Curriculum and Literacy - Robbinsdale Area Schools (2024)

There are different types of assessments that each serve a unique purpose in our educational system.

The state level of assessment serves an evaluative purpose and is used to ensure that all students have access to rigorous, standards based content. The information provided from state assessments is used to see statewide, districtwide, school, and classroom level trends. In Rdale the assessment used is the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA). Multilingual students are also assessed using the ACCESS test to determine their skill level of the English Language.

District level assessments are additional assessments that are used to monitor progress and allocate resources. These assessments are used to make district and schoolwide instructional decisions. District level assessments include Universal Screening Assessments that are used to gather evidence of students strengths and needs in specific skills to inform instruction. These assessments are useful to inform targeted instruction and intervention in a specific skill area. Assessments used are through FASTBridge, including earlyReading, CBM, Auto Reading and aReading assessments.

Teachers use classroom assessments to guide their instruction and communicate learning with students and families. There are various forms of assessment strategies that can be used at the classroom level, including formative and summative assessments. If a student does not perform at grade-level standards on district assessments, then a diagnostic assessment will be given to determine more specific academic needs for the student. Teachers also perform progress monitoring assessments to assess growth and determine progress towards academic goals.

Universal Screening Assessment

A universal screener measures the overall ability of critical skills and are known to be strong indicators that predict student performance in a specific subject. The data from the screening assessments help teachers plan for classroom instruction. The universal screening assessments listed in the Rdale Assessment Plan, are:

• Reading: FAST earlyReading, FAST aReading, FAST CBMreading, preACT

For more detailed information on required screeners and administration of these screeners please reference the Rdale Assessment Plan.

Diagnostic Assessment

This is an additional assessment educators administer to gain more information about students’ learning. Diagnostic assessments are completed on students who are not demonstrating proficiency in Tier 1 instruction or on the Screening Assessments. Diagnostics are often performed on a one-to-one basis. Examples of diagnostic assessments are:

• Reading: PRESS (K-5), PAST, LETRS Spelling Screener

Progress Monitoring Assessments

Progress monitoring assessments are assessments that are administered on a regular basis after implementing interventions. Multiple data points from assessments will determine the success of the instructional strategies implemented at Tier II. Progress monitoring should happen more frequently the more intensive the intervention. Examples of progress monitoring assessments within the Rdale Assessment Plan, are:

• Reading: FAST CBMreading, earlyReading, PRESS formative and summative assessments, Bridge2Read Assessments and Mastery Activities

**Kindergarten: Fall: letter naming, letter sound, concepts of print, onset sounds. Winter: letter sound, onset sounds, word segmenting, nonsense words.Spring: letter sound, word segmenting, nonsense words, sight words

First Grade: Fall: word segmenting, nonsense words, sight words, sentence reading.Winter: word segmenting, nonsense words, sight words. Spring: word segmenting, nonsense words, sight words

Rationale:

Data-Driven Decision Making helps teams analyze their data, come to sound conclusions and build the team’s capacity to learn together and meet the individual needs of students. This is a cyclical process and the data process informs and supports the School Improvement Plan (SIP).

• Phase 1: Predictions (5 min):
  • I assume…
  • I predict…
  • I wonder…
    • Round-robin report-out of predictions (one item each person, one round only)
    • Predictions are recorded by the facilitator or note taker
• Phase 2: Go Visual (10 min):
  • Distribute and examine data - You may distribute an electronic file (Google Folder, Google Sheet, etc.) or perhaps display the data on a SmartBoard or television.
  • Participants might organize their data by level of risk, demographics, class, etc.). This can be done in pairs or small groups depending on group size and amount of data.
  • Observations - Round-robin report-out of observations
    • May be recorded (one item each person, continue rounds until new ideas are spent)
    • Additional Clarifying Questions, if necessary
    • Remind participants to focus on data and direct observations
• Phase 3: Inference and Question (10 min)
  • I believe the data suggests…
  • Additional data that would help me verify…
  • A conclusion I can make is…
    • Round-robin report-out of inferences
      • May be recorded (one item each person, continue rounds until new ideas are spent)
• Phase 4: Confirm or Dispel Predictions (5 minutes)
  • Is it fair to say that you believe…
  • In looking at the data…
  • The evidence I am seeing suggests something different…
    • Response from the Facilitator — What new thoughts are you having about the data now? What are our next steps?
• Phase 5: Act - Implications for teaching and learning (20 minutes)
  • We need to…
  • We plan to (Our goal is)...
  • We will (Our action steps)...
• Progress Monitoring/Implementation Fidelity (5 minutes)
  • Who will do what?
  • What evidence will you collect?
  • How often will you assess and with what measure?
  • Determine next meeting date
• Note: This protocol can be done in 2 sessions if desired. Participants can make inferences between meetings to allow for a deeper discussion of the results in the next session.

