BLOOMINGTON, MN (January 11, 2024) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, announces the release of an independent study of educators’ and students’ experiences using the Lalilo foundational literacy solution. In the study, educators confirmed that Lalilo effectively differentiates foundational literacy instruction and practice, motivates students to learn, and improves students’ overall reading skills.

Conducted by WestEd, the study is based on interviews with grade 1 educators who used Lalilo with their students during the 2022–2023 school year. As detailed in the report, the educators agreed that Lalilo is a high quality program that is well designed, easy to navigate and use, and motivating for emerging readers. Educators also commented that:

• Lalilo’s placement test is far more accurate than their existing classroom assessments of early literacy skills
• Lalilo allows students to learn at their own pace and provides targeted, personalized support to keep students engaged
• Lalilo reinforces essential prerequisite skills while also helping students to learn more advanced literacy skills—with some students mastering skills beyond their grade-level standards
• Lalilo increases reading confidence, especially in students who previously struggled with reading

“I can tell from the assessment that we just did, the end-of-year assessment, just how much the students have grown,” remarked one educator. “The growth that we saw was remarkable.” A second educator described Lalilo’s impact on struggling readers, noting that “students who had weak reading skills, weak decoding skills, they seemed to gain confidence” by using Lalilo, and are now “eager” to read aloud.

A third educator shared that her students looked forward to using Lalilo every morning. When given the choice, students “would ask if they could stay on [Lalilo] and keep doing it” rather than engaging in other activities, she added.

The educators were unanimous in stating they would recommend Lalilo to other schools and districts. On a scale of 0 (“not at all likely” to recommend) to 10 (“extremely likely” to recommend), Lalilo received an average rating of 9.5, the report notes.

Designed for students in K‒2+, Lalilo is built on Science of Reading research and provides explicit and systematic instruction and practice on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and more. Students can use Lalilo both in and out of the classroom, and Lalilo provides students with immediate corrective feedback to support their literacy success.

“We’re delighted by the findings in the WestEd report, and we thank the educators involved for their participation and very positive feedback,” said Eric Stickney, Vice President of Educational Research at Renaissance. “This is the first in a series of independent, Lalilo-focused studies, and we look forward to sharing additional findings in the future.”

To download the new WestEd report, visit https://renaissance.widen.net/view/pdf/4hmbl0bqmp/R67209.pdf. To learn more about Lalilo, visit https://www.renaissance.com/products/lalilo/.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. We believe that technology can unlock a more effective learning experience, ensure that students get the personalized teaching they need to thrive, and help educators and administrators to truly, fully, See Every Student.

The post New Report Highlights Lalilo’s Positive Impact on Improving Reading appeared first on Renaissance.

In this spirit, there’s something we do at Renaissance that is truly unique in the field of K–12 assessment. We work with it so often and it’s so ubiquitous in our solutions that we—and the educators using our products—largely take it for granted.

However, a recent experience reminded me of its importance in supporting teaching and learning.

Learning progressions built for your state standards

I’m talking about the work we undertake to create custom learning progressions for each US state, to reflect each state’s standards of learning for reading and mathematics. These learning progressions, which form the “backbone” of our Star Assessments and many of our practice tools, use the very same domains and headings as the states do, such as “Print Concepts” in reading and “Geometry and Measurement” in math.

This means that Star reports and dashboards are organized differently for teachers in Texas—who are concerned about their students’ progress on the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)—than for teachers in Virginia, who are concerned about students’ progress on the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL). The same process applies to California, Georgia, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and every other US state. We’ve even created reading and math learning progressions for Washington, DC.

Why is this so important?

Learning progressions, state standards, and skills

We organize the information in our products exactly as each state organizes its standards so that teachers can have a copy of their standards in one hand and a Star report in the other and see perfect alignment.

But it’s not just about organization and convenience.

Our content teams—working with the authors of different standards sets and with experts from around the world—undertake the time-intensive process of taking each standard in each US state and breaking it down into discrete, teachable skills. (This process is often referred to as “unpacking the standards.”)

Then, the most difficult work begins as the skills are placed in a teachable order, to reflect how learning develops within and across each domain.

The result is a learning progression that matches each state’s unique standards, helping educators to understand where their students are now and whether they’re on track to meet grade-level expectations by the end of the school year.

Learning progressions and instructional planning

The importance and value of this unique approach of tailoring the domains and skills in our solutions to each state’s standards was clearly illustrated during a conference I attended recently. While there, I met with a district team to discuss how Star Assessments compare to a competitor’s offering. As we began to discuss reporting and instructional recommendations, a report from the competitor’s reading assessment was shown, and I was dumbstruck.

As I looked at the report, I quickly recognized that it was organized using the domains of the Common Core State Standards for ELA (e.g., Reading Comprehension: Literature, Reading Comprehension: Informational Text, etc.). This would be completely appropriate in a state using the Common Core. However, we were in a state that had left those standards years ago.

What does this suggest about the alignment of this assessment to the state’s standards? And how inefficient and frustrating must it be for the district’s teachers to have a copy of their state standards in one hand and a report from this assessment in another and find that they are organized completely differently?

This stands in stark contrast to our approach at Renaissance, which ensures that, when using Star Assessments and most of our practice products, teachers see reports and dashboards that directly reflect the domains and headings of their standards:

• Teachers in states using the Common Core see the Common Core clearly reflected in the information presented.
• Teachers in a non-Common Core state do not. They see their standards, with their unique domains and headings.

This is illustrated in the graphic below, where you’ll see an exact match between this particular state’s organization of its standards and Renaissance’s learning progression. You’ll also see the clear mismatch between the state’s organization and that of the other assessment provider:

Tailoring learning content to teachers’ and students’ needs

This degree of customization is unmatched in education technology. While some companies may have built a single, highly ordered list of skills or a “continuum of learning,” these are not tailored to the standards of each state like Renaissance’s learning progressions.

To support schools around the world, we’ve now built more than 150 learning progressions. As I mentioned earlier, they’ve been developed for all 50 US states and for Washington, DC. We’ve also developed learning progressions for Alberta, Canada, and for the National Curriculum of England.

We’ve even developed multiple learning progressions for states as they have changed their standards. For example, 12 new learning progressions were built in 2023, given that several US states and England all updated or revised their mathematics and/or reading standards.

We will continue this work in 2024 and beyond.

Focus Skills: The building blocks of student learning

If you’re not currently using Renaissance solutions, you can still see this alignment process for yourself by visiting our Focus Skills Resource Center.

What are Focus Skills?

Our work with learning progressions confirmed what most educators have grasped intuitively: that in both reading and math, not all skills are created equal. At each grade level, some skills have an outsize influence on students’ success. They are prerequisites for future learning and, as a result, are absolutely essential to students’ progress.

At Renaissance, we call these skills Focus Skills to highlight their essential nature and to indicate they should receive intense instructional focus, regardless of the particular curriculum materials a school is using.

Because Focus Skills are an integral part of our state-specific learning progressions, they are customized to the standards of each state. Here is how you can get a feel for this:

1. Visit our Focus Skills Resource Center and scroll down to the “Focus Skills by the numbers” section.
2. Select either Literacy or Math, and make sure your state is selected from the dropdown menu.
3. You’ll see the domains and headings of your standards appear to the left, and the number of Focus Skills per grade level on the right, represented in a bar graph.
4. To explore Focus Skills for individual grades, hover over any of the bars and click “View.”

Try switching to other states. As you do, you’ll see different domains and headings appear on the left, and you’ll see variations in the number of Focus Skills at each grade level on the right. (The only exception will be when you toggle between states that are both using the Common Core).

Focusing on the most essential reading and math skills

Our Focus Skills Resource Center is accessible to every educator, and we invite everyone to use this powerful resource to prioritize instruction. Educators using Renaissance solutions can, however, do even more with Focus Skills. For example:

• Focus Skills are flagged on Instructional Planning Reports in Star Assessments, so you can easily see which skills are most essential for students to master in the weeks and months ahead, based on your state standards.
• Focus Skills are also accessible within our Freckle practice program for math and ELA. Freckle allows you to quickly assign practice activities that center on Focus Skills, and to easily view students’ practice and progress on these critical skills throughout the year.

Renaissance is also unique in offering an authentic learning progression of Spanish reading, as well as Focus Skills in Spanish. Educators in bilingual and dual-language programs can assess students in both Spanish and English using Star Assessments. They can then view Instructional Planning Reports in each language, which highlight the most essential skills for students’ success.

Understanding students’ learning trajectories

Renaissance’s pioneering work with learning progressions and Focus Skills has one more important dimension.

Some providers offer “hypothetical learning progressions” based on how learning is hypothesized—or predicted—to develop within and across grade levels. In contrast, Renaissance’s learning progressions are empirically validated, meaning that our content teams use data from millions of Star tests to create and fine-tune the progressions, ensuring they reflect how learning actually develops.

Using actual student performance data to inform, validate, and refine the sequencing of skills has been heralded as “a contribution to the field of learning progression development” by assessment expert Dr. Margaret Heritage. In short, no other company has built as many learning progressions as we have, and no other company has taken the development process to such a deep and refined level.

The value of this work for educators should be apparent. When using tools from other providers, you may need a “secret decoder ring”—an alignment guide or crosswalk document to help you match the domains and skills in your state standards with the domains and skills in your edtech products.

This is not the case when using Renaissance solutions. You’ll find an exact match between our learning progressions and your standards.

In this sense, we can say that Star Assessments and their associated learning progressions are not merely aligned to your standards, they are built for them. We offer you an assessment experience that stands out like a tailored, custom-made garment, in contrast with the “one-size-fits-all” approach used by our competitors.

In short, Renaissance can offer you insights and resources that no one else can, because we’ve done the work that no one else has.

Assessment Masterclass: Because mastery matters

There’s more to say about learning progressions, Focus Skills, and effective assessment practices. I invite you to take a few minutes to watch these sessions in my new Assessment Masterclass series:

• Session 1: The Perfect Screening Tool, where I share the #1 mistake to avoid in universal screening.  
• Session 2: Learning Progressions, where I give you a closer look at Renaissance’s process for unpacking state standards.
• (Coming soon) Session 3: Focus Skills, where I explain in detail how we identified these key skills—and why some of the skills may cause students to “trip.”

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BLOOMINGTON, MN, & DURHAM, NC (Dec. 15, 2023) – Renaissance and MetaMetrics® announce the expansion of their partnership to link FastBridge aMath scores to the Quantile® Framework for Mathematics, providing powerful insight into student learning. The aMath assessment is part of FastBridge K–12 screening and progress monitoring assessments for academics and social-emotional behavior with intervention recommendations. Linking FastBridge aMath builds upon initial collaboration in 2021 to connect the Lexile Framework for Reading to FastBridge aReading.

The Quantile Framework for Mathematics evaluates mathematics ability and skills/concepts on the same developmental scale, providing a means to match each student’s mathematics ability with appropriately challenging instructional tasks. This enables educators to tailor learning to each student and support individual growth.

“Last fall, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reported that student math scores are at a multi-decade low,” said Malbert Smith, PhD, CEO and co-founder of MetaMetrics. “Partnering with Renaissance to align FastBridge aMath with the Quantile Framework for Mathematics provides high-quality, research-based tools for educators to meet this challenge.”

To link aMath scores with the Quantile scale, a field test was conducted using MetaMetrics’ test items and analyzing assessment results. The FastBridge team has updated their reports to include the new Quantile measures. FastBridge is one of Renaissance’s universal screening, diagnostic reporting, and progress monitoring solutions for reading, math, and social-emotional behavior. FastBridge annually supports 34.7 million screening and 9.9 million progress monitoring administrations across 48 states.

“We are excited to add even more capabilities to FastBridge aMath through our partnership with MetaMetrics,” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance and Nearpod General Manager. “By connecting aMath scores to Quantile measures, we provide educators with even deeper insights, allowing them to see every student for their unique abilities.”

To learn more about Renaissance’s FastBridge solution, visit https://www.renaissance.com/products/fastbridge/. To learn more about MetaMetrics’ Quantile Framework for Mathematics, visit https://metametricsinc.com/education-companies/quantile-for-math/.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success.

About MetaMetrics

MetaMetrics is an award-winning education technology organization that offers the only scientifically valid, universal scales for measuring silent and oral reading and listening (Lexile) and math (Quantile), with plans to develop measures for writing. The Lexile and Quantile Frameworks measure student ability and the complexity of the content they encounter. Lexile and Quantile measures and related technologies link assessment to instruction and provide next steps for students of all ages and abilities. The measures also provide valuable insights about students’ potential for growth. MetaMetrics’ measures, products, and services are licensed to dozens of education product companies to help achieve that growth. For 35 years, MetaMetrics’ work has been increasingly recognized for its research-based approach to improving learning. For more information, visit www.metametricsinc.com.

The post FastBridge Now Reports Quantile Measures, Providing Insight into Students’ Math Abilities appeared first on Renaissance.

Jon Medin, Vice President of Psychometrics, Research, Learning Sciences, & Innovation, represented Renaissance at the Capitol Hill event. In his remarks to legislators and congressional staff, Medin explained how Renaissance is using AI to deliver new insights to educators and leaders. He also reaffirmed our commitment to the “purposeful, transparent, and equitable implementation of AI technologies” in our Renaissance ecosystem.

Recently, Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance and General Manager of Nearpod, had the opportunity to discuss this commitment in detail with Jon and two colleagues:

• Andrew Martin, Senior Director of Engineering—Data Ecosystem
• Julianne Robar, Senior Director of Metadata and Product Interoperability

Highlights from their conversation appear below.

Commitment #1: Using AI in education purposefully

Todd Brekhus: Let’s start by providing our audience with some context. How did each of you come to Renaissance, and how does this connect to the work you’re currently doing with AI?

Jon Medin: I spent more than 20 years in the legal division at Thomson Reuters, where we created an AI-enabled product to predict how individual judges might rule in a case, based on their prior rulings. This is obviously helpful information for attorneys to have. It’s also helpful for the judges, giving them insights into whether their rulings diverge from other judges’ rulings in similar cases, and whether they might have biases they aren’t aware of.

This use of predictive modeling and AI is equally valuable in education, especially when we think about students who need specific supports and scaffolds to be successful. My spouse is a special education teacher, so I’m very familiar with the challenges educators face every day, in terms of analyzing data to identify patterns and determine the best next steps to take.

AI can really be a force for good here, helping teachers to cut through the “noise” and more easily locate the right scaffolds and the most impactful interventions—not just for the students who are easy to reach, but also for those who are hard to reach. I find this really compelling.

Andrew Martin: I’m a former classroom teacher and school and district administrator. I went into education with the goal of reaching students who weren’t being served well by the current system—who weren’t necessarily finding classrooms that were geared toward ensuring they were able to read on grade level and were on track for success in college and career.

That was always my motivation, and I came to Renaissance because I could continue to address these issues but at a much larger scale. Millions of students and educators have used Renaissance solutions over the years, and now we’re at a point where large language models and other AI tools allow us to write more software, and to put more intelligence and more guidance into our solutions.

I believe that Renaissance can be a leader here, using data from multiple sources to bring greater clarity to educators. For example, we’ve seen thousands of fourth graders who have the same misconception about place value—and we can show you the best steps to take to address this. We’ve seen 100,000 ninth graders with similar patterns of poor attendance and low grades, and we can identify the most effective interventions to change this.

To me, AI in education is just another way of knowing, of taking the thousands of interactions that teachers have had with students and using the power of machine learning to point educators in the direction of what’s most likely to help students to learn and grow. And we can do this at scale, helping teachers not just in individual schools but across the country and even around the world.

Todd Brekhus: I love those examples, which really illustrate Renaissance’s commitment to helping educators to truly see every student. Julianne, I’d like to bring you into the conversation, because you’ve been at Renaissance the longest of any of us.

Julianne Robar: My background is in high school math education, and I joined Renaissance more than twenty years ago as an assessment content developer. Back then, my team was already using algorithms to help generate test items based on different variables, so that every student in a classroom would receive a similar item, but with different numbers or scenarios.

At that time, Renaissance was serving millions of students. Now, we serve tens of millions of students around the world, which is where my interest in AI comes in. How can we use new technologies to amplify what we’re already doing—to take our human excellence and apply it at scale to reach the maximum number of learners?

To give one example: we have decades of experience creating assessment items and instructional resources aligned to each state’s learning standards. We’ve taken this extensive experience in content creation and alignment—and all of the data we’ve amassed—and used it to create an AI model to identify potential candidate matches. A human editor then reviews the item or resource to verify the alignment to a particular standard.

This increases our editors’ productivity and results in even closer connections between assessment, instruction, and standards within our Renaissance ecosystem. This is a clear example of how AI is helping us to create smarter systems that lessen educators’ “decision fatigue”—in this case, by weeding out resources that don’t align with the standard they’re teaching.

Commitment #2: Using AI in education transparently

Todd Brekhus: There’s a common misconception that AI could someday replace teachers. How can we assure educators that they’re not facing a dystopian scenario here, with the machines taking over?

Jon Medin: I think everyone has heard about the recent Executive Order on AI in education. This was based on the work the US Department of Education has been doing, and the guidelines they’ve been building around keeping humans in the loop. Renaissance is committed to following these guidelines and to using AI responsibly and transparently. Along with our internal controls, we have external advisors and boards who review our new products and how we’re using AI.

As an attorney, I obviously take privacy and data protection very seriously. The data that we’re analyzing with our AI tools and models is deidentified, meaning that it can’t be tied to a particular student. Also, everything is controlled by access, using safeguards that we built into our systems from the very beginning.

Todd Brekhus: That’s such an important point, and it really highlights our commitment to using AI ethically and thoughtfully within our products. Andrew, what’s your take on this—on how we assure teachers that the “droids” aren’t taking over?

Andrew Martin: It’s a great question. I wouldn’t want to live in a world where, for example, I go to buy the latest Michael Lewis book and have to wade through 17 pages of machine-generated nonsense, all designed to get me to click. This is the “bad future” scenario, where AI is used to create endless spam or bad copies of things.

Clearly, no one wants this—certainly not in education, where bombarding students with auto-generated worksheets is the opposite of the learning experience we want to provide. Instead, we want to make the most of the human expertise we’ve already developed, so educators are assured they’re receiving the quality content they expect from us.

Take Accelerated Reader as an example. Over the last 35 years, our content teams have written quizzes for more than 200,000 books. If students want to read Harry Potter, or The Hunger Games, or the latest book about dinosaurs, they’re covered. But what about students with very unique interests?

Back in 2006, I had a student who was fascinated by transportation—in fact, he now works for the New York City Transit Authority. After the first month of school, he’d read every book in the library about subways. Next, he wanted to read a book about trains that had been published 17 years earlier—clearly not something that many students were asking to read!

Now, a company without a strong ethical grounding might take the path of least resistance here, using AI to churn out a million low-quality book quizzes, just to cover all of the bases. But this is hardly doing justice to either the books or the students. So, our approach at Renaissance is very different. Yes, we can use AI to generate the first draft of a book quiz—which is then turned over to human editors for review and revision.

Students’ passions and interests obviously matter to us, but in the past, we didn’t necessarily have the resources to produce quizzes for 17-year-old books about trains. Through the responsible use of AI, this is much more feasible today, allowing us to create quality AR quizzes at a much greater scale, covering a wider variety of books and interests.

Commitment #3: Using AI in education equitably

Todd Brekhus: We keep coming back to the themes of human excellence and “humans in the loop.” Julianne, what’s your perspective on this—and on using AI to promote educational equity?

Julianne Robar: I think everyone who’s been following the conversation about generative AI understands the potential risks, in terms of whether it’s providing inaccurate information or using biased language. This is where our human editors are absolutely essential, to ensure that the assessment and instructional content we’re putting in front of students is factual, bias-free, and grade-appropriate.

I think there’s also a really interesting opportunity for the classroom. AI and large language models will be the tools of the future workforce, so students need to learn to use them responsibly and to understand the AI models’ current limitations.

This is where critical thinking skills really come into play. I can imagine a teacher sharing two passages with students—one written by a human and the other by AI—and asking the students to identify which is which, to fact-check the statements, and to call out potential inaccuracies or biases.

Andrew Martin: We’ve definitely reached an inflection point in terms of technological change, where AI allows us to build better systems than we’ve ever had before, giving us new and better ways to reach every student. Take our eduCLIMBER MTSS management platform as an example.

In the past, the success of a school’s MTSS framework often depended on the skill level of the interventionists who were on-staff. How many years of experience did they have? How adept were they at analyzing data? With the use of AI, Renaissance now has the ability to really raise the floor, so that any school can leverage the intelligence that’s built into the system to identify the best interventions for each learner.

Clearly, eduCLIMBER won’t replace the humans in this scenario. eduCLIMBER is a tool—a sort of virtual assistant—that sits by the educator’s side, using predictive modeling and data from millions of interactions to help design a set of educational experiences that will accelerate each student’s progress.

Julianne Robar: I recently heard AI described this way: Imagine you have someone who’s been playing the cello for twenty years and someone who’s played it for one year. If you listen to each of them play, you’ll likely hear some similarities at first. But when the music (the output) is amplified, you’ll really hear the difference between twenty years of expertise and one year.

This is what AI can do in education. We know the stakes are high in terms of the content we’re putting in front of students. We want it to be accurate and engaging. We want it to be free of bias. We want it to spark ideas and curiosity, and to accelerate every student’s learning.

In short, we want to capture and amplify those twenty years of expertise so that all students benefit, and this is what the responsible use of AI can help us to achieve.

The post Using AI responsibly to support teaching and learning appeared first on Renaissance.

Such is the case with the number of items on a universal screener or other interim assessment. Many of the leading providers hold to the flawed “more must be better!” belief, and they create assessments that are unnecessarily long. As a result, time that should be spent on instruction is instead spent on testing—without educators gaining additional insights to help guide their decision making.

Let’s explore this important point.

Efficient assessment and the perfect screening tool

By any estimation, the vast majority of US districts are served by three interim assessment providers: Renaissance, plus two other companies that offer far longer assessments. So long that—in some cases—the assessments have to be administered to students over multiple days.

In my new Assessment Masterclass video, I describe “the perfect screening tool.” Here, I refer to the guidance from professional literature that universal screening should be:

1. Quick
2. Low cost
3. Repeatable
4. Practical

Why is this point so important?

As conceptualized in a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS), screening is like a quick physical examination in a medical setting. It should involve a relatively short evaluation of key metrics associated with overall health. It should not involve a CAT scan, MRI, colonoscopy, or other specialized procedure.

In a world where there is tremendous concern about over-testing, purpose-built assessments with documented reliability, validity, and precision that are also of optimal length should be embraced as ideal—as many Renaissance customers do. However, our competitors in this space—in attempting to sell their longer, less efficient assessments—play up the “old adage” message, with the assumption that if having some assessment items is good, then having more items must be better.

Understanding an assessment’s value—and cost

To anyone who has followed Renaissance’s core educational beliefs for some time, it will not be a surprise that we so strongly focus on providing assessments that offer a high rate of return. In fact, our assessment design belief for decades can be expressed using this simple formula:

The formula states that the value of an assessment must be measured against the information it provides (“I”), in consideration of the cost (“C”) involved. Here, cost refers not only to the literal cost of purchasing the assessment but also to the cost of administering and scoring it.

Calculating the cost of an assessment

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Years ago, in the early days of MTSS and Response to Intervention (RTI) frameworks, I was speaking to an administrator about using Renaissance Star Assessments for universal screening. She responded that she wasn’t planning to purchase an assessment at all, because she’d recently found a free screener online. As she discussed this screener, however, it became clear that a significant amount of her teachers’ time would be required:

1. Teachers first had to print individual test forms (aka skill probes) for each student.
2. They then had to administer these probes to students one-on-one.
3. Once the scores were manually recorded, the teacher was left with a spreadsheet full of individual data points, with no ability to aggregate or disaggregate the data for analysis.

Clearly, what this administrator failed to acknowledge is that once the first page of the first test form rolled off of the printer, the assessment was no longer “free”. The amount of time required for preparation, administration, scoring, and reporting increased its cost exponentially.

At one point, the cost of our computer-adaptive Star Early Literacy assessment was compared to a free, paper-based assessment of early literacy skills that had to be administered and scored manually. When teachers’ time was factored in, Star Early Literacy was found to be the less expensive option—with a significantly lower impact on instructional time.

Determining the value of an assessment

So, to determine the value of an assessment, all costs must be considered, including teachers’ and students’ time. As the formula states, the amount of information being provided must be considered as well. At Renaissance, our goal is to build assessment tools that provide educators with maximum value (the amount of information provided to them) in relation to the cost (the amount of time) they put in.

Here, I’ll admit to a somewhat “covert” action. Not long ago, I was speaking with a group of teachers who used an assessment from one of our competitors. I took the opportunity to ask them about the assessment, what they valued in it, and how they were actually using it in their schools.

What I found was a massive disconnect between what the company suggested as the appropriate use of the assessment, and what teachers actually did with it.

The company positions the tool as ideal for fall, winter, and spring screening within MTSS, to help teachers understand which students are meeting benchmark and which would benefit from additional supports. However, the teachers reported that they only used the assessment once or twice each year. This perplexed me, so I asked why they didn’t administer it more often.

There was a consistent response: “It just takes so much time.”

Said differently—and through the lens of the formula I introduced earlier—this sentiment can be summed up as: “When I consider the amount of time the assessment takes in relation to the information it provides, I don’t see the value in administering it more often.”

Prioritizing efficiency—and assessment reliability

Beyond this consideration of value, educators should also consider that, when it comes to the length of an assessment, there is a point of quickly diminishing returns. This is illustrated in the following graphic:

This graphic provides a visual depiction of the operation of a computer-adaptive test. Moving from left to right, we see that the test taker is presented with items, indicated by the circles, to which he or she responds either correctly (green) or incorrectly (red). The test then adapts by presenting a more difficult (higher vertically) or a less difficult (lower vertically) item.

As more items are presented, the standard error of measurement, reflected by the gray bars, decreases. This means that the reliability of the final score, as indicated by the blue line, increases.

The arc of this blue line reflecting reliability is a critical consideration, because it’s where we most clearly see the point of diminishing returns. Notice that as the test begins, reliability increases drastically as the first few items are administered. But, over time, the blue line begins to level off. It never goes completely flat and, in a general sense, it is true that additional items can positively impact reliability—at least until the test taker begins to experience fatigue.

But notice the pattern of diminishing returns. Five or ten additional items would result in only a slightly higher degree of reliability, while substantially increasing the length of the test. Is this very modest increase really worth the lost instructional time that would be involved?

Assessment reliability and assessment value

Many assessment providers fail to understand this important dynamic. Assessments are about value and information. When they take too long—in other words, cost too much—they fail to have value to educators. Ironically, some of our competitors do seem to realize this. As a result, they’ve built “attentiveness indicators” into their assessment tools, to alert teachers when students’ focus may be flagging, and they simply start to guess.

I suppose such a feature is needed when your test can take 45–60 minutes (or more).

During my days as an Instructional Specialist, I once watched a dedicated, high-achieving student take an assessment provided by one of Renaissance’s competitors. After 30 minutes, I was beginning to question the process. After 45 minutes, I was starting to feel uncomfortable. After nearly 70 minutes, when the student finally finished the test, I realized there was no amount of information it could provide that would have made that amount of arduous testing time justified.

Factors that impact assessment reliability

To return to an earlier point, let’s be clear about the factors that most directly impact reliability. Like our competitors, Renaissance favors computer-adaptive tests that respond to test-takers and greatly improve efficiency by adjusting items based on students’ responses. But we must acknowledge that—by design—these tools continue to adjust content upwards until students reach the “edge” of their performance.

This creates a dynamic where taking such a test can be quite draining. So draining that one of our competitors—given the length of their assessment—suggests that you might want to break the test administration into multiple sittings, to give students time to recover. I certainly find myself wondering how this lost instructional time can be justified, given that reliable scores can be achieved using more practical assessments.

I also fully acknowledge, as our competitors so strongly do, that the length of an assessment is a factor in its reliability. As the graphic illustrates, an assessment must have a certain minimum number of items to produce a reliable score. So, how is Renaissance able to produce highly reliable scores—as validated by the independent National Center on Intensive Intervention—with 10–20 fewer items than our competitors’ tests?

We’re able to offer a shorter test with on par reliability because we focus so intently on the quality of our items. Our multi-step item development and review process is among the most stringent in the industry. This is because only the best items will result in assessments that reflect our belief that an assessment’s value depends on the information provided, divided by the cost involved. Items that other providers might include in their assessments simply do not meet our psychometric requirements.

In short, our goal is an assessment that isn’t too long (diminishing returns, lower perceived value, fatigued test-takers) and isn’t too short (reliability), but one that is just right. One that offers value to educators when they consider all of the costs involved, and all of the pressure they face to make the best possible use of their limited time for instruction.

Spend your instructional minutes on instruction—not testing

Seasonal screening in reading, math, and social-emotional behavior is an essential component of an effective MTSS framework. Yet too often, schools and districts select assessment tools that are not optimally designed for this purpose. The result is lost instructional time or—worse—teachers “opting out” of the screening process altogether.

If you’re looking for reliable, efficient, and research-based assessments designed for universal screening, Renaissance can help. Both Star Assessments and FastBridge meet the four essential criteria of the perfect screening tool:

1. Quick
2. Low cost
3. Repeatable
4. Practical

As a result, they provide you with key insights on students’ performance and growth—as well as actionable next steps for instruction—without consuming significant amounts of instructional time.

The post Why more isn’t always better in K–12 assessment appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (October 26, 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, announces that the company has been recognized as a 2023 Best Workplace for Women by Fortune and the Great Place To Work Institute. This accolade is a testament to Renaissance’s ongoing commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace that empowers women at all levels of the organization.

Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Women list is a comprehensive analysis that considers the experiences of women employees across various roles, demographics, and backgrounds. The rankings are determined by the Great Place To Work survey responses from self-identified women employees, which are compared to those of their peers. The analysis also evaluates the influence of demographic backgrounds and position within the organization on the overall workplace experience.

A significant contributor to Renaissance’s recognition on this esteemed list is the Women of Renaissance and Workin’ Moms of Renaissance Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). These groups provide a supportive network for female employees and working mothers at the company, offering invaluable support through guest speakers, discussions, and workshops. Through these initiatives, Renaissance has created an empowering and inclusive environment where women can thrive and make meaningful contributions.

“At Renaissance, we believe in the power of diversity and the remarkable impact women make in our organization. We’re incredibly proud to be recognized as one of Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Women in 2023,” said Kim Mitchell, Chief People Officer at Renaissance. “Our Women of Renaissance and Workin’ Moms of Renaissance ERGs have been instrumental in promoting an inclusive culture where women can grow, excel, and lead.”

Renaissance prioritizes the well-being of women within its benefits package, actively seeking employee input to shape its offerings. This approach has led to a comprehensive set of supportive benefits, including a generous parental leave policy that extends its care to both birth and non-birth parents, fertility support services, supporting traveling mothers who wish to maintain their commitment to breastfeeding with the “Milk Stork” benefit, and more. This employee-centric approach reflects Renaissance’s dedication to well-being and work-life balance.

Renaissance’s inclusion on Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Women list highlights its dedication to fostering an inclusive culture that promotes the professional growth and overall well-being of women in the workplace. The company remains committed to empowering its female employees, celebrating their achievements, and continuing to create a more diverse and equitable future.

To learn more about Renaissance, please visit www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit https://www.renaissance.com.

About the Best Workplaces for Women

Great Place To Work selected the 2023 Best Workplaces for Women List by analyzing the survey responses of over 600,000 employees who work for Great Place To Work Certified companies that also meet the criteria for this list. To be eligible, a company must employ at least 50 women, have at least 20% of non-executive managers who are women, and have at least one executive who’s a woman. Company rankings are derived from 60 employee experience questions within the Great Place To Work Trust Index Survey.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Tracy Stewart
Director of Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

^{Fortune. ©2023 FortuneMedia IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.  Fortune and Fortune Media IP Limited are not affiliated with, and do not endorse the products or services of, Renaissance Learning.}

The post Renaissance Named One of Fortune’s Best Workplaces for Women™ 2023 appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (October 13, 2023) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, announces Renaissance Fundamentals—helping educators take the guesswork out of understanding why a student might be struggling at school. A key part of Renaissance’s growing suite of non-academic assessment solutions designed to help educators best support the whole child, Renaissance Fundamentals enables educators to uncover challenges students face, such as a lack of confidence in themselves, limited motivation, and their overall connectedness to school.

“A student’s success in school is tied to much more than just grades and time in the classroom—it is also connected to how they are feeling each morning, their relationships with others, and more,” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance and Nearpod General Manager. “As educators, we do our best to support every student, but we sometimes miss those hidden barriers. A complete, whole-child view is crucial if we are going to see every student for who they are and support them. Educators know their students best, and Renaissance Fundamentals will help educators proactively identify and address those challenges to ensure each one of their students thrives.”

An important part of the Renaissance Fundamentals suite is the assessment formerly known as PASS (Pupil Attitudes to Self and School), which is new to the Renaissance family as part of the GL Education acquisition. This K–12 universal screener was developed by a team of school psychologists and is quick to administer, with students completing a 15-minute survey and responding to statements about how they feel about school and themselves as learners. The survey paints a more complete picture of each student based on nine factors:

• Feelings about school
• Perceived learning capabilities
• Self-regard as a learner
• Preparedness for learning
• Attitudes toward educators
• General work ethic
• Confidence in learning
• Attitudes to attendance
• Response to curriculum demands

Dynamic, interactive reports after each assessment provide unparalleled insights at the district level, individual school level, by demographic group, and down to the individual student. Each report is color-coded and provides actionable data to help educators improve overall student achievement, increase student well-being, strengthen students’ social and emotional skills, and improve students’ relationships with others.

Renaissance Fundamentals data will also help schools and districts to strengthen their multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) frameworks and to evaluate the efficacy of social-emotional learning initiatives.

To learn more about Renaissance Fundamentals, please visit www.renaissance.com/products/renaissance-fundamentals.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Introducing Renaissance Fundamentals to Help Educators Identify Hidden Barriers to Learning appeared first on Renaissance.

“Renaissance is proud to partner with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to support the Read to Achieve Program,” said Mark DeFranco, Regional Vice President at Renaissance. “Star Reading is a reliable and valid assessment of reading comprehension. North Carolina educators can be confident using the assessment as the third grade alternative assessment.”

Star Reading has high ratings from the National Center on Intensive Intervention and is currently used by many North Carolina districts for universal screening, progress monitoring, and tracking growth. It helps educators accurately assess student development for targeted instruction and intervention.

“As a longtime advisor to Renaissance, I’m pleased to see the company make this important service available to North Carolina schools,” remarked former State Superintendent Dr. Mike Ward.

North Carolina Educators can learn more about Star Reading by visiting https://www.renaissance.com/products/star-assessments/ 

About Renaissance 

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.  

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:  

Lucy Duffy 
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist 
Renaissance 
(561) 573-6296 
pr@renaissance.com  

The post North Carolina Department of Instruction Awards Star Reading the 3rd Grade Alternative Assessment State Contract appeared first on Renaissance.

Deciphering SOC 2 reports: Focused on your data security

A System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 report is a pivotal tool for service organizations to validate the security of their digital environments.

Unlike a certification, completing a SOC 2 examination through an accredited third-party auditor results in a Certified Public Accountant’s (CPA’s) report. This report serves as a vehicle for organizations to articulate whether their information security controls, governing the security of vital data, are effectively designed, implemented, and maintained.

Put simply, a SOC 2 report empowers Renaissance’s stakeholders, present and future, to evaluate risk by providing in-depth insight into the policies and procedures we’ve implemented to ensure our services are delivered securely and dependably, and it underscores our commitment to the protection of educational data.

Unpacking SOC 2: The core components

All SOC 2 examinations are conducted by accredited CPA firms in accordance with well-known standards. The auditor scrutinizes the effectiveness of the internal controls laid out by the organization and maps these controls to one or a combination of Trust Services Criteria established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Renaissance’s auditors closely examined our security controls, validating that our information security program is properly designed, effectively maintained, and appropriately accountable to achieve its stated goals in support of the Renaissance mission of accelerating learning for all.

The significance of Renaissance’s SOC 2 endeavor

Undertaking a SOC 2 examination marks a substantial stride in our journey at Renaissance to showcase our dedication to data security. It positions us to confront the challenges presented by the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape.

Chris Bauleke, our Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are gratified that our SOC 2 report underscores the robust controls we have in place to mitigate risks associated with our security program. This emphasizes how crucial these principles are to Renaissance and our commitment to our customers.”

Seeking further insights on Renaissance’s SOC 2 report

For a comprehensive guide on interpreting a SOC 2 report, including locating the most pertinent information for your specific situation, our esteemed auditing partner, BARR Advisory, has provided detailed resources.

Current and prospective customers interested in obtaining a copy of Renaissance’s latest SOC 2 report are encouraged to send a request to infosecurity@renaissance.com. Your trust and confidence in us are paramount, and we are committed to upholding the highest standards of data security in the realm of educational software solutions.

The post Renaissance completes SOC 2 examination: Fortifying data security in educational software appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (September 29, 2023) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, is excited to announce the winners of its annual “Shine a Light on Bilingualism” K–12 student art contest to celebrate Hispanic culture and Spanish-English biliteracy.

The winners, chosen by various members of the Renaissance team, are “Somos Unidos” by Marzhan (grade 2), “Identity” by Eadlin (grade 7), and “The Best of Both Worlds” by Natalie (grade 12). The students’ artwork provides a creative depiction of Hispanic culture and bilingualism and will be featured during Renaissance’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Renaissance’s art contest webpage highlights the winning artwork, along with the three artists’ inspiration for their work.

National Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place between September 15 and October 15, recognizes and honors the contributions, traditions, and histories of both Hispanic and Latino Americans. Throughout the month, Renaissance will highlight how it supports bilingual students and the development of biliteracy as part of its commitment to helping educators to See Every Student.

“As Renaissance celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, we are excited to showcase students’ talent, creativity, and experiences through their artwork,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, Chief Marketing Officer at Renaissance. “Supporting bilingual learners in our mission to ‘See Every Student’ is essential to our commitment to honor every language, culture, and perspective, ensuring no student is left unseen or unheard.”

Renaissance recognizes students’ variety of language backgrounds and provides assessments, practice, and instructional tools such as Star CBM Lectura and myON that support emergent bilinguals. Educators can learn more about how Renaissance products support their emergent bilingual learners by visiting the Inspiring Emergent Bilinguals webpage.

