
Oral reading fluency assessments should be introduced in the second half of first grade to track development effectively.
Student performance should consistently be compared against established benchmarks and norms to identify growth and areas needing additional support.
Interventions and Student Performance
Recognizing that higher cognitive abilities can sometimes obscure underlying reading difficulties, especially in younger grades, it is critical for educators to remain vigilant in monitoring student progress.
District benchmark assessments should be implemented for students in 3rd grade and above to provide a comprehensive view of literacy development, ensuring interventions are data-informed.
Importance of Oral and Listening Comprehension
Students with dyslexia often display a notable gap between their listening comprehension capabilities and their reading comprehension skills, highlighting the need for targeted instructional strategies to bridge this divide.
Monitoring progress within intervention frameworks should be executed through systematic performance measures, providing ongoing data regarding the effectiveness of the interventions employed.
Data Visualization and Decision Making
The progressive data collected from monitoring initiatives should be visualized through graphs to facilitate assessment of student improvement over time.
Should any student’s scores fall below the defined aim line, it allows for informed decision-making regarding adjustments to intervention strategies and instructional support.
Conclusion of Session 2
The session concluded with a follow-up activity designed to enhance participants' understanding of the screening processes discussed.
The New Jersey dyslexia screening law mandates that students showing potential signs of dyslexia undergo screening, emphasizing the legal responsibility of schools to ensure early identification.
Tools provided within the session include a flow chart designed for identifying at-risk students and a comprehensive checklist for early indicators of dyslexia.
Participants are encouraged to actively use these tools to create effective preventative screening and intervention strategies, aiming to foster academic success for all students.