Robbinsdale Area Schools has a comprehensive MTSS handbook that can be accessed MTSS Handbook 23-24.

Through the district MTSS process, students identified as striving readers, including those who may have dyslexia or other medical diagnoses, are required to have access to diagnostic screening. Within the school setting, there is a variety of services and supports (known as the Multi-Tiered System of Supports- MTSS) designed to identify and intervene when students have reading difficulties.

This includes those who have been diagnosed with dyslexia or other medical conditions that may impact reading progress in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. At the base of this continuum, all students in Rdale have access to screening tools designed to identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulty.

At the Pre-K level, the TS Gold assessment is used. In grades K-1, it is the Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) earlyReading assessments, and in grades 2-8, it is FAST CBM-Reading. For students who are identified “at-risk” through the screening process, an additional layer of diagnostic assessment is administered.

PRESS and LETRS phonics assessments are used to diagnose phonetic awareness and phonics needs. Similarly, the data gathered from this diagnostic tool will support staff in designing a targeted intervention plan.

After identifying areas of need, a student will be provided with alternate instruction through interventions that are multisensory, systematic, sequential, cumulative, and explicit. These interventions take place in addition to the reading instruction that all students receive daily. Intervention may be discontinued, modified or intensified in response to student progress.

Robbinsdale Area Schools Dyslexia Plan

Rdale strongly believes that a strong connection between home and school increases a student's academic success. Teachers are expected to clearly communicate with families about their students' academic skills and abilities. Grade level expectations are clearly laid out and available for parents/guardians. Teachers are also encouraged to provide at home activities that families can use to increase literacy skills to families.

After each assessment session, Rdale will post student scores on our Parent Portal website. We will send a letter to parents that indicates that the information has been posted and if they have any questions they should contact their child’s teacher. This communication will detail that students who are achieving below proficiency levels will receive extra support and intervention during the school day.

Conferences- Each school within the district holds parent teacher conferences two or three times a year. These are an opportunity for the teachers and the parents to formally connect about students academic and behavioral progress.

School Literacy and Family Nights- Many of the elementary schools within the district hold literacy and family nights around various topics. Parents are invited to attend with their children and increase the collaboration and community at each building.

Affinity Groups- Through the Achievement and Integration department in the district there are Affinity groups that focus on specific ethnic and racial groups of families. Within these groups they conduct meetings and events that focus on building community and increasing academic achievement. The Achievement and Integration team facilitates Robbinsdale Indian Education Parent Ccommittee (AIPAC) to ensure equitable opportunities for American Indian students.

Family and Community Engagement Specialists, also known as the FACE team work to support district equity work, host family engagement events and provide various types of support.. Our staff also assist with parent support at home, interpretation support and connect families with community resources.

Our FACE team leads our Parent Affinity Groups, where district families connect with other parents and learn about changes happening in the district. They also facilitate parent workshops that guide and teach families ways to engage with their student’s schools and academics.

Volunteer Programs- Robbinsdale has a robust volunteer program that consists of community members that volunteer to provide academic and social emotional support of students at all grade levels across the district. The curriculum and instruction department works with the volunteer program to provide strategies to use with students to practice literacy skills.

School and District Newsletters- Each school within the district has a weekly or monthly newsletter that gets sent to families to communicate important information about what is happening at school. The district also provides a monthly newsletter that communicates district happenings. There is a goal for next year that these newsletters will contain a section that focuses specifically on literacy skills.

Full Service Community Schools- Three of our district secondary schools, Robbinsdale Middle School, Sandburg Middle School and Cooper High School, are Full Service Community Schools. FSCS impact the district in many positive ways including increasing community partnerships, which provide students more resources and out-of-class opportunities. In addition, it provides families a space where they can navigate systems and connect with school staff in a positive environment.

Activities Families Can Use at Home