To see the winning artwork, visit www.renaissance.com/bilingual-arts-contest/.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success.

Contact for Media Inquiries

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Announces Winners of Second Annual Student Art Contest, Celebrating Hispanic Culture appeared first on Renaissance.

The importance of seeing every student is also applicable to the content in Renaissance products. More specifically, our content teams make a concerted effort to ensure that every student feels seen when they interact with our products. Our goal is to produce content that truly reflects students’ multiple and intersecting identities.

Why is this so essential?

Offering students this “mirror” in which they can see themselves uplifted in the material affirms their culture and contributes to a sense of belonging in the classroom and in society (Bishop, 1990). Likewise, providing students with a “window” to learn about others’ stories, traditions, and practices allows students to explore their place in a multicultural and pluralistic world (Tschida, Ryan, & Ticknor, 2014). By producing culturally inclusive content, Renaissance products reflect our diverse society and celebrate both our uniqueness and our commonalities.

The importance of relevant and personally meaningful educational content is not a new concept. In a previous Renaissance blog, we addressed the impact and application of culturally relevant pedagogy in today’s classrooms. We also explored how the Accelerated Reader team prioritizes diverse representation in the books chosen for quizzing, and how the Star Assessments content team creates assessment items that are not biased against particular groups of people.

In this blog, we’ll spotlight two of the more recent additions to the Renaissance family—DnA and SchoolCity—and their unique approach to delivering culturally relevant assessments.

How customizable technology allows for inclusive and relevant assessment

Perhaps the most impactful feature that allows DnA and SchoolCity assessments to deliver culturally relevant content is their customizable nature. While both offer pre-built assessments aligned to state standards, educators may also build their own assessments using more than 80,000 high-quality, standards-aligned items across English Language Arts, math, science, and history.

The items include traditional item types, such as multiple choice and constructed response, as well as technology-enhanced multiple response and evidence-based selected response (EBSR) items. In addition, the large, customizable passage bank with a variety of item types allows the DnA and SchoolCity content teams—known internally as the Inspect team—to develop content exploring a wide range of topics that represent diverse populations.

As a result, teachers, school leaders, and district administrators can choose the items and question types that best meet students’ needs, including passages featuring content most relevant to their communities. By allowing this level of customization, DnA and SchoolCity assessments offer the unique ability to balance both culturally relevant assessment content and large-scale administration.

Prioritizing diversity and inclusion in assessment content

The Inspect team understands that developing truly representative content requires ongoing measurement and analysis. Therefore, team members have begun monitoring diversity in content by analyzing the representation of different:

• Racial groups
• Geographic regions
• Religions
• Physical abilities
• Neurodiversities
• Roles and careers

The team compares this data to national demographics as a measure of how well the content reflects the student population. If the audit reveals uneven or disproportionate representation, the Inspect team makes the appropriate adjustments during their annual goal-setting process.

Every year, the Inspect team determines the number of passages that will be added to the passage bank. Fifty percent of passages are literary text—such as stories, dramas, and poetry—that examine and normalize diversity through characters, situations, and language. The other half are informational texts that explore events, people, and popular culture.

All genres provide examples of people in non-traditional roles, multigenerational familial and neighborhood relationships, and those who have been trailblazers. The goal is to ensure all students can see their histories and their potential futures reflected in the passages throughout DnA and SchoolCity assessments.

Focusing on quantity and quality of representation in assessment 

Of course, it’s not sufficient to focus only on quantity when it comes to representation; we must ensure the quality of representation as well. All content—especially content about historically marginalized groups—should be accurate, age-appropriate, and respectful. Students should feel uplifted and empowered when they see their cultures reflected in our assessment content and should believe the material is an accurate representation of their collective stories.

Let’s consider two examples to help illustrate these points.

Example #1: Centering lived experiences in assessment

Consider how the literary passage below centers the lived experiences of a Latino family. The passage, which is intended to be read aloud to kindergarten students, and the questions that follow (which we have omitted to limit item exposure) assess students’ understanding of the characters, setting, events, and vocabulary presented in the passage.

The story describes a family preparing soup for someone who feels unwell, a scenario that many children will find relatable. The soup, however, is not the chicken noodle soup popular in many US households, but rather sancocho, a Latin American dish made with a variety of meats and root vegetables:

Note that the story does not indicate the family’s ethnic background or explain the extended family structure, which is common in families of color. Allowing such characteristics to exist without explicitly mentioning them is how the Inspect team normalizes diverse lived experiences.

Another important note about this passage is that, although it centers a specific ethnic background, it is still accessible to people of other cultures. Students are provided with translations and descriptions for words in Spanish (e.g., yuca is cassava, which tastes a little like a potato) or given context clues in the text and in the picture (e.g., abuela is the title of the adult caring for them).

One does not need to be familiar with yuca or know the direct translation of abuela to comprehend the passage and respond to the questions accurately. This is what makes DnA and SchoolCity assessments both culturally enriching and bias-free.

Example #2: Increasing diversity of representation in assessment

Increasing the diversity of representation in assessment content does not only consider race and ethnicity, nor does it focus only on food. Rather, Renaissance content teams explore different identities salient to school-aged students and include these identities in the content.

Consider the poem below, which is also intended to be read aloud to kindergarten students and assess their comprehension of the setting, events, and vocabulary. The passage celebrates a summer day in an urban neighborhood and shows a diverse group of friends sitting on or near the stoop of a building:

Without speaking to any specific geographic location, economic status, disability, or race/ethnicity, the poem describes and depicts a neighborhood that will resonate with many students globally, whether they live in a city or not.

How Renaissance develops culturally relevant assessment content

While the Inspect team is composed of content experts with an understanding of what makes content grade- and age-level appropriate for students across the K–12 spectrum, they have also embarked on a multi-year effort to become better versed in developing culturally relevant content. The team, which is made up of former educators, content writers, and copy editors, regularly consults with external parties to ensure content is a respectful and appropriate representation of students’ beliefs and lived experiences.

For instance, the team recently consulted with the Renaissance Content Quality Advisory Committee, an advisory board composed of external professionals with expertise in content development and matters related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The Content Quality Advisory Committee reviewed dozens of DnA and SchoolCity passages and engaged the Inspect team in a discussion of cultural inclusion in content.

One topic raised during the discussion included best practices for acknowledging the realities some students face in a manner that is not disempowering. For example, when representing Native American populations, the Inspect team takes precautions to avoid using:

• Defeatist language
• Language that portrays them as a single group
• Language that portrays them as a population that existed in historical times only

A second example: When ensuring that students from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods are reflected in content, the team focuses on the characters’ assets (e.g., friendships) and not deficits.

These discussions occur often, both formally and informally, and key points from the discussions are considered in the detailed specifications for a passage, in any feedback provided on the pitch from the content writer, and in the final draft. By keeping inclusion in mind throughout the entire content development process, the Inspect team produces appropriate and inclusive content that represents a wide range of experiences.

Conclusion: The benefits of diverse and inclusive assessment content

The benefits of culturally relevant content in the classroom have long been documented, but its application to assessments is still relatively recent. Fears of biasing one group over another have led many to attempt to remove any instance of culture from assessments. As we discussed in a previous blog, this practice doesn’t remove culture; it only centers mainstream culture.

Research shows that when students connect with the content, they are more engaged, are better able to demonstrate mastery, and experience an increased sense of belonging (Howard, 2001; Renninger, Ewen, & Lasher, 2002). Therefore, it is a matter of educational equity that assessments consider and reflect the lived experiences of all students, not just the largest group (Montenegro & Jankowski, 2017). And both DnA and SchoolCity offer a unique approach to delivering assessments that are both relevant and bias-free.

Across Renaissance, we believe that students deserve to feel that their stories are valued. Our teams have embarked on a multi-year journey to implement systems and best practices for producing content that accurately and appropriately reflects the students and communities we serve. By celebrating diversity and acknowledging our commonalities, the content in Renaissance products seeks to ensure that every student feels seen.

References

Bishop, R. S. (1990). Windows and mirrors: Children’s books and parallel cultures. In California State University reading conference: 14th annual conference proceedings (pp. 3–12).

Howard, T. (2001). Telling their side of the story: African American students’ perceptions of culturally relevant teaching. The Urban Review, 33(2), 131–149.

Montenegro, E., & Jankowski, N. A. (2017). Equity and assessment: Moving towards culturally responsive assessment. (Occasional Paper No. 29). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Renninger, K., Ewen, L., & Lasher, A. (2002). Individual interest as context in expository text and mathematical word problems. Learning and Instruction, 12, 467–491.

Tschida, C. M., Ryan, C. L., & Ticknor, A. S. (2014). Building on windows and mirrors: Encouraging the disruption of “single stories” through children’s literature. Journal of Children’s Literature, 40(1), 28–39.

The post Creating inclusive content for DnA and SchoolCity assessments appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (September 27, 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, has won several nominations in the 2023 Tech Edvocate Awards, including Best Global Edtech Company for the fourth year in a row. This recognition highlights Renaissance’s commitment to excellence and innovation in education technology.

In addition to being named Best Global Edtech Company, Accelerated Reader was named Best Literacy App or Tool, eduCLIMBER was named Best Learning Analytics/Data Mining App or Tool, and Renaissance Professional Development was named Best Professional Development App or Tool.

The Tech Edvocate Awards were established in 2017 to recognize “the best that edtech has to offer by recognizing outstanding companies, people, products, etc.” This is the fifth year in a row that Accelerated Reader has been named Best Literacy App or Tool, and the fourth year in a row that Renaissance has been named Best Global Edtech Company.

“We are truly honored and proud to receive these Tech Edvocate awards,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, Chief Marketing Officer at Renaissance. “As we celebrate this remarkable achievement, we remain dedicated to our mission of accelerating learning for all—and to helping educators to truly See Every Student with our Renaissance instructional ecosystem.”

The Edvocate’s panel of judges consisted of two edtech thought leaders, two pre-K–12 teachers, one college professor, two K–12 administrators, one college administrator, and two pre-K–12 parents. Each nomination was scored on the nominee’s performance in the popular vote, as well as judged on the extent to which they are transforming education through the development and/or advocacy of edtech.

To learn more about Renaissance, please visit www.renaissance.com. To learn more about the 2023 Tech Edvocate Awards, please visit https://www.theedadvocate.org/finalists-and-winners-of-the-2023-tech-edvocate-awards/.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit https://www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries:

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Named Best Global Edtech Company for the Fourth Year in a Row appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (September 13, 2023) –Renaissance, a leader in pre–K–12 education technology, unveils an enhanced interface and upgraded features and metrics within Renaissance Analytics to fuel meaningful transformation during the 2023–24 school year. Renaissance Analytics now allows administrators to glean valuable insights from Star Assessments, Accelerated Reader, Freckle, myON, and Lalilo, providing a holistic perspective on district-wide usage of these products and an even deeper understanding of student progress and engagement.

Offering a comprehensive view of student performance across Renaissance’s suite of products, the new product connections and metrics help building and district administrators to truly see every student.

“As the education landscape evolves and educators seek impactful solutions to support students’ academic recovery and growth, converting data into actionable insights that drive change and advance outcomes for students was key in developing these upgrades,” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance and Nearpod General Manager. “Renaissance Analytics takes raw data and turns it into actionable information that decision-makers can use at different levels to drive change and advance outcomes for their students. By offering insights that span classrooms, buildings, and districts, Renaissance Analytics empowers administrators to make well-informed decisions that positively impact student learning.”

Recent Renaissance Analytics updates include the following:

• Expanded Star Assessments Metrics: Renaissance Analytics brings comprehensive metrics for both Star CBM and computer-adaptive Star Assessments. This allows administrators to closely monitor assessment patterns, ensuring timely screenings and strategic interventions.
• Accelerated Reader Metrics: Interactive metrics in AR give quick views into independent reading practice as well as quiz proficiency across the district. Administrators can then monitor reading comprehension and guide reading growth.
• Freckle Metrics: Enhanced metrics from Freckle offer detailed insights into math and ELA practice. Administrators can effortlessly monitor average minutes practiced, fostering a clearer picture of skill application and areas for growth.
• myON Metrics: Key metrics from myON offer visibility into students’ engagement with digital books. Data on student usage, reading volume, and more empower administrators to encourage and celebrate reading achievements.
• Lalilo Metrics: Administrators can now access key metrics from Lalilo, a program focused on early literacy skills aligned with Science of Reading research. This includes student engagement levels, usage duration, and progress tracking, enabling timely interventions and targeted support.

As part of its commitment to building a connected K–12 ecosystem, Renaissance provides Renaissance Analytics at no cost to Renaissance customers. Renaissance Analytics offers  administrators a holistic view of student performance and engagement across different Renaissance programs, empowering them to tailor interventions and support to meet individual student needs.

To learn more about Renaissance Analytics, click here.

To access the back-to-school resources, visit https://www.renaissance.com/resources/back-to-school/.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit https://www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Analytics Enhances Back-to-School Insights for Student Success  appeared first on Renaissance.

It takes deliberate effort to produce these strong foundations, however. The question then becomes, “How can preschool experiences and services contribute to improved outcomes in elementary school and beyond, and what might be needed to make these contributions even larger?”

In this blog, we’ll explore how the design and delivery of preschool services—and particularly the assessment and data use practices embedded in preschool programs—contribute to short- and long-term benefits for individual children, especially those who might otherwise struggle to meet the academic and behavioral demands of the early elementary grades. We choose to focus on preschool assessment because of its potential to serve a central role in:

• Helping teachers identify those students who might benefit from additional support in early literacy; and
• Systematically and objectively evaluating whether these expanding preschool programs are stepping up to their special opportunity to provide a great start to successful academic careers.

The Science of Reading and preschool expansion

By the end of 2023, at least 34 states will have passed laws that provide some level of funding for voluntary or universal preschool services, primarily for 4-year-old children but increasingly for 3-year-olds as well:

These state laws have both expanded the numbers of children enrolled in formal preschool programs and increased the role of, and alignment with, local school districts in this effort. This expansion occurs as we continue to learn more about the ways in which young children’s development sets the foundation for, and contributes directly to, later learning and achievement (Cabell et al., 2023). Importantly, prior research offers guidance about how to teach and assess these foundational skills (Diamond et al., 2013; Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000).

At the same time, communities across the US are facing concern for academic outcomes—especially in reading—that are persistently low and demonstrate significant disparities across groups. Attention to how reading is taught in US schools has been covered in recent media reports, giving new prominence to understanding the Science of Reading. This idea of a “science” of reading captures the increasing focus by educators, parents, policymakers, and others on research about the most effective reading instruction practices.

The Science of Reading defined

The Reading League—a grass-roots organization founded by parents, educators, and others interested in improving US students’ reading skills—defines the Science of Reading as

A vast, interdisciplinary body of scientifically-based research about reading and issues related to reading and writing….The science of reading has culminated in a preponderance of evidence to inform how proficient reading and writing develop; why some have difficulty; and how we can most effectively assess and teach and, therefore, improve student outcomes through prevention of and intervention for reading difficulties.

The Reading League, 2022

Related advocacy efforts have contributed to legislative action in many states. These new laws call for changes in preservice and in-service training of teachers, changes in approved curricula, and wholesale review and substantial reform in the ways reading instruction is provided (National Center on Improving Literacy, 2023; The Reading League, n.d.)

This body of knowledge also makes clear that nearly all children benefit from direct and systematic, explicit instruction in phonics and other foundational skills in the early elementary grades to support their journey to becoming independent and proficient readers.

Connecting the Science of Reading to preschool

Although the Science of Reading and its implications for teaching practices are generally focused on the elementary grades, research supports understanding how this science is equally important for preschool settings. We are learning more all the time about the characteristics of preschool children’s learning, and the strategies and tactics to support that learning, that in turn lead to reading proficiency. Importantly, research demonstrates that preschool literacy instruction practices that incorporate opportunities for children to learn and practice foundational literacy skills using both planned and incidental instruction are essential (National Institute for Literacy, 2008).

For instance, we have growing evidence that young children’s oral language development—a necessary and important foundation for reading proficiency (Scarborough, 2001)—is a direct product of children’s opportunities and interactions starting early in infancy (e.g., Fernald & Weisleder, 2011; Hart & Risley, 1995, 1999). Similarly, shared book reading provides opportunities for language development, alphabet knowledge, and phonological analysis development that similarly supports later learning to read (Hindman et al., 2014; Lefebvre et al., 2011; Neuman & Kaefer, 2018; Piasta et al., 2020; Stadler & McEvoy, 2003; Ziolkowski & Goldstein, 2008).

We are also learning more about the efficacy of systematic, teacher-led and child-focused classroom activities that support this critical early development (Diamond et al., 2013). In short, evidence-based, developmentally-appropriate preschool instruction is an important component of long-term student reading outcomes.

Preschool assessment and effective MTSS

In recent decades, we also have seen important innovations in service delivery models and the assessment practices that support them across the educational landscape. Although the nature of both preschool education and the students typically enrolled in preschool programs differ from those in the K–12 system, we have seen great adaptations of models often developed for older students that allow for differentiated services.

From early examples of these differentiated services (Coleman et al., 2006) to fully-specified practices for multi-tiered systems of support (Carta, 2019; McConnell, 2019; Hemmeter et al., 2020), early educators have strong guidance for the design, delivery, and evaluation of classroom-based programs. Not incidentally, these developments have coincided with growing value and sophistication in the assessment practices that support these models (Greenwood et al., 2011; Lonigan et al., 2011; McConnell et al., 2014; Moyle et al., 2013; Spencer et al., 2017).

How high-quality preschool assessment improves long-term reading outcomes

We have noted the growing but significant body of knowledge about the ways preschool programs and instruction can increase the odds of later academic success, especially in reading. The recent expansion of public preschool programs that incorporate research-based literacy instruction principles offers an important opportunity to improve all students’ long-term reading outcomes.

But to do this, and to do it well, we need to know who needs our attention and support, and in what areas that support is most likely to help. While teachers often have a “clinical” sense of students in their class, we know that reliance on teacher judgment alone can be inefficient and inaccurate, creating a risk that we will fail to identify and serve those children who most need our early support. It’s for this reason that formal assessment, tailored specifically to the characteristics and demands of preschool children and programs, is so important.

Moreover, researchers and assessment developers have perhaps paid too little attention to the unique demands of high-quality assessment with preschool children (McConnell & Goldstein, 2021; Will et al., 2019). It is not uncommon to hear professionals assert that assessment with preschool children will necessarily be unreliable—presumably because young children are often unpredictable! Certainly, the assessment dynamics for preschool children are different than for older children (e.g., a shorter attention span, and fewer ways they can respond to assessment tasks).

Additionally, some teachers of preschool children may have less experience with, or knowledge about, high-quality assessment practices. In our experience, these are not insurmountable challenges, but are instead the exact issues we need to consider when designing and evaluating assessments for our youngest students.

Characteristics of a high-quality preschool assessment

When considering these factors, what are the characteristics of a high-quality assessment for preschool children? First and foremost, it is essential that these measures demonstrate strong psychometric characteristics:

1. They must be reliable, producing similar information when gathered at slightly different times or by different teachers.
2. They must be valid, or related to both short- and long-term goals that are important for young children.
3. They must be useful, producing information that teachers and parents can easily interpret and, when necessary, use to plan action.

To do this, preschool assessments must take into account several key challenges that arise when working with young children and their teachers:

#1: Brief and engaging

Measures must be brief and engaging, and closely focused on core domains of interest. To keep assessment tasks brief, we have to minimize unnecessary content or activities that are sometimes thought of as making tasks more “fun” (but that also make them longer). Instead, designers have to make the assessment tasks themselves engaging, drawing children’s attention and participation in brief and high-value interactions.

#2: Easy to administer and score

Measures must be easy to administer and score by teachers who sometimes have less assessment experience—and always a shortage of time for training and practice. The early education workforce as a group has training and experience far more varied than their K–12 colleagues. Assessment developers must address this variety by making measures accessible and usable by the full range of preschool staff.

#3: Sensitive to growth

Assessments should reflect the developmental trajectory of young children’s lives by producing single-point measures (say, those collected seasonally throughout a school year) as well as more frequently repeated measures to show growth over time. This sensitivity to and demonstration of growth is both central to our thinking about preschool development, and an essential metric for thinking about all children’s paths toward preschool and elementary school proficiency.

Uses of a high-quality preschool assessment

With these three characteristics in place, a preschool assessment can be used to support great outcomes. These uses include:

1. Seasonal screening, where we briefly sample behavior for every child in a program to check in on their developmental gains over time.
2. Benchmarking of these screening measures, using empirical guidance to identify those children for whom some additional support or intervention may be needed to help achieve future developmental goals.
3. Intervention and instructional planning, where we use screening and benchmarking results to both determine when and for whom to “lean in” and provide differential support in our classroom, and to direct that supplemental effort to areas where it is most needed.
4. Progress monitoring, so that we can track the gains of children receiving supplemental intervention—and can adjust that intervention to make sure it is providing benefit.

How Renaissance supports your efforts with Star Preschool Literacy

As the breadth and quality of preschool programs continues to expand, and as the alignment of these programs with later K–12 educational goals continues to strengthen, more and more high-quality assessment tools will be available for preschool children. Renaissance is deeply committed to this expanding part of our educational system, as demonstrated by our growing array of assessments for preschool children.

As one example, we are excited to introduce Star Preschool Literacy, the first set of measures in a suite of assessments that will expand over the next year or two. Star Preschool Literacy provides screening and progress monitoring for English-speaking children one and two years prior to kindergarten, in key developmental areas that support later reading achievement:

• Oral language
• Phonological awareness
• Alphabet knowledge
• Comprehension

Star Preschool Literacy can be administered seasonally to all children, and it provides empirically derived benchmarks to help identify students for whom some additional support may be needed to make great developmental progress. Star Preschool Literacy can also be used for more frequent progress monitoring, to evaluate the impact of those additional supports so that teachers can adjust instructional practices when needed.

Star Preschool Literacy was systematically designed to gather reliable, meaningful, and useful information in preschool classrooms. The measures are brief, very easy to administer and score, with little prior training needed, and engaging to young learners. Perhaps more important, results are available immediately after the assessment is completed, with no additional data entry steps—allowing teachers to quickly move on to the classroom activities and instruction that truly drive developmental progress.

As mentioned earlier, Star Preschool Literacy is the first of what will be a suite of assessments for preschool children. Future developments will include direct assessment of oral language and early literacy skills for Spanish-speaking children, direct assessment of early numeracy development, and “whole child” teacher ratings. Designed for preschool children and preschool classrooms, these measures will be helpful tools for providing early education experiences that align with, and directly contribute to, later academic and school success.

Developing preschool assessments to support preschool development

Expanded access to preschool offers an opportunity to support more students through intentional and systematic educational programming. Laws, policies, and practices are quickly evolving to embrace these changes, and professionals engaged in this work are quickly expanding their capacity to contribute.

In order to maximize the benefits of preschool programs, high-quality preschool assessments are necessary so that preschool teachers will know what supports their children need. Through ongoing research, we can improve our ability to monitor young children’s growth toward great outcomes, and we can design our programs and instruction to facilitate this growth.

In future Renaissance blogs, we will continue exploring these developments, and we look forward to lifting up the stories of professionals, programs, and communities leading the way. 

References

Cabell, S. Q., Neuman, S. B., & Terry, N. P. (2023). Handbook on the science of early literacy. Guilford.

Carta, J. J. (2019). Introduction to multi-tiered systems of support in early education. In J. J. Carta & R. Miller Young (Eds.), Multi-tiered systems of support for young children: Driving change in early education (pp. 1–14). Brookes Publishing.

Coleman, M. R., Buysse, V., & Neitzel, J. (2006). Recognition and response: An early intervening system for young children at-risk for learning disabilities. Frank Porter Graham Center.

Diamond, K. E., Justice, L. M., Siegler, R. S., & Snyder, P. A. (2013). Synthesis of IES research on early intervention and early childhood education (NCSER 2013-3001). http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/pubs/20133001/pdf/20133001.pdf

Fernald, A., & Weisleder, A. (2011). Early language experience is vital to developing fluency in understanding. In S. B. Neuman & D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 3, pp. 3–19). Guilford.

Greenwood, C. R., Carta, J. J., & McConnell, S. R. (2011). Advances in measurement for universal screening and individual progress monitoring of young children. Journal of Early Intervention, 33(4), 254–267. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815111428467

Hanford, E. (2022). Sold a story: How teaching kids to read went so wrong [podcast]. https://features.apmreports.org/sold-a-story/

Hart, B., & Risley, T. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experiences of young American children. Brookes Publishing.

Hart, B., & Risley, T. (1999). The social world of children learning to talk. Brookes Publishing.

Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M., & Fox, L. (2020). Unpacking the pyramid model: A practical guide for preschool teachers. Brookes Publishing.

Hindman, A. H., Skibbe, L. E., & Foster, T. D. (2014). Exploring the variety of parental talk during shared book reading and its contributions to preschool language and literacy: Evidence from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. Reading and Writing, 27(2), 287–313.

Lefebvre, P., Trudeau, N., & Sutton, A. (2011). Enhancing vocabulary, print awareness and phonological awareness through shared storybook reading with low-income preschoolers. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 11(4), 453–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798411416581

Lonigan, C. J., Allan, N. P., & Lerner, M. D. (2011). Assessment of preschool early literacy skills: Linking children’s educational needs with empirically supported instructional activities. Preschool Assessment and Intervention, 48(5), 488–501.

McConnell, S. R. (2019). The path forward for Multi-tiered Systems of Support in early education. In J. J. Carta & R. Miller (Eds.), Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for young children: A guide to response to intervention in early education (pp. 253–267). Brookes Publishing.

McConnell, S. R., Bradfield, T. A., & Wackerle-Hollman, A. K. (2014). Early childhood literacy screening. In R. J. Kettler, T. A. Glover, C. A. Albers, & K. A. Feeney-Kettler (Eds.), Universal screening in educational settings: Evidence-based decision making for schools. (pp. 141–170). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14316-006

McConnell, S. R., & Goldstein, H. (2021). Measurement built for scale: Designing and using measures of intervention and outcome that facilitate scaling up. In J. A. List, D. L. Suskind, & L. Supplee (Eds.), The scale-up effect in early childhood and public policy (pp. 301–319). Routledge.

Moyle, M. J., Heilmann, J., & Berman, S. S. (2013). Assessment of early developing phonological awareness skills: A comparison of the preschool Individual Growth and Development Indicators and the Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening–PreK. Early Education & Development, 24(5), 668–686. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2012.725620

National Center on Improving Literacy. (2023). Schools and districts. https://improvingliteracy.org/school

National Institute for Literacy. (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the national early literacy panel. https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/NELPReport09.pdf

Neuman, S. B., & Kaefer, T. (2018). Developing low-income children’s vocabulary and content knowledge through a shared book reading program. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 52, 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2017.12.001

Piasta, S. B., Sawyer, B., Justice, L. M., O’Connell, A. A., Jiang, H., Dogucu, M., & Khan, K. S. (2020). Effects of Read It Again! in early childhood special education classrooms as compared to regular shared book reading. Journal of Early Intervention, 42(3), 224–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815119883410

Scarborough, H. S. (2001). Connecting early language and literacy to later reading (dis)abilities: Evidence, theory and practice. In S. B. Neuman & D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (Vol. 1, pp. 97–110). Guilford.

Shonkoff, J. P., & Phillips, D. A. (2000). From neurons to neighborhoods. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/9824

Spencer, T. D., Goldstein, H., Kelley, E. S., Sherman, A., & McCune, L. (2017). A curriculum-based measure of language comprehension for preschoolers: Reliability and validity of the assessment of story comprehension. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 42(4), 209–223.

Stadler, M. A., & McEvoy, M. A. (2003). The effect of text genre on parent use of joint book reading strategies to promote phonological awareness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 18(4), 502–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2003.09.008

The Nation’s Report Card. (2022). NAEP Report Card: 2022 NAEP Reading Assessment: Highlighted results at grades 4 and 8 for the nation, states, and districts. https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/highlights/reading/2022/

The Reading League. (n.d.). What is the science of reading? https://www.thereadingleague.org/what-is-the-science-of-reading/

The Reading League. (2022). Science of reading: Defining Guide. https://www.thereadingleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Science-of-Reading-eBook-2022.pdf

Will, K. K., McConnell, S. R., Elmquist, M., Lease, E. M., & Wackerle-Hollman, A. (2019). Meeting in the middle: Future directions for researchers to support educators’ assessment literacy and data-based decision making. Frontiers in Education, 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00106

Ziolkowski, R. A., & Goldstein, H. (2008). Effects of an embedded phonological awareness intervention during repeated book reading on preschool children with language delays. Journal of Early Intervention, 31(1), 67–90. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815108324808

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What is Renaissance National Honor Roll?

Renaissance National Honor Roll recognizes teachers, librarians, and school administrators across the nation utilizing Renaissance solutions to their fullest and, in turn, seeing measurable student growth.

From September to March, five best practice learning series are published in the Renaissance Educator Network (formerly Renaissance Royals). We’re excited to announce that we’ve added a new learning series for Lalilo for the 2023–2024 school year! The learning series are designed to help empower your teaching and improve your implementations of Accelerated Reader, Freckle for math, Lalilo, myON, and Star Assessments. Each series contains 7 activities, which are like bite-sized chunks of professional learning. You’re encouraged to start early in the school year to get the most benefit. Completing each activity gives access to the next as it becomes available the following month.

Participating in Honor Roll also provides a natural environment to engage in collaboration with fellow educators via the Renaissance Educator Network, a community designed just for you. Educators using Renaissance solutions can join the Renaissance Educator Network to discuss teaching strategies and experience different activities. It’s free and a great resource.

How do educators participate in Honor Roll?

1. Log in to your Renaissance Educator Network account and click on the Honor Roll channel. (Not a member? Click here to join!)
2. Complete the monthly Honor Roll activities throughout the school year and submit your data to demonstrate you’ve followed the prescribed best practices.
3. Be recognized! You’ll receive an achievement kit that includes customizable digital student certificates, a classroom pennant, or a school banner.

More than 300 educators participated in Honor Roll and were recognized during the 2022–2023 school year. While everyone participates in Honor Roll for different reasons, these educators agree that having the strategies to effectively use their Renaissance products benefits everyone, especially their students.

Educators comment on Honor Roll

Participating in the Accelerated Reader National Honor Roll allows me to learn about reports that I may not have been familiar with using. The monthly challenges allow you to explore the program and learn ways to use the program to the fullest extent possible.

Marianne Gaskins, Librarian, South Carolina

I would recommend Renaissance National Honor Roll to any teachers who use Renaissance products with their students. It provides the opportunity to learn about the new Renaissance resources available to schools and teachers. I especially enjoy being able to communicate with fellow educators and share ideas about how we implement the different programs and resources in our classrooms.

Kristie Spivey, 2nd Grade Teacher, North Carolina

If you have never participated in the National Honor Roll, I would recommend that you do. You get to know what is available to you and learn about how others have used the products in their classroom. The resources are great and help you to learn how to manage your students’ learning.

Leticia Quintero, 8th Grade ELA Teacher, Texas 

Honor Roll starts on September 15, so head over to the Renaissance Educator Network and get started! 

The post How to be a Renaissance National Honor Roll Educator appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (August 9, 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, has released new back-to-school resources and product updates to support educators in personalizing instruction to address pandemic learning loss during the new school year. This includes a new interactive webpage for educators to increase their access to critical How Kids Are Performing data. The page allows educators to review and compare their students’ academic performance and growth data by subject and grade level to national averages. Additionally, the page provides valuable resources—such as Renaissance’s Focus Skills and an MTSS Toolkit—to accelerate student learning.

Recent reports of academic recovery have made it clear that it is more important than ever that educators have access to student performance data to help them understand the areas of greatest need. Renaissance’s new interactive site ensures educators can review historical academic performance and growth when needed and leverage the latest How Kids Are Performing data as a reference point throughout the 2023–2024 school year. In addition to viewing the all-new data, educators can now easily compare Star Unified Scaled Scores and Star Student Growth Percentiles in early literacy, reading, and math from fall 2017 through spring 2023.

“In many areas, we are seeing a rebound in students’ scores—not back to pre-pandemic performance levels, but rising slowly,” said Dr. Gene Kerns, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer at Renaissance. “Generally speaking, students are back to achieving very typical levels of growth, but typical growth will not erase the changes in academic performance that pandemic-related disruptions brought. Recovery to pre-pandemic levels of academic performance is proving to be more of a marathon than a sprint, making it essential to keep students engaged and growing in the year ahead.”

Going forward, How Kids Are Performing data will live on this interactive webpage, and the data points will be updated after each fall, winter, and spring screening window closes in Star Assessments.

In addition to launching the How Kids Are Performing webpage, Renaissance recently released new resources and product features reflecting Renaissance’s commitment to providing a powerful instructional ecosystem that supports personalized teaching and learning. This includes an all-new Back-to-School resources page with product-specific setup steps, checklists, rostering information, professional learning, and more to help educators prepare for the new year. The page also provides access to new Student and Family Engagement Kits for Accelerated Reader, Freckle, Lalilo, and myON to help educators make the most of their Renaissance solutions this year.

Along with these resources, educators have access to a number of great new features in their Renaissance solutions this school year, including:

• Product connections to make educators’ work easier, including new and enhanced reporting in Renaissance Analytics
• New assessment functionalities to provide deeper insights, such as a new item bank in DnA and additional measures in Star CBM Reading
• New content offerings and options in Renaissance practice tools, including a Guided Practice module in Freckle for math
• Expanded instructional resources to help address gaps in student learning through the Star-Nearpod connection

To view the latest How Kids Are Performing data and the interactive webpage, please visit https://www.renaissance.com/resources/how-kids-are-performing/

To access the back-to-school resources, please visit https://www.renaissance.com/resources/back-to-school/

Contact for Media Inquiries

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Unveils New Back-to-School Resources to Help Educators Personalize Teaching and Address Learning Gaps this School Year appeared first on Renaissance.

To accomplish this, we provide an ecosystem of interconnected solutions to give educators a clear view of students’ strengths and needs from pre-K through grade 12. This includes:

• Accurate Assessment, to measure student learning and growth
• Engaging Practice & Instruction, to ensure students build the skills they need for success
• Actionable Insights, to improve learning outcomes and inform decision making

We recently had the opportunity to discuss the Renaissance Ecosystem with Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance and General Manager of Nearpod. Highlights from our conversation appear below.

What is the Renaissance Ecosystem? When did the ecosystem launch?

Todd Brekhus: The Renaissance Ecosystem has a long history, dating back to the mid-1990s. At that time, schools had been using Accelerated Reader for nearly a decade, and we had reading data for millions of students. We asked ourselves how we could use this data to help educators better understand where their students are now, where they’re likely to be by the year’s end, and the next best steps to take to improve outcomes for every learner.

This led to the development of ATOS, an easy-to-understand scale for identifying a text’s complexity, and Star Reading, an extremely efficient and reliable assessment of students’ reading comprehension. This was, in a sense, the first iteration of the Renaissance Ecosystem, which integrated assessment and practice data to support instructional planning, streamline goal setting, and show educators whether students were on track for success.

This was helpful information for educators to have. It became vital when No Child Left Behind became law in the early 2000s. We realized that we could use interim assessment data from Star to predict how students were likely to perform on state accountability assessments. This use of algorithms to forecast state test performance empowered educators to intervene early to support students who were struggling. In fact, adequate yearly progress in Star became one of the most popular and effective ways to predict and measure student growth and learning outcomes—in both literacy and math.

Of course, the Renaissance Ecosystem continued to expand over the years in response to educators’ and students’ needs. The addition of myON, for example, provided students with instant access to thousands of digital books and news articles, along with embedded reading and writing tools. This brought an important new experience into the ecosystem—digital reading—as well as powerful new insights for educators on students’ reading habits and engagement.

myON also brought millions of additional data points into the ecosystem, helping us to further refine our understanding of how students learn and grow within and across school years. This enables us to make even smarter recommendations for differentiating instruction and practice, so educators can more easily target the skills that are most essential for students’ progress and better engage every learner.

This is very much the model we’ve followed as we’ve further expanded the ecosystem to include Freckle, Lalilo, Nearpod, FastBridge, and more. Each addition not only brings rich new content and experiences for students and teachers, but also a wealth of data to further enhance our understanding of how students learn best.

Why do we use the term “Renaissance Ecosystem?” What specifically does this term bring?

Todd Brekhus: “Ecosystem” is a widely used term in the software industry, describing programs that are used together and evolve together in the same environment. It’s also a term that’s familiar to educators—whether they’ve taught middle school science or not. It’s an apt metaphor, because in an ecosystem, each plant or animal has its unique place but is also connected to and interacts with all of the others over its lifecycle.

The same is true of our Renaissance Ecosystem. For example, Accelerated Reader and myON are better when they’re used together, allowing students to seamlessly move from reading a book to taking the associated AR quiz and seeing their progress toward their goals. But it never occurred to us to “merge” AR into myON, or vice versa. Each offers a unique student experience, and each has its own place in the ecosystem.

At the same time, AR and myON connect to each other (and to Star Assessments), and this interconnectedness is critical. In the early 2000s, we were one of the first edtech providers to move from the old client-server software model to a web-based model. This allowed for a lot of innovation, but we were still reliant on physical data centers, and a lot of manual work was necessary, for example, when districts asked us to share their Star data with their state DOE.

Over the last seven years, we’ve moved to the cloud, which gives us much greater scalability and eliminates those data siloes. This allows us to quickly bring additional tools and resources into the ecosystem and to connect them with the tools and resources that educators are already using. It also allows us—through Renaissance Analytics—to give building and district administrators powerful insights into student performance and growth, with the ability to easily disaggregate and drill into data in ways they never have before.

We chose the word “ecosystem” to highlight all of these points. You’ll sometimes hear the term “tree of life” used for a biological ecosystem—a number of unique experiences coming together to create a single, interconnected system. Renaissance provides something similar, where a number of unique learning experiences—reading a digital book in myON, taking an Accelerated Reader quiz, mastering a math objective in Freckle, completing an interactive lesson in Nearpod—all point back to one place, giving educators a more complete picture of every student.

What makes the Renaissance Ecosystem unique? How does the ecosystem benefit teachers and students?

Todd Brekhus: It’s important to understand the difference between personalized learning—a term we hear a lot—and personalized teaching and learning.

Other edtech vendors’ ecosystems usually start with a diagnostic test, which is used to place students onto a prescribed learning pathway. So, you end up with classrooms where every student is doing their own thing, following their own pathway, which may or may not connect to what the teacher is doing. This is often called “personalized learning,” but it isn’t, really. It’s a lot closer to the experience many of us have probably had of completing an online tutorial, where you’re constantly clicking the “Next” button to advance to the next screen, and you’re presented with a quiz at the end to see what you’ve retained.

Needless to say, education is not about clicking the “Next” button all day—a point that was really driven home during the COVID-19 pandemic. With school buildings closed, many students were stuck on their screens, trying to self-learn with minimal guidance, little interaction with peers, and no real awareness of where they were going. This is not 21st-century learning and is not an effective use of technology.

Our approach at Renaissance is the opposite one. We provide in-the-moment insights and access to a wide array of learning resources so that teachers can easily adapt and tailor instruction to their students’ needs—without spending hours on planning or having to manually reconcile data from multiple sources. Let me give you an example:

When we brought Freckle into the Renaissance Ecosystem, our first step was to map all of Freckle’s math objectives, activities, and resources onto our math learning progression. Our learning progressions are our ecosystem’s “backbone,” showing the progression of skills from pre-K through high school and aligned with every state’s standards of learning. Each program within the ecosystem is tightly mapped to our learning progressions, so that every activity a student completes points back to the same place, as I mentioned earlier.

This means that once students complete a Star Math assessment, teachers can easily see each student’s current location on the learning progression. They can then go into Freckle and easily find resources for the particular skill that each student, small group, or class is ready to learn, and they can assign that skill with a single click for targeted practice.

Freckle also offers adaptive pathways, so students can work at their own level and at their own pace. It’s this flexibility—the option of providing both targeted and adaptive practice to students at the same time—that sets our ecosystem apart and shows how we keep the teacher (not the algorithm) at the center of the classroom. And with each type of practice, students are doing much more than clicking “Next.” Freckle includes embedded supports, colorful graphics, real-world activities, and some really fun challenges to keep students engaged and to encourage peer interaction as they apply and build on what they’re learning.

Why is Nearpod such an important part of the Renaissance Ecosystem? How does Nearpod support differentiated instruction?

Todd Brekhus: What Nearpod brings is really magical, in terms of sparking students’ curiosity. If you watch an engaged Nearpod classroom, you’ll see a wide variety of learning activities. For example, one group of students may be working on a simulation, where they’re applying a math concept that they learned recently. Another group may be rewatching a video, gathering evidence to support an argument. A third group may be working on a science project exploring the environmental impact of something, or looking at causes and effects, or comparing two scientific theories.

In each case, you’ll see students collaborating with each other and with their teacher—asking questions, sharing ideas, weighing evidence, and making connections. This is the richness of real instruction delivered by a real teacher, using Nearpod’s formative data and huge library of resources to engage students, to get them talking with their peers, and to help them to think critically. This is 21st-century learning, and it’s the opposite of the “sit and get” model I described earlier.

To make this process even easier, we’ve created a Star-to-Nearpod connection. As teachers review their Star data, they’re able to access aligned instructional resources in Nearpod with the click of a button. Assigning the right resources to individual students, small groups, or a whole class is an equally seamless process. If you’re using Star Assessments, you have access to this feature now, regardless of whether you’ve used Nearpod before. We’re currently working on a FastBridge-to-Nearpod connection, which will support differentiation in a very similar way.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention Flocabulary here. Flocabulary complements Nearpod by using music and beats and memory to help students learn the fundamentals. Yes, we all have access to Google, but there are some things that students just need to know in order to evaluate an argument, solve a problem, or understand a concept. And Flocabulary is really effective at helping students to learn vocabulary, language arts skills, math facts, science, and more. Mastering the fundamentals opens up so many learning opportunities, as students become curious about a topic and want to go deeper.

Clearly, I could talk about Nearpod for hours, and I can’t emphasize enough how it’s helping educators to deliver engaging, collaborative, and pedagogically sound instruction. I’m especially proud of the recently released Nearpod Math program, which provides so many additional tools and resources, and truly represents our approach to personalized teaching and learning.

How are educators responding to the Renaissance Ecosystem? What are we planning for the future?

Todd Brekhus: The most common response is, “Wow—you’re clearly going in a different direction than the other edtech providers.” Decades of research have confirmed the massive importance that having access to a high quality teacher has on students’ success. And educators recognize that our ecosystem isn’t built on the outdated “drill and kill” approach but rather on amplifying what good teachers are already doing—and giving them insights, resources, and tools to be even more effective, spark even greater student curiosity, and really improve learning outcomes for all.

Educators also appreciate the fact that the Renaissance Ecosystem is open. Our eduCLIMBER platform, for example, offers more than 200 connections to enable districts to review data on attendance, academics, social-emotional behavior (SEB), interventions, and more to get really powerful, whole child insights to drive decision making. Similarly, the Nearpod library includes lessons and resources not only from Renaissance but from a wide variety of publishers and curriculum providers to support effective differentiation.

As a company, we’ve always believed that students learn better when we all work together, and this is something that educators understand and respond to.

In terms of future direction, we’re excited to launch what we’re tentatively calling our Teacher Journey. Just as Renaissance Analytics gives administrators powerful district- and school-level insights, the Teacher Journey will show teachers how their students are doing right now, using data from across the ecosystem. In some cases, students may be struggling and may require remediation, and teachers will have instant access to lessons and resources to help. In other cases, students will be ready for more of a challenge to promote deeper learning—and teachers will have access to resources for these learners as well.

Providing teachers with insights in the moment to help them match each student with the right supports at the right time for success. This is probably the best one-sentence description of the Renaissance Ecosystem I can provide, and it perfectly captures how, as an organization, we live our mission of accelerating learning for all.

The post How the Renaissance Ecosystem drives differentiated instruction appeared first on Renaissance.

Georgia approved Star CBM Reading and Star Early Literacy for grades K–3, as well as FastBridge, for dyslexia screening. These Renaissance products can be used to cover all Georgia educators’ screening and dyslexia needs for essential early reading skills. 

“We’re pleased to support the teachers and students of Georgia with valid and reliable assessments for measuring and monitoring literacy skills proficiency, and identifying students at risk for characteristics of dyslexia,” said Darice Keating, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Renaissance. “Renaissance assessments will help teachers to identify students who may be at risk for developing reading difficulties and are in need of additional instruction and intervention.”

Star Assessments and FastBridge are already used by many Georgia districts for universal screening, and Star CBM Reading allows educators to accurately assess students’ development for targeted instruction and intervention.

For more information about the recent GDOE approval, visit https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Pages/Dyslexia.aspx

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Georgia Department of Education Approves Star CBM Reading, Star Early Literacy, and FastBridge as Dyslexia Screeners appeared first on Renaissance.

In fact, a recent District Administration article quoted Dr. Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees NAEP, remarking that “the ‘green shoots’ of academic recovery that we had hoped to see have not materialized, as we continue to see worrisome signs about student achievement and well-being more than two years after most students returned for in-person learning.”

To be sure, there are some new and alarming findings in the NAEP data, such as dropping attendance rates, decreases in the time students spend reading, and decreased enrollment in algebra. There are also some findings that have been consistently documented since the pandemic began: scores are down at all grade levels, math has been more affected than reading, and some student groups have been disproportionately affected.

After all this time, however, it’s becoming almost impossible to distinguish one report on unfinished learning from another. While addressing the needs students currently have requires that we keep our sense of urgency high, what many of us are also longing for are fresh insights and a narrowing of our focus.

Acknowledging that we can’t solve everything at once, where do we focus our attention for the greatest impact? In this blog, I’ll offer several suggestions based on an analysis of both NAEP and other recent assessment data.

Using NAEP data to put “learning loss” in perspective

It’s a good day when I read something that provides me with an insight, but it’s a great one when I read something that provides me with an epiphany. Those don’t come along often, but when they do, they cause us to completely reorganize the way we interpret the world. We just can’t look at things the same way again. Such was the case when I read a 2020 Education Week article on learning loss written by formative assessment expert Dylan Wiliam.

While “learning loss”—or “unfinished learning,” or whatever term you prefer for whatever the academic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic were—remains a hot topic, Wiliam cautions that “it is also important to put whatever learning loss there has been in perspective” (my emphasis). And the perspective he suggests is not solely focused on the direct impacts of the pandemic but considers learning loss in relation to the achievement gaps that already existed. When we do that, we find that we may have been focusing too closely on the wrong things. In other words, we have an epiphany.

Writing in the back-to-school season of 2020–2021, Wiliam began with 2019 NAEP data for math and then “extrapolate[ed] beyond the grades tested by NAEP using nationally normed standardized tests” to suggest the range of performance in “a nationally representative 4th grade class of 25 students.” His analysis suggested that, in such a classroom, “there were five students whose math achievement was no higher than the average 1st grader, and two students whose achievement would match that of the average 9th grader.” In other words, “in a nationally representative class of 4th graders, there [was] at least an eight-year spread of achievement” prior to the pandemic.

Wiliam added that “even if we assume that students learned nothing after schools began closing down in March [of 2020], it means that rather than an eight-year spread of achievement, a returning 5th grade class [in the fall of 2020] would have [had] an eight-and-a-half year range of achievement” after the pandemic hit. The headlines focused solely on this half-year increase rather than the existing 8-year spread.

That seemed a bit off to Wiliam. It seemed to lack perspective.

Comparing pandemic “learning loss” to existing achievement gaps

Wiliam was not alone in making such a claim. Several months earlier, Will Lorié with the National Center for Assessment asserted that previously existing performance gaps “are greater than any differential ‘learning losses’ we will find between relatively advantaged and disadvantaged groups due to spring 2020 school disruptions.”

Heather Hill and Susanna Loeb made a similar point in a May 2020 Education Week article, stating that “even if the loss is on the larger side—say, the equivalent of three months—this change is small compared with typical existing learning differences among students as they enter a new grade.”

Now, a time stamp is critically important when we consider these authors’ statements. They were writing in the first several months of the pandemic—between May and August of 2020.

Think back to that time period. At that point, we were still a bit naïve about how things were going to unfold. We were just beginning the 2020–2021 school year with hopes that it might be rather normal, but our hopes were soon dashed. Continued COVID-19 outbreaks and variants created a dynamic where the school year, at best, involved shifting instructional delivery models for many students, and a full year of remote learning for others.

Disruptions to schooling occurred widely across that school year and well into the next one (2021–2022) as well. Given that disruptions went on for far longer than these authors might have accounted for, does their assertion that pandemic-related learning impacts would be relatively small when compared to previously existing achievement gaps still hold true?

It’s time that we revisit this.

Considering NAEP data alongside Renaissance Star Assessments data

Since the fall of 2020, Renaissance has been publishing our How Kids Are Performing report series. Soon, we will transition from static reports to an interactive website that presents overall metrics on both performance and growth in reading and math that are updated seasonally and draw from our widely used Star Assessments.

Though it began as a way to study pandemic-related impacts—particularly before summative systems such as NAEP went back online—How Kids Are Performing will now continue as a high-level barometer of student performance and growth.

While Star Assessments data from the 2022–2023 school year is still being analyzed, we can already shed some light on whether the ideas advanced by authors in 2020 about the relationship between pandemic-related impacts and existing achievement gaps still hold true.

Let’s use grade 4 math as an example, to match Wiliam’s analysis. Using 2019 NAEP data, he estimated that a previously existing achievement gap of roughly 8 years might have been widened by an additional half a year. How does this compare to our How Kids Are Performing data?

In the fall of 2019, the mean scale score (SS) on Star Math for over one million grade 4 students nationally was 973, with a standard deviation (SD) of 60. By the fall of 2022, the mean SS was 964, with an SD of 67. These shifts indicate both lower performance and a wider range of scores.

We then used the mean and SD to determine the range of scale scores representing plus or minus 2 SD, which would then reflect the performance of 95% of the population. When those SS are converted to Grade-level Equivalent (GE) scores, that results in a GE range of 2.0–7.7 (a 5.7-year range) for 2019–2020, and of 1.6–8.0 (a 6.4-year range) in 2022–2023.

In other words, between 2019–2020 and 2022–2023, the range of performance in a typical grade 4 classroom widened by 0.7 GE, or 7 months. So, things seem to closely mirror what Wiliam projected, with a bit larger increase in the range than he anticipated.

Understanding achievement gaps in reading and math

While we’ve used grade 4 math as our example here, these same dynamics played out across all grade levels and both subject areas. (The only exception is that kindergarten students in 2022–2023 started out at exactly the same level of performance in reading as students in 2019–2020.) The summation of our analyses is presented in the following graphs, where red represents the achievement gap (range of performance) prior to the pandemic at each grade level, and black represents the pandemic-related increases:

As is often the case, we began exploring one thing—how much the gap had widened due to the pandemic—and found something we had not expected. It’s quite interesting to observe the differing ways the overall achievement gap widens between reading and math:

• For reading, the increase in the gap is fairly steady. In kindergarten, it begins with an achievement gap of about 2.6 years, and that gap steadily widens until it plateaus in the middle grades.
• For math, things begin similarly, with a gap of 2.7 years in kindergarten. However, things change radically between grades 3 and 5, when the gap mushrooms from 4.1 years to 10 years. In short, math realities shift quickly and dramatically for many students across a relatively short period of time—and this was already the case before the pandemic.

Additionally, while full details will be available when the new How Kids Are Performing website launches in late July, I would offer that we are seeing some of “the ‘green shoots’ of academic recovery” that are not reflected in the latest NAEP data. Here, I’m defining a “green shoot” as something that is no longer in decline and, though not back, is at least headed toward pre-pandemic levels.

Examining math and reading performance from kindergarten through grade 8, we see four instances of continued decline. At many grade levels, student performance in 2022–2023 is directly comparable to performance in 2021–2022, suggesting no further decline. In eight instances, we are actually seeing a rebound in scores—not back to pre-pandemic performance levels, but still rising.

How to address achievement gaps in the year ahead

So, what are the takeaways as educators prepare for the new school year? First of all, I hope we now have the insight that the pandemic-related disruptions to learning are substantial, but also that they are dwarfed when compared with pre-existing performance gaps. Then, we also need to acknowledge that math performance gaps increase substantially in grades 3–5—an area that deserves especially close attention in the year ahead.

Of course, conversations about achievement gaps are not new. As Lorié observed, “Since the 1960s, schools have been called to close inter-group gaps.” This is a helpful reminder that if we merely take traditional approaches, we likely won’t have much hope to substantively achieve recovery. That approach harkens to the familiar definition of insanity—doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

But several significant changes in our practice are occurring that hold significant promise in the new school year:

#1: Science of Reading

Chief among these changes is the widespread embrace of the Science of Reading. Over a relatively short period of time, massive changes have occurred in relation to reading curricula and instruction. The state of Mississippi, for example, has experienced significant increases in reading performance. Given that Mississippi led the way with the Science of Reading, we have reason to hope that other states will experience such increases as they also embrace reading science.

While many providers offer curricular materials and professional development aligned to the Science of Reading, few can match the assessment capabilities offered by Star Phonics. This powerful skills screener focuses intensely on early grade phonics skills and provides student-by-student and skill-by-skill feedback so that teachers can ensure the critically necessary foundation of phonics is unquestionably put in place.

Lalilo, another relatively new tool in the Renaissance family, also supports the Science of Reading by providing both adaptive and targeted practice opportunities for students across the skills areas specifically called out by the National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. For students, this takes the form of an adventure game with worlds to explore and tokens to earn, but as students “play” Lalilo, their teachers receive valuable feedback on the skills they are working to master.

#2: Accelerated Learning

Second, our pedagogical approach when students are behind is shifting from one of remediation to one of Accelerated Learning. Initial research on this shift has found that “students who experienced learning acceleration struggled less and learned more than students who started at the same level but experienced remediation instead.”

Given the two essential questions one must answer to operationalize Accelerated Learning—“Which grade-level skills are most essential?” and “What are the necessary prerequisites to those skills?”—there is hardly a better source to support the approach than Renaissance’s Focus Skill Resource Center. This free website allows users to see the most essential skills for progress in reading and math tailored to the standards of each state, helping to prioritize instruction.

Educators using our Star Assessments will also find Focus Skills flagged on instructional planning reports. Those who are using our Freckle program have the added ability to assign ELA and math practice that aligns with essential Focus Skills.

#3: More effective MTSS

Of course, all of this work should be undertaken through a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework, which has been taking root in school processes for the last 15 years or more. While FastBridge and Star Assessments are widely used in this space and are highly rated for both screening and progress monitoring, more districts are now expanding their analytics capabilities by adding eduCLIMBER.

eduCLIMBER is an MTSS collaboration and management platform that provides data integration, warehousing, and visualization capabilities. Designed by a school psychologist, it includes practical features designed to tame the paperwork, forms, and reporting required within the MTSS process.

Also, as part of the MTSS, considerations of social-emotional behavior elements are on the rise. We are excited to announce that new social-emotional assessment capabilities will be added to our Star 360 suite this fall. Star 360 subscribers should look for additional information as we approach the back-to-school season.

Connected solutions to move learning forward

The reframing of unfinished learning to not only focus on the short-term changes but to also consider the larger perspective of performance gaps is not intended to belittle the problem. Clearly, the pandemic-related disruptions made a bad situation worse. As Wiliam notes, “This does, of course, present teachers with huge challenges, but these are challenges that teachers have been dealing with for years.”

Fortunately, as we work to move forward and once again take on the challenge of raising performance and narrowing gaps, we do so with both new clarity and new tools.

If you’d like to learn more about Star Phonics, Lalilo, eduCLIMBER, or other solutions from Renaissance to support learning recovery, please reach out.

The post In perspective: The new NAEP data and student achievement gaps appeared first on Renaissance.

OXNARD, CA. (June 9, 2023) – Oxnard School District, which serves more than 15,000 students in TK–grade 8, and Renaissance, a leading provider of education technology, are pleased to announce the release of six new books in the Mixteco language. The new books, which include natural-voice audio narration by native Mixteco speakers to model fluent reading, are available to Oxnard students through myON, a popular digital reading and literacy platform from Renaissance.

Mixteco is an indigenous language predominantly from Oaxaca, Mexico, with a strong presence in California—particularly in Ventura County. With 65 variants of the Mixteco language, the variant heard in these books originates in the southern region of Oaxaca, specifically the San Martín Peras community. Long recognized for its commitment to dual-language education and biliteracy, Oxnard School District sees the addition of books in Mixteco as key to its mission of serving all students and families in the community—and to honoring all the language assets that students bring to the classroom.

The idea for the project dates to a Family Reading Night event hosted by the district’s education services team, led by Dr. Anabolena DeGenna. During the event, Mixteco-speaking district staff were brought in for the first time to provide oral translations of myON books into Mixteco. This soon flourished into a formal initiative to translate 25 myON titles into Mixteco by next fall, and to make them accessible to all students in the district. The first six titles chosen are directed toward early readers to involve families in the experience of reading with their children and supporting their learning to read in a native language.

“Oxnard has the second-largest population of Mixteco-speaking families in the world, and we take great pride in valuing and honoring these families’ unique heritage,” said Dr. Karling Aguilera-Fort, Oxnard School District’s superintendent. “We are thrilled to announce the launch of these digital books. Mixteco-speaking families will now have the opportunity to read and listen to stories in their own language, allowing us to celebrate and preserve their rich culture.”

“We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Renaissance for partnering with us and making these valuable resources available,” he added. “Together, we are fostering inclusivity, diversity, and a deep appreciation for the languages and cultures that make our community thrive. It is through initiatives like this that we can truly make a difference.”

In addition to serving as the district’s superintendent, Dr. Aguilera-Fort is also an officer of the California Association for Bilingual Education, or CABE. The CABE leadership has been highly supportive of this initiative, which aligns with the organization’s mission of supporting biliteracy, multicultural competency, and educational equity for all California students.

As part of the district’s partnership with Renaissance, district staff and Oxnard community members selected the 25 myON titles to be translated into Mixteco. The district’s own translators then undertook the translations and recorded the audio narration in order to ensure that the books reflect the nuances of the Mixteco language as it’s spoken in Ventura County. In addition to listening to the audio narration, students can also use myON to record themselves reading the Mixteco books aloud, to support the development of reading fluency in a native language.

“Renaissance understands that schools can be the hub of their community culture,” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance and Nearpod General Manager. “We are delighted to support Oxnard with this joint project that provides myON titles in Mixteco to support students and the community. Language preservation and promoting bilingualism are core to our values of accelerating learning for all.”

“After months of hard work, we are excited to see this project blossom within the Oxnard community,” said Amy Callahan, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Renaissance. “Renaissance is proud to be a part of creating a space for belonging and inclusion within the district, helping educators see every student.”

About Oxnard School District

In Oxnard School District, we nurture self-confident and empowered multilingual global citizens, strong in their multiple identities and potential, who achieve inspired levels of individual, community, and social accomplishment in school and beyond in their endeavors. For more information, visit https://www.oxnardsd.org/Page/9

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit https://www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only

Ginger Shea
Oxnard School District
(805) 385-1501, ext. 2324
gshea@oxnardsd.org

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post New Digital Books in Indigenous Mixteco Language Support Biliteracy in Oxnard School District appeared first on Renaissance.

Attempting to juxtapose acquisition data and proficiency data can lead educators astray, overlooking the most effective intervention for a particular student.

In this blog, I’ll explore students’ complete educational journey through the lens of acquisition and proficiency data. I’ll also explain how discerning educators can harness both sets of insights to identify the best intervention for a particular student.

What is the difference between acquisition vs. proficiency data?

Learning anything new involves a continuum of activities that includes:

1. Acquisition
2. Fluency
3. Generalization
4. Adaptation

Acquisition of new knowledge or skills is an educator-led process of organizing information and activities and then facilitating student engagement for the purpose of learning. In other words, acquisition is the introductory stage of learning, where the teacher’s expertise allows modeling for the student.

The second stage, fluency, is when the student practices in order to reach mastery.

Proficiency, however, requires two additional instructional stages—generalization and adaptation—that are often student-led. These stages involve using learning in new settings and contexts and document the student’s ability to apply learning to specific situations. 

Learning requires enough time engaged in each stage of the hierarchy for the student to become the expert.

Why are both acquisition and proficiency data important?

Acquisition and proficiency data are both used by schools to measure a student’s performance. Multiple data points are key to:

• Understanding the whole child
• Tracking skill progress
• Predicting future performance

Acquisition and proficiency data are important because each provides insight into students’ current level of competency and serves as a predictor of how students will perform in a variety of subjects in the future.

Assessing the student by acknowledging the bigger picture, as well as the individual parts that contribute to the learning curve, allows educators who use a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to best determine what will be the most effective intervention.

Using acquisition data for student intervention

From the moment a student first encounters a learning objective, acquisition of that skill begins. Thus, data should track the student’s progress as they move through deliberate skills practice to reach proficiency.

Acquisition data typically include information about the student’s accuracy and automaticity with the target skill. Acquisition data are individualized and based on the student’s unique ability to acquire the knowledge or skill and will also indicate where the student may be struggling.

Gathering acquisition data

Information regarding a student’s level of knowledge and skill acquisition can be determined by more than just nominal data. Acquisition data can be gathered for many different subjects and will reflect the accuracy of the student in the particular skill being tested.

For example: For students who score low on a classroom or state reading assessment, a curriculum-based measure (CBM) can be administered to assess the rate at which the student reads, as well as how accurate the student is when reading.

Importance of acquisition data

Key indicators in acquisition data can inform the educator if a student needs support in acquiring a new skill. The choice of which type of intervention and tier to use is usually based on how far behind the student is, and the resources necessary to help the student catch up.

Students who are near a grade-level goal can often be supported in Tier 1. Those who are farther behind will likely need the combination of Tier 1 and Tier 2 or 3. Importantly, Tier 1 core instruction must be the foundation for all students, with Tiers 2 or 3 added for those whose data indicate larger and more significant deficits.

Acquisition data can help educators identify what type of intervention and level of intensity is needed to support a student.

How are acquisition data used?

Each student has different needs, and some will need more one-on-one instruction than others. When a student’s acquisition data reflects low performance with many errors, that insight helps the educator to understand which intervention might best meet the student’s needs.

Determining if an acquisition intervention is necessary ensures the educator can quickly and easily understand the student’s needs and respond appropriately with extended instruction.

Let’s return to our example of acquisition data obtained from a CBM reading assessment. We might ask ourselves: Does the student’s acquisition data reflect slow reading with many errors? A slow reading rate coupled with low accuracy scores indicates the student has not yet acquired the target skills. Therefore, an acquisition intervention will be the most effective for that student.

When selecting an acquisition intervention, it is important to determine whether the focus needs to be on accuracy or automaticity. Importantly, accuracy must always come before automaticity. A student needs to be 95% accurate with the target skill before moving on to improving automaticity.

Once a student reaches 95% or better accuracy, an automaticity intervention is best. There are many progress measures and norms that educators can use to monitor students’ accuracy and automaticity to reach acquisition.

Using proficiency data for student intervention

Proficiency data reflect the student’s current level of skill or mastery in a subject. For example, proficiency can be identified by comparing a student’s current reading level to grade-level expectations. Proficiency data will influence the educator’s assessment of the student’s competency level, as well as the tier and type of intervention most likely to improve student outcomes.

Gathering proficiency data

Proficiency data are typically composed of student scores from a range of tasks representing grade-level skills. Computer-adaptive tests (CATs) are widely used proficiency assessments because they adapt the items each student completes in relation to their performance on prior items. In this way, CAT scores reflect the student’s current skills and level of proficiency.

Proficiency data can be gathered through a variety of assessments in different subjects where application of basic skills can be measured, including:

• Math
• Reading
• Language
• And more

Importance of proficiency data

Proficiency data are important because they can inform:

• Instruction
• Assessment
• Intervention

Proficiency data provide a deeper look into the student’s comprehension of the curriculum because they measure:

1. If the student can grasp the skill; and
2. The student’s level of command of the skill

How are proficiency data used?

Proficiency data are used to determine if the student can apply the learned skill or if a proficiency intervention is needed.

Proficiency data document whether the student recognizes what knowledge or skill is required for a specific question, and the depth of their understanding in a variety of learning domains. In relation to the instructional hierarchy, proficiency includes generalization and adaptation, which are the indicators of mastery, as mentioned earlier.

Acquisition vs. proficiency interventions: How do they affect student outcomes?

To sum up, acquisition interventions are intended to help students learn new material more easily. In contrast, proficiency interventions focus on helping students improve their application of material they’ve already learned. Let’s explore each point.

#1: Helping students to acquire learning objectives

Acquisition interventions are designed to improve a student’s basic skills and understanding of a subject, and to increase accuracy and automaticity. These interventions may include:

• Direct instruction with student practice
• Immediate feedback
• A progression of learning that leads to specific skills

Educators implement acquisition interventions with the goal of teaching the basic knowledge and skills from the beginning, and with ample opportunities for the student to practice.

#2: Helping students to master learning objectives

Proficiency interventions are designed to increase a student’s ability to recall a learned skill and to apply it with ease, elevating their competency in the subject. Some examples of proficiency interventions might include:

• Problem-solving
• Applying skills in new situations
• Adapting skills to meet new needs

With proficiency interventions, the educator aims to elevate the student’s mastery of the material, such that the student can use the knowledge and skills across any and all new situations.

Implement effective interventions with Renaissance

With MTSS collaboration and management tools from Renaissance, you can enter both academic and social-emotional behavior (SEB) interventions, allowing you to track…

• Fidelity
• Participation
• Engagement

…as well as monitor on-track status, in real-time.

Whether you need to complement your current system with real-time dashboards or comprehensive assessments, Renaissance can help your educators respond effectively and efficiently using in-depth acquisition and proficiency data.

The post Acquisition vs. proficiency data: How using both positively affects student interventions and learning outcomes appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (May 25, 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, announces that the company has been recognized as a 2023 Great Place to Work by the Great Place to Work Institute. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experiences working at Renaissance. Overall, 90 percent of employees said Renaissance is a great place to work—33 points higher than the average U.S.-based company.

“At Renaissance, we recognize that to accelerate learning for all students, we need to build a company culture that supports all employees,” said Kim Mitchell, Chief People Officer at Renaissance. “Each one of our employees plays a crucial role in helping us support educators all over the world. We put people first—and it is incredibly rewarding to hear those efforts resonate across our team of more than 2,000 employees.”

The Great Place to Work Certification recognizes employers who create an outstanding employee experience. Certification is a two-step process that includes surveying employees and completing a short questionnaire. Because anonymous employee feedback and independent analysis determine the scores, certification helps job seekers identify which companies genuinely offer a great company culture.

“Each one of our employees makes us who we are as a company,” said Chris Bauleke, Chief Executive Officer at Renaissance. “Renaissance has seen tremendous growth over the years, and our employees remain at the center of what we do. The recognition from the Great Places to Work Institute is a direct reflection of that.”

Recognizing the company’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), 94 percent of Renaissance employees shared that when they joined the team, they felt welcome.

In addition, Renaissance employees shared:

• Leaders at Renaissance are understanding, with 95 percent of employees noting that they can take time off work when it’s necessary.
• The company empowers employees to do their best work—92 percent of employees shared that people are given a lot of responsibility.
• Renaissance is a mission-driven organization. Ninety-two percent of employees feel proud to tell their friends and families they work for Renaissance.

“The Great Place to Work Certification is a highly coveted achievement that requires consistent and intentional dedication to the overall employee experience,” said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, Vice President of Global Recognition at Great Place to Work. “By successfully earning this recognition, it is evident that Renaissance stands out as one of the top companies to work for, providing a great workplace environment for its employees.”

Renaissance continues to prioritize the importance of DEI in its culture, work, and products. From Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to providing training to all employees on topics such as managing unconscious bias and addressing microaggressions, Renaissance is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace where ongoing evaluation, accountability, and action are woven into every corner of the company’s culture—creating an environment where employees grow and evolve together.

To learn more about Renaissance, please visit https://www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit https://www.renaissance.com.

About the Great Place to Work Certification

Great Place to Work Certification is the most definitive “employer-of-choice” recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience—specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place to Work-Certified.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Earns 2023 Great Place to Work Certification™ appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (May 12, 2023) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, today launched the second annual “Shine a Light on Bilingualism” art contest to celebrate Hispanic culture and bilingualism.

All students in grades K–12 are invited to create and submit a painting, drawing, or mixed media piece on the theme of “celebrating Hispanic heritage and bilingualism.” Entries are due on June 30. In July, a winner will be selected for each grade band of K–3, 4–8, and 9–12. Each winner will receive a $500 Visa gift card and have their art featured during Renaissance’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place between September 15 and October 15.

Research shows that bilingualism and biliteracy have benefits beyond academics, including cognitive, employment, and societal benefits. By 2025, 85 percent of English Learners in US schools will have Spanish as their dominant language. Renaissance is excited to celebrate and see every student in this unique group of learners. Additionally, the company looks forward to supporting the educators who honor the knowledge and skills a child has in their home language and seek to build upon those skills to promote learning.

“Bilingual students enrich our classrooms in so many ways every day,” said Doris Chávez-Linville, Director of Linguistic and Culturally Diverse Innovation at Renaissance. “We’re honored to showcase students’ perspectives on what it means to be bilingual, and the wonderful impact Hispanic heritage has had on communities and schools in the US.”

Although the art will be created by students, the work must be submitted by an adult, such as a teacher, parent, guardian, or other family member. To enter a K–12 student in the contest, an adult must upload a photo of the art to renaissance.com/bilingual-arts-contest, or mail the original to Renaissance. Questions about the contest should be sent to contest@renaissance.com.

For complete terms and conditions and to submit student art to the contest, visit renaissance.com/bilingual-arts-contest.

About Renaissance  

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.   

Contact for Media Inquiries Only: 

Lucy Duffy  
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist  
Renaissance  
(561) 573-6296  
pr@renaissance.com   

The post Renaissance Launches Art Contest for Students to Help “Shine a Light on Bilingualism” in America appeared first on Renaissance.

The grant program provides schools and districts with access to a selection of math personalized learning software programs to improve student outcomes in mathematics. As a result of this approval, public schools and districts in Utah can now utilize Star Math and Freckle Math together to support student achievement.

“We appreciate the opportunity to continue supporting Utah educators and students with reliable supplemental math practice products and tools,” said Chris Kratzer, Vice President of Government Affairs at Renaissance. “Renaissance’s Star Math and Freckle Math will provide schools and districts with valuable insights and targeted instruction to see every student throughout their learning journey.”

Renaissance’s assessment and practice platform work seamlessly to inform instructional decisions, monitor student progress, measure student growth, and monitor proficiency:

• Star Math: the most comprehensive computer-adaptive pre-K–12 interim and formative assessment available for math—universal screening, progress monitoring, and goal-setting data to move every student forward to make up for lost instructional time.
• Freckle Math: supplement core instruction with adaptive math practice, targeted math skills practice, math fact practice, and inquiry-based lessons.

About Renaissance 

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.   

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:  
Lucy Duffy 
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist 
Renaissance 
(561) 573-6296 
pr@renaissance.com   

The post Renaissance Approved for Utah K–12 Mathematical Personalized Learning Software Grant appeared first on Renaissance.

The bill mandates that all K–3 students in Missouri must take a state-approved reading assessment beginning in the 2023–2024 school year. As a result of this approval, local education agencies (LEAs) can now utilize Star Reading, Star CBM Reading, and Star Early Literacy to assist educators in guiding students toward becoming proficient readers.

“We’re pleased to support the teachers and students of Missouri with valid and reliable assessments for measuring and monitoring literacy skills proficiency,” said Darice Keating, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Renaissance. “Renaissance assessments will help teachers to identify students who may be at risk for developing reading difficulties and are in need of additional instruction and intervention. The assessment data will also show teachers the literacy skills their students are ready to learn next.”

Star Assessments are quick and easy for teachers to administer, and they provide a comprehensive view of each learner to support their foundational literacy development. Star Assessments for Missouri Reading include:

• Star Reading, an online assessment for independent readers in the key domains of vocabulary, comprehension, structural analysis, and more.
• Star CBM Reading, curriculum-based measures to assess students’ understanding of letters and their sounds, phonological awareness, decoding, and oral passage reading. Teachers administer the measures 1:1, either online or on paper.
• Star Early Literacy, an online assessment of phonological awareness, phonics, print concepts, fluency, and comprehension for beginning and emergent readers.

To learn more about the state-approved K–3 reading assessment list, visit https://dese.mo.gov/state-approved-reading-assessment-list.

About Renaissance 

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.  

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:  

Lucy Duffy 
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist 
Renaissance 
(561) 573-6296 
pr@renaissance.com  

The post Renaissance Approved as Qualified Vendor for Missouri Senate Bill 681 appeared first on Renaissance.

Ohio approved Star CBM Reading in three essential categories: Tier 1 Dyslexia Screener, K–3 Diagnostic Assessment/Dyslexia Screener, and K–3 Diagnostic Assessment. This means that Star CBM can be used to cover all Ohio educators’ screening and dyslexia needs in one assessment. 

“We’re proud to provide Ohio districts with valid and reliable assessments that provide a comprehensive view of the whole child,” said Ellen Kaye, Regional Vice President at Renaissance. “Now that Star CBM is an approved dyslexia screener, districts have even more ways to get the most of their Star Assessment Suite and see every student.”

Star Assessments are already being used by many Ohio districts for universal screening, and Star CBM Reading allows educators to accurately assess students’ development for targeted instruction and intervention. This elite assessment system is now included on multiple Ohio Department of Education (ODE) approved lists for the 2023–2024 school year:

• Alternative Reading Assessment (The Third Grade Guarantee)
• Alternative Assessments for Grades 3–8: ELA
• Alternative Assessments for Grades 3–8: Math
• High Quality Student Data
• Gifted Student: Identification
• Gifted Student: Prescreening
• Tier 1 Dyslexia Screener
• K–3 Diagnostic Assessment/Dyslexia Screener
• K–3 Diagnostic Assessment 

According to the ODE’s website, “This (approval) process is intended to inform districts of possible multiple uses for various assessments,” and to “assist districts in selecting tools that will maximize their use of time and resources and provide high educational value.”  

Ohio educators can learn more about Star CBM Reading by visiting https://www.renaissance.com/products/star-cbm/.

For more information about the recent ODE approval, visit https://education.ohio.gov/Topics/List-of-Approved-Assessments/Approved-Assessments-List-FAQ.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Ohio Department of Education Approves Star CBM Reading as a Dyslexia Screener appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (April 12, 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, announces a rebrand and new visual identity reflecting the company’s transformational teacher-led learning ecosystem and demonstrating how the right technology can help educators truly see every student. The new brand identity embraces the company’s almost 40-year history as a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, while taking a fresh and forward-looking approach to the future of Renaissance.

“Our business has changed dramatically over the past few years,” said Sarah DiFrancesco, Chief Marketing Officer at Renaissance. “The rebranding marks a new Renaissance, demonstrating how we help every student succeed by providing teachers and administrators with the digital tools they need to unlock personalized teaching.”

Nationwide, schools and districts face unprecedented challenges from teacher burnout, teaching vacancies, and the pressure to deliver results like never before. In addition, supporting students’ academic learning is a source of job-related stress for almost half of teachers, according to a RAND Corporation survey. To address these issues, solutions that cater to the unique needs of each student are crucial. Together, Renaissance’s assessments, instruction, and insights provide a complete, comprehensive solution—while keeping educators at the forefront of classroom decisions and instruction.

“Today marks a shift, where Renaissance moves from specific education products to full-service, integrated solutions that champion a teacher-centered ecosystem supporting the whole student,” said Chris Bauleke, Chief Executive Officer at Renaissance. “What started as a local education company in Central Wisconsin so many years ago is now an international leader in education. We are excited for the opportunities that lie ahead to further our mission of accelerating learning for all, and to impact the future of education for our teachers and students.”

The new brand identity will be unveiled as part of the company’s “See Every Student” campaign in the coming weeks, which includes a newly designed website, social media campaign, advertising, trade show and conference activities, and a new brand film demonstrating how the right technology can help educators see every student for the unique individuals they are. With Renaissance’s holistic portfolio of solutions, educators everywhere are empowered to deliver more personalized teaching to each individual student.

To learn more about Renaissance’s new brand identity and teacher-centered learning ecosystem, please visit www.renaissance.com/see-every-student/.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance’s All New Visual Identity Champions a Teacher-Led Ecosystem, Empowering Educators to “See Every Student” appeared first on Renaissance.

I’ve been through rebranding projects before. They always involve a new company logo, new colors, a new look for our website and brochures, and a new tagline. In this instance, what’s about to roll out involves all of these elements, but what’s happening at Renaissance in this moment is also much more significant.

You won’t be able to miss the new visual elements, which are creative, original, and eye-catching. While they are important, they’re just surface-level reflections of much deeper and transformational changes that have been happening at Renaissance over the last few years.

Creating a true instructional ecosystem

I stand at this moment both looking back at our company’s history and looking forward to its future. When I joined Renaissance more than 16 years ago, we were broadly known as “the Accelerated Reader company.” In some schools and districts, this may still be the perception of us—as a Wisconsin-based company largely focused on K‒12 student reading practice.

This is one of the reasons for our rebranding.

While there are still many elements of our small-town beginnings deep within our DNA, we’ve also grown well beyond this to become a global education technology provider. Renaissance now serves schools in more than 100 countries with a comprehensive product suite, including:

• myON, our digital reading platform
• Freckle, for differentiated practice in math and ELA
• Star Phonics, a unique phonics screener and diagnostic assessment
• Lalilo, for foundational literacy instruction and practice
• Nearpod, for teacher-led instructional delivery
• FastBridge, an assessment suite for reading, math, and social-emotional behavior
• eduCLIMBER, for whole child data analysis and reporting

We also recently welcomed GL Education—a leading provider of formative assessments to schools in the UK and Ireland—to the Renaissance family.

So, what does this collection of products—many of which just came together over the last several years—mean to schools and districts in 2023?

You’ll hear the word “ecosystem” used a lot in our new Renaissance messaging. While you may also hear that word being used by other edtech companies, in most cases their ecosystems are merely a group of unrelated and disconnected products that are only bound together because they happen to come from the same provider.

In contrast, the Renaissance ecosystem is one in which the elements have been carefully chosen and, perhaps more importantly, can interact dynamically to help you meet every learner’s needs.

How the Renaissance ecosystem powers student learning

So, what does this look like in the classroom? Here are four examples of the Renaissance ecosystem in action:

#1: Differentiate reading and math practice with ease

Once educators assess their students, they often find themselves asking, “What’s next? How can I differentiate instruction and practice most effectively?” Both Star Assessments and FastBridge help you to answer these questions by automatically:

• Placing students in the most appropriate ELA and math practice in Freckle, and the appropriate foundational literacy lessons in Lalilo
• Match students with the right digital books and daily news articles in myON
• Identify students’ reading ranges in Accelerated Reader, in both English and Spanish

As a result, students receive engaging practice that builds on your classroom instruction, so they can master the essential skills they need for success.

#2: Quickly select the right instructional resources

Nearpod has a library of 20,000+ standards-aligned lessons, activities, videos, and more. Star Assessments and Nearpod are now connected through the Star Record Book, meaning that teachers can be instantly directed to ideal ELA and math lessons and resources for a whole class, small groups, or individual students. Teachers can also easily search for Nearpod resources by skill, topic, or keyword.

This functionality will soon be available in FastBridge as well to help streamline the lesson-planning process and eliminate the need for endless internet searches for resources.

#3: Focus on foundational literacy growth and the Science of Reading

With Star Phonics, Renaissance now offers the most comprehensive skills screener for phonics, covering 12 critical categories and 102 essential skills. Star Phonics is built on Science of Reading research and allows you to screen an entire class in just 2‒3 minutes per student.

Once Star Phonics determines a critical skill that students need practice on, a few clicks will make that skill an assignment in Lalilo. Students can use Lalilo both in and out of the classroom, and the program uses colorful graphics, engaging audio, and vocabulary-rich stories to make learning to read fun and exciting.

#4: Understand whole child data

Data from your district’s assessment and practice tools—those from Renaissance and from other providers as well—can flow into eduCLIMBER, which is the only data warehousing and visualization tool available that was designed by educators and purposefully built to meet the needs of a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework.

eduCLIMBER not only centralizes your data on a single platform but helps to streamline your paperwork and forms processes—while also helping you to identify the best services and supports for every learner.

Why it’s essential to “See Every Student”

To sum up, “the Accelerated Reader company” of the 1980s and 1990s could help you to foster your students’ love of reading. The Renaissance of today can give you access to so much more, including:

• A comprehensive suite of assessments for universal screening, progress monitoring, measuring student growth, and more—in both English and Spanish
• Dynamic and connected practice solutions for foundational literacy, ELA, and mathematics
• One of the world’s largest libraries of interactive lessons, activities, and videos
• Whole child data and analytics to better understand each student’s performance and unique needs at every tier of your MTSS

The whole point of our collection of solutions and their dynamic and growing interoperability is to support you in being able to “See Every Student.” You’ll hear this phrase echoing throughout our new messaging and displayed on materials from us. And isn’t this idea at the very core of why so many of us became teachers?

We didn’t go into education because we love to spend our time:

• Doing paperwork
• Creating spreadsheets
• Manually transferring student login information from one app to another
• Searching the internet for instructional resources that may or may not meet our students’ needs

Instead, we became teachers so we could teach. As a result, we want to maximize the time we’re working with our students and helping them grow, while minimizing the time spent on all other tasks.

An ecosystem of connected resources

In our pre-service naivety, most of us likely didn’t realize the extent of students’ needs, the variety of their starting points, or how world events would exponentially increase both their academic and social-emotional challenges. But these factors should not dissuade us.

We are not afraid of hard work. We simply need the information and tools necessary to get the job done practically. We need an ecosystem of connected resources that:

• Provides essential insights
• Saves us time
• Streamlines reporting
• Identifies exactly which skills students need help with
• Serves up resources to support us in teaching those skills, and to support our students in learning them

We don’t want technology to take over teaching, however. We want to keep the teacher at the center of the classroom—another important phrase you’ll hear from us—because Renaissance’s core belief is that technology should always support teachers, and never supplant them.

A renaissance in education technology

Fittingly enough, our name reflects the moment our company is now in. At the core of the word “renaissance” is the meaning of rebirth. Through growth, expansion, and, simply, maturation, “the AR company” is being reborn as something new.

In a moment when schools and districts are facing significant challenges, Renaissance is rising to help meet those needs. This is why, at the same time that I’m looking back at our company’s history, I’m also excited about the solutions we have today, and I’m pondering the promise of enhancements we have coming for you in the future.

Sometimes, rebranding is like updated taillights on a car model that remains essentially the same, or like new bodywork on top of an older chassis. In other instances, the launch of a product or the rebranding of a company is something utterly transformational for the company and its customers.

To give one famous example:

When a classic Super Bowl commercial told us that “1984 wouldn’t be like 1984” because Apple was about to launch the Macintosh, few of us understood that how we interact with technology would soon be transformed—but it was. Later, Steve Jobs told us that the iPhone and iPad would similarly transform our lives, and they certainly have.

I don’t claim to be a visionary like Jobs, and few companies ever get to experience the growth of Apple. Yet, at Renaissance, we are at a special moment in time both for us and for the educators and students we serve.

We hope that you will be a part of this exciting future as a new era in both our company and edtech begins.

The post Introducing a new era for Renaissance—and for education technology appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (April 6, 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, is co-hosting a webinar with Education Week on April 18, 2023, titled “A Conversation About the Science of Reading: The Necessary Elements.” The webinar features some of the leading voices in the Science of Reading movement, including Emily Hanford, Kareem Weaver, and Dr. Michelle Hosp. Together, they will discuss the importance of evidence-based instruction, comprehensive assessment systems, and core reading curricula in improving student literacy outcomes.

Nationwide, schools and districts are embracing the Science of Reading and the decades of research behind how children best learn to read. Reading is a complex process that involves many skills, but phonics instruction—teaching how letters represent sounds, and how to blend those sounds—is proven to be the most effective way to teach young children how to read.

While the “Science of Reading” term has gained traction in education, national surveys and reporting from Education Week show that less effective methods of teaching foundational literacy skills are still widely used in elementary schools. As a result, more than two dozen states have passed laws since 2019 requiring schools to use methods aligned with research on how children learn to read. Emily Hanford’s “Sold a Story” is a notable example of the reporting and coverage that has raised awareness around the importance of evidence-based instruction.

“The Science of Reading continues to gain traction among schools and districts nationwide,” said Dr. Michelle Hosp, Director of Foundational Literacy at Renaissance. “Reading is incredibly difficult to teach. Five decades of research show us how to assess and teach reading, and while educators recognize the importance of the Science of Reading, transforming how we teach reading itself is a tremendous change.”

In addition to hearing from Renaissance’s Dr. Hosp, attendees will hear from Emily Hanford, a Senior Correspondent and Producer for American Public Media who has reported extensively on early reading instruction for the past several years. Attendees will also hear from Kareem Weaver, a Co-Founder and Executive Director of non-profit FULCRUM, and one of the leaders behind The Right to Read, a recently released documentary that shares the stories of an NAACP activist, a teacher, and two families who fight to provide students with the most foundational indicator of life-long success: the ability to read.

During the webinar, attendees will learn:

• The implications for students when instruction doesn’t align with the science
• The importance of a comprehensive assessment system in providing equitable reading instruction
• How evidence-based instructional materials and a strong core reading curriculum can empower educators and improve literacy outcomes for all students
• The need to continue to advocate for the Science of Reading in the face of opposition and a system that is slow to change

Dr. Gene Kerns, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer of Renaissance, will moderate the conversation. In addition, attendees who attend 53 minutes or more of the webinar can download a PDF certificate verifying one hour of professional development credit.

To register for the webinar, please click here.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Lucy Duffy
Senior PR and Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 572-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Co-Hosts Science of Reading Webinar with Leading Voices in Education appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. (April 3, 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, completed the acquisition of GL Education, a provider of formative assessments for schools and school groups in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and over 100 countries worldwide. The acquisition completed as planned on March 31, 2023.

The acquisition of GL Education supports Renaissance’s mission to accelerate students’ growth and learning on an international scale through a suite of integrated solutions. Together with GL Education, Renaissance can reach and impact more students and teachers, delivering personalized teaching solutions that deliver differentiated insights.

“GL Education’s formative assessments, paired with Renaissance’s interconnected solutions, further empower our educators and help leaders leverage data to make meaningful change based on each individual students’ needs,” said Chris Bauleke, Chief Executive Officer at Renaissance. “We look forward to joining GL Education in driving growth for our students both in the US and abroad.”

“GL Education’s mission has always been to enable every child to realize their full potential,” said Greg Watson, Chief Executive at GL Education. “Together with Renaissance, our high-quality formative assessments will support school leaders all over the world in developing and tailoring an educational experience that is as unique as their students are. We are thrilled to see what’s in store for the future.”

The financial terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed. RBC Capital Markets, LLC, served as financial advisor to Renaissance and financial sponsors, Francisco Partners and Blackstone, during the transaction, while Baird advised GL Education, backed by Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP).

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

About GL Education

GL Education is a leading provider of formative assessments to schools and school groups in the UK and in over 100 countries worldwide. It provides assessments that help to reveal students’ potential, track their progress, and identify any barriers to learning they might have. For more information, visit www.gl-education.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Lucy Duffy
Sr. Public Relations & Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

Danielle Morgan
Head of Marketing and Communications
GL Education
+44 (0) 20 8996 3632
danielle.morgan@gl-education.com

The post Renaissance Completes Acquisition of GL Education, Positioning Renaissance as a Global Education Leader appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (March 7, 2023) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, announces the release of its much-anticipated What Kids Are Reading (WKAR) report for 2023. The all-new report—celebrating 15 years—provides unmatched insight into what students are reading both digitally and in print. Throughout, this year’s report reflects on 15 years of What Kids Are Reading, highlighting books with staying power that continue to be popular with students as well as the numerous guest authors featured throughout the years like Jeff Kinney, Dav Pilkey, and S.E. Hinton.

A trusted resource for educators nationwide, each annual release of the WKAR report highlights the most-popular books in every grade level, K–12, as well as actionable insights to help educators guide students toward reading recommendations and exciting new titles. Renaissance’s latest report features data from 5.4 million students across 22,185 schools in all 50 states and D.C. who, combined, read more than 171,000,000 titles.

As schools and districts adapt and incorporate the Science of Reading into their instruction amid the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report results, this year’s WKAR report shows elementary school students are reading decodable books and vocabulary-rich titles, middle school students are building trust in authors, and high school students are reading expected classics and modern takes on similar storylines.

“Teaching reading is no easy task, and reading itself isn’t a skill we naturally acquire,” said Dr. Michelle Hosp, Director of Foundational Literacy at Renaissance. “In education, we often think of the Science of Reading as a new idea, but gathering scientific evidence for what works in assessing and teaching reading isn’t new. Reading practice is where students grow and improve—and our What Kids Are Reading report is a celebration of that, filled with books and ideas to inspire.”

Recognizing this, the report features research around the Science of Reading and the importance of reading practice, including the significance of students reading 15 minutes or more per day and the direct connection of reading time to students’ comprehension, vocabulary, and academic growth.

In addition to the popular most-read book lists for each grade and research insights, the report also features:

• All-new in-demand audio titles, spotlighting accessible reading options with optional natural-voice audio narration that highlights text as students listen along.
• Popular books that, since the first WKAR report, continue to rank among the top 10 most-popular titles students are reading.
• New and Now Reads, providing fresh ideas for reading options and highlighting titles students first read and quizzed on in the fall of 2022.
• Authentic Spanish Literature, highlighting Spanish titles written for native speakers that help students make real-life connections and grow as readers.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Themes, helping educators incorporate diverse, inclusive titles within their classrooms.

The data in the WKAR report comes from Accelerated Reader, which highlights the books students are reading, not just checking out from libraries, as well as myON, which provides access to thousands of digital titles for online or offline reading. Together, these solutions personalize reading practice and provide access to reading materials—while sharing actionable data with educators to help guide reading instruction in the classroom.

To download a free copy of the report, explore students’ reading habits by state, and create personalized book lists, please visit www.renaissance.com/resources/wkar/.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40% of US schools and more than a half million students in other regions across the world. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, myIGDIs for Preschool, FastBridge, DnA, and SchoolCity); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (eduCLIMBER and Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod). For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Lucy Duffy
Senior Public Relations and Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Releases All-New Edition of World’s Largest Annual Study of K–12 Reading Habits appeared first on Renaissance.

BLOOMINGTON, MN. (March 1, 2023) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, announces the company’s Star Assessments, FastBridge, and Freckle solutions were all named winners in Tech & Learning’s Awards of Excellence: Best of 2022 program in the Primary or Secondary categories. The annual awards program celebrates edtech that supports students, educators, and education professionals.

“It is an honor for not one or two, but for three of our solutions to be recognized,” said Todd Brekhus, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance. “Educators are at the heart of everything we do, and to receive this honor from the Tech & Learning team and leaders in the education space reaffirms our mission to accelerate learning for all, while providing the tools educators need to make a true difference.”

Valid and reliable assessment platforms, Star Assessments and FastBridge were both recognized for their ability to provide accurate and actionable data about student needs, risk levels, and growth, as well as measure intervention effectiveness. They also provide prescriptive recommendations for how to meet student needs with targeted instruction.

Teacher-led and student-paced, Freckle provides differentiated, highly engaging practice in mathematics and reading—ensuring students grow and develop foundational skills in both subjects.

Together, Star Assessments, FastBridge, and Freckle empower teachers to drive success for each student’s unique learning journey.

“Each year, the Awards of Excellence grow to include a more diverse range of products and companies,” said the awards’ editorial team at Tech & Learning. “With this being the case, judging and finding our winners becomes a tougher decision with each award. All our judging is performed by industry experts, meaning those who have impressed and won the award should be truly proud of their achievement. Well done from all of Tech & Learning.”

Tech & Learning’s panel of judges scored each nomination on ease-of-use, value, versatility, and utility. Nominations were divided into Primary, Secondary, and Higher Education categories.

Star Assessments, FastBridge, and Freckle all scored highly across the criteria and were named winners.

To learn more about Renaissance, please visit www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40% of US schools and more than a half million students in other regions across the world. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, myIGDIs for Preschool, FastBridge, DnA, and SchoolCity); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (eduCLIMBER and Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod). For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Lucy Duffy
Senior Public Relations and Communications Specialist
Renaissance
(561) 573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Tech & Learning’s Awards of Excellence Program Recognizes Three Renaissance Solutions appeared first on Renaissance.

If you want to develop a deeper understanding of educational assessments and how to implement different education assessment types more effectively in the classroom, you’re in the right place. In this blog, we’ll break down:

• A definition of assessment in education
• The 6 types of educational assessments
• How assessment tools from Renaissance can help simplify and enhance student assessment

How do you define assessment in education?

In the field of education, assessment refers to the varied methods and tools that are used to…

• Evaluate
• Certify
• Measure
• Monitor
• Observe
• Document

…the learning progress, academic readiness, skill acquisition, or educational needs of students. Assessment plays a key role in data-driven decision making and is an important part of the whole child data picture.

The different types of assessments enable us to answer key questions about student learning, such as:

• What do students know? What do they not know yet?
• Where are students struggling? Why?
• What should I teach next? What should I adjust in future lessons?
• Which students need an intervention? Which intervention matches the specific need?
• Does the retained learning meet district and state expectations?
• Does our curriculum have gaps between learning expectations and assessment?

But what are the common types of assessments in education? And what does each type of assessment help us understand about students’ learning and needs?

In this blog, we’ll take a look at each of the different types of assessment in education that come together to create a comprehensive assessment system. But first, let’s examine the “why” behind the types of educational assessments.

3 purposes for assessment in education

In general, assessment in the classroom serves one of three purposes:

Assessment of learning: These assessments help us to identify if students are meeting grade-level standards. They’re usually grade-based and have a concrete grade attached to them that communicates the level of achievement.

Assessments of learning might include:

• Exams
• Portfolios
• Standardized tests
• Final projects

Some other common forms of assessment of learning include:

• Criterion-referenced assessments
• Norm-referenced assessments
• Summative assessments

Assessment for learning: These assessments provide educators with a clear picture of student learning and understanding as they teach. They’re then able to make the necessary adjustments to their classroom management strategies, lesson plans, etc., as they go.

Assessments for learning must be ongoing and actionable to effectively provide teachers with in-the-moment feedback to improve their instructional methods.

Some common types of assessment for learning include:

• Diagnostic assessments
• Formative assessments

Assessment as learning: This type of assessment in education actively involves the students in the learning process. It teaches them to access their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, along with how to set achievable personal goals to objectively measure their own progress.

Assessment as learning is a helpful way to engage students in the learning process and help them take ownership of their learning.

Examples of assessment as learning include:

• Self-assessments
• Peer assessments

Why is it important to understand types of assessment in education?

Assessments help us to answer key questions about student learning and what to teach next. But in order for assessment data to help drive decisions, it is imperative that we use an assessment tool that is appropriate to the task at hand. Understanding the types of assessments is the first step to using assessment data to effectively support the needs of students.

For example, progress monitoring assessments are extremely sensitive to growth and are designed to measure small, incremental increases in progress. Other types of assessments aren’t structurally designed to measure those small increases in growth. Using an interim assessment weekly or bi-weekly will not help educators accurately track student progress—and may even lead to confusing or misleading results.

Without a sound understanding of the different types of educational assessments and their purposes, it’s easy to use an assessment for a mismatched task. For that reason, it’s important that all educators have a foundational understanding of the types of assessments and what each assessment type can and cannot tell us about student learning.

To learn more about types of assessments and how to build a comprehensive assessment system that meets your unique needs, download our Complete Guide to Comprehensive Assessment Systems eBook.

What are the main methods of assessment?

Although nomenclature can vary from district to district, there are six main types of assessments in education:

1. Classroom formative assessments (just-in-time/short-cycle)
2. Universal screening assessments
3. Diagnostic assessments
4. Progress monitoring assessments
5. Benchmark/common formative (interim assessments)
6. Summative assessments

6 different types of assessment in education

In the sections below, we’ll explore how each of these types of educational assessments helps you to analyze and support student learning.

#1: Classroom formative (just-in-time/short-cycle assessments)

Classroom formative is a process used by teachers and students during instruction. It creates feedback and reveals any needed adjustments for ongoing teaching and learning that may be necessary to increase students’ achievement of the intended instructional outcomes. Classroom formative assessments are used as tools to inform and fuel the formative assessment process on an ongoing, frequent (even daily) basis.

When used formatively, assessments can overcome some traditional, commonly-conceived limitations of “tests.” With the right tools in place, such as DnA’s Live Proctoring Tool, short-cycle assessments can be spun up quickly and adapted to meet immediate student needs as necessary during the learning process. Using these just-in-time assessments can yield a plethora of rich information to feed instructional processes and deepen students’ metacognitive processes.

Some examples of formative just-in-time/short-cycle assessments include:

• Classroom assessments
• Quick quizzes
• Discussion
• Observations
• Comprehension checks
• Entrance/exit tickets

Keep in mind that any assessment can be a part of the classroom formative process as long as it’s used to provide data to inform instruction.

#2: Universal screening assessments

Universal screening is the process of gathering academic and social-emotional behavior (SEB) data about all the students in a class, grade, school, or district in order to identify which students need additional assistance to meet learning goals.

Universal screening assessments are administered as tools to inform and fuel that process. They’re most often administered to all students in the areas of reading, math, and SEB. Screening happens early in the school year and may also occur at other points throughout the year.

Universal screening assessments should be valid, reliable, and have a high degree of predictive validity with high-stakes tests. These types of assessments are critical to an effective multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) implementation, as they identify Tier 1 needs as well as students who may be at risk and in need of additional support.

Some examples of K–12 universal screeners from Renaissance include:

• Star Reading in English and Spanish
• Star Math in English and Spanish
• FastBridge in Reading, Math and Social-Emotional Behavior

#3: Diagnostic assessments

Diagnostic assessment is the process of using multiple measures and reports to identify what a student does or does not know in relation to specific learning goals in order to guide academic, curricular, and instructional decisions.

Diagnostic assessments can be administered as tools to inform and fuel that process. They’re often administered to students, grade levels, and/or groups flagged by universal screening to pinpoint specific learning needs (e.g., calculation vs. math).

High-quality universal screeners provide diagnostic reporting as part of the universal screening results. And tools like the Star Phonics assessment for K–6 students complement universal screening data by providing in-depth critical insights into students’ acquisition of essential phonics skills.

Diagnostic assessment is critical to MTSS implementations, as it helps ensure interventions are appropriately aligned to students’ specific needs. These data should be used in conjunction with other data—as part of an evaluation of a student’s academic and SEB learning needs—before reaching diagnostic conclusions about student performance.

Types of assessment often used in the diagnostic assessment process:

#4 Progress monitoring assessments

Progress monitoring is a standardized process of evaluating progress toward a performance target, based on rates of improvement from frequent (usually weekly) assessments of a specific skill. Progress monitoring assessments are administered as a tool to inform and fuel that process. They’re typically administered to all students receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions.

Progress monitoring assessments are very sensitive to growth and are aligned with the skill or need that is targeted by a specific intervention. They help measure whether the intervention is working and if it’s working fast enough.

Examples of progress monitoring assessments include:

• FastBridge
• Star Assessments
• Running records
• Mastery measurement
• Curriculum-based measurement
• Direct behavior ratings

#5: Benchmark/common formative (interim) assessments

Benchmark assessments, which are sometimes referred to as common formative assessment or interim assessment, measure students’ standards of proficiency. They’re typically administered periodically or seasonally (e.g., fall, winter, and spring).

These assessments are aligned to a pacing calendar and the district’s scope and sequence—or the progressive order in which students encounter the content that they’re expected to master by the end of a course, study, or curriculum.

Benchmark/common formative assessments are often used to predict the students’ end-of-year proficiency. They are usually created either by a professional assessment vendor or by using a valid and reliable item bank in order to ensure quality.

Renaissance’s Star Math is one example of interim assessment. This award-winning assessment solution helps educators:

• Quickly screen students
• Monitor progress
• Track growth over time
• Forecast future performance on state summative assessments

With Quantile® measures—which measure the difficulty of mathematical skills and concepts as well as a student’s readiness to learn new skills and concepts—Star Math provides educators with additional insights into students’ math progress.

#6: Summative assessments

Summative assessment is the process of evaluating or certifying learning at the end of a specific period of instruction. Summative assessments are often used for grading students and can be used to measure growth or changes in student learning. They’re typically administered at the end of year, end of course, or end of term.

Summative assessments in education can provide a host of useful data regarding student achievement, while also guiding decision-making around changes in curriculum, instructional strategies, staffing ratios, course offerings, and professional development needs.

Just as formative assessment is a process, so is summative assessment. Any assessment can be part of the summative assessment process if it’s used to evaluate or certify learning after instruction has occurred. Many teachers employ unit exams and Friday spelling tests, for example, as summative assessments.

Additional examples of summative assessments include:

• High-stakes state standards assessments
• SAT
• ACT

Guide instruction & improve learning outcomes with Renaissance’s comprehensive assessment solution

Renaissance equips educators to take a data-driven approach to serve the whole child with our Comprehensive Assessment Solution. This comprehensive assessment system combines MTSS management and collaboration, and real-time dashboard tools, and puts them in the hands of educators.

As a result, educators can…

• Monitor learning and growth
• Identify academic and social-emotional behavioral needs; and
• Align targeted supports

…to accelerate learning for each student.

Our complete set of standards and skills-based assessment tools give educators the confidence they need to understand each student’s academic and social-emotional behavior (SEB) learning and needs and guide instruction to improve student outcomes.

The post Unlocking the power of assessment: 6 types of assessments in education appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (February 21. 2023) – Renaissance, a leader in pre-K–12 education technology, entered a definitive agreement (subject to certain regulatory approvals) to acquire GL Education, a provider of formative assessments for schools and school groups in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and over 100 countries worldwide. The combined company will deliver differentiated insights to enhance students’ achievement and growth.

“Worldwide, educators face evolving challenges as we pivot out of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chris Bauleke, Chief Executive Officer at Renaissance. “Educators and leaders need accurate data on each one of their students to not only inform instruction, but to foster growth. Our integrated solutions empower teachers and administrators to manage learning progress and leverage data to impact student learning. We look forward to welcoming GL Education’s team and customers to the Renaissance family and expanding our ability to provide a complete view of every student’s academic progress.”

Founded in 1980 and based in London, England, GL Education (known in the UK and Ireland as GL Assessment) was created to help educators ensure children realize their full potential with a “whole-child” approach to formative assessment. Today, it delivers over 9 million assessments annually to schools and school groups in over 100 countries, providing educators with an accurate measure of their students’ abilities and academic progress—as well as identifying barriers to learning they may have. GL Education’s formative assessments are rigorous, academically sound and in line with best practice in education.

“GL Education and Renaissance share a vision that technology and data can be powerful tools to enable educators to build teaching and learning around the needs of every child, and to make the schools and school groups they work in ever more effective,” said Greg Watson, Chief Executive at GL Education. “We look forward to GL Education and Renaissance coming together to unlock even greater impact for technology and data all around the world.”

Those already using GL Education’s assessments will continue to receive the support they expect and value. Educators using Renaissance’s solutions can look forward to learning more about GL Education in the coming weeks.

“Both Renaissance and GL Education have done an exceptional job harnessing technology and data to enable educators to provide students with personalized, data-driven learning solutions,” said Jason Brein, Partner at Francisco Partners, and Eli Nagler, Sr. Managing Director at Blackstone. “Combining these two businesses will enhance their ability to holistically serve the rapidly evolving needs of today’s classrooms, and we are excited to increase our equity investment to fund the platform’s growth.”

RBC Capital Markets, LLC served as financial advisor to Renaissance during the transaction, while Baird advised GL Education.

To learn more about Renaissance, please visit www.renaissance.com. To learn about GL Education, please visit www.gl-education.com.

About Renaissance

As a leader in education technology, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

About GL Education

GL Education is a leading provider of formative assessments to schools and school groups in the UK and in over 100 countries worldwide. It provides assessments that help to reveal students’ potential, track their progress, and identify any barriers to learning they might have. For more information, visit www.gl-education.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:

Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

Danielle Morgan
Head of Marketing and Communications
GL Education
+44 (0) 20 8996 3632
Danielle.morgan@gl-education.com

The post Renaissance and GL Education Come Together, Creating Comprehensive Platform to Enhance K–12 Learning Worldwide appeared first on Renaissance.

4 Science of Reading myths and misconceptions: Insights from literacy experts

The Science of Reading is a wide-ranging body of research on how children learn to read successfully. As the journalist Emily Hanford and others have shown, it’s also a term that is subject to significant misunderstanding.

We recently had the chance to discuss some common misconceptions about the Science of Reading with three of our Renaissance colleagues. We also posed the question of whether it’s possible to measure the Science of Reading—and, if so, what this process involves.

Our thanks to these experts for sharing their insights with us:

• Dr. Rachel Brown, Senior Research Consultant
• Dr. Scott McConnell, Director of Assessment Innovation
• Dr. Michelle Hosp, Director of Foundational Literacy

Science of Reading myth #1: The Science of Reading is a new phenomenon—and it’s just another “fad” in education.

Rachel Brown: The Science of Reading is not new. There are over a hundred years of research on how to teach reading effectively, in both the English language and many others.

These studies demonstrate that when evidence-based instructional practices are used, children learn to read more accurately and acquire reading at a faster rate than children receiving other forms of instruction. So, the research has been there for years—we just haven’t listened to it and haven’t implemented it.

I’ve always felt a personal connection to effective reading instruction. I began my career as a middle school social studies teacher, and I had students who couldn’t read the assigned texts. No one had prepared me for this, and I was at a loss as to how to help these students.

I went back to school to get my SPED endorsement, thinking that special education would be the solution. In fact, it isn’t. I realized that many districts have curriculum deficiencies that are standing in the way of reading acquisition for many students.

I remain very passionate about getting the word out—not just about the research, but about the practice of effective reading instruction.

Scott McConnell: To echo Rachel’s point, I’m reminded of Why Johnny Can’t Read by Rudolph Flesch, published in 1955. In this book, Flesch stresses the importance of explicit and systematic phonics instruction for students’ reading development. Clearly, this idea was slow to catch on, leading him to write a sequel in the 1980s called Why Johnny Still Can’t Read.

Like any science, the Science of Reading is vast and dynamic, with new studies published every year. I think our education system struggles with taking all of this research and knowledge and turning it into practical applications teachers can use in the classroom. This is a point that Emily Hanford is making, which isn’t so different from Flesch’s.

Michelle Hosp: On the whole, the field of general education has been slow to embrace Science of Reading research, which is why it hasn’t made its way into many teacher preparation programs.

I find this very frustrating. As I’ve shared before, I began my career as a school psychologist, and I spent a lot of my time assessing struggling readers. The tests confirmed what the teachers already knew—that the students were struggling to decode words—but I had little to offer in terms of instructional next steps.

I pursued my graduate degree because I recognized that I didn’t have the knowledge I needed to help these students. Like Rachel, I focused on special education, because that field was at the forefront of reviewing and implementing the research.

Scott McConnell: What the three of us have in common is a moral imperative to give students access to good instruction. The key question for us—as for most educators—is whether the Science of Reading will help us to address this imperative, and the answer is clearly “Yes.”

Science of Reading myth #2: States and districts cannot implement the Science of Reading on their own.

Rachel Brown: Actually, states have put some remarkable legislation in place, although they’re finding that their teachers are not necessarily prepared to teach reading. This is where it’s so important to get administrators on board, especially building principals.

When you have principals who know what effective reading instruction is, so they can recognize it, support it, and provide help to teachers who are not using it, I’ve seen amazing things happen. These principals set up a culture where effective instruction is valued and the instructional staff are all on the same page, so kids can’t fall through the cracks.

Scott McConnell: I’m reminded of the No Child Left Behind Act, which had very good intentions. The Act recognized that we have major disparities in K–12 education, so let’s acknowledge them and address them.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work, because we didn’t give teachers the tools to do this at the local level. This is why we need to turn the Science of Reading into easy-to-use tools that teachers can implement in the classroom, and that show the progress their students are making each week.

Michelle Hosp: One aspect of No Child Left Behind that was successful in some states was the Reading First initiative, because it was very clear on what was required. Schools had to:

1. Universally screen students.
2. Use an evidence-based curriculum that was systematic and explicit.
3. Have reading coaches.
4. Provide educators with professional development.

My state used the LETRS training created by Louisa Moats, which I attended with a group of reading coaches. I remember that Dr. Moats began with a short pre-test, and the results were surprising. These coaches had a poor understanding of phonemic awareness—and they were supposed to be helping the most at-risk kids!

I’ll echo Rachel’s point that support has to come from the top—from school boards, administrators, and parents. The federal government could also help by establishing national standards for teacher preparation programs. All teachers should be trained to teach reading in the same way, following the research and using evidence-based practices.

Science of Reading myth #3: The Science of Reading requires a lot of standardized testing.

Rachel Brown: There’s a famous quote from Lewis Carroll: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” The same principle applies to teaching: If you don’t start by establishing what your students need, how will you get them there?

That’s why it’s important to start with a reading screener to see how everyone is doing. At Renaissance, we also recommend administering a phonics screener to take a deep dive into critical phonics skills.

We know that phonics is an important building block of learning to read. If you’re not teaching phonics, then students aren’t getting something essential to becoming a reader and a writer.

Michelle Hosp: There are a lot of reading skills we need to assess, but we don’t need to assess all of them at once—and certainly not every day. I’m a believer in the “screen to intervene” approach, meaning: Test the skills that matter and that you can actually address. For example, I can assess letter sounds, and I can then teach the specific letter sounds students are struggling with.

The same applies to digraphs and blends. We know that the majority of students who struggle with reading are struggling due to poor phonics skills. If we don’t identify the specific phonics skills they need help with, then how can we help them?

Scott McConnell: We should also be clear on the definition of “standardized testing,” which simply means that the same assessment is administered to a group of students using the same protocol.

In the case of universal screening, we do want a standardized assessment that shows how students are doing in relation to grade-level benchmarks. For students receiving intervention, we want regular progress monitoring that’s quick and efficient, that shows how much progress students are making, and that’s administered in a standard way.

As assessment creators, it’s our job to provide teachers with tools that zero in on high-impact reading skills—including phonics skills—that students need to move forward. This is what we mean when we talk about measuring the Science of Reading.

Michelle Hosp: Decoding Dyslexia, a grassroots organization largely led by parents, has played a major role in demanding more effective assessment and instruction aligned with the Science of Reading.

They told educators, “I want you to screen and tell me if my child is struggling with foundational literacy skills because we know that’s a sign of trouble.” They insisted that schools provide evidence-based instruction and that educators receive professional development on dyslexia, so they understand how reading develops and what signs indicate that students are off track.

They then demanded that schools prove that what they’re doing is working—they asked to see the progress monitoring data for themselves. I think these are all good things. As an assessment creator, I want to get really good data into teachers’ hands so they can change students’ trajectories.

Science of Reading Myth #4: The Science of reading takes the joy out of learning—and offers no place for creativity.

Michelle Hosp: I’m reminded of my mentor in graduate school, who ran an amazing reading program with great outcomes for students. One day, the teachers complained to her that the students didn’t love it. Her response: “I don’t care if they love it. I only care if they can read!”

She certainly had a point—it’s not about making kids happy, but about doing the right thing. And this is, of course, where the teacher comes in.

Whether we’re talking about a phonics lesson in the early grades or an algebra lesson in high school, what matters the most is what the teacher brings to the lesson. This is the art of teaching. We need to help teachers realize that they can use all their art and skill to make phonics lessons fun and engaging—because this is what the students need.

Rachel Brown: It’s also a matter of dosage. Not every student will need multiple lessons on silent “e,” for example, but others will. It’s a matter of helping teachers to realize that all humans learn in fundamentally the same way.

First, they need to understand what the target skill is, and then they need to practice that skill to develop mastery. Some students will be able to complete the “stock” phonics lesson and will be OK. Others will need to complete the lesson and then do a lot of practice as well.

Michelle Hosp: The Science of Reading also encompasses more than phonics lessons. For example, read-alouds and book shares are part of every elementary classroom. These can be really engaging for students while helping them to build vocabulary and background knowledge and develop oral language.

When reading aloud, teachers can certainly pause to call attention to individual letters and sounds. But this isn’t sufficient by itself. Letters and sounds need to be taught to students explicitly and systematically, not just “in the moment.” It’s not an either/or choice where teachers can either teach phonics or they can read aloud to students. They need to do both.

Scott McConnell: I’m reminded of a story about an astrophysicist who used to take his young son outside to watch the sunset. Now, the astrophysicist was pretty sure that the sun wasn’t really “setting,” but there’s a role for science and a role for beauty, and, as educators, we clearly need to embrace both.

Discover Star Phonics from Renaissance

The Science of Reading has proven that mastering phonics skills is a vital component for students learning to read.

Star Phonics is the first and only assessment to screen and diagnose 12 critical phonics categories and 102 essential skills. Aligned with the Science of Reading, Star Phonics is quick to administer and provides immediate reporting to inform instruction.

You can also use your Star Phonics data to place students in the appropriate lessons in our Lalilo instruction and practice program. Lalilo is fun and engaging for students to use, and Lalilo’s lessons cover phonics, sight words, word families, comprehension, and more.

References

Moats, L. (2019). Of “Hard Words” and Straw Men: Let’s Understand What Reading Science Is Really About. EDVIEW360 Blog.

Seidenberg, M. (n.d.) Connecting the Science of Reading and Educational Practices. Reading Matters. Retrieved from: https://seidenbergreading.net/science-of-reading/

The post The Science of Reading: 4 common misconceptions appeared first on Renaissance.

The good news is that there are effective tools educators can use when catch-up growth is needed. In this blog, I’ll explain what’s required and how Renaissance can help.

When do educators need to prioritize catch-up growth?

Consider this scenario: Molly is a fourth-grade student, but she reads at a first-grade level. Her teacher knows that her reading skills are much weaker than her classmates’ because the school conducts universal screening three times per year. Such screenings provide data that are used alongside other information about student performance to help teachers know which students need additional instruction.

In Molly’s case, the fall screening score on a broad reading measure like FastBridge aReading or Star Reading indicates that her current skills are like those of a typical first grader. This means that Molly is three grade levels behind her grade-level peers in reading. Efforts to improve Molly’s reading skills are clearly needed.

What role does MTSS play in educational catch-up growth?

If Molly’s school uses a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) for reading, she is likely to participate in a daily reading intervention that includes daily specialized lessons. MTSS typically involves three levels of support:

1. Tier 1 includes the general education curriculum and is provided for all students.
2. Tier 2 usually includes about 30 minutes of targeted instruction and is in addition to the school’s Tier 1 core instruction.
3. Tier 3 is provided to students who are significantly below grade level and can include either (a) additional instruction beyond Tier 1 and Tier 2, or (b) a replacement program that is used instead of the Tier 1 core.

In Molly’s case, the good news is that when such intervention is provided according to the methods validated through research, her reading skills are likely to improve.

Although providing intervention has been shown to improve the skills of students with significant reading problems, teachers often ask whether students like Molly can ever catch up and read like their typically achieving classmates. The honest answer is that for students to catch up, they’ll need to participate in a regular intensive intervention that focuses on gaining skills at a faster pace than their classmates. Without such intensive intervention, Molly is likely to experience the “Matthew Effect.”

The “Matthew Effect” in reading

For a student like Molly to catch up and meet grade-level reading expectations, she’ll need to improve her skills at a faster pace than her classmates. The reading researcher Keith Stanovich (1986) applied the term “Matthew Effect” to describe this phenomenon.

Stanovich’s research showed that students who learn to read in grades 1 and 2 go on to be strong readers, but those who struggle—without intervention—go on to be very poor readers. In other words, unless students with reading difficulties improve their reading skills at a faster rate than their classmates, they will never read at grade level.

Catch-up growth in education: How it works

It’s certainly possible for struggling students to catch up and to perform on grade level. However, for these students to reach grade-level expectations, effective and intensive intervention is required.

The term for the improvements needed by students who start out far behind is, accordingly, “catch-up growth.” This refers to the reality that when a student starts out behind other students, he or she will need to learn at a faster rate than classmates to catch up.

Catch-up growth is needed because most students improve their skills incrementally every year, which is known as annual growth. For students who start the school year performing on grade level, annual growth will be sufficient to reach that year’s learning goals. However, for students who start out below grade level, both annual growth and catch-up growth are needed in order to catch up to grade level. Otherwise, the student will experience the Matthew Effect and become farther behind each school year.

So, if a student who starts out below expectations improves his or her skills at the same pace as typically achieving students, gains will be made, but the student will still be behind others because his or her starting point was significantly lower than other students’.

An excellent resource for learning more about catch-up growth is the book The 90% Reading Goal by Fielding, Kerr, and Rosier (1998). This book explains how a low-income school district improved the reading scores of all students over many years.

How can catch-up growth be achieved in the classroom?

For a student to make above-average gains, both scientifically-based core instruction and additional intervention are usually needed. As I mentioned earlier, core instruction refers to the teaching materials and practices used to teach all students each day. For students who start out behind, providing additional instruction, also known as intervention, is needed.

The best way for schools to provide additional instruction is to use an MTSS model, which is sometimes known as Response to Intervention (RTI). Both MTSS and RTI provide tools for:

• Anticipating students’ learning needs
• Creating daily schedules that have time blocks set aside for additional instruction
• Setting goals and monitoring students’ progress

Let’s explore how each component can help students to achieve catch-up growth.

Anticipate learning needs

For students who need to achieve catch-up growth, educators must first anticipate these needs. There will always be students who fall into this group, and instruction must be designed in a way that will allow these students to find success.

A big part of anticipating learning needs is identifying the students who need interventions as soon as possible through universal screening measures. Universal screening allows educators to see students’ starting scores and evaluate how much, if any, intervention is needed.

Set aside additional instruction time blocks

Having scheduled times for additional instruction is essential for students who start out below grade level. As I noted earlier, the core instruction provided for all students is designed so that they make one year’s growth during one school year. This is perfect for students who start the year performing on grade level, but it does not meet the needs of those who are below grade level. To support these students, additional instruction that focuses on catch-up growth is necessary.

To provide additional instruction time to help students catch up, each school team needs to review its daily schedule and include a time block when all students can participate in intervention lessons. Importantly, daily intervention time blocks can be used to support all students by, for example, providing both remedial and extension lessons. Students who are behind use this time to catch up, while those who are already at grade level can use the time to accelerate their learning.

Set goals for achieving catch-up growth

Typically, students who enter into progress monitoring do so because they have been assigned an intervention or supplemental instruction to catch up to what’s expected at their grade level. It is crucial to consider the importance of goal setting when it comes to progress monitoring. Any given progress monitoring measure is only going to be useful in relation to a goal that has been set for a student.

Also, if we were to collect data without reference to a specific goal, there’s no way to know whether a student is making adequate improvements. For this to happen, we need to have guidance on how much growth is necessary for a student to catch up—and goals help to provide this guidance and serve as a bar from which to measure catch-up growth.

I suggest keeping two key points in mind when setting goals:

#1: Goals should be ambitious but realistic

The most important step in helping students to catch up is to use ambitious learning goals. Ambitious goals are those that result in a student making and sustaining learning gains that are bigger than other students’ gains.

While we want goals to be ambitious, they should also be attainable. If a goal is too easy, it won’t help a student to catch up. But over-ambitious goals may be impossible to attain and will set students up for frustration and failure.

#2: Goals should be based on research and created using effective tools

There is an extensive body of research on the importance of goal setting and how goal setting should be approached and implemented to be successful. Renaissance has used this research to create tools in FastBridge and Star Assessments to help educators calculate ambitious yet realistic goals for students who need to achieve catch-up growth.

These tools define goals based on several factors that are individualized for each student:

1. Starting score: This is based on universal screening results and tells us where the student currently stands.
2. Rate of Improvement (ROI): As with the end goal, the ROI should be above average but still attainable.
3. End of school year timeline: We need to take into account how much time is left in the school year for the student to work toward the assigned goal.

Conclusion

Students who start a school year behind their classmates need to learn new skills faster than others in order to catch up to grade-level expectations. It is possible for students to achieve such catch-up growth, but only if schools:

• Anticipate these learning needs
• Organize daily schedules to provide additional instruction
• Set ambitious, research-based progress monitoring goals

When schools use models such as an MTSS and RTI, both general education/core instruction and supplemental intervention are provided. The combination of effective Tier 1 core instruction with Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 intervention creates a pathway for students who start out behind to catch up to peers.

Creating tiered supports requires an ongoing and coordinated effort by all teachers that affirms that, with the right resources and supports, students who start out behind can indeed reach grade-level expectations.

Discover the comprehensive assessment solution from Renaissance for universal screening, progress monitoring, goal setting, and more—for pre-K to grade 12 students.

References

Fielding, L., Kerr, N., & Rosier, P. (1998). The 90% reading goal. Kennewick, WA: The New Foundation Press.

Stanovich, K. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407.

The post Catch-up growth: Educational challenges and solutions appeared first on Renaissance.

Read on for a summary of what’s new—not just for your elementary learners but for middle and high school students as well. You’ll find full details on our Product Updates Blog, which we invite you to visit throughout the year for the latest Renaissance news and resources.

Easily connect phonics assessment to skills instruction

Last spring, we were thrilled to welcome Star Phonics to the Renaissance family. Aligned with the Science of Reading, Star Phonics is the only assessment to screen and diagnose 12 phonics categories and 102 essential skills. Star Phonics is easy to implement and administer and provides immediate, easy-to-use reporting:

   

Once you’ve assessed students with Star Phonics, you can use our new crosswalk to connect each student with the right foundational literacy lessons in our Lalilo practice program. The crosswalk lists each of the categories measured by Star Phonics, including contractions, digraphs, blends, r-controlled vowels, and more. It then shows you the Lalilo lesson(s) that provide learners with engaging instruction and practice on each phonics skill:

   

If you’re not already using Star Phonics, we invite you to learn more about the science behind this unique assessment. You can also try Star Phonics for yourself with a free 90-day trial.

Drive greater foundational literacy growth for every learner

In addition to the new crosswalk, Lalilo offers a variety of helpful new features to engage your learners in foundational literacy development. New Direct Instruction lessons give students guided practice on important concepts in Grammar and Conventions, such as collective nouns. New and enhanced comprehension books feature larger images, easier navigation, and expanded standards coverage. A new Teacher Implementation Guide helps you to get started quickly and to make the best use of Lalilo throughout the year. And a new Nearpod Lessons List provides one-click access to student-friendly instructional resources for phonics and word families.

   

If you’re not using Lalilo yet, see the latest research on the program’s effectiveness and its alignment to the Science of Reading. You can also create a free account to try Lalilo with your students this winter.

Assess sight words and encoding skills with curriculum-based measures

To become successful readers and writers, students need strong sight-word recognition and encoding (or spelling) skills. If you use Star CBM Reading, you have early access to new measures for Sight and High-Frequency Words (grades K–3) and for Encoding (grades K–6). We’re field testing these measures during the 2022–2023 school year, and each administration will inform our process of determining grade-level benchmarks:

The new Sight and High-Frequency Word measures are one-minute assessments administered 1:1, with the student reading each word aloud. Encoding measures require students to translate a spoken word to written form and can be administered to a whole class or to individual students.

Star CBM Reading is available as part of the Star Assessments suite and provides opportunities for direct assessment of essential literacy skills. You can learn more about the design of Star CBM Reading—and how it works hand-in-hand with the computer-adaptive Star tests to support students’ reading development—in this article written by one of the assessment’s creators.

Promote equity and accessibility in test administration

Star CBM Reading and Star CBM Math now include braille support to provide blind and visually impaired students with the same testing opportunities as their sighted peers. Braille measures are transcribed and included in Star CBM as downloadable .BRF files for use with a braille embosser. All forms of the measures listed below are available in braille to support both universal screening and progress monitoring:

   

In addition, you can now more easily enable testing accommodations in the computer-adaptive Star Reading and Star Math assessments in English. Available accommodations include response making, color contrast, zoom, a line reader, and more. You’ll find information about the accommodations provided to each student on the Star Diagnostic Report, Test Activity Report, and Test Record Report.

The addition of these assistive tools and technologies helps all students to demonstrate what they know and can do—and provides you with greater insight into students’ progress in literacy and math throughout the year.

Build students’ reading comprehension and social-emotional skills

Wide independent reading is critical for building background knowledge and vocabulary, while also helping students to develop important social and emotional competencies such as self-awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. You’ll find great new content and features in our myON digital reading platform to support student engagement and social-emotional learning (SEL) this year:

• myON offers more than 250 new titles, including decodables, chapter books, and books in Spanish. This includes both the myON Core Collection, with titles from the Capstone family of imprints, and the Harper Collins Third Party Collections for Early Elementary Phonics and Upper Elementary Fiction.

• myON has several new features to further enhance its World Languages support. First, myON News articles are now available in Arabic and Mandarin, with natural-voice audio narration in each language. myON News publishes five articles each weekday, and all articles are reviewed by a child psychologist for appropriateness. In addition, the myON interface can now be displayed in Portuguese, to give students an additional option for navigating the program.

• To support SEL instructional practices in the classroom, myON now includes ready-made SEL projects for pre-K through grade 12 learners. These projects include tasks related to reading, writing, news, and using myON’s graphic organizer, and they support topics such as emotions, critical thinking, social awareness, and promoting well-being. Many of the projects align with the CASEL framework for applying evidence-based SEL strategies to daily learning.

   

myON also has a new student-recorded read-aloud feature to give learners new opportunities for oral reading practice and fluency development. We’re excited to share that students have used this feature more than three million times since its release last August!

Match students with engaging literacy and math skills practice

Last fall, we welcomed FastBridge assessments to the Renaissance family. FastBridge provides universal screening and progress monitoring for reading, math, and social-emotional behavior (SEB) from kindergarten through grade 12.

Districts using FastBridge now have the option of connecting students’ assessment scores to our Freckle practice program and to myON, eliminating the need for students to take separate placement tests within these programs. With this new connection, students can begin practicing essential ELA and math skills at the right level in Freckle, and can more easily find just-right digital books in myON:

• In Freckle for ELA, students’ levels are set based on their performance on the FastBridge aReading assessment.

• In Freckle for math, students’ levels are set for each domain based on their performance on the FastBridge aMath assessment.

• In myON, students’ Lexile®-based reading levels are set using aReading assessment results.

The connection between FastBridge, Freckle, and myON is done by your Renaissance Implementation Manager via a data upload and is available at no additional cost.

Drive greater student growth this year

As 2023 gets underway, you’ll find more new features in your Renaissance programs to help accelerate students’ growth in both literacy and math. For example, Star provides a new report that enables you to easily share test results with students during conversations around their progress and goals. Also, Star’s Growth Proficiency Chart now includes visual indicators for Low, Typical, and High Growth to help you better understand performance at the district, school, class, and student levels.

Administrators using our Schoolzilla platform have access to new search and filter options to help streamline their reporting processes. And Schoolzilla Starter has a new name—Renaissance Analytics—to reflect its role in bringing together usage and performance data from all of your district’s Renaissance assessment and practice programs. (Freckle data is available currently, and additional practice programs will be added this year.)

We have a number of additional enhancements planned for the months ahead. If you haven’t already, bookmark our Product Updates Blog, where you’ll always find the latest information. Also, subscribe to the Renaissance newsletter to receive updates and helpful resources right in your in-box. And if you’d like to learn more about Star Phonics, Lalilo, or other Renaissance programs, please let us know. We’re here to help.

The post Product Highlights: Measuring the Science of Reading appeared first on Renaissance.

Read on for the answers, as four members of the AR Content Design team discuss their backgrounds, their working methods, and some favorite—and perhaps overlooked—books. Remember that you, your students, and their families can also visit AR Bookfinder, a free online resource for finding fiction and nonfiction titles that match each learner’s unique interests.

Michelle C: Inspiring middle-grades readers

“I majored in International Studies in college, and I then spent nine years working in the insurance industry. When my older son turned five, I left my position in order to homeschool him, meaning that I spent a lot of time reading children’s books. When I saw a posting for a part-time position writing Accelerated Reader quizzes, I knew it would be a perfect fit!

When writing quizzes, I gravitate toward Middle Grades books, especially those that will appeal to my sons. We’re big fans of the InvestiGator series by John Patrick Green and the Explorers Academy series by Trudi Trueit, as well as the Minecraft series by Max Brooks. The InvestiGator books are full of puns and quirky facts, while the Minecraft series touches on everything from castles to circuitry and has sparked my sons’ interest in learning more about these topics. In fact, my younger son recently asked me what life was like during the Middle Ages—a topic we’ll definitely be exploring this year.

This is a great example of how reading can open doors to new interests, while also teaching students important lessons. The Minecraft books, for example, tackle some big issues within their fictional universe: problem-solving, teamwork, resolving family conflicts, self-expression, and accepting others.

When I’m reading a book, I take detailed notes about plot points and characters, which I then use when writing the quiz. AR quizzes aren’t meant to be scavenger hunts, testing students’ memories of minor details. Instead, I follow the arc of the story, so students will—in a sense—relive the experience of reading the book and focus on what they learned.

One of the most challenging parts of quiz-writing is the distractors—answer choices that are incorrect but appear plausible to students who haven’t read the book. My notes are especially helpful here, so that I can draw on incidents and characters in the book when writing these incorrect (but believable) options.

I’m sometimes asked whether I feel a sense of accomplishment when my quizzes are published. The answer is: Absolutely! Each quiz I write expands the Accelerated Reader library, giving students a new choice in what to read. Our goal as Content Designers is to keep students reading—and to inspire them to follow their interests in choosing their next book.”

Barb F: Sharing a love of sports—and Shakespeare

“I’ve been writing Accelerated Reader quizzes for 28 years, and this would have been my dream job from the beginning—if I’d known it existed! I majored in English Education in college, and I then taught high school English and creative writing. One day I saw a newspaper ad with the headline ‘Read Children’s Books!’ Once I realized it wasn’t a scam, I decided to apply—and the rest is history.

Because I love baseball, I became known as ‘the sports person,’ and I’ve written quizzes for hundreds of sports-related books over the years. I’ve learned a lot, especially about hockey, golf, and other sports I wasn’t necessarily familiar with. I’ve written AR quizzes for at least a dozen books about Tiger Woods, for example, as well as Peyton Manning, Venus and Serena Williams, and many more.

As I’m reading a book, I stop to write potential quiz questions and the correct response—such as ‘How did Tiger Woods get his nickname?’ or ‘How old was he when he won his first tournament?’ Later, I’ll go back and write the distractors. This can be more difficult than people think, and I’ve had to abandon potential questions because it just wasn’t possible to write three plausible distractors to display alongside the correct answer.

Needless to say, the quiz-writing process has changed over the years. When I started, the emphasis was on literature, particularly titles that had won the Newbery Medal or Caldecott Medal. Over the last 15 years, the number of nonfiction books written for the Middle and Upper Grades has increased substantially—partly due to the focus on STEM, and partly due to new state learning standards that emphasize informational texts. We’ve also seen genres like graphic novels become much more popular. The number and variety of quizzes in Accelerated Reader has grown significantly to reflect these changes.

In addition to the sports books, I’ve had the opportunity to write AR quizzes for a wide range of titles during my time at Renaissance. I’ve written quizzes for Shakespeare plays and Stephen King novels, for instance. Recently, I’ve been drawn to biographies, and I created quizzes for books on Shirley Chisholm and Cleve Jones. I learned a lot while reading these books—an obvious ‘perk’ of the job!

Now that my own children are adults, writing AR quizzes also helps me to stay connected with new generations of children. I particularly enjoy the Emmie series of graphic novels by Terri Libenson, which address typical ‘kid’ problems—grades, family strife, bullies—in a very relatable way. I think this is so important today—not only to engage kids with well-written stories, but to remind them that they’re not alone.”

Kelli S: Introducing students to new worlds through books

“I majored in Elementary Education in college, and I taught grades 4 and 5 for several years. I then became a literacy interventionist and, eventually, an instructional coach, working with teachers and administrators on best practices in reading instruction and assessment. I also earned my master’s degree in Educational Administration, and I’m certified in the areas of Director of Instruction and Principal.

When COVID-19 hit, my husband and I made the decision to return to our hometown in central Wisconsin. I was very familiar with Renaissance programs—I’d used Accelerated Reader as a student, and I used Star Assessments, Freckle, and Nearpod as an educator. Joining the AR Content Design team was a natural fit. As a teacher, I made sure my classroom was full of books—from garage sales, thrift shops, book drives, etc. I also worked to ensure diversity in my classroom library, so that all students could see themselves represented while learning about other people’s experiences, too.

Over the past two years, I’ve become well rounded as a Content Designer. I’ve written 3-question quizzes for early reader books, along with quizzes for Lower and Middle Grades titles. I’m most drawn to Upper Grades books, however—especially fantasy novels. This genre has exploded over the last decade, due to the popularity of series like The Hunger Games and the rise of online fandoms.

A recent title that stands out in this genre is This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi. It’s based on a Persian epic and has some of the best world-building I’ve seen. I was completely immersed in the story, and I’d recommend it to high school students and librarians. It’s the first book in a series, and I’ll absolutely be reading the sequels, whether I get to write the Accelerated Reader quizzes or not!

In terms of process, I read all of the books digitally. As I’m reading, I copy key passages into a separate document, so I have major plot points in one place for later reference. I also write potential quiz questions as I read. Upper Grades books can include sensitive issues—violence, sexual situations, profanity—which I flag as well, so the appropriate trigger warnings can be included in AR Bookfinder.

Writing quizzes is a collaborative process, and I’ve benefitted from other Content Designers sharing their experience with me. We have exemplar quizzes for different genres of books and different types of questions, and I studied these closely when I was getting started. I also get great feedback from my editors, and I don’t hesitate to ask questions if I’m unsure of something.

I often find myself thinking of former students when I’m writing AR quizzes. Sometimes, it’s the realization that a certain student would really enjoy a particular book. In other cases, it’s a matter of empathy—of seeing the quiz from the students’ point of view. How can I ask about a complex topic in a clear way? How can I help students to see reading as a positive experience? As a teacher, my reach was limited to a single classroom. Now, my impact is much larger, reaching students not only in the US but around the world.”

Nikki R: Building excitement for reading, one title at a time

“In college, I studied Family Consumer Education, which focuses on child development, nutrition, sewing, etc. I taught both middle and high school and was also a substitute teacher before I joined Renaissance in 2013.

I’ve written Accelerated Reader quizzes for a wide range of books, although Young Adult novels are my favorite—especially historical fiction. Many of these are Upper Grades titles, but we’re seeing an increasing interest in history in the Middle and Lower Grades as well. The Diary of Anne Frank has been adapted as a graphic novel for middle-grades readers, for instance.

I’d describe myself as a fan of any book that keeps students engaged and makes them want to learn more. When done well, historical fiction hits both points. The characters and plot engage students and keep them guessing about what will happen next. Students also get insight into what life was like in the past, such as the treatment of women in the 1800s, or what civilians and soldiers endured during World War II. In this sense, a novel can really spark students’ interest in nonfiction, making them want to learn more about the American Revolution, the women’s suffrage movement, the moon landing, etc.

I often describe writing an AR quiz as ‘creative technical writing,’ in the sense that our goal is to engage students while also following best practices and our content appropriateness guidelines. The guidelines are helpful in dealing with sensitive issues—in Upper Grades historical fiction, for example, students might encounter violence, racism, or sexism—and we’re very careful with when and how we reference these issues in the quiz. We also regularly review and update existing book quizzes to ensure they continue to align with our guidelines and best practices.

In terms of process, I take detailed notes as I’m reading, which then help me to plan and write the quiz. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Content Designers went into the office one day per week to pick up print copies of books. Now, everyone works from digital copies, which mirrors many students’ reading experience—especially in schools that are using the myON digital platform alongside Accelerated Reader.

I’ve had the opportunity to write quizzes for some memorable books over the years, many of which I’ve recommended to my local librarian. A recent example is Ten Beautiful Things by Molly Beth Griffin. This is a wonderful title for elementary students, emphasizing gratitude and finding the beauty in everyday life. I know children have a lot of distractions today and may be tempted to scroll through their phones rather than opening a book. I think I can speak for the entire Content Design team when I say that our goal is to help make reading a positive experience for students—and to build a sense of excitement as they look forward to their next great read.”

The post Writing new book quizzes for Accelerated Reader appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (October 18, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, today released the latest edition of How Kids Are Performing, a report detailing student academic performance and growth during the 2021–2022 school year. The new report reveals that overall, student performance during the past school year continued to fall in reading and was consistent in math—it improved in the elementary grades and declined in the upper grades. Results vary considerably by individual grade level, but the report gives clear reasons for optimism as well as underscoring the need for the action and momentum to continue forward.

Based on the Star Reading assessments of more than 4.6 million students and the Star Math assessments of nearly 3.3 million students, the latest edition of How Kids Are Performing shows improvements in within-year growth compared to the prior school year across nearly all grades and groups, particularly in elementary school.

“In many cases, younger students are now exceeding what we would consider ‘typical’ growth in a single school year,” said Dr. Gene Kerns, chief academic officer at Renaissance. “As we’ve been tracking the impact of the pandemic on student achievement, the two areas of greatest concern have been mathematics among elementary school students and literacy skills among kindergarten students. Yet after initial declines during the 2021–2022 school year, those two areas are now showing the strongest improvements in growth. This suggests that educators have identified and responded to those challenges, which is cause for celebration and continued optimism for the work still ahead.”

Kerns highlighted other “great examples of the progress educators and students have been making over the past year across the country. Compared to growth rates from the prior school year, in math, English language learners and Pacific Islanders had a 15-point improvement in growth, while American Indian, Black, and Hispanic students all showed an increase of 12 points.”

Other key findings in the new report include:

• Overall, student performance on Star assessments was lower compared to the 2020–2021 school year, with exceptions in certain elementary grades. The largest declines were in the high school grades.
• Some high school grades also showed declines in growth, but fall-to-spring growth was stronger than in the 2020–2021 school year in many early and middle grades, which reached or exceeded typical growth.
• Although performance and growth varied among student and school groups, spring performance in reading was equal or lower in the 2021–2022 school year compared to the prior year, while performance in math was equal or higher than the prior year.

“Clearly, the pandemic has impacted all students’ learning outcomes, and now more than ever we need assessment systems that provide meaningful data in a timely manner,” said Ryan McKinnon, assistant principal at Carrollton City Schools in Georgia. “Our students’ potential has not changed, and the new report shows that students make adequate or even above-average growth when we focus on what’s working and modify our instructional techniques accordingly.”

To help educators prioritize their use of classroom time as they work to accelerate learning for their students this school year, Renaissance has released a collection of free resources, including:

• Focus Skills in English and Spanish, designed to help educators identify the most critical skills for future learning at each grade level;
• Trip Steps for Reading, which are the most difficult reading skills for students to master across grades K–12; and
• Trip Steps for Mathematics, showing the most difficult math skills for students to master from pre-K through Algebra 1.

To help educators focus on essential phonics skills, Renaissance is also offering Star Phonics, the first and only web-based assessment that measures the Science of Reading by screening and diagnosing 102 essential phonics skills. Dr. Michelle Hosp, the assessment’s creator, explains how the Science of Reading underlies Star Phonics in the new whitepaper, “The Science Behind Star Phonics.”

The full How Kids Are Performing report is available at renaissance.com/How-Kids-Are-Performing.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40% of US schools and more than a half million students in other regions across the world. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, myIGDIs for Preschool, FastBridge, DnA, and SchoolCity); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (eduCLIMBER and Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod). For more information, visit renaissance.com.

Media Contact:
Lucy Duffy
Senior Public Relations and Communications Specialist
Renaissance
561-573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post National Report Shows Signs of Growth, Recovery Among Early Learners and Middle Schoolers appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (October 12, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, recently announced that Star Assessments have been approved by the Kentucky Department of Education to assist school leaders and teachers to meet the required criteria of the Read to Succeed Act (Senate Bill 9) through valid and reliable assessment as part of a multi-tiered system of supports for students in grades K–3.

“We’re pleased to support the teachers and students of Kentucky with valid and reliable assessments for measuring and monitoring literacy skills proficiency,” said Mark DeFranco, Regional Vice President at Renaissance. “Star Assessments will help teachers to identify students who may be at risk for developing reading difficulties and are in need of additional instruction and intervention, as well as the key foundational literacy skills students are ready to learn next.”

Star Assessments are quick and easy for teachers to administer, and they provide actionable information to support strong foundational literacy development:

Star Early Literacy is a computer-adaptive assessment of phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics, print concepts, fluency, and comprehension for beginning and emergent readers.

Star Reading is computer-adaptive assessment for independent readers in the key domains of vocabulary and comprehension.

Star Phonics is the first and only web-based assessment that screens and diagnoses 12 phonics categories and 102 essential skills. Star Phonics gives educators specific information about students’ development of essential phonics components.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, myIGDIs for Preschool, FastBridge, DnA, and SchoolCity); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (eduCLIMBER and Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod).

Press contact:
Lucy Duffy
Multi-Media Communications Specialist
Renaissance
561-573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Kentucky Board of Education Approves Renaissance Assessments for K–3 Early Literacy Screening and Diagnostics appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (October 7, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, recently announced that Star Reading and Star Math have been added to the approved list of Gifted Education Assessment Measures to identify students’ eligibility for gifted education programs in the achievement domain by the Georgia Department of Education.

Districts across the state can now use data from their Star Assessments for Reading and Math to help identify students eligible for gifted education programs.

“We welcome the opportunity to assist Georgia educators and students and support gifted identification with valid and reliable data from our Star Assessments,” said Darice Keating, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Renaissance. “The Georgia Department of Education’s approval of Star Assessments will help districts to personalize instruction informed by data-driven insights to help educators reach every student at the right level.”

The Georgia DOE gifted education screening process requires data for students in four categories including mental ability, achievement, creativity, and motivation. Star assessment data will be used to measure student performance in the achievement category.

Star Reading is a comprehensive online assessment providing all of the insights needed to guide literacy growth for readers at all levels. Star Reading transforms assessment data into action steps for educators, giving teachers helpful insights and tools to strengthen instruction.

Star Math puts assessment data to work for educators so teachers can spend less time analyzing results and more time differentiating instruction. With Star Math, educators can help students increase math mastery with actionable insights into each student’s math skills and subskills.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, myIGDIs for Preschool, FastBridge, DnA, and SchoolCity); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (eduCLIMBER and Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod).

Press contact:
Lucy Duffy
Multi-Media Communications Specialist
Renaissance
561-573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Star Reading and Star Math Approved by Georgia Department of Education as Gifted Identification Screeners appeared first on Renaissance.

Note: If you’re not familiar with dyslexia, I encourage you to read the International Dyslexia Association’s official definition.

Myth #1: Dyslexia means “seeing things backwards.”

In my experience, this is the most common myth about dyslexia. In fact, when I type “dyslexia and reversals” into Google, I get more than 1.4 million hits. Why do so many people believe this?

The answer is connected to typical reading development and a common error many students make, namely: reversing letters when reading or writing, like “b” and “d” or “p” and “q.” This type of error is common when students are learning how phonemes (sounds) and graphemes (letters) are connected in English. The fact that we have 26 letters in our alphabet and around 44 sounds can make it challenging to keep the letters and sounds straight. It also means that letters that look similar will often be confused until the student has mastered this skill.

It’s true that students with dyslexia are more susceptible to making these types of errors, because a common characteristic of dyslexia is struggling with accurately mapping the correct phonemes to graphemes. That is why it’s not uncommon for these students to continue to make these types of reversals when their peers are not. It does not mean they “see things backwards,” however. Instead, it means they need more help learning how letters and sounds go together.

I can’t help but make one more comment here. If it were true that students with dyslexia see letters and words backwards, wouldn’t this be true for everything they see? Wouldn’t pictures, signs, clothing, food, and everything else be backwards? For example, if they saw traffic signs like the ones below, wouldn’t both the letters/words and the arrows be reversed?

Clearly, this doesn’t happen. The human brain does know to only pinpoint and reverse letters and words, which shows how baseless this myth is.

Myth #2: Dyslexia is a visual impairment.

Like myth #1, there’s no evidence that students with dyslexia have visual impairments that relate to their reading challenges. But I have two theories as to why this myth is so common.

First, it builds on myth #1 that students see things backwards; therefore—dyslexia must have something to do with their vision. If you believe myth #1, then it’s not a stretch to believe that dyslexia results from a visual impairment.

Second, there are many so-called “treatments” for dyslexia that focus on students’ vision. These include color overlays, special glasses, special fonts, and even eye tracking exercises. Because these treatments exist, people conclude that dyslexia must result from a visual impairment.

Unfortunately, we don’t have an FDA to regulate educational treatments, so it can be a case of “anything goes”—even if the treatments don’t actually work. One example relates to Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, also called Irlen Syndrome for its developer, Helen Irlen. Irlen’s institute claims that this syndrome is a visual processing disorder that can’t be detected by any test other than theirs. The treatment is a color overlay placed on top of text. There are no independent empirical studies to support the existence of this syndrome or the efficacy of the treatment, yet it plays into the notion that vision is involved. This gives people hope that there is a “quick fix” or cure for dyslexia, which leads us to the next myth.

Myth #3: Dyslexia can be cured.

People with dyslexia wish this were true, but they know only too well that dyslexia is a lifelong disability, and there is no cure. However, people with dyslexia can become strong readers, and there are many scientifically based interventions to support K–12 students’ skills in reading. Instead of sharing a list, I’ll describe what makes an intervention effective by discussing the skills it should include and what the instruction should look like. If you keep these points in mind, you won’t have a problem distinguishing effective from ineffective interventions.

Let’s start with the skills students with dyslexia—and, frankly, any student learning to read—will benefit from:

• Phonemic awareness: E.g., ask students to tell you all of the sounds they hear in the word “sat”. Without looking at any letters, they should say “/s/ /a/ /t/.” This helps them to focus on the phonemes (sounds) that make up words.
• Phonics/decoding: E.g., ask students to say the sounds in “sat” and to then read the word. Students should look at each letter and say “/s/ /a/ /t/,” and they should then say “/sat/”. This is an extension of phonemic awareness by adding the letters that represent the sounds.
• Fluency: E.g., ask students to read aloud without making errors, at a pace that is fitting for the text (poems might be slower, novels might be faster), while also using expression to convey meaning.
• Vocabulary: E.g., ask students to tell you what the word “sat” means. Vocabulary develops over time and should be taught explicitly, even if students aren’t yet reading. This is because they need to know the meaning of the words they’ll encounter in order to comprehend what they read.

Now, let’s discuss how these skills should be taught. This is often referred to as systematic and explicit instruction, or evidence-based instruction. Let’s consider these terms in detail.

Systematic means you have a plan or a system for how you teach, instead of relying on discovery or “in the moment” learning. Your system should include the skills you’ll teach each day and the order in which you’ll teach them. This is often referred to as your scope and sequence. Things to consider when developing a scope and sequence include:

• The prerequisite skills students need in order to learn a new skill. For example, teaching the sounds of the letters before teaching students how to read words is logical, because their ability to read a word will depend on how well they know their letter sounds.
• Plans for how much time you’ll need to teach a skill, based on whether you’re teaching it for the first time, providing practice, or reviewing it. Logically, your plan should allow for more time when teaching a skill for the first time versus reviewing a skill.

Explicit: Think of this as crystal clear, black and white, and leaving nothing to chance. You may have heard explicit instruction referred to as “I do, we do, you do.” To show you what this looks like, I’ll provide an example.

“I do” means the teacher shows, demonstrates, and produces the exact response she wants the students to carry out. The goal is to leave nothing to chance. For teaching letter sounds, this would look like the following:

Teacher: Points to the letter S on the board. “Today we’re going to learn the sound for the letter S. The letter S says: ‘sssssssss.’ Listen: ‘sssssssss.’ Now it’s your turn. When I point to the letter, you say the sound.” Points to the letter S.

Students: “ssssssssss.”

“We do” means the teacher continues the lesson but asks the students to respond with her. For example:

Teacher: “Now let’s do it together. When I point to the letter S, you say the sound with me.” Points to the letter S.

Teacher and students: “sssssssss.”

“You do” means the students produce the sound by themselves. For example:

Teacher: “Now it’s your turn! When I point to the letter S, you say the sound by yourselves.” Points to the letter S.

Students: “sssssssss.”

Now, let’s consider what this might look like using a non-explicit—or discovery learning—approach. Imagine a teacher is reading a book about the sun aloud to her class. She interrupts her reading to ask a question:

Teacher: “Who saw the sun today on their way to school?”

Students: Raise their hands.

Teacher: “Does anyone know what letter ‘sun’ begins with?”

Students: Raise their hands.

Teacher: Picks one student and asks, “What sound does ‘sun’ begin with?”

Student: “ssssssss.”

Teacher: Addressing that student only: “Good job!” Continues reading the book aloud.

Both teachers planned to teach the letter S as part of their lesson. The first teacher, using “I do, we do, you do,” makes sure the students look at the letter and hear the correct pronunciation before they all practice producing the sound. The second teacher chooses to teach “in the moment” using a book, meaning the students may or may not have seen the letter S, and not all students are expected to produce the sound.

Now think about our students with dyslexia—or any student learning to read. Which classroom would you want them to be in?

Myth #4: Students with dyslexia are “lazy.” They just need to make more of an effort.

This myth really frustrates me because it blames students for something they can’t control. But I think I can shed light on why this myth is prevalent. It’s because students with dyslexia are, in many ways, just like any other students when it comes to learning other subjects, social skills, and oral language. When you talk to students with dyslexia, you’ll find that they’re like most typically developing students, they have a wide vocabulary, and they’re knowledgeable and articulate.

This means that when it comes to dyslexia, you can’t “see it”—and if you can’t see a person’s disability, it can be harder to understand that they have one. This leads to the misconception that this seemingly capable, articulate student who does well in other subjects should also be doing well in reading. They just need to try harder! For students with dyslexia, nothing stings more than people attributing their struggle to a choice they’re making—as if they’d be able to read successfully if they put in more effort.

Myth #5: Dyslexia is a medical diagnosis.

Have you heard that only doctors can diagnose dyslexia? As a former school psychologist, I can assure you this is not the case. So, how is dyslexia diagnosed? In the US, public schools—as well as private schools receiving federal funds—are required to have a team that includes a school psychologist, speech-language pathologist, special and general education teachers, and others, depending on the circumstances. If there’s reason to suspect a student has any type of disability, including dyslexia, this team is responsible for collecting data using assessments, interviews, and observations to determine whether the student has a disability and, if so, whether the student requires special education services.

Note that dyslexia falls under the definition of “specific learning disability” and is not a separate disability category under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The USDOE’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) issued a “Dear Colleague” letter in 2015 confirming that schools can use the term “dyslexia” when considering whether a student is eligible for special education due to a specific learning disability in reading.

How Renaissance supports universal screening for characteristics of dyslexia

Now that we’ve examined some common myths, let’s turn our attention to dyslexia screening, which nearly every state requires for all K–3 students. As a result of these policies, we can now identify children with dyslexia as early as kindergarten. The purpose of identifying these children is, of course, to intervene—and we know that the earlier this happens, the greater the chances that students will receive instruction and supports to become successful readers.

Skills included in dyslexia screening are phonemic awareness, phonics, rapid automatized naming (RAN), word reading fluency, and spelling. Renaissance offers several assessment options for universal screening in these areas. Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star CBM Reading appear on many states’ lists of approved dyslexia screeners. Star CBM Reading includes several RAN measures, including new measures this school year for Rapid Letter Naming and Rapid Number Naming.

The assessment I created, Star Phonics, is an important companion to a school’s reading screener. Star Phonics is the only assessment that measures 12 of the most common phonics patterns and also provides diagnostic information on 102 specific phonics skills. Because phonics is complex, administering a phonics screener to all students provides detailed information for instructional planning on the skills that are most predictive of learning to read successfully. For students with dyslexia, measuring their phonics skills is one of the best ways we can help them by identifying what they already know and where we need to focus instruction. The faster we can help these students, the greater the success they’ll have in reading, and they deserve to have the best support we can provide.

The post 5 common myths about students with dyslexia appeared first on Renaissance.

Supporting oral reading fluency with myON

myON digital books include natural-voice audio narration to model fluent reading. A new myON feature allows students to also record themselves reading books aloud—and to review the recording before submitting it to their teacher:

This feature provides students with new opportunities for oral reading practice both in and out of the classroom. It also encourages them to self-assess their reading performance to recognize their strengths as well as their miscues. Opportunities to self-assess are essential for literacy growth and help students to take greater ownership of their learning. As an educator, you can listen to the recordings to monitor students’ progress and provide additional feedback. You might also use the recordings to create portfolios, to compare each student’s reading fluency at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year.

In addition to this new read-aloud feature, myON offers more than 100 new titles for Back to School, including decodables, early elementary chapter books, and books in Spanish. And remember that myON provides you and your students with two metrics for identifying students’ current reading levels: ATOS ZPD and Lexile® measures.

Building foundational literacy skills with Lalilo

Lalilo provides K–2 students with engaging practice on foundational literacy skills and is built on Science of Reading research.

Educators using the premium version of Lalilo can now use Star Early Literacy assessment scores to pre-place students into the Lalilo scope and sequence. This new connection saves students time while also helping to ensure they begin their Lalilo journey with the just-right lessons in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and more.

Administrators also have access to enhanced Lalilo reporting this year, so they can more easily monitor K–2 students’ foundational literacy practice and progress at the district, school, and class levels. Lalilo’s administrator dashboard provides a variety of important metrics, including the amount of time students are practicing in Lalilo and the percentage of students who are On Track, Below Track, or Inactive by grade level and by month:

If you’re not already using Lalilo, we invite you to learn more about the program and to create a free account to get started.

Promoting greater literacy growth with Accelerated Reader

In the past, AR’s Average Book Level metric could be difficult for younger readers to understand. So this school year, we’ve introduced a new metric called reading range. You can set a reading range in English as well as Spanish for each student, using either ATOS or Lexile. Students can refer to their reading range(s) when choosing books for independent reading, and you can quickly see the percentage of their practice that occurs within their reading range.

To support emergent bilingual students, AR offers thousands of quizzes in Spanish. AR’s new Biliteracy Report helps you to more easily monitor these students’ reading practice. On this new report, you can quickly see students’ percentage of reading in English and in Spanish and how they’re performing on AR quizzes in each language. You can use this information when conferencing with students and to support their journey to English-Spanish biliteracy.

We invite you to learn more about how we create Spanish quizzes in Accelerated Reader, as well as our ongoing work to ensure Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in AR.

Introducing the Parts of Speech domain in Freckle

You’ll find a number of new features in our Freckle for ELA K–12 practice program this year, including Targeted Grammar Practice, enhanced reporting, and new ELA Skills learning pathways. You can also take advantage of a new Parts of Speech domain, which provides students with practice on essential building blocks for success in reading and writing.

In addition to multiple-choice and fix-the-sentence question types, Freckle’s Parts of Speech domain also presents students with a new, interactive question type that allows them to select-the-word in the context of the sentence, providing more variety in their practice:

If you’re not currently using Freckle for ELA, we invite you to create a free account to see what the program has to offer. Also, learn more about how Freckle will fit into your ELA classes this year.

Accessing Nearpod lessons from the Star Record Book

Great news! If you use Star Assessments, you now have access to Nearpod lessons and resources within the Star Record Book. This enables you to easily select engaging instructional resources for individual students, small groups, or an entire class—matching the specific literacy and math skills students are ready to learn next:

As shown in the screenshot above, Focus Skills are marked with an icon, so you can quickly identify the most critical skills at each grade level. With a single click, you can also see the prerequisites for each skill, along with aligned Nearpod resources for students who need further instruction and practice on these prerequisites.

Star users who don’t already have a Nearpod account will be prompted to create one, at no additional cost. If you’re using the Nearpod Math program, you’ll also have access to premium math lessons and resources within Star.

If you’re not familiar with Nearpod, which offers thousands of interactive lessons, activities, and videos that fit how students learn best, you can learn more here.

Introducing Star CBM Lectura for K–6 students

We’re excited to introduce the latest addition to the Star Assessments suite: Star CBM Lectura. Designed authentically in Spanish with input from experts in the field of biliteracy, Star CBM Lectura is a powerful new resource for educators in bilingual and dual language programs. It provides reliable measures that truly reflect K–6 students’ foundational literacy development in Spanish:

You can use Star CBM Lectura alongside Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star CBM Reading to support Spanish-English biliteracy growth and to guide reading instruction in each language. You’ll find intuitive, side-by-side reporting to screen and monitor student progress throughout the year:

We invite you to learn more about the design of Star CBM Lectura and our field testing process. Also, discover how Star Assessments, Accelerated Reader, myON, and other Renaissance solutions work together to support Spanish-English biliteracy development from pre-K through grade 12.

Additional support for your early learners

You’ll find several additional new features in Star Assessments to support your early learners this year:

• Star CBM includes two new measures of Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) for grades K–3: Rapid Letter Naming and Rapid Number Naming. Many states and professionals require assessment of Rapid Automatic Naming as part of universal screening for characteristics of dyslexia, and these new measures provide you with additional assessment options.
• Star Early Literacy includes new national norms for pre-K, and Star Math includes new national norms for kindergarten. Norm-referenced scores—such as Percentile Rank (PR) and Student Growth Percentile (SGP)—help you to compare students’ performance to that of their grade-level peers nationwide. You can learn more about the new norms here.

Accelerating student learning this year

A new school year provides new opportunities for helping all students to learn and grow. If you haven’t already, we invite you to explore strategies for increasing math motivation and strategies for teaching challenging literacy skills in recent blogs by our colleagues Dr. Jan Bryan and Dr. Gene Kerns. We also invite you to use our Focus Skills for literacy and math to help prioritize instruction and practice this year. And please join us for one or more of our complimentary How-to Webinars, which provide professional learning on each of your Renaissance products.

The post Product Highlights: Enhancing connections to help students grow this year appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (September 13, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, is excited to announce the winners of the “Shine a Light on Bilingualism” K–12 student art contest to celebrate Hispanic culture and Spanish-English biliteracy.

The winners, chosen by Renaissance’s RAICES (Respectfully Amplify the Impact of our Culture to Empower and Succeed) employee resource group and Biliteracy Advisory Council, are “Me-et the Hispanic Heritage” by Lenox (grade 3), “Under the Basilica” by Ananya (grade 8), and “Fusion” by Gabriela (grade 10). The student artwork provides a creative depiction of Hispanic culture and bilingualism and will be featured during Renaissance’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

National Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place between September 15 and October 15, recognizes and honors the cultures, language, and influence of both Hispanic and Latino Americans. Throughout the month Renaissance will highlight how it supports bilingual students and the development of biliteracy through new products and enhancements.

For Back-to-School 2022, Renaissance released Star CBM Lectura, an authentic literacy assessment in Spanish for grades K–6. With Star CBM Lectura, teachers gain actionable insights and data that inform instructional decisions to help guide their students toward reading success in Spanish.

“Renaissance understands that all students bring assets to their literacy journey,” said Doris Chávez-Linville, Director of Linguistic and Culturally Diverse Innovation at Renaissance. “Providing an assessment designed from the ground up in Spanish to assess the way Spanish literacy develops is a testimony to our commitment to uplifting emergent bilinguals.”

Renaissance recognizes students’ variety of language backgrounds and provides assessments, practice, and instructional tools in addition to Star CBM Lectura that support emergent bilinguals. Educators can learn more about how Renaissance products support their emergent bilinguals by visiting the Inspiring Emergent Bilinguals webpage.

For more information about Renaissance, visit www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than half a million students in other regions across the world. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, myIGDIs for Preschool, FastBridge, DnA, and SchoolCity); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (eduCLIMBER and Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod).

Press contact:
Lucy Duffy
Multi-Media Communications Specialist
Renaissance
561-573-6296
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Releases Star CBM Lectura and Announces Winners of First Ever Student Art Contest, Celebrating Hispanic Culture appeared first on Renaissance.

Having attended school in Costa Rica, I understood immediately and explained that globally, students are often retained in the same grade until they pass that grade level’s curriculum. So, in the US, when a student annually advances to the next grade, parents assume their child is performing on grade-level, based on their own school experience. US educators may not be aware of this difference, so part of our work is to share this information with students, their families, and our colleagues.

I begin with this story because it highlights the important distinction between language proficiency and cultural intelligence. When discussing emergent bilingual learners, it’s common to speak about these students’ English language proficiency—in fact, “ELP level” is a common acronym. In many schools, it’s far less common to hear educators discussing their own cultural intelligence, meaning their appreciation and understanding of students’ and their families’ backgrounds and language assets. As a bilingual educator, I believe that educators’ cultural intelligence is vital to supporting students’ academic success—a point I’ll explore in this blog.

Building on emergent bilingual students’ assets

When I taught first grade in California, I read aloud to my students daily after lunch. One day, I chose El zapatero y los duendes (The Shoemaker and the Elves). To elicit students’ prior knowledge, I asked, “Where do shoes come from?” Most children called out the names of local stores like Payless or K-Mart, but one student raised his hand and said that when his family lived in Mexico, his papá was a shoemaker. I invited him to come forward and share with us. José told us about the tools, materials, and shoemaking process he was familiar with. Thoroughly fascinated, I asked him how his papá figured out the size of the shoe to make. José took a piece of paper and slipped off his shoe, stood on the paper and traced around it with a pencil. What an incredible asset we had in our midst! And what a valuable lesson I learned that day.

Had José not offered to share what he knew, I would not have thought to ask, and the class would have missed an amazing learning opportunity. In this case, the life-experience asset he brought to the classroom was expertise that exceeded what even I—the teacher—knew.

In some cultures, this might be looked down upon as the student trying to out-shine the adult, and some children may be hesitant to speak up like José did. But we can still elicit these assets in other ways—provided we understand their value to student learning.

I think of assets as the valuables we own, beyond money, property, cars, etc. Learners’ assets include their name, language, family, knowledge, and life experience. An asset in mainstream US culture may not be equally appreciated in other cultures and may even be uncomfortable for some students to adopt. For example, individual accomplishment is highly valued in mainstream US culture, but in other cultures, group achievement is more highly prized. When we understand this, we can incorporate this asset into our teaching by setting up group activities and projects where students work together and contribute to the team’s success. We can also introduce the idea of competition as, for example, the whole class beating the clock rather than individual students competing against each other.

Standards: A goal or a hurdle for emergent bilingual students?

Our content standards set rigorous grade-level expectations for all—in English. If these are challenging for students who are native English speakers, how much more so for children who are acquiring English?

Dr. Jim Cummins (2008) tells us that it takes 5–7 years to learn a new language, and often longer if the learner has had little formal education and begins after their elementary school years. During this time, they are expected to catch up to peers in English, to annually meet a set of rigorous grade-level standards in English, to complete homework in English, and to read on grade level in English. Even when emergent bilingual students arrive in US schools in pre-K or kindergarten, data and teacher observations have shown that large percentages of these students take far longer than 5–7 years to become Fluent English Proficient. Instead, they become Long-Term English Learners (LTEL).

Why does this happen? Some students become “stuck” at intermediate-level English proficiency for several years, have low scores on standardized tests, and receive low grades. Curiously, they may be quite proficient in conversational English, attend school regularly, and even want to go to college, despite having a low GPA. Thankfully, there are steps we can take to prevent students from becoming LTELs.

In gathering data—including interviews and secondary classroom visits—for the 2010 research study “Reparable Harm” led by Dr. Laurie Olsen, we found that many LTEL students were passive in class. They didn’t raise their hands when the teacher asked a question. When working on group activities, they would frequently listen to others in the group without saying anything, or would answer with “That’s what I was going to say…”

Some well-meaning teachers try to engage LTEL students by using “equity sticks,” which are popsicle sticks with students’ names written on them. Rather than having students raise their hands, the teacher asks a question and then randomly draws a stick. Unfortunately, when called upon, LTEL students tend to not respond, or to say they don’t know, or to be afraid that other students will make fun of them. This passive response is then reinforced when the teacher moves on to another student or simply provides the answer, eliminating any motivation to engage.

LTEL students quickly learn in the early grades that passivity works. It’s a learned behavior, not a cultural characteristic. This is why Think/Pair/Share activities, group discussions, and the use of white boards by all students to show their responses are far more productive than calling on students individually. Students learn that they are all going to have to answer, but not necessarily with the spotlight focused on them.

Using emergent bilinguals’ home language

Another great piece of news is that the research is clear and undisputed regarding dual-language instruction (see, for example, Collier & Thomas, 2004; Collier & Thomas, 2017; and Butvilofsky et al., 2017). Students who learn in both their home language and in English, in a planned, designed program such as dual-language immersion, achieve outstanding results in English acquisition and content learning, as well as in their home language. Then why do so many schools in the US employ an English-only approach that forces students to struggle and to fall further behind, and their home language to atrophy?

One of the reasons is that educators are held accountable for their school’s progress based on annual summative tests…in English. The flawed logic follows that if the tests are administered in English, instruction should be English-only. But we know from years of research that what is learned in one language transfers to the new language—what Cummins (2008) calls Common Underlying Proficiency. So, an English-only system is endorsing inefficiency and stressing learners by not utilizing the asset of the language they already understand.

I’m reminded of Albert Einstein’s remark that when he moved to the US, he only had to learn English. He didn’t have to relearn physics—just the English vocabulary for the concepts he already knew.

Teachers don’t need to be able to speak every student’s language, but the more they can learn about the language and how it both differs from and is similar to English, the more they can help students make important connections. Providing resources in the student’s home language for them to read and listen to in order to reinforce their understanding of content—and having parents or older children regularly read aloud to them—are an incredible use of the assets they bring and actually bolsters their English reading comprehension.

Doing the math—and promoting educational equity

One of the questions I hear most often is, “Why does it take so long for these students to learn English?” Remember, emergent bilinguals’ focus is two-fold: learning English and also learning new content. In my projection below, I compare the amount of English input between emergent bilinguals and native English speakers as a strong rationale for using dual languages in education:

In the first five years of life, children average about 12 waking hours per day where they are potentially receiving home language input. I multiplied this by 365 days per year. At 5 years old, children enter kindergarten with over 20,000 hours of language foundation.

• If the home language is English, that’s over 20,000 hours of English exposure when entering kindergarten.
• If the home language is not English, that’s potentially very few hours of English exposure before entering kindergarten, but a large amount of rich home language input. For schools to simply set aside this 20,000-hour family language investment makes no sense. By ignoring this asset, a huge language disparity gap is created.

As shown in the chart, this gap continues to widen. Each school year, native English speakers receive up to 14 waking hours of exposure to English each day, between school, home, sports, clubs, and time spent online.

Emergent bilinguals, who now attend school 180 days per year, receive about 6 hours per day of English input. Some students may also get exposure to English at home and in other venues, but the school hours are assured. This results in the following comparison:

• 6 hours per day x 180 school days per year = 1,080 hours of English annually for emergent bilinguals
• 14 hours per day x 365 days per year = 5,110 hours of English annually for native speakers

The disparity grows annually. Some observers might suggest that emergent bilinguals and their families need to immediately switch to English-only at home. This is culturally offensive and deeply damaging, for the reasons I’ve noted. Instead, schools should work to better address these students’ needs by:

• Offering L1 instruction, resources, and supports
• Uncovering and utilizing students’ cultural assets
• Replacing learned passivity with interactivity— empowering all students to be confident, self-directed learners

Resources to support emergent bilingual learners

Following is a list of free resources that I regularly recommend to educators:

Colorín Colorado is a well-known bilingual website offering resources to both educators and families. This includes an overview of bilingual and dual-language education, tips for creating a welcoming classroom, family outreach strategies, and more.

The Steinhardt Center at New York University provides bilingual glossaries in more than 25 languages. Unite for Literacy offers online access to nonfiction books written in English, with read-aloud provided in English, Spanish, and other languages. Story Online features videos of well-known actors reading children’s books in English. Each video includes an accompanying teacher’s guide with discussion questions and suggested classroom activities.

The Internet TESL Journal hosts a wide variety of quizzes, activities, and puzzles for emergent bilingual students of all levels. Learn American English Online and the British Council’s LearnEnglish Teens provide helpful activities, videos, and lessons aimed at middle and high school students.

Finally, Californians Together hosts a variety of helpful publications, including the “Reparable Harm” research study I mentioned earlier.

References

Butvilofsky, S., Hopewell, S., Escamilla, K., & Sparrow, W. (2017). Shifting deficit paradigms of Latino emerging bilingual students’ literacy achievement: Documenting biliterate trajectories. Journal of Latinos and Education, 16:2, 85–97.
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2004). The astounding effectiveness of dual language education for all. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 2:1, 1–20.
Collier, V.P., & Thomas, W.P. (2017). Validating the power of bilingual schooling: Thirty-two years of large-scale, longitudinal research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 203–217.
Cummins, J. (2008). Teaching for transfer: Challenging the two solitudes assumption in bilingual education. In: Cummins, J., and Hornberger, N., eds. Encyclopedia of language and education: Vol. 5. Bilingual education. New York: Springer, 65–75.
Olsen, L. (2010). Reparable harm: Fulfilling the unkept promise of educational opportunity for California’s long term English Learners. Retrieved from: https://californianstogether.org/publications-2/#LTEL

About the author

Elizabeth Jiménez Salinas is a pioneer in bilingual education and a tireless advocate for emergent bilingual students, with projects such as launching the Seal of Biliteracy in California and Hawaii. She has authored several Spanish-language children’s books, as well as handbooks for teachers and English Learner support materials for more than 25 K–12 textbooks. In addition to her experience as a bilingual educator, she served as Legislative Aide to California Assembly Member Peter Chacón, working on ground-breaking legislation for emergent bilinguals. She holds a master’s degree from Claremont Graduate University and currently works in the College of Education at the University of Hawaii. She started her own consulting firm, GEMAS, in 2000. The word GEMAS means “gems” in Spanish and is made up of the initials of her five children.

The post Thinking beyond language: Empowering emergent bilingual learners appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (August 15, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, is pleased to introduce a powerful new connection between its industry-leading Star Assessments and Nearpod platforms to accelerate learning in the 2022–2023 school year. This is just one of the many exciting new product features that schools and districts can access for Back to School. Renaissance has also curated fun, engaging, and helpful resources for its products to help ensure a strong start for both educators and students as they are together again in the new school year.

To better connect assessment, instruction, and practice, Star Assessments users now have one-click access to Nearpod’s lesson library and learning resources within the Star platform. This streamlines the lesson-planning process and helps educators to more easily differentiate instruction for individual students, small groups, and entire classes in both literacy and mathematics. Educators who are using Nearpod Math have access to additional content and tools within Star to support students’ math achievement.

In addition, Renaissance is thrilled to introduce two foundational literacy assessments for the new year:

• Star Phonics is the first and only web-based assessment of 12 phonics categories and 102 essential skills. Focusing on these critical categories and skills saves educators time and ensures students are secure in the phonics patterns they’ll need and use the most.
• Star CBM Lectura is an assessment of literacy development in Spanish for K–6 students in bilingual and dual-language programs. Star CBM Lectura provides screening as well as real-time data on foundational literacy components in Spanish, which is data many teachers have never had access to before.

Star Phonics and Star CBM Lectura complement the company’s other assessment offerings, providing educators with detailed insights on students’ achievement and instructional needs.

Renaissance has also released a number of impactful product features for the new school year, including:

• Student-recorded read-aloud in the myON digital platform, to provide new opportunities for oral reading practice and to build reading fluency;
• A Parts of Speech domain in Freckle for ELA, to provide students with in-depth practice on essential components of grammar;
• A Biliteracy Report in Accelerated Reader, to help educators monitor emergent bilingual students’ reading practice in English and Spanish; and
• The ability to use Star Early Literacy scores to automatically match students with foundational literacy lessons in Lalilo.

“This is the biggest Back-to-School product release in Renaissance’s history, and we’re excited for educators and students to take advantage of the new products and new functionality this year,” said Todd Brekhus, chief product officer at Renaissance. “Our company mission is to accelerate learning for all, and we’re proud to offer so many new ways of engaging students and supporting the important work that teachers do every day.”

To further support educators and students during Back to School, Renaissance has curated product-specific checklists, step-by-step instructions, rostering information, and more for each of its products. Educators can access this information on the Back-to-School 2022 resources page. This webpage also provides access to new Student and Family Engagement Kits for Accelerated Reader, Freckle, Lalilo, and myON for the 2022–2023 school year. In each kit, educators will find fun activities and resources that help keep students motivated to learn in any environment this school year.

To kick off the new school year, Renaissance will host a LinkedIn Live event on Tuesday, September 20, to showcase the new product features and share strategies for accelerating student growth this year. All educators and administrators are welcome to attend this special presentation.

For more information about Renaissance products, visit www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than half a million students in other regions across the world. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, and myIGDIs for Preschool); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod).

Press contact:
Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

The post Star Assessments Now Connect to Nearpod to Accelerate Student Growth appeared first on Renaissance.

However, it’s not complicated if you break it down and have a system in place.

In this blog, I’ll explain the importance of Tier 1 interventions, lay out the steps for setting Tier 1 goals, and suggest ways to provide intensification when needed.

The difference between differentiation and intervention

Two terms that we often use in schools when we talk about our teaching practices are differentiation and intervention. But there can be some confusion around these terms. What’s the difference between them?

Differentiation refers to student-specific efforts that teachers take to foster grade-level annual growth. In other words, it’s what you do every day in the classroom to help students get—or stay—on track to reach end-of-year learning goals. An example of differentiation is repeating information for a student with attention difficulties.

An intervention, however, is an additional instructional resource or support beyond the high-quality classroom instruction all students receive that is aligned to a student’s needs. It is a student-specific effort designed to foster grade-level catch-up growth. An example of a Tier 1 intervention is pre-teaching target vocabulary words to a student prior to presenting the words to the whole class.

The concept of growth is the key that distinguishes intervention from differentiation. Differentiation focuses on day-to-day practices for helping all students to reach grade-level annual learning goals. In contrast, intervention focuses on helping students catch up so they can get back on track.

Is intervention only meant for Tier 2 or Tier 3 students?

This is a common misconception, but the truth is that Tier 1 interventions can be done.

One way to do Tier 1 intervention is through intensification of instruction for some or all students. Here, you should consider the 80% rule: If fewer than 80% of students in your class are meeting a learning goal, it’s recommended that you intensify instruction for all students.

Research shows that this will benefit students who are farther behind, without holding back or delaying the learning of students who are already on track or even ahead.

But when 80% or more of students have reached a benchmark, it might make more sense to provide interventions on a small-group basis for some students, simply because the need is different. Overall, it’s a matter of using resources as effectively as possible.

5 steps for setting Tier 1 goals

When meeting with your data analysis team to discuss Tier 1 interventions after universal screening, you’ll want to address the five following points to set Tier 1 goals.

#1: Decide which goal you will aim for by your next meeting

You should always ground instructional decisions in data to decide if what you’re doing is working. When choosing your next goals, make sure they are SMART. This acronym stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

For instance, you may decide that you will try to have a certain percentage of students move from the some-risk to the low-risk range by the next screening period.

#2: Make a list of possible strategies that will address the goal

Once you brainstorm your list of strategies, you should rate them using the following questions:

• Which ones are research-based?
• Which ones are most practical?
• What materials do we have available?
• Which ones require additional training?

Having the answers to these questions will help you and your team to decide which strategies may be the most productive and efficient for your students at this time.

#3: Select the strategy that will be used

Once you decide on a strategy (or strategies, if you opt for more than one), be sure to explicitly describe it. Being as specific as you can about your Tier 1 intervention strategy helps you in the next step, where you plan exactly when and how you will implement it.

#4: Plan logistics for the strategy

When planning logistics, you and your team should ask questions like:

• Do we need to purchase something?
• What training is required?
• Does this strategy require additional team members to be involved?
• When can the strategy be implemented?

#5: Set your next review date

Finally, decide when you will sit down as a team and review the data again. Remember, part of your SMART goal is that it is time-bound, so you should always have your time frame in mind when assessing Tier 1 intervention goals.

4 ways to provide intensification in Tier 1 interventions

Intensification is any teaching practice that is designed to accelerate learning. It’s a way of helping students engage in catch-up growth by providing more opportunities for learning.

Here are four ways we can help students meet Tier 1 intervention goals through intensification.

#1: Frequency of lessons

With more days of learning (or lessons per week), more learning happens. The more we can ensure that students are participating in targeted instruction on a daily basis, the more likely they’ll be able to engage in catch-up growth.

This will have important implications as you’re thinking about your schedule. The work is to figure out how to provide as many effective lessons as possible across instructional formats and to help students catch up to the learning goals.

#2: Duration of lessons

Based on research about time on task, it’s a tried-and-true finding that longer lessons will equal more learning. Here, you must consider how many minutes have been allocated for instruction, and what you can do to maximize that time for student learning.

#3: Opportunities to practice

Opportunities to practice allow students to have the repetitions that help them achieve mastery. It’s also part of making sure we have active student engagement. Finding ways to ensure that students are all actively engaged in lessons requires our creativity as teachers to optimize the likelihood that they will meet those learning goals.

We also need to be providing immediate feedback. The “honesty factor” plays a big role here, because the nature of our feedback will be a predictor of whether students will trust us.

For example, if teachers were to provide only one type of feedback, whether all positive (e.g., “Awesome! Great job!”) or negative (e.g., “Nope, that’s not right.”), students would start to tune it out. If the feedback being provided is not in relation to actual performance, it won’t be taken seriously.

Note: If you find that most of your feedback with a group of students is, “No, that’s not right,” it means the difficulty level of the material isn’t matched to where the students are right now. The teacher has a responsibility to adjust and scaffold the content in order for the students to have more success.

#4: Group size

Often, when we consider who might benefit from small group instruction, we think of active students who have difficulty with attention. However, other students can benefit as well, particularly very quiet students who might otherwise hide in the group and not speak up.

As you think about the format in which you would be able to provide any kind of intervention activity in your Tier 1 core instruction, consider the strategic use of subgroups—such as small groups within the larger class—as a way to make sure all students can engage. The goal for group size is to ensure that all students participate an equal number of times in activities.

Examples of Tier 1 interventions

Tier 1 interventions can support all students in the classroom by creating a positive learning environment—but what do these interventions look like? Here are some guidelines and examples:

Establishing clear expectations

Both teachers and students can benefit when teachers clearly establish their expectations with their students. These expectations should include both behavioral and academic performance in the classroom.

By setting realistic expectations, students feel supported and safe, and teachers can create a positive learning environment for everyone.

Using positive reinforcement

Rewarding students for their academic performance and behaviors encourages them to continue to do well. This can even go beyond offering verbal praise or small prizes in the classroom. Teachers can reach out to families to let them know they’re grateful for their students’ positive behaviors.

These communications could involve:

• Selecting one student every day to send praise to their parents or guardians about
• Sending a weekly newsletter of positive events that happened in the classroom
• Calling, texting, or emailing parents or guardians with a message of gratitude when a student meets expectations for the day

Implementing structure and routines

Consistency is key. When teachers implement procedures for instruction, classroom management, and transitions, students are provided with the structure needed to reduce—or even prevent—disruptive behaviors.

Avoid surprises when it comes to classroom structure. Provide expectations on how the classroom will be run:

• How will students access learning materials?
• What are the expectations surrounding homework?
• How can students move about the classroom?
• When can students interact with each other during instruction?

Providing opportunities for students to make choices

Tier 1 interventions can help empower students by enabling them to establish their own learning goals. Students are in the driver’s seat—though educators are assisting throughout the drive—in deciding how they will accomplish various learning goals.

Start small. Offer choices in activities that pair with teaching objectives. Things as simple as choosing their seats in the classroom or which books they will be reading for a lesson can greatly increase engagement.

Renaissance: Supporting Tier 1 interventions with a whole child approach

We believe in supporting the whole child, not just academically but socially and emotionally as well. Every student deserves the support they need to succeed. With Renaissance, your district can ensure you’re meeting the needs of every learner.

Our solutions help you to:

• Provide early, evidence-based support to all students in your classroom or school, to prevent learning gaps before they become major barriers to success
• Analyze student performance data and deliver tailored-to-your-student interventions

Our research-backed approach also provides ongoing support and guidance to teachers and students, allowing them to create a supportive, nurturing learning environment.

The post All about Tier 1 interventions appeared first on Renaissance.

But is this actually the case? Do MTSS and special education go together? Is there an important connection between them?

In this blog, I’ll discuss how MTSS fits into both general and special education settings. I’ll also explain how MTSS can and should be used by all students—even/especially those with learning disabilities.

How are MTSS programs used in schools?

MTSS is a structure with multiple tiers that use assessment data to give educators the academic and behavioral information necessary to provide the appropriate instructional resources to meet students’ needs.

Here’s how the three tiers of MTSS work:

Tier 1 is for everyone. People sometimes refer to Tier 1 as general education, but it’s actually for students of all populations, including special education. Tier 1 should include support for all students through high-quality classroom-wide instruction.

Next, we have Tier 2. Tier 2 instruction is implemented when students aren’t mastering all of the skills as they are taught in Tier 1. When students have gaps in their skill sets, educators can use Tier 2 to provide targeted support. Examples of Tier 2 instruction include:

• Increasing the amount of instructional time
• Providing a more intense level of instruction
• Mentoring
• Self-management
• Social skills groups

When Tier 2 interventions aren’t working, it’s time to move to Tier 3. With Tier 3, even more intensive instruction is provided more often, usually in smaller groups. This helps students who are struggling to get the individual help and attention they need, without holding back the rest of the class. Examples of Tier 3 instruction include:

• Small group instruction
• Tutoring
• Individual counseling (for behavior-based issues)

Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 instruction can be helpful for all students—both those who are in special education programs and those who aren’t. And because students who have been identified as having a learning disability spend at least part of their school day in a general education setting, MTSS is the perfect framework to provide targeted support.

MTSS is about:

• Thoughtfully assessing students
• Using resources effectively
• Relying on data to continue to monitor and improve instructional effectiveness

Clearly, these are things all students need.

Why should MTSS be used in a special education setting?

Special education law requires students to be placed in the least restrictive environment. This essentially means that many students with IEPs—particularly those with high incidence disabilities—spend most or all of their day in a general education setting, where they can benefit from well-implemented MTSS.

The reason for this is that students in special education can and should benefit from the resources and other instructional help that multi-tiered supports can offer—resources that are both appropriate and impactful for all learners.

Assessments can help measure proficiency and identify needs, and MTSS will help educators tailor those resources to the specific needs of students who have IEPs.

Understanding the MTSS and special education connection: 4 ways MTSS is beneficial

To truly understand how MTSS and special education work together, we need to examine how specific MTSS components can help students with disabilities.

#1: MTSS supports students’ educational needs with a whole-child approach

Academics and behavior go hand-in-hand, and MTSS provides support to students in both of these areas.

An integrated multi-tiered system of support (one that includes both academics and behavior) considers both qualitative and quantitative data when deciding on what type of instructional support a student may need for social-emotional skills as well as academic skills, like those in reading and math.

#2: The progress monitoring involved in MTSS can help educators determine a specific learning disability

Most students who have been identified as having a learning disability spend at least part of their school day in a general education setting, as noted earlier. MTSS is an effective way for educators to narrow down and identify skill gaps for these students in a general education classroom.

MTSS should be aimed at assessing early and providing support quickly. When this assessment happens early on, and when progress monitoring takes place regularly, educators can differentiate between students who’ve experienced gaps in their education and those who truly need special education services.

And when those special education needs are identified, there will be plenty of documentation available because of the progress monitoring to help develop impactful and effective IEPs.

#3: Progress monitoring can help determine if and when a student should be exiting from an IEP

Identifying a student who may need special education services can be challenging—especially in our current era, given the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, building closures, and increased staff shortages and turnover. But it can be equally challenging to know when a student is ready to exit a special education program.

This is where progress monitoring comes back into play. After effective instruction, students may no longer demonstrate a learning disability and should be reevaluated and declassified.

Progress monitoring is a key tool in assessing a student’s special education needs. It is also helpful in determining when they are ready to exit from an IEP, with confidence that the student will continue to progress and succeed.

#4: MTSS can help students on IEPs move from Tier 3 into Tier 1 or Tier 2 instruction

MTSS and progress monitoring are designed to help students on IEPs meet their goals and move from Tier 3 into Tier 1 or 2.

The goal of all special education resources is to provide a way for students to begin testing within standard educational ranges. When students show that kind of progress, they move from Tier 3 services to those that are less restrictive.

The benefits of collaborative teaching in MTSS and special education

Schools are a beacon of support for all students, regardless of whether they are classified as general or special education students. When educators and administrators utilize a consistent and effective approach, this benefits all students in the following ways:

• Improved academic performance
• Fewer behavior problems
• Fewer erroneous special education referrals
• Higher graduation rates

Additionally, collaborative teaching delivers improved outcomes both for students on IEPs and those who are not, as I explain in the next section.

What is collaborative teaching?

Collaborative teaching, which is also called co-teaching, is an effective model that uses the MTSS approach and collaboration, allowing multiple teachers (special and general educators) to work together to serve their students and meet their needs. When two or more teachers work well together to provide instruction to a group of students, all students benefit—not just those on IEPs.

When co-teaching is done well, those outside of the classroom may have difficulty distinguishing the special educator from the general educator. It is also often difficult to identify students who have IEPs and those who do not.

In a classroom with co-teachers, all students—those in general education and those with special education classification—receive specifically designed instruction and benefit from the experience and partnership of the co-teachers.

Co-teachers can seamlessly incorporate IEP skill instruction along with Tier 1 standards-based teaching to create an integrated educational experience for all the students in the classroom.

Why Tier 3 support is not synonymous with special education

Just because a student is receiving Tier 3 support doesn’t mean the student has a learning disability or requires special education services. Some students with disabilities may not need Tier 3 support at all, while other students without disabilities may benefit from intensive Tier 3 services.

MTSS works best for all students when a committed, creative, and consistent multi-disciplinary team is overseeing it, making sure that it is implemented appropriately, but also that it is used flexibly enough to address the varied strengths and needs of the students within the school.

How Renaissance helps educators sustain an MTSS that promotes progress for all students

Renaissance combines assessment, MTSS collaboration and management, and other digital resources to give educators what they need to tailor their instruction to meet the needs of their students in all three MTSS tiers.

The post The connection between MTSS and special education: Why it matters appeared first on Renaissance.

My work has revolved around three major Renaissance projects—Focus Skills, Trip Steps, and How Kids Are Performing, our ongoing analysis of how students’ performance and growth have been impacted by the disruptions. Perhaps surprisingly, working on these projects has given me new insight into what sustained progress in literacy looks like for K–12 students. It’s like climbing a sheer rock face—and then climbing a mountain.

In this blog, I’ll explain how I reached this conclusion. I’ll also explain why an understanding of these two feats will be so important this school year, given the pandemic’s ongoing effects on many students’ learning journeys.

1. Foundational literacy skills: Climbing the rock face

In the summer of 2020, Renaissance made the decision to provide all educators with free access to our Focus Skills for reading and math. Focus Skills are the most essential skills at each grade level—the skills that students must master in order to progress. Focus Skills are tailored to the learning standards of each state, and they provide powerful guidance for prioritizing our work with students.

Despite some minor differences in standards across the states, Focus Skills tell a remarkably similar story, that of a sheer rock face that students must climb in relation to literacy right as their schooling begins. The following figure shows this rock face:

I’ve chosen to use Delaware as an example, but in every instance—across all 50 states and Washington DC—kindergarten and grade 1 have the highest number of reading Focus Skills. This makes sense because, at these grade levels, students are building the foundational skills that are critical for literacy development. These skills are, in other words, essential to students’ progress, which is the definition of a Focus Skill.

This rock face awaits students right as they begin their schooling. It’s as if the literacy content says to them, “Welcome to school. I hope you ate a hearty breakfast because we have a lot of work to do!” This also helps to contextualize the finding in How Kids Are Performing that students in the early grades have been disproportionately impacted by the disruptions. Missing out on even one essential skill in phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, and other foundational literacy domains can greatly impede students’ progress.

2. Ongoing literacy growth: Climbing the mountain

Focus Skills told us about the sheer rock face, but we learned about the second element—the mountain—from our work with Trip Steps for Reading.

Trips Steps are those Focus Skills that are also very challenging for students to learn. Our teams identified Trip Steps during the empirical validation process for our state-specific learning progressions. When we presented students with Star assessment items linked to the various skills represented in their state’s standards, we found that some skills are significantly more difficult than others. To put this another way: If learning is a staircase, then not all steps are of equal height. Some require a bit more of a climb—and these are the Trip Steps.

It may be easiest to illustrate this concept with an example from mathematics. The most challenging math Trip Step is in grade 3: Find the area of a rectangle by multiplying side lengths. If you’re familiar with the grade 3 math curriculum, you’ll understand why this is so challenging. Grade 3 students have just learned multiplication. And while they may have encountered the concept of area before, it would have been mostly through using tiles, not a formula of length times width. Then, the product of the calculation results in something else new, square units.

This is a lot of new content: a new operation (multiplication) coupled with an expanding concept (area computed via a formula) and resulting in a new unit (e.g., square inches/centimeters). To borrow a phrase from an earlier blog: new skill + new process = potential for some students to “trip.”

When we look at Trip Steps for Reading, we see that they add to the story of the sheer rock face while also telling us about “the mountain.” How so? The most challenging reading Trip Step is in kindergarten: Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the vowels that differ (e.g., pick the word that has the /a/ sound: cat, cot, cut). Phonemic awareness—which can be extraordinarily difficult for young children—is part of the rock face I mentioned earlier, meaning the large number of essential literacy skills that students encounter at the beginning of their schooling.

But when we look at the distribution of reading Trip Steps across the grades, the mountain emerges. In fact, students don’t reach the “peak” until grade 7, where the largest number of Trip Steps awaits them:

Armed with the knowledge of where the most disproportionately difficult content is found—in grade 7 and around it—we began to explore the Trip Steps in these grades looking for common elements. And we found two aspects of “the mountain.”

First, even a cursory review of the reading Trip Steps at this level reveals the rigor associated with them. They begin with verbs like “Analyze” or “Interpret” or “Explain.” As many of us will remember from our undergraduate days, these verbs are associated with the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy or the deeper levels of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK).

The Trip Steps individually reveal this aspect of rigor, but when we look at reading Trip Steps collectively, another insight emerges with important instructional implications: They require extensive experience with text to be successful.

The most important reading standard of all

Why is this the case? Looking at the Trip Steps in and around grade 7, we see they’re generally found within the skill areas of Argumentation, Conventions and Range of Reading, and Author’s Word Choice and Figurative Language.

How can students ever be successful in the skills associated with Argumentation if they’ve read very few arguments? Similarly, being successful with the skills related to Conventions and Range of Reading requires that students have interacted with texts where they’ve seen manifestations of varying conventions, as well as applications of Author’s Word Choice and Figurative Language.

Students who have read widely are primed to learn the labels and terms for various genres (e.g., satire, parody) and those for Word Choice and Figurative Language (e.g., hyperbole, connotation, denotation). Without the text exposure and context provided through wide reading, our instruction targeting these concepts is difficult to follow. Students without wide print experience will find the ideas too abstract. They have no prior understanding or experience to which they can connect the new ideas we are presenting.

Consider a lesson where a teacher presents the concept of satire for the first time. Perhaps the teacher assigns Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal where, writing to chastise the English aristocracy, Swift satirically proposes that the famine in Ireland could be solved and poor children prevented from “being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country” if the English simply ate the poor Irish children, “making them Beneficial to the Publick.”

The astute reader quickly realizes that Swift is using a clever literary technique to shame the English for their inaction and indifference. A student who has read widely and encountered several satirical works finds both the concept and the new term easy to take in. “I’ve read things like this before. I just didn’t know what it was called.” A student with limited text experience, however, struggles to even take in the concept. “What’s this guy saying? That they should really eat the kids?”

This makes me think of Mike Schmoker’s comment that “symbolism, figurative language, setting, mood, or structure have their place but are absurdly overemphasized” in most standards sets. He adds that many of our standards “do very little to clarify the amount of reading and writing students must do to become truly literate—which may be the most important ‘standard’ of all.” In other words: We unquestionably need to teach about literary devices and techniques, but if our teaching of skills takes up so much time that students are not reading widely, then we’re creating learning dynamics that are far from optimal for progress in literacy.

How Renaissance can help—this school year and beyond

Within our literacy offerings, Renaissance has a collection of tools ideally suited for climbing both the rock face and the mountain.

When helping students to ascend the rock face of foundational literacy skills, the critical consideration is that every student must master every essential skill to be successful. Our new Star Phonics assessment fits perfectly into this space by supporting teachers as they track students’ progress in acquiring 102 phonics skills clustered in 12 categories (shown below). Through the use of short screening and diagnostic measures, teachers are provided with detailed feedback as to which students are struggling with which specific phonics patterns. Then, our Lalilo and Freckle programs can be used to help provide the right foundational literacy practice.

Used together, Star Phonics, Lalilo, and Freckle provide powerful assistance in tracking and supporting students as they ascend the rock face. But once they’ve finished this ascent, they must then climb the mountain. This is where Accelerated Reader and the myON digital reading platform come in, to help ensure that students have easy access to text and that they’re reading with a high level of comprehension.

What we’ve learned about progress in literacy

You know the old adage: Hindsight is 20/20. If we’d known in early 2020 what we know now, we could have used Focus Skills and Trip Steps to predict where we’d see the most significant impacts on literacy development due to the pandemic. In fact, this analysis of Focus Skills and Trip Steps aligns nearly perfectly with our How Kid Are Performing studies, where we found that early grades readers and students in late middle school—the times when learners encounter either the rock face or the mountain—have been the most impacted in terms of literacy.

No mountain climber would ascend Mt. Everest without a skilled guide, and there are no better guides for that journey than the Sherpa, a Himalayan people who are renowned for their skill in mountaineering. If the journey to literacy involves ascending both a sheer rock face and a mountain, then teachers—if they fully understand the path and the possible pitfalls along it—can be students’ guides on this essential journey.

The post What does progress really look like in K–12 literacy? appeared first on Renaissance.

In an earlier blog, a colleague and I describe Renaissance’s process for identifying Trip Steps for Mathematics. In this blog, I’ll continue the conversation by addressing a question I often receive from educators when I share Trip Steps: How can we motivate students to learn these challenging skills—especially students who already struggle with math?

It’s an important question. Perhaps math motivation can be thought of as the instructional counterpoint to a Trip Step. Just as a Trip Step is disproportionately difficult for students to learn, motivation can be a disproportionately difficult instructional practice for teachers to implement. In the same way that students dig deeper into a challenging Trip Step, teachers seek resources, advice, and proven strategies to motivate students. So, how do we build math confidence and stamina among all learners? In this blog, I’ll explore three key factors—executive, emotional, and environmental—at work in math motivation. I’ll also share strategies to inspire, motivate, and engage growing mathematicians in the new school year.

1. Executive function and mathematics

As Stanislas Dehaene (2011) explains, newborns are equipped with some degree of number sense. They’re able to distinguish two objects from three and three objects from four—although most show a preference for groups of three. At six months of age, children recognize groups of objects and even play by combining and separating them—a precursor to learning addition and subtraction (Dehaene, 2017). This is impressive, but they lack the ability to order numbers. In other words, three blocks intrigue them, but they have no concept of the number “3” or what this represents. Why not? Because ordinal competency (i.e., counting ability) depends on executive function—in particular, organizing, planning, and updating working memory. Between 6 and 15 months, however, children are continually updating their working memories to the point that ordinal competency—associating quantity with number—is well underway.

In fact, executive function rather than IQ supports counting ability, planning, organizing objects, and subitizing—which is the ability to immediately recognize the quantity of a group of objects without physically counting each one (Kroesbergen et al., 2009).

Motivation with executive function in mind

Why does this insight matter? Let’s return to the very first math Trip Step from pre-K: Count on with numbers 1 to 10. With our youngest learners, games focused on counting and subitizing build both math skill and executive function. Simply counting objects requires emerging mathematicians to keep track of the number of objects and the word(s) that describe numbers (e.g., three, four, five). Students who struggle with working memory—in this case, counting memory—benefit from simple counting games throughout the day and playing games with subitizing (Hutchison & Phillips, n.d.).

Intermediate students benefit when executive function is focused on organization, updating working memory, and flexibility. The well-known Principal’s Math Challenge offers a motivator focused on flexibility. Students work in pairs to create an expression for each number from 0–50, using only 1, 2, 3, and 4. All operations can be used, but each of the four numbers must be used—and used only once. Negative numbers are fair game, too. Here is one example: (4 × 3) ÷ (1+2) = 4. Try a few expressions to gauge your own executive level of flexibility in mathematical thinking.

2. Emotional sense of belonging and mathematics

In a previous blog, I explored two ways that students describe themselves as mathematicians. According to Kimball and Smith (2013), there is one key difference between students who achieve in math and those who don’t—entity orientation. Entity orientation is the belief that math ability is innate: you’re either born with the circuitry for math or you’re not, and nothing can change this. The opposite approach is known as incremental orientation. Students with incremental math orientations believe that math is difficult, but if they take it one skill at a time, they can learn it.

With this distinction in mind, let’s consider the most difficult math Trip Step. It’s found in grade 3: Find the area of a rectangle by multiplying side lengths. While this skill seems straightforward to adults, it’s extraordinarily difficult for many third graders to learn, given that multiplication is new, as is the idea of finding area by multiplying rather than by tiling. Yet we often forget this. With the best of intentions, we might begin a lesson on this skill by explaining that it’s easy: Just multiply! But as mathematician and author Jordan Ellenberg (2021) brilliantly explains, “When we say a lesson is ‘easy’ or ‘simple,’ and it manifestly isn’t, we are telling students that the difficulty isn’t with the mathematics, it’s with them. And they will believe us.”

Following Ellenberg’s advice, the stronger approach to teaching this Trip Step is to level with students. Here’s an example: “Today we’re going to find the area of a rectangle. This is a new skill, it is difficult, and you might get frustrated. But we will work as a team and support each other until everyone is successful. Then we can celebrate as a team.”

Motivation with emotional responses to mathematics in mind

Why do emotions matter? Students’ emotional responses to math instruction and experiences influence their attainment of math skills and their motivation to work through challenging concepts. In this regard, one of the most effective resources a student has is another student. Consider this Algebra 1 Trip Step: Determine the slope of a line given a graph, two points on the line, or a table of values. Rather than delivering a lecture on slope, educator Angela Cooper (2017) encourages her students to discuss this concept with each other, using the language they already have. Some students will speak of “straight” and “slanted” lines; others will talk about the “slope” or “regression.”

As students work together as a team, Cooper notices that—with scaffolding and support where needed—their language becomes increasingly precise: “By creating direct connections between what they already know (slant) and what they need to know (slope), they find that the latter is a much more precise and specific way to get at the concept they’re trying to describe.”

3. Environment and mathematics

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics describes mathematicians as people who analyze data to solve problems. For example, many neighborhood parks in the US either have installed, or are now installing, accessible ramps, swings, and play areas so that each child can feel included and share in the joy found outdoors. Can you imagine the problem-solving skills required to build a safe and accessible swing? Yet mathematicians solved this problem in order to meet a far bigger challenge: providing inclusive areas for all children to play. Their work, while difficult, led the way to accessible playgrounds.

In this case, solving problems of slope, area, circumference, velocity, and drag is essentially kind. Consider this grade 7 Trip Step that could be the foundation for eventually providing an inclusive experience for each child: Solve a problem involving the surface area or volume of a 3-dimensional object composed of cubes and/or right prisms.

Motivation with a kind math environment in mind

Why does a focus on kindness matter? As seventh graders and their teachers tackle this Trip Step, collaboration and encouragement can be motivating while also helping to build a kind math environment. Consider a story shared by Alan November (2018) about a sixth grader who was stumped by prime factorization. Her teacher encouraged peer tutoring, and—with support from her classmates—this student was finally on her way. Her teacher also encouraged students to create video tutorials, which were then posted on YouTube. Having learned prime factorization, our student decided to record a tutorial.

When November visited her classroom, he asked whether she’d seen the statistics. Her tutorial had been viewed more than 88,000 times by students all over the world. At this point, our formerly frustrated and struggling student said, “I have to go—I have to create more. I just found out the world needs me!”

These examples show us how the math environment can be focused on “math for good.” What students learn today can positively impact others in the future. The focus remains on math, but with a foundation that mathematicians solve problems that solve problems.

The power of real-world connections

Engaging in authentic math experiences requires mathematical flexibility rooted in executive function, a sense of purpose—or emotion—for the outcomes, and a healthy environment in which to work. However, as Craig Barton (2018) reminds us, engaging in authentic experiences is not the result of “taking the math outside; rather, it is the result of explicit, incremental, and monitored instruction that prepares students to solve problems that solve problems.”

For this reason, Renaissance’s Freckle for math program includes Inquiry Based Lessons that help students to deepen their conceptual understanding by applying math to real-world scenarios, such as planning a trip to the local library (which involves subtraction skills) or scuba diving in lakes and oceans (which focuses on decimals). The lessons include short videos, discussion questions, and group activities, with students then presenting their solution to the class and explaining their thinking.

Inquiry Based Lessons also involve cross-curricular connections. For example, the grade 3 lesson “Passing a Bill into Law” brings together mathematics and social studies content. The lesson is spread over several days, with students calculating how many votes a piece of legislation still needs in order to pass the US Congress. Over the course of the lesson, students encounter scenarios that require them to add and subtract four-digit numbers using multiple strategies, as shown in the screenshot below.

Summing it all up

In this blog, we’ve looked at math motivation through the lenses of executive function, emotional response, and the importance of a positive environment. We revisited Trip Steps for Mathematics, including the earliest Trip Step in pre-K, and found that executive function is critical in learning to count. We also identified the most difficult Trip Step (statistically speaking) in grade 3, and we examined an Algebra 1 Trip Step that can play a significant role in making public playgrounds more accessible.

As you prepare for the new school year, we invite you to explore the full list of Trip Steps—and to consider how focusing on executive function, emotional response, and math environment can be powerful motivators in your classroom this fall and beyond.

References

Barton, C. (2018). How I wish I’d taught maths. West Palm Beach: Learning Sciences International.
Cooper, A. (2017). How personalized learning starts with less teacher talk, more student voice. Retrieved from: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-01-25-how-personalized-learning-starts-with-less-teacher-talk-more-student-voice
Dehaene, S. (2011). The number sense: How the mind creates mathematics. Revised edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Dehaene, S. (2017). A close look at the mathematician’s brain? Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMAsQeLfr3o
Ellenberg, J. (2021). Want kids to learn math? Level with them that it’s hard. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/math-hard-easy-teaching-instruction/2021/06/25/4fbec7ac-d46b-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html
Hutchison, J., & Phillips, D. (n.d.). Supporting executive function during counting. Retrieved from: https://prek-math-te.stanford.edu/counting/supporting-executive-functioning-during-counting
Kroesbergen, E., Van Luit, J., Van Lieshout, E., Loosbroek, E., & Rijt, B. (2009). Individual differences in early numeracy: The role of executive functions and subitizing. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 27(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0734282908330586
Kimball, M., & Smith, N. (2013). There’s one key difference between kids who excel at math and those who don’t. Retrieved from: http://qz.com/139453/theres-one-key-difference-between-kids-who-excel-at-math-and-those-who-dont
November, A. (2018). Empowering teachers, engaging students. Education Week Webinar. Retrieved from: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1603764/20FBC8ECE6A4E7E1318B774D7167F7A4

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Bloomington, MN (July 1, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, recently announced that the myON digital reading platform has earned the Research-Based Design Product Certification from Digital Promise. This certification serves as a rigorous, reliable signal for district and school administrators, educators, and families looking for edtech products that are based in research about student learning.

myON provides pre-K–12 students with 24/7 access to engaging digital books and age-appropriate news articles. It features tools such as text-to-speech support and text annotation to help students at all levels to develop important reading skills and strategies. A new myON feature for Back to School 2022 will also enable students to record themselves reading aloud, to build oral reading fluency and promote greater engagement.

myON provides low-bandwidth and offline reading options to support access to reading material both in and out of the classroom. myON also qualifies for ESSER funding under the CARES, CRRSA, and ARP Acts, along with other federal funding sources.

myON is the fifth Renaissance product to receive the Research-Based Design Product Certification. Accelerated Reader, Freckle, Lalilo, and Nearpod have all previously received this honor.

“Research is central to how we design our products,” said Eric Stickney, Vice President of Educational Research at Renaissance. “We not only use published research on how students learn, but we also analyze our assessment and practice data to understand how to best engage and provide feedback to both educators and students to maximize opportunities for growth. This certification validates these efforts.”

The Research-Based Design Product Certification helps consumers to narrow their options as they select products based on research about learning. Digital Promise launched this certification in February 2020 and has certified over 60 products to date. The organization will recognize myON’s certification with an official announcement in August 2022.

“Educators and researchers continue to uncover important insights about how students learn,” said Christina Luke Luna, Chief Learning Officer, Pathways and Credentials at Digital Promise. “The Research-Based Design Product Certification recognizes the edtech products that incorporate research about learning into their design and development. Congratulations to myON for demonstrating that research informs product design!”

Educators can learn more about myON by visiting www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than half a million students in other regions across the world. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, and myIGDIs for Preschool); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod). For more information, visit https://www.renaissance.com/.

About Digital Promise

Digital Promise is a nonprofit organization that builds powerful networks and takes on grand challenges by working at the intersection of researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators. Our vision is that all people, at every stage of their lives, have access to learning experiences that help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and continuously learn in an ever-changing world. For more information, visit https://digitalpromise.org/.

Press contact:

Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

The post myON Awarded Research-Based Design Product Certification from Digital Promise appeared first on Renaissance.

Phonics assessments are diagnostic tools that are specifically designed to provide an informal evaluation of a student’s phonics and reading skills. These assessments allow educators to identify both the skills a student has mastered and the skills a student is missing, and they can be administered to readers of all ages.

Why are phonics assessments important?

Phonics assessments allow students to demonstrate what they know about reading. Teachers can use the assessment tool in a variety of ways, choosing the areas of phonetic knowledge they will evaluate depending on the needs of their individual students.

By utilizing phonics assessment, teachers can pinpoint the strengths and deficits in their students’ phonics skills. With this clarity of phonetic knowledge, teachers can then use the data they’ve collected to:

• Determine where to begin phonics instruction
• Decide the type of intervention to implement for a specific class or an individual student

Phonics assessments are useful tools for various types of educators at all levels of education, including:

• Classroom teachers
• Reading specialists
• Special education teachers
• Speech-language pathologists
• Interventionists; and
• Instructional aides

This form of assessment is particularly valuable for struggling readers, including students with dyslexia.

What is the best phonics assessment?

When you’re seeking a phonics assessment tool, you want one that was created by educators and based on data collected through years of research.

The best phonics assessment is:

• Focused: Assesses the most critical phonics categories and provides error-level analysis to ensure students have mastered the phonics patterns they will need the most.
• Diagnostic: Allows teachers to see exactly where their students are struggling in their knowledge of phonics.
• Efficient: Can be easily administered on any electronic device. Enables teachers to complete a thorough screening in two to five minutes per student and receive instant educational insights—with no manual data entry required.
• Aligned: Tracks grade-level instruction and student learning throughout the school year with customized reports that align with the scope and sequence of the school’s phonics curriculum. Teachers can easily gauge their students’ needs and progress.
• Instructional: Provides easy-to-read, immediate reports that highlight skill-level insights, instructional focuses, and patterns of error. These detailed, relevant reports allow teachers and specialists to personalize instructional approaches for their students.
• Precise: Student, class, and grade-level reports give educators the tools they need to identify which skills to focus on with their individual students, small groups, whole class, or grade level.

Recently, we were thrilled to announce that Star Phonics—formerly known as KeyPhonics—has joined the Renaissance family. Created by Dr. Michelle Hosp, Star Phonics is the first and only web-based assessment to focus on the 12 most critical phonics categories and 102 phonics skills.

We recently had the opportunity to discuss Star Phonics, and the Science of Reading more generally, with Dr. Hosp, who now serves as Director of Foundational Literacy at Renaissance.

Here are the highlights from our conversation.

6 frequently asked questions about Star Phonics

#1: Why did you create Star Phonics? What sets it apart from other assessments?

Michelle Hosp: I first saw the need almost twenty-five years ago, when I was working as a school psychologist in Clark County, Nevada. Teachers would contact me about students who were struggling to read, and they’d ask, “What can I do to help this child?” I had a battery of tests that I administered, which usually confirmed what the teacher already suspected—the student was indeed struggling to decode words. Unfortunately, the tests didn’t identify the specific phonics patterns the student was struggling with, so I couldn’t provide clear guidance on how to assess phonics in the classroom.

These experiences made me realize that I wanted to be more helpful to teachers, so I decided to pursue a graduate degree focused on reading instruction and assessment. Once I received my Ph.D., I became a professor in Utah. As I worked with local teachers, I encountered the same frustration I’d seen in Clark County. They knew which students were struggling to decode words, but they didn’t have diagnostic information showing them where to focus instruction. I created the first version of Star Phonics as a pencil-and-paper assessment to help these teachers and their students.

This roughly coincided with the widespread adoption of curriculum-based measures and the Reading First initiative. There was suddenly a lot of research, especially in phonological awareness and early language skills, that identified best practices for supporting foundational literacy development. There was also a clear recognition that if we could identify struggling students early, and provide really good interventions and instruction, they could become successful readers, rather than waiting to remediate once they’d reached grade 3 or 4.

I developed Star Phonics based on this important body of research, which is now known as the Science of Reading.

#2: How did this early version of Star Phonics evolve into the assessment that’s available today?

Michelle Hosp: Several years after I created Star Phonics, I presented my work at an educational conference. I was assigned the worst possible time slot—literally 8:00 am on the conference’s opening day—yet I had a standing-room only crowd. There were even people in the hallway, listening through the open door. After the presentation, teachers came up to me asking if they could use the assessment in their classrooms. This confirmed that the need existed, and that it made sense to invest in moving from pencil-and-paper to online administration in order to save teachers time and minimize the potential for error that comes with manual data entry.

I designed Star Phonics to be very similar to the single-word measures that are included in most CBMs, including Expressive Nonsense Words in Star CBM Reading. This means teachers do not need to learn a new process for administering and scoring Star Phonics.

Also, other phonics assessments present students with a printed sheet of up to 100 words, which can be overwhelming, especially if students are already struggling. With Star Phonics, words appear on the screen three at a time. The student reads the words aloud, and the teacher records correct and incorrect responses, along with any notes. For each word the student reads, the teacher sees a rhyming word to indicate the correct pronunciation, as shown in the example below. With the click of a button, teachers can play audio of the correct pronunciation—a feature that obviously isn’t available in pencil-and-paper format!

Although the test as a whole isn’t timed, students are given three seconds to read each word. This means teachers can screen an entire class in just two-three minutes per student and reporting is available immediately.

I’m sometimes asked how we identified the 12 categories and 102 skills that Star Phonics assesses. Why not eight categories, or 13? As part of the design process, we reviewed popular reading curricula and looked at the phonics patterns covered at each grade level. We then shared this list with our external advisors and they helped us identify the essential patterns, meaning those used most frequently in the words students will encounter. Thinking of digraphs, for example, it’s clear that assessing “th,” “sh,” and “wh” makes a lot of sense, given their frequency in the words students are learning in the early grades.

#3: How are educators using Star Phonics? How do they connect Star Phonics data to daily instruction?

Michelle Hosp: A couple of examples come to mind—the first at the classroom level and the second at the system level.

I remember delivering PD at a school that was implementing Star Phonics. One second-grade teacher clearly wasn’t convinced that she needed the assessment—she sat in the back of the room with her arms crossed, and she wasn’t engaged at all. I knew that she planned to administer Star Phonics the following morning at 9:00, so I visited her classroom around 9:30, not sure what I’d find. She was standing at the front of the room, teaching a lesson on silent /e/.

My first thought was that she hadn’t administered the assessment yet. It turned out that she’d tested all of her students at 9:00 as planned. She then reviewed the Class Matrix Report and saw that about half of the class hadn’t mastered silent /e/, which she’d taught several weeks before. She told me later that if it hadn’t been for Star Phonics, she wouldn’t have known that her students needed more work on this essential skill. She said that she hadn’t been a believer before, but she was now.

This is a pattern I’ve seen repeated over and over. Teachers aren’t necessarily excited when they hear about a new assessment, but their view changes completely when they have their students’ data in front of them and can clearly see where to focus instruction.

My second example is from a district-wide implementation. In this district, vowel teams were taught during the final weeks of grade 2. Unfortunately, the second-grade teachers often didn’t keep pace with the curriculum, and they rarely got to these lessons. Vowel teams weren’t part of the grade 3 curriculum, so often students never received instruction on this essential skill. Star Phonics identified this gap right away, and the district’s leaders realized they needed to create a pacing guide to ensure vowel teams would be covered.

This may sound like stating the obvious, but Star Phonics validates that when we teach phonics skills explicitly and systematically, and when we give kids opportunities to respond and practice, they learn the skills. The opposite is also true. When we don’t teach phonics skills such as vowel teams, students rarely pick them up on their own.

#4: How does Star Phonics align with a district’s curriculum?

Michelle Hosp: I mentioned earlier that we reviewed popular reading curricula when we were creating Star Phonics and found many similarities in terms of the phonics patterns they cover. The key differences involve the grade level at which specific patterns are taught. For example, r-controlled vowels are covered in grade 2 in some curricula and grade 3 in others.

We want to ensure that Star Phonics reports reflect these differences, as shown in the example below. Star Phonics currently aligns with widely used curricula such as:

• Benchmark Education
• Wonders
• Journeys
• Orton-Gillingham
• Reading Street
• And more

We also do custom alignments, including for curricula districts have created on their own.

I’m sometimes asked whether Star Phonics can be used in middle and high school, and the answer is: Absolutely!

In one of our first implementations, the principal made it clear that she expected the assessment to be administered to every student in the building. The teachers in grades 4 and 5 were surprised by this. They didn’t think of themselves as phonics teachers. In their minds, reading instruction involved comprehension and vocabulary, not sounds and letter patterns and sight words. But we know from the Science of Reading that phonics is half of the equation, and there can be no comprehension unless students can recognize and decode words.

The principal made it clear she expected teachers to serve all the students in their classrooms, including the struggling readers. This led to some successful collaboration, with the teachers in grades 4 and 5 partnering with colleagues in the earlier grades to plan phonics instruction.

#5: How might educators use Star Phonics alongside other Renaissance programs?

Michelle Hosp: Most schools use Star Phonics alongside a reading screener such as Star Reading or Star CBM Reading. The screener shows how students are performing on an array of reading skills and which skills students are struggling with. Star Phonics helps educators to then narrow the focus by identifying the specific patterns to teach next.

This is an important differentiator between Star Phonics and other phonics assessments. Both will show you, for example, that students are having trouble with short vowels. But only Star Phonics shows you which short vowels to reteach, which is a tremendous time-saver.

Joining Renaissance allows us to identify additional opportunities for saving teachers time. For example, we know teachers use their Star Phonics data to plan lessons, create worksheets, and choose decodables from the library—all of which take time. But by taking advantage of the instructional content in Renaissance programs, we can help to streamline this process. I’m thinking particularly of the foundational literacy lessons available in Lalilo and the many instructional resources embedded in Star Reading. There’s a lot that we can do, and I’m excited to get started.

#6: The COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted foundational literacy development. How does Star Phonics help districts to address this?

Michelle Hosp: In a way, the pandemic disruptions validated what many of us have known all along: when it comes to learning how to read, teachers are indispensable. I recognize districts made tremendous efforts to ensure learning continued when buildings were closed, and I don’t want to discount this. But teaching children to read is a complex task that takes years, even under the best circumstances. When you add in the disruptions associated with the pandemic, along with the sudden shift to remote learning in less-than-ideal conditions, it’s understandable that many students missed out on essential skills.

As I mentioned earlier, middle schools and even high schools are using Star Phonics, which highlights the solution. We know what to do when students struggle to read, and this begins with explicit and systematic instruction on phonemic awareness and phonics. If teachers teach it, students will learn it. What we need to do is make this easier by giving teachers really good information about what to teach, along with as many instructional minutes in the school day as possible.

Star Phonics can help on both of these fronts, so teachers are empowered to do what they do best: Teach.

The post Phonics assessment built on the Science of Reading appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (June 14, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, has been honored with the first annual CODiE Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in EdTech. This prestigious award, bestowed by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), recognizes the company that “best demonstrates clear, positive, and sustained impact in advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).”

The judges considered multiple criteria when reviewing finalists for the award, including each company’s implementation of DEI best practices, its commitment to eliminating barriers for students from underrepresented populations, and its success in advancing opportunities for women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, and/or individuals with disabilities. In announcing the award, the judges highlighted Renaissance’s partnership with others in the EdTech community to advance DEI, as well as its commitment to building a diverse leadership team and workforce.

“We are incredibly honored to receive this award, and we are proud of everything that we have accomplished to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” said Chris Bauleke, Chief Executive Officer of Renaissance. “To achieve our mission of accelerating learning for all, we need to build a Renaissance for all, and DEI will continue to be central to the work that we do every day in support of educators and students.”

Renaissance received a second 2022 CODiE Award for Freckle for ELA, which was named Best English Language Arts Instructional Solution for Grades PK–8. This award recognizes solutions that provide deep and personalized learning experiences, accommodate diverse learning styles and abilities, align with educational standards, and are easy for educators and students to use. The judges specifically cited Freckle’s success in engaging students in learning, along with its powerful reporting features that help educators to easily align and adjust instruction.

“The 2022 CODiE Award winners exemplify the outstanding products, services, and overall innovation that enables learners of all types to connect with educators and educational materials,” said SIIA President Jeff Joseph. “We are so proud to recognize this year’s honorees—the best of the best—that provide solutions to many of the critical challenges facing learners today, from access and equity to personalized and tailored learning and beyond.”

In addition to receiving multiple CODiE Awards, Renaissance was also recently honored with four 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards presented by SmartBrief on EdTech:

• Lalilo was named best Early Education solution. Lalilo is built on Science of Reading research and provides K–2 students with engaging lessons on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, comprehension, and more.
• myON was named best Curriculum Development solution. myON is a digital reading platform that gives students 24/7 access to thousands of engaging books and age-appropriate news articles, with embedded reading supports and scaffolds.
• Star Assessments were named best Classroom Assessment solution. Star includes both computer-adaptive assessments and curriculum-based measures in English and Spanish for screening, progress monitoring, measuring student growth, and more in early literacy, reading, and math.
• Renaissance Professional Learning was named best Professional Development solution. Renaissance offers both face-to-face and remote professional learning opportunities to help educators connect student learning data to daily instruction.

The Readers’ Choice Awards recognize companies and products making a lasting impact on education through innovative solutions, the latest technology, and pioneering problem-solving, as chosen by the readers of SmartBrief on EdTech. For a full list of winners, click here.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than half a million students in other regions across the world. Our portfolio includes solutions for assessment (Star Assessments, Star Phonics, and myIGDIs for Preschool); practice (Accelerated Reader, myON, Freckle, and Lalilo); data-driven insights (Schoolzilla); and teacher-facilitated instructional delivery (Nearpod).

Press contact:

Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Receives SIIA CODiE Award for Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in EdTech appeared first on Renaissance.

For our ELA and math practice products, such as Freckle and Lalilo, working toward this goal of inclusion has been relatively straightforward. We seek to increase the representation of different groups of people, including significant cultural artifacts, customs, and traditions. Diversifying cultural representation can be a bit more challenging for our assessment products, however. How so? Because there is potential to introduce irrelevant content into the question that may distract, advantage, or disadvantage certain test-takers. In this blog, we’ll explore this point in detail and describe the important work the Star Assessments content team has done as they work to create unbiased and culturally representative assessments.

Understanding bias in assessment design

A high-quality assessment is one that is fair or, in other words, free from bias. Fairness in assessments suggests that the individual questions—known as items—are equally challenging to all students, regardless of their racial, social, or geographic background. Attempts to make assessments fair typically mean avoiding items that benefit some students not because of their knowledge of the construct being assessed, but because of extraneous factors, such as their socioeconomic status. Consider this hypothetical assessment item:

This item is intended to assess a student’s understanding of vocabulary in context, a core ELA learning standard in grade 3. The relative difficulty of the target word (“buoy”) is crucial to the standard being assessed, because it differentiates levels of vocabulary knowledge among test-takers. However, the item has some clear issues of potential cultural and socioeconomic bias. Sailing—and an understanding of concepts and terms related to boats, sailing, and navigation—is potentially more familiar to students who have economic advantage or who have cultural or regional familiarity with the subject. As a result, the item may unintentionally assess students’ knowledge of sailing, and a correct response may be due to reasons other than their understanding of vocabulary in context.

To reduce bias in contextual items like the one above, assessment developers have traditionally attempted to eliminate cultural references, as well as items biased in favor of people from certain socioeconomic groups or geographic regions. In these instances, contextual items would only cover general knowledge to ensure items assess the intended construct and not the students’ knowledge of information irrelevant to the construct (in this case, a knowledge of sailing).

The inherent problem with this practice is that “general knowledge,” by definition, excludes marginalized experiences and centers the largest or dominant social group. This unintentional yet non-inclusive practice can actually hinder other students’ performance and create a false achievement gap (Singer-Freeman, Hobbs, & Robinson 2019). Such is the dilemma of building culturally responsive, non-biased assessments: including cultural context has been said to disadvantage students from other cultures, yet research suggests that students perform best when material is made culturally relevant (Ladson-Billings, 2014). So, how do we create assessments that offer students windows and mirrors without introducing construct-irrelevant content that may distract students or offer an advantage to some students and not others? Our process involves three key principles.

Principle 1: Recognize the role of culture in assessment

We start by accepting that there is no such thing as a culture-free assessment. It can be argued that everything around us is an artifact of culture. Culture extends beyond language, food, and customs. The utensils we use or don’t use while eating, the interactions we have with elders, and even our preferences for solo or group leisure activities are all influenced by culture. Researchers have found that this can be extended to education as well (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). Our preference for how we learn concepts and demonstrate mastery is influenced by our cultures, as are the methods we use to teach concepts and assess students’ understanding. Consider this hypothetical item, which may seem to be culture-free at first glance:

For students in the United States, what could be more familiar than pizza? That’s a more complicated question than it might seem. The intent of such an item is to make a math question more engaging by providing relevant contextual information. But while it’s easy to assume that all students are familiar with pizza—and know that it’s sometimes called “pizza pie”—this generalization obscures potential regional, ethnic, and socioeconomic biases. At Renaissance, we’re aware that students accessing our products come from diverse cultural backgrounds and that some students, such as those who recently migrated to the United States, may not consider pizza to be a typical dish (or a type of pie).

To be clear, this item is appropriate and does not provide an advantage to students familiar with pizza pies. But when developing culturally inclusive assessment items, we try to avoid limiting contextual content to only that with which most students are familiar. Such a practice may unintentionally perpetuate the marginalization of minority students, as this example shows.

Does this mean that we avoid writing about pizza, or about culturally specific material altogether? No. Rather than attempting to remove cultural context from items, we seize the opportunity to develop culturally competent students. To reiterate a key point from an earlier blog, cultural competence refers to helping students appreciate and celebrate their cultures while learning about at least one other culture. This has required a shift in our approach to content development to ensure we provide room for all cultures and do not center the “mainstream” or majority culture.

As the education community comes to accept that there is no such thing as culture-neutral, culture-blind, or culture-free assessments, student assessments should shift from focusing solely on removing culture-specific content to intentionally including culture-rich content that allows more students to see themselves uplifted. So, how do we create culturally relevant assessments for a diverse audience?

Principle 2: Ensure assessment items are bias-free

We ensure our contextual items that introduce students to various cultures do not require knowledge of those cultures to respond correctly. Our process begins with actively including a wide and diverse array of cultures and groups of people involved in a variety of cultural practices (some that stand out as distinct from “mainstream” cultural practices and some that do not, such as American football). Diversity across our Star Assessments item banks is carefully tracked and adjusted through new item development, and the editorial process includes multiple reviews to ensure that items are bias-free and fair measures of the construct being assessed.

Prior to new items being accepted into our item banks, they are statistically analyzed for indications of biases and any flagged items are rejected. The following is an example of an item recently developed to support our goals around culturally responsive assessment.

This item, like the previous pizza-party item, provides an example of how an assessment question can provide both a window to other cultures and a mirror for those belonging to that culture. It is important to note that the cultural content serves to provide additional context to the question, but knowledge of the culture is not required to respond correctly. This is the defining characteristic of a culturally relevant, bias-free item.

Principle 3: Strive for accuracy and respect

When we do feature different groups, we ensure our portrayals are respectful and accurate. As we develop culture-rich assessment items, we make intentional efforts to portray all groups in a positive and accurate light. Our content teams research and engage in conversations with people from varying ethnic and cultural groups to build an understanding of significant cultural artifacts (e.g., foods, holidays). Our content development guidelines are regularly updated to include our learnings and offer appropriate ways to address different groups and topics. We fact-check our sources and, when possible, share potential items with members of those communities to gauge appropriateness.

Valuing culturally relevant assessment

At Renaissance, we understand that students perform best when they can learn and demonstrate learning in a manner that is relevant to them. We have begun exploring how culturally responsive practices may look in assessments, starting with creating culture-rich assessment items that are still bias-free. This continues to be a work-in-progress, and we’re excited to track and share our learnings with the broader education community as we continue this important journey.

References

Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84, 74–84.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2018). How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/24783
Singer-Freeman, K. E., Hobbs, H., & Robinson, C. (2019). Theoretical matrix of culturally relevant assessment. Assessment Update, 31(4), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1002/au.30176

The post Developing culturally relevant items for Star Assessments appeared first on Renaissance.

So, what does it mean to provide high-quality Tier 1 instruction? And how can you implement Tier 1 strategies to address, encourage, or improve your students’ behavior and learning?

First, we need to make sure that you fully understand Tier 1 and how you can best use it to your advantage in the classroom. We’ll also share nine effective Tier 1 instructional practices that can help you to engage students and build a more effective learning environment.

What is Tier 1? An explanation of the universal tier

The universal tier—or Tier 1—is the curriculum, instruction, and assessments that we provide to all students in a grade level. This is the instruction that’s guaranteed for everyone. Universal tier instruction typically focuses on grade-level standards for your state. Schools use universal screening data to identify the effectiveness of their universal tier.

There are two primary questions that schools should ask when evaluating the effectiveness of universal tier instruction:

1. Are 80% of our students successful? Schools typically use the 80% criterion because they have resources to intervene with about 20% of students. If schools have more than 20% of students who need additional intervention in order to be successful, their resources may be strained, and they may be unable to provide help for all of those students.
2. How much are our students growing? We want to ensure that students who begin the school year on track learn enough throughout the year to stay on track. When we look specifically at the progress of students who start the year on track, we’re (by definition) isolating the universal tier, because those students have likely only received universal tier instruction throughout the year and have not required intervention.

For the second question, we recommend using the 95% criterion—meaning that 95% of students who begin the year on track grow enough to stay on track at the end of the year.

The second indicator is the one that you may want to focus on initially. If we ask teachers what percentage of their students who start the year on track should grow enough to end the year on track, they usually say “100%.” So, when we focus on that indicator of effectiveness for the universal tier, it’s a good way to build consensus around this work.

When might universal tier improvements be needed?

When we identify that we have needs within the universal tier—most often because we have more students who need Tier 2 and Tier 3 intervention than we have resources to provide it—we’re tempted to find ways to try to fit more students into the intervention process. And sometimes, we do things with the very best of intentions but don’t necessarily get the results we need.

For example, if you have more students who need intervention than you have resources to provide it, you may do something like cutting a 40-minute session into two 20-minute sessions. This makes it possible to meet with two different groups of students during that time period.

While this allows you to serve more students, it also decreases the instructional time by such a rate that we tend to not see as much student growth. So, students may not be getting as many lessons during the week, or they’re not getting enough instruction and practice during the interventions to close the learning gap.

It helps us to focus on the universal tier in this scenario, because we can isolate and start working on the universal tier so we have fewer students who need Tier 2 and Tier 3 services.

How can we improve at the universal tier?

To improve at the universal tier, we recommend using a whole-group intervention. This allows us to provide intervention to all students in a grade level that is specifically targeted toward skills they should have already learned. When we do this, we provide students who have smaller learning gaps with extra practice and learning. This can prevent larger learning gaps from occurring and catch the students up if they were just a little bit behind.

It also saves valuable intervention resources for students who have more significant needs.

9 Tier 1 strategies to implement in your classroom

What does it mean to have high-quality Tier 1 instruction? It starts with a valid and reliable curriculum that is consistent and standards-based. It’s of the quality that you need it to be, and it’s truly addressing students’ needs.

Let’s take a look at nine additional Tier 1 instructional best practices.

#1: Prioritize instructional support

There is no replacement for a strong curriculum, but it’s also essential for educators to maintain an engaging, fun, and interactive teaching style, regardless of the subject.

It’s easy to get stuck in a routine of lecture, practice, and assess. Not only does this not lead to student engagement, but it can also cause burnout for teachers. The key to combating that burnout is through:

1. Engaging with the passion you had as an educator when you started in the field.
2. Using technology and digital tools to deliver instruction in new and engaging ways for your students.

#2: Give academic praise and feedback

In any kind of learning situation, the adult is usually providing corrective feedback if something’s not quite right or the student needs additional support.

In this Tier 1 strategy, the adult—in this case, the educator—should also be noticing when a student is performing admirably. Educators should balance correction with praise for learning academic content at a ratio of 3:1.

When you think about learning a new skill, it’s rare that learning happens right away. Most of the time, a new skill develops in small stages. For example, think about when you see a child start to take their first steps. You likely celebrated each little milestone: The child pulling up onto a chair, standing alone, the first few wobbly steps, and, finally, walking over to you on their own.

That excitement and attention likely made them very excited, too, and encouraged them to keep moving forward.

Continue to embed this approach in your classroom, just as your students experienced when they first learned to add, subtract, or spell. It’s important to provide feedback at the level of the class using a shaping procedure.

And don’t forget to share the praise and feedback with parents and guardians. Taking the time to talk about a student’s successes with their caregiver may go a long way in motivating them to continue supporting the child and their academic needs.

#3: Implement academic response opportunities

Educators will naturally implement academic response opportunities whenever they can to get students to:

• Apply the material they have learned in new situations
• Extend what they already know
• Demonstrate what they know in a new interaction or a new assignment

Academic response opportunities in classrooms often work well because a teacher has the whole class in front of them and can walk around and check, calling on students to participate.

But if students disengage, you may need to try another strategy. To combat this, educators can have the students lead the conversation and let them do the majority of the discussion. This can also be a helpful tool in assessing whether the class truly understands the concept that is being taught.

#4: Provide major concept summaries

If you look at student achievement, there can sometimes be a step back because students aren’t getting the repetition they need throughout the school year of practicing academic concepts.

To address this gap, educators should continuously summarize the concept, skills, or key points, making sure that whoever is the furthest behind with these concepts can follow. This helps students build a scaffold of important information that they can build upon.

Looking for gaps in completed work is a way for educators to do some formative assessment to see if there’s an area of the concept that needs remediation or more discussion.

Effective formative assessment practice is a huge part of improving Tier 1 instruction. If you had to define it very simply, formative assessment is a mechanism used to inform teachers about what their students need so that they can pivot their instruction to better meet these needs.

#5: Enforce structure, rules, and routines

It is impossible to shield students from the stress and anxiety that has been present in our world since the COVID-19 pandemic began. What can educators do to help children cope?

First and foremost, understand that students have been influenced by a couple of years of unpredictability. Educators can make daily routines more predictable by:

• Having a clear structure
• Providing well-defined routines
• Giving explicit directions for how things are to be done

Rules should be positively phrased and tailored to the activity. In turn, students should experience reduced anxiety because they know what to expect and what is expected of them. For example:

• Implement some standard procedures at the beginning and the end of every class or lesson so students can link the two together
• Communicate the schedule for the upcoming school year

That routine becomes predictable for students and helps them to anticipate the typical school schedule.

#6: Remember the importance of effective vs. ineffective requests

Using effective requests to guide students and their behavior is essential. The clearer and more direct the phrasing that educators give to students, the better off the students are going to be. Effective requests are also very important in written instructions.

When making requests to students to correct behavior, some ineffective requests include commands:

• Issued when it is unclear if the student is paying attention
• Containing multiple or vague steps
• Given as a question or containing unclear phrasing
• Responding to behavior that is repeated without consequence

Instead, try these effective requests to redirect behavior:

• Wait until attention is gained before issuing commands
• Issue commands in specific, manageable steps with clear phrasing
• Share consequences for both compliance and noncompliance following the command

#7: Engage in “planned ignoring”

When students exhibit minor misbehaviors, planned ignoring is a strategy to consider. Planned ignoring is a case where educators choose their battles.

You shouldn’t allow a student to exhibit disrespectful behavior to you, swear in the classroom, or be aggressive. But if a student is doing something like complaining or fidgeting, ignoring those smaller behaviors could be a useful strategy.

Continue to compliment, notice, and acknowledge the good things that students are doing.

To reiterate, planned ignoring could mean:

• Deliberately ignoring minor, inappropriate behaviors—especially if the behaviors are attention-seeking
• Attending to and returning to appropriate behavior

#8: Utilize Premack contingencies and transitional warnings

Using Premack contingencies means putting less preferable activities before more preferable activities, as seen from the students’ point of view. For example:

• “First clean your room, and then you can go outside.”
• “Once you eat your vegetables, you can have dessert.”

Premack contingencies can be useful when we think about lessons we’re teaching students across different grade levels. In a classroom setting, this might look more like:

• “When we finish these math problems, we can do a group game.”
• “After this lecture, you can have some time to talk to your classmates.”

These examples may help students stay on task because they know there’s something fun coming after the activity. Premack contingencies put activities in the right order—placing academic activities first—and help students know about and prepare for transitions or changes in routine.

#9: Utilize professional learning communities

PLCs play a major role in improving Tier 1 instruction. Teachers get to share what’s working well with students, so it’s a great place to discover and exchange ideas. You can utilize the collective strategies from the group and implement them in your own classroom to make the entire Tier 1 instructional experience stronger for all students.

How often should you use these Tier 1 instructional strategies?

There will always be times when a teacher must give corrective feedback to students. But if other consequences—like visits to the principal’s office—are being used frequently, that’s often a sign the Tier 1 instructional strategies are not working as well as they should be.

If they were working well, there wouldn’t be a reason for students to misbehave and seek attention, since they should already be receiving that attention through positive Tier 1 strategies. To reiterate, if the…

• Praise and encouragement;
• Rewards and celebrations; and
• Empathy, attention, listening, encouragement, and good teaching

…strategies are implemented correctly, there should be less of a need to use:

• Logical consequences
• Ignore, distract, redirect
• Clear limits, class rules, and consistent follow-through

Strategies to use liberally

To summarize, examples of Tier 1 instructional strategies to use liberally include:

• Prioritizing instructional support
• Giving academic praise and feedback
• Implementing academic response opportunities
• Providing major concept summaries
• Enforcing structure, rules, and routines
• Offering attention and praise when appropriate

How Renaissance supports effective Tier 1 instruction

Renaissance provides comprehensive assessment tools and whole child data to support students in reading, math, and SEB at every tier of your MTSS—and to help you identify where Tier 1 adjustments may be needed.

Connect with an expert today to learn more.

The post Understanding Tier 1: Instructional strategies that support an engaged classroom  appeared first on Renaissance.

We recently had the opportunity to discuss this new feature with our colleagues Susannah Moran, Senior Project Manager; Kate Cowell, Product Manager; and Dr. Scott McConnell, Director of Assessment Innovation. Highlights from our conversation appear below.

Questions and answers

Why are we adding the new student read-aloud feature to myON? How will it support reading development and reading growth?

Susannah Moran: This is a longstanding request from educators. In the elementary grades, having students read aloud is standard practice in every classroom, and many teachers use running records to monitor oral reading fluency. While having this data is important, it’s not the same as having actual recordings. Recordings allow teachers to create reading portfolios, to compare how students read at the beginning of the school year to how they read at the end of the year. Recordings also allow students to listen to themselves, so they can hear both their miscues and their strengths as readers.

I’ve also received requests for this feature from instructional coaches in middle schools. They feel that—due to all of the demands on instructional time—students aren’t given enough opportunity to read aloud and to then self-assess their reading. Technology can really help here, by giving students the ability to both record themselves and self-assess outside of class time.

Kate Cowell: We interviewed a number of educators as we were designing this new feature. As Susannah mentioned, many said they didn’t have enough class time to give every student the opportunity to read aloud as often as they’d like. They also mentioned students who don’t want to read in front of their peers—perhaps because they’re struggling readers, or because they dislike being the center of attention.

This new feature addresses both of these points. It preserves instructional time by giving students the ability to record themselves in the evening or on weekends. It also gives students greater control over the environment, so they can read aloud without having an audience, if that’s their preference. Our goal here isn’t to create a formal assessment of oral reading fluency but rather to give students additional opportunities for reading practice, so we want to make this new feature as flexible as possible

Susannah Moran: I know I’m “dating” myself, but when I taught reading in middle school, I had a Sony tape recorder I used during read-alouds. I’d then have students listen to the recording, and I’d ask open-ended questions about the reading choices they’d made. All readers occasionally make substitutions when reading a text, or skip words, or add words that aren’t there. Sometimes these changes affect the text’s meaning, and sometimes they don’t. In either case, I noticed that students often had more confidence in themselves as readers after listening to the recording, and they were more willing to talk about their reading.

The new feature in myON takes this a step further, by giving students the ability to review the recording before they turn it in. If they’re not happy with it, they have the option to re-record it. The opportunity to self-assess in this way—to make students the decision-makers—is really powerful, and gives them greater ownership of their reading.

What does the research say about oral reading practice and giving students opportunities to self-assess?

Scott McConnell: Most of the research on oral reading practice is “synchronous,” focusing on what happens when a teacher, librarian, or other adult reads aloud to students. The findings are quite consistent: reading aloud to students expands their vocabulary and knowledge, while also providing important models of expression and prosody. The research also shows that having students read aloud to other students and their teacher, followed by feedback and discussion, contributes to reading fluency and to a better understanding of the text being read. This new feature in myON provides additional ways of achieving these outcomes.

How so? First, myON’s natural-voice audio narration provides each student with a model of fluent, expressive reading of the text they have selected. Until now, this type of modeling usually occurred only when a teacher read to small groups or a whole class—a great resource, but one where student selection of content (and, as a result, perhaps their interest in it) is restricted. Second, students can now listen to their own reading of the same text, both in real time and after completing their read aloud. In each instance, students have opportunities to “check their work” by looking at the words being read or by determining whether the text makes sense in their read aloud. When necessary, they can back up and re-read a section to reflect their self-correction:

This new feature also allows students and teachers to interact in new ways, at both the “micro” and “macro” levels. After listening to a student’s recording, the teacher can provide instruction or correction on decoding or mispronunciation, and can praise the student for improved expressive reading. Teachers can also engage students in what they’ve read, checking for understanding and asking questions that deepen a student’s analysis and comprehension of a text. In this way, myON adds breadth to a teacher’s reach, by providing opportunities for students to read aloud more frequently. At the same time, myON adds greater depth to a teacher’s reach through follow-up interactions with students about their reading selections.

How will this new feature work? What will students and teachers see?

Kate Cowell: We designed the student read-aloud feature to be as intuitive and user-friendly as possible. Students can start the recording at either the beginning of a myON book or from any page within a book. When they click the “Record” button, they’ll receive a pop-up message to allow myON to access their microphone. When they’re done recording, they’re given the option to listen to it immediately. They can then submit it to the teacher, record it again, or save it for later.

Students can access their recordings at any time by clicking myON’s Library tab and then navigating to the Recordings tab. Recordings are organized into two groups: those they’ve turned in and those that are still in progress. They simply open any of the myON books listed, and they’ll see icons indicating which pages have associated recordings. To listen, they just click the icon:

Teachers will see a new tab on their Activity Dashboard for their students’ recordings. For each recording, they’ll see the student’s name, the book’s title, and the recording’s date, length, and status (either In Progress or Turned In). When teachers listen to a recording, they see a view nearly identical to the one shown above—so they can easily see the myON book, with icons to indicate which pages have the student’s recorded read-aloud.

Susannah Moran: To echo Kate’s point about ease-of-use, one of the schools I work with had volunteered to help us test this new feature, and the capability was added during a recent vacation. Without any prompting or instructions, several students noticed the new feature while they were reading on myON at home, and they recorded themselves reading aloud. The teachers were surprised to find that they had recordings waiting for them when they returned to the school building!

How might districts use the student read-aloud feature during the 2022–2023 school year? What guidance can we provide?

Susannah Moran: We’re gaining a lot of insight during the current user testing, which will inform our resources and best practices for educators. As I mentioned earlier, elementary reading teachers are already doing fluency instruction (such as guided oral reading) and formative assessment (such as running records), although they’re not necessarily using technology for this. As Scott noted, myON brings the added benefit of natural-voice audio narration, so students can hear the text read fluently and hear the pronunciation of unfamiliar words. In the early grades especially, students might listen to the audio narration first and then record themselves reading the same passage. This provides an opportunity to practice different elements of fluency—tone, pace, pronunciation—while also helping students to build confidence as readers.

I’d also ask high school teachers to give this feature a look. myON includes many titles taught in high school: The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Hamlet, and more. Asking students to read Shakespeare aloud certainly shows you whether they understand it, based on their tone, where they pause for breath, etc. It also emphasizes the importance—at every grade level—of regular reading practice. Fluent reading doesn’t just happen. It’s something that students have to practice in order to be good at.

Kate Cowell: That’s such an important point. We also know that myON is used by students who are learning English, both in the US and around the world. myON’s natural-voice audio is especially helpful for these learners, because it models English pronunciation and fluent reading while also helping them to build their listening vocabulary. The new read-aloud feature will take this a step further, by allowing English Learners to easily listen to themselves and to assess their pronunciation, pace, and tone. The recordings will also be valuable to teachers, to help them monitor students’ practice and progress.

There’s a lot more to say about this—I think we have a topic for a future blog!

Scott McConnell: In my experience, a district’s reading program has two complementary goals: first, to help students improve their reading skill, and second, to help them develop a passion for the discovery that comes from reading. For a long time, myON has served both of these goals, but with a “lean” towards tools that help students choose books that reflect and in turn fuel their interests. The new read-aloud feature maintains this “choose your own adventure” aspect of myON, while also adding more ways for students and teachers to interact about the text each student is reading and how that text relates to their growing knowledge of the world around them.

This new feature also makes it possible to accumulate portfolios of student oral reading over the course of an academic year, as Susannah noted earlier. I imagine this will be a helpful feature for teachers, students, and even students’ families. They can now have access to a “moving picture” of the student’s growing competence as the year progresses. This portfolio has formal value too, providing teachers with a pre-established library for monitoring and describing the progress each student makes in both the fundamentals of reading and its application to understanding and learning.

This step toward motivating more independent reading while providing new opportunities for teacher-student interaction will be an important resource for achieving both of these goals in the new school year.

The post Supporting oral reading fluency with myON appeared first on Renaissance.

Data is critical to helping our students succeed.

Universal screening provides the data educators need to predict gaps in learning in individual students, classrooms, and grade levels. It also allows for early access to intervention services that can help students find success both inside and outside of the classroom.

In this blog, I’ll discuss universal screening, how it benefits both students and educators, and where to find the tools you need to streamline the universal screening process.

What is universal screening in education?

Universal screening, by definition, is the process of collecting valid and reliable data multiple times a year with all students. Schools utilize universal screening for two primary reasons:

First, universal screening helps us to identify students who may be at risk for poor learning outcomes. This is different from the more traditional approach of using a teacher or parental referral process for identifying these students. Universal screening data allow us to recognize students earlier and prevent large gaps in learning. We can provide extra practice and additional, intentional instruction right away, when the learning gaps are still small, to prevent larger learning gaps later.

Second, universal screening helps us to identify needs within universal tier (or Tier 1) instruction. With data for all students in a grade level, we can easily determine whether the number of students in need of intervention outweighs our available resources for providing it. We can then provide whole group intervention and save those more intensive intervention resources for students who most need them.

We are also able to meet the needs of all students in the grade who need some additional practice with a skill we had assumed they had previously learned. Whole group intervention is an effective way to provide immediate help for struggling students.

While we may be tackling larger Tier 1 needs through curriculum adoption, alignment, or other approaches, we don’t have to wait until those things are implemented to impact students and facilitate immediate growth and improvement.

3 areas of universal screening in education

The data collected during universal screening helps to identify students who are struggling, allowing educators to intervene and create support in their instruction where necessary. Universal screening can be especially useful in three key areas:

1. Reading
2. Math
3. Social-emotional behavior

Let’s explore each area in detail.

#1: Universal screening for reading

Utilizing universal screening for reading helps students to become strong readers. This form of screening allows educators to assess the progress of their students in three main areas:

1. Reading fluency: This is often measured through a one-minute timed oral reading, commonly called R-CBM, that measures the number of words read per minute. By measuring reading fluency, educators are able to identify where they need to dig deeper in student instruction.
2. Reading comprehension: Comprehension is often assessed via a cloze passage (also referred to as DAZE or MAZE), where a set of choices is provided for every seventh word. During this timed assessment, students are asked to select the word that makes the most sense in the passage. They work to complete as much as they can within the time limit, with the entire assessment generally lasting three minutes.
3. Early literacy skills assessments: These focus on letter identification, letter sounds, blending, and decoding nonsense words.

#2: Universal screening for math

When it comes to universal screening, math tends to be a little trickier and more time intensive than reading. This is because there are so many discrete math skills to be assessed. While many of the skills a student needs to acquire for success in reading overlap and build upon each other, some of the necessary math skills are separate and unrelated.

Most universal screeners break math skills down into two broad categories:

1. Computational fluency: A student’s ability to fluently add, subtract, multiply, and divide is the core of elementary-level math, so it is essential that students are able to proficiently perform these calculations.
   
   For lower-grade students, computational fluency assessments focus on the knowledge of basic skills and often use timed formats to assess adding and subtracting basic facts. Upper-grades add in the assessment of multiplication and division to determine whether students have developed automaticity with these core skills.
   
   Using a timed assessment of basic computational skills can be beneficial in discovering students who haven’t memorized core facts, leaving them with fewer mental resources to devote to higher-level math skills and problem-solving.

2. Applied math skills: This is where the other areas of math come into play, with students bouncing around between topics to solve basic problems. For example, the first question might involve measurement and how to read a ruler, while the second has students using place value skills to break down numbers.
   
   Applied math skills assessments are timed but allow a greater amount of working time for students to complete each problem. It’s important to note that the assessment of applied math skills isn’t focused on solving word problems. Rather, it’s based on the ability to perform basic math skills through a variety of topics.

#3: Universal screening of social-emotional behavior

Many researchers have pointed out that students’ success involves more than academics. To achieve the highest levels of success in their education, students should also be competent in social-emotional behavior.

Social-emotional fluency means students are adept in the following skills:

• Self-awareness
• Social awareness
• Self-management
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision making
• Motivation
• Academic achievement

In contrast, students should not be:

• Aggressive
• Noncompliant
• Disruptive
• Worrisome or fearful
• Withdrawn or avoidant

Universal screening for social-emotional behavior is done by the teacher and usually takes between one and three minutes per student. When it is completed three times a year, this form of screening allows educators to more easily identify the students in need of social-emotional intervention early on.

What is the importance of universal screening for students?

Universal screening is used to identify the needs of all students and ensure they have the resources necessary to best help them learn, grow, and succeed in their education. With universal screening, educators can identify both academic and social-emotional behavior gaps in their students and get the data they need to begin early intervention.

For example, a student struggling academically might:

• Be falling behind in classwork
• Have low grades
• Perform below expectations in reading, math, or writing

A student who struggles with social-emotional learning might:

• Be impulsive
• Have difficulty problem-solving
• Struggle with managing their emotions
• Have a hard time making friends

Using universal screening can help educators intervene as soon as possible, creating better success for both the student’s academic career and social-emotional skills.

Why is universal screening necessary for all students?

Often, parents and guardians are curious about why a school is collecting screening data for their child.

Teachers can make universal screening easily understandable by comparing it to a well-child checkup. Parents may take their child to a pediatrician to make sure their rate of physical growth is on track and that they’re hitting all the developmentally appropriate milestones.

Similarly, teachers universally screen students in reading, math, and social-emotional behavior to ensure that the child is making enough growth throughout the school year to achieve their learning goals and be ready to advance to the next grade or skill level.

Universal screening also provides critical data to allow teachers to make changes to instruction before smaller gaps in learning become larger and more difficult to correct. Additionally, screening helps educators to determine when high-achieving students may need additional acceleration to support their continued growth.

Finally, screening allows parents to see how their child compares to other students at the same grade level and provides information about whether their child is on track to meet grade-level goals.

What is the importance of universal screening for schools?

For educators, universal screening provides an equitable education to all students. It helps schools to:

• Determine the grade levels in which less-than-needed growth has occurred
• Identify students who are at risk of not meeting grade-level standards
• Identify students who exceed standards and may need additional acceleration
• Prioritize instructional coaching and intervention resources

When students and educators are living through difficult times for learning, such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the use of universal screening is even more critical. Screening allows districts to identify when instruction should be intensified for all students and when to allocate instructional coaches, interventionists, and other resources who can intensify instruction for all or specific students.

If universal screening identifies a gap in Tier 1 instruction, schools can implement group remediation and save small-group intervention for students with higher needs.

3 critical times to utilize universal screening

Universal screening can be conducted between one and three times per school year, but many schools choose to conduct universal screening in the fall, winter, and spring.

#1: Fall

Fall is the beginning of the school year and is a great time to identify which students are performing at grade level and which students are struggling and may need intervention.

At the kindergarten level, fall screening supports educators by identifying those students who may need more intentional opportunities to learn and practice critical early learning skills to ensure they are on track to meet essential learning goals.

#2: Winter

Halfway through the school year, universal screening should be conducted again.

This time, the data will show you if the instruction and intervention provided thus far have had the expected impact. At this point in the year, schools examine fall-to-winter growth for students, grade levels, and schools to allow time to make changes to improve learning trajectories for the rest of the year.

#3: Spring

At the end of the school year, universal screening should be conducted one final time.

The spring screening identifies the level of student performance at the end of the year. But more importantly, this screening can identify the students who could benefit from summer instruction or early intervention at the start of the following school year.

It also allows schools to plan for Tier 1 improvement needs for the following fall by identifying the grade levels with the highest needs.

What can happen if universal screening is not in place?

What if a school chooses not to implement universal screening? Educators will likely have to work harder to ensure students have everything they need to be successful.

How so?

Without universal screening, the system becomes reactive instead of proactive. Rather than identifying struggling students early on, schools become dependent on teachers or family members to identify struggling students and refer them for additional support. This is a poor use of both time and resources.

Even more, the gaps in skills or achievement will continue to become larger, making them more difficult to remediate in the future.

Universal screening is beneficial to both the school and the students. Schools save time and resources while ensuring that no students are left behind, and instruction can be modified as needed.

How Renaissance provides the tools educators need to streamline the universal screening process

To sum up, universal screening has many benefits and is a critical component in helping students to become academically successful and socially and emotionally competent.

With universal screening in place, educators can more easily ensure that:

• Tier 1 needs are identified
• Struggling students get the help they need early on
• Necessary instructional modifications are implemented

Renaissance’s valid and reliable assessments help educators identify their students’ academic and social-emotional behavior needs faster, align the right interventions at the right time, and measure whether those interventions are helping students to catch up—all in one easy-to-use platform.

We invite you to explore FastBridge and Star Assessments for reading and math, as well as SAEBRS for social-emotional behavior screening. You can also reach out to connect with an expert to discuss your district’s specific challenges and opportunities related to universal screening.

The post The educator’s guide to universal screening in education appeared first on Renaissance.

What if we could turn the question, “How do you manage student behavior issues in the classroom?” to, “Is it possible to prevent student behavior issues in the classroom?”

In this blog, I’ll answer both of those questions.

Why is prevention so important in classroom behavior management?

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

When Benjamin Franklin coined this phrase in 1736, he wasn’t speaking about behavior tips for teachers. But the phrase still holds true in the 21st-century educational system when it comes to managing student behavior.

Just as eating right and exercising pay big health dividends in the long run, doing the hard work of prevention on the front end of classroom management can keep problems from occurring that later need to be fixed.

It’s true that preventing problems requires time and resources, but the alternative can be even more costly.

Responding to challenging student behavior with clear consequences—such as a trip to the principal’s office—may seem like an easy solution, but preventing those negative behaviors in the first place means students can remain in the classroom, learning and engaging with their peers.

Preventing issues related to behavior: 8 classroom management strategies

You may be convinced that prevention is preferable, but many teachers have tried different classroom management tactics without success. Rather than continuing with an approach that isn’t working, take a look at these strategies geared at preventing unfavorable behaviors before they start.

Knowing how to manage student behavior takes time, patience, and willingness to try different strategies.

#1: Know what to avoid

Sometimes, the best way to know how to approach an issue is to first identify actions to steer clear of. So take care to avoid the following:

1. Power struggles. These rarely, if ever, produce the desired behavior from your students. Rather than resolving the problem, power struggles are likely to escalate them. When you feel the temptation to engage in a power struggle, take a step back, remain calm, and keep the conversation short and succinct.
2. Requiring students to remain stationary for long periods. This is a sure way to invite unruly classroom behavior. According to a 2013 study of six California elementary schools, “Implementing classroom physical activity breaks can improve student physical activity during school and behavior in the classroom.”
3. Public reprimands. These should also be avoided, especially in front of students’ peers. No doubt, there will be times when a student needs to be corrected. When those times come, pull the student aside or step outside of the room to privately address the inappropriate behavior.

#2: Establish a productive learning environment

The learning environment can be either a “make-it” or “break-it” scenario. Even as adults, we understand the difficulty of attempting to work or study in less-than-ideal surroundings. For children, the classroom environment can be key to their learning and behavior.

Teachers should pay careful attention to the following to create an environment ripe for learning and classroom behavior management:

• Consider the seating arrangement: Is the student facing the teacher? Does the seating arrangement invite unnecessary interaction with other students?
• Be sensitive to noise: Is the air conditioning unit making a distracting noise? Is the hubbub in the hallway making it difficult for a student to focus?
• Keep the student close to the teacher. Students who struggle with behavior issues can benefit from staying in close proximity to you.
• Finally, remove temptation by distancing students struggling with behavior issues from others who may be instigators.

#3: Create opportunities for more frequent positive feedback

We all seem to have a natural tendency to focus on the negative. But making a small and decisive change in this area can result in favorable dividends when it comes to a peaceful and enjoyable classroom.

Make it a goal to provide more positive feedback to students than negative feedback. A good ratio to strive for is 4:1—four positive comments for every one correction. Not only will classroom behavior improve, but the student/teacher relationship will have more of a chance to thrive.

#4: Address problem behavior immediately

A classroom is a busy place. Teachers perform a variety of activities throughout the day, including:

• Teaching lessons
• Answering students’ questions
• Keeping records; and
• Managing behavior

With so many demands, it can be hard to prioritize correcting behavior. And though it may seem the best option at the moment to finish the lesson, addressing problem behavior right away is a major step teachers can take to prevent more troubling student behavior later on.

Talking to students one-on-one in a supportive manner:

• Provides immediate feedback
• Keeps the situation at the forefront; and
• Helps the student to know how they can improve

In the end, it also helps to restore and improve the relationship between the student and teacher.

#5: Build positive relationships with your students

Often considered one of the most important steps for managing student behavior, building positive relationships will pay off in spades. Here are eight strategies for building relationships with your students:

1. Learn every student’s name quickly and correctly at the start of the school year.
2. Post students’ pictures and the work they produce.
3. Allow show-and-tell to give an opportunity for students to share something important about themselves.
4. Compliment your students on their academic achievements and positive character traits.
5. Take the time to listen to your students when they want to share a part of their lives outside of school.
6. Schedule regular one-on-one chats with students to check in on their emotional well-being.
7. Make notes about each student’s likes and dislikes or personal information they’ve shared with you so that you can reference it when needed.
8. Celebrate your students’ birthdays.

#6: Communicate with parents and caregivers

Beyond calling home when there’s an issue, teachers should make a point to share each student’s successes and milestones with caregivers. Every parent or guardian likes hearing positive feedback about their child and then sharing that feedback with their child.

Make a point to contact a different family every day to share some achievement, whether academic, social, or emotional. While it may seem like a lot of work at first, families who respect and support the teacher pass those feelings along to their child who, in turn, is more likely to behave for the teacher.

#7: Set clear expectations with a behavior management plan

Starting the school year with classroom rules and procedures is only effective if you take the time to explain specific expectations and why they matter. For example, if one of the rules is to “Always respect your classmates,” then you may need to give examples that clarify exactly what respect looks like to you.

Involve your students in creating a behavior plan that is realistic and that the students can all agree to follow. Giving your students some autonomy can help with addressing student behavior.

#8: Incorporate movement into the day

Sitting for hours on end is hard enough for adults—for kids, it can seem impossible. Plan a few different ways to get your students up and out of their seats throughout the day, such as:

• Flexible seating options, including balance balls, bean bag chairs, or wobble stools
• Brain breaks, such as playing trivia games or “Simon says”
• Active learning activities
• Take work outside when the weather is favorable
• 5-minute stretch at students’ desks

Not only are you resetting students’ brains, but you’re letting them get their “wiggles” out, which can really help with managing student behavior before problems arise.

The importance of knowing what your students experience at school and at home

Most teachers and school administrators agree that preventing issues that lead to negative student behaviors is more desirable than the alternative. But many educators struggle to find a way to manage classroom behavior in a way that results in happy and fulfilled students and teachers.

Having a comprehensive assessment solution that helps to identify the underlying motivations behind challenging behavior can help. There is also a significant benefit in learning about your students’ school life and home life.

How so?

Without a doubt, teachers understand the importance of knowing their students. Knowing students well allows teachers to:

• Accentuate students’ strengths
• Understand students’ struggles and weaknesses; and
• Adjust the learning style to fit students’ needs

But beyond academic success, knowing your students personally helps to foster a strong student/teacher relationship that is based on understanding, compassion, and respect.

Knowing what students experience both at school and home can also give a teacher valuable information regarding students’ behavior. It can not only help a teacher to understand why a student is behaving in a certain way, but it can also help a teacher know how to address it with care and sensitivity.

What to identify about your students’ school life

A child’s school day is full of activity. With numerous students in a classroom, a teacher may not be able to witness every interaction.

For instance, perhaps a student has a falling out with her best friend during recess and returns to the classroom forlorn or angry. Without knowing about the recess interaction, a teacher may be at a loss to understand the sudden change in the student’s behavior.

As much as a teacher is able, paying careful attention to what students experience throughout their school day can give insightful clues to student behavior—and avenues to know how to address them.

When considering what a student’s school life involves, think about:

• Friends
• Interactions with other teachers and school staff
• The lunchroom environment
• Whether the school setting is supportive

What to identify about your students’ home life

Without knowing about a student’s home life, it can be very difficult to provide appropriate support.

As adults, teachers know how outside events and stressors can affect them, and the same is true with students—positive and negative influences and struggles in the home environment can clearly influence student behavior.

But unlike adults, students don’t have the experience and maturity to know how to adjust. That’s where knowledge of a student’s home life is extremely valuable.

What kind of information is helpful in increasing teacher awareness? Here are some suggestions:

• What parental figures are in the home?
• Is a student’s home life supportive or combative?
• Is the student home alone for long periods of time?
• Are there other children/siblings in the home? What are the sibling dynamics?
• What is the student’s cultural and socio-economic background?

How you can learn more about your students’ home life

Getting to know students and their home life doesn’t have to be complicated or involve surveys that have a price tag attached to them. If teachers or administrators are currently surveying families, they are already one step ahead.

The following simple ideas can give teachers insight into a student’s home life that can then translate into creative intervention (and prevention) in the classroom:

• Give a writing prompt like “What I did last night” or “My favorite activity to do with my family”
• Ask students to list their top 5 (or 10) favorite things to do outside of school
• Talk and listen to students in one-on-one conversations

Though it isn’t always possible or practical for all teachers, visiting a student’s home or family can provide helpful information to give a better understanding of a student’s challenges and needs.

Learn more about managing student behavior with tools from Renaissance

Renaissance offers resources to equip educators to know how to best manage student behavior and establish best practices through:

• Social-emotional assessment and progress monitoring
• Dyslexia screening
• Reports and data visualization for both academics and social-emotional behavior
• And more

Renaissance equips educators with the best tools to measure student progress and determine the most effective instructional or intervention strategies.

Perhaps you searched out this article because you’re wondering how to manage student behavior through prevention. Renaissance can help. Our data-driven solutions for educators support the whole child.

Connect with an expert today to learn more.

The post Prevention: The key to managing student behavior appeared first on Renaissance.

Below, you’ll find a summary of new features in your Renaissance products that support learning recovery this year. You can read more details on our Product Updates Blog, which we invite you to visit regularly for the latest news and information.

Introducing KeyPhonics, built on Science of Reading research

We’re thrilled to announce that KeyPhonics—which is now known as Star Phonics—has joined the Renaissance family! Designed for students in grades 1–6, Star Phonics is the first and only web-based assessment of 12 critical phonics categories and 102 essential phonics skills. You can administer Star Phonics to students either in-person or remotely, and you’ll receive immediate reporting aligned to your district’s reading curriculum.

Unlike other phonics assessments that only assess simple patterns, Star Phonics assesses digraphs, blends, vowel teams, contractions, and multi-syllable words. This gives you deep insight into which students are struggling, which phonics skills are secure, and which need more attention. With this information, you can more easily differentiate foundational literacy instruction and provide the right level of support to individual students, groups, classes, and entire grades.

Star Phonics can be used in tandem with other Star Assessments, which assess a wide array of reading skills, and with Lalilo, which provides students with fun and engaging practice on phonics, word recognition, fluency, and more. Learn more about what Star Phonics offers by reading our recent interview with Dr. Michelle Hosp, the assessment’s creator.

Accelerating foundational literacy development with Lalilo

Lalilo uses colorful animations, interactive activities, and engaging lessons to help K–2 students develop strong foundational literacy skills. To simplify the login process, you can now provide students with a QR code to access Lalilo either in the classroom or at home. This allows them to access the program quickly so they can continue their learning adventures.

Lalilo also now includes a short training lesson to help students make the most of the program. The training lesson appears after students complete the Lalilo placement test, and you can also assign the lesson to students manually if they need a quick refresher. The lesson shows students the mechanics of completing activities in Lalilo, including sorting, matching, completing sentences, and more.

Note: If you’re not currently using Lalilo, we invite you to learn more about the program and to create a free account to get started.

Providing literacy skills practice with Freckle

Freckle for ELA is an adaptive program that provides K–12 students with practice on grammar, word study, comprehension, and more. To better monitor students’ activity in Freckle, you now have access to detailed session-level reports for the Grammar Skills Practice and Word Study domains. You can see the specific content students worked on (standard or skill) and how they performed.

You can now also preview Word Study assignments and review individual questions, so you can best align practice and instruction. If you’re not familiar with Word Study in Freckle, you can learn more—and see a list of Word Study levels—by clicking here.

You’ll see several additional enhancements in the coming weeks as well. Freckle will soon include a Parts of Speech domain that provides students with practice in an interactive, engaging format. You’ll also find more detailed reporting that shows ELA standards alignment, so you can easily see where students are in their learning journey.

Note: If you’re not currently using Freckle, we invite you to discover how the program fits into your ELA classroom and to create a free account to get started.

Linking directly to myON digital books

You and your students will find a variety of new English and Spanish titles in myON, from Animals of the Amazon Rain Forest to Marie Curie y la radioactividad. Also, Harper Collins has joined the list of add-on publishers’ collections, with titles for early elementary phonics and upper elementary fiction—including decodables.

You can also now link to a myON digital book—or to a specific page within a book—from Nearpod, Google Classroom, or other learning platforms. This allows you to easily incorporate myON books into your lessons to focus on specific skills, vocabulary, or content-area information. It also supports the use of myON across the curriculum, for lessons on science, social studies, history, mathematics, and more.

Motivating independent reading with Accelerated Reader

You and your students will see several new features in Accelerated Reader related to personalized reading goals. Students using the AR Friends K–2 goal model now see how each book they read contributes toward earning a badge. Older students using the traditional model see new guidance and next steps as they work toward their goals.

You’ll now see additional information and color-coded indicators in the Record Book that show whether your students are on track to achieve their goals. You can also see the percentage of the marking period that is complete, as well as the metrics used in the progress-to-goal calculations (e.g., that the student will read for 15 minutes per day).

You now have greater control over managing quiz records as well. This includes the ability to deactivate quizzes and to allow students to retake quizzes, so you can best configure AR to meet local needs.

If you haven’t already, explore the 2022 edition of What Kids Are Reading, which uses data from AR and myON to show you the most popular print and digital books at every grade level. You can also use the online reporting tools to see the most popular books in your state—and to easily create summer reading lists for your students. You can create lists by state, grade level, reading level, fiction/nonfiction, English/Spanish, and more.

Understanding students’ performance and growth with Star Assessments

Star Early Literacy, Star Reading, and Star Math now feature a reimagined version of the Growth Proficiency Chart. A favorite of many teachers and administrators, this interactive report shows you student performance and growth in a single view. This allows you to quickly see which students, classes, and/or schools are performing on the higher and lower ends of the spectrum, so you can direct resources appropriately.

To determine performance, you indicate the specific proficiency benchmark you’d like to use (state, district, or school). Growth is expressed using Student Growth Percentile (SGP) scores. Data is then shown on an easy-to-read graph, helping you determine how students and schools are performing.

Promoting family engagement and communication

A strong home-school connection is a powerful support for student learning. Renaissance Home Connect allows parents and guardians to sign up for email notifications of students’ scores on Star tests and Accelerated Reader quizzes.

Parents and guardians now receive the enhanced Star Family Report with Star Reading and Star Math results. The report uses color-coding and an easy-to-read format to communicate a variety of scores, so families understand a student’s progress and growth. The Star Reading report also includes the student’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to help families guide students to books for independent and at-home reading.

A brief overview of the report is available in English and in Spanish to help families interpret the scores.

Coming soon: Star CBM Lectura

Star CBM Lectura for grades K–6 is the latest addition to the Star Assessments suite, and will be available for Back-to-School. Designed authentically in Spanish, Star CBM Lectura provides the following measures to help you assess and support emergent bilingual students’ literacy development:

Like Star CBM Reading, Star CBM Lectura can be administered either on paper or electronically. It can also be used in tandem with the computer-adaptive Star Assessments to gain a detailed picture of students’ reading performance and instructional needs in both Spanish and English. Star CBM Lectura reflects our commitment to supporting biliteracy, and will be a powerful addition to the increasing number of bilingual and dual-language programs across the country.

Supporting learning recovery this summer and throughout the year

If you haven’t already, visit our Summer Learning page for a variety of new resources. You’ll find Student and Family Engagement Kits, Summer School Implementation Guides, Out-of-School Program Tip Sheets, summer funding information, and more. Renaissance’s Dr. Gene Kerns also shares strategies for accelerating learning this summer, whether through formal summer school, high-dosage tutoring, or summer enrichment activities.

Also explore these new resources:

• Our Reading Challenge Guide, with theme ideas, helpful checklists, and suggested book titles for planning a successful challenge at any level
• Trip Steps for Reading and Math, which are the most difficult skills for students to learn at each grade level—and a priority for learning recovery
• How-to webinars, which offer free professional learning on each of your Renaissance products

The post Product Highlights: Prioritizing learning recovery this year appeared first on Renaissance.

But exactly how do we go about creating assessments that achieve our goals for student outcomes?

The key to success is to begin with the end goal in mind and to then work backward to create the right assessment—a process known as backward mapping. In this blog, I’ll explain how to effectively implement backward mapping for consistency to improve student learning outcomes and create an engaging environment for all students.

What is backward mapping?

Backward mapping, also called backward planning or backward design, is a technique used by teachers that involves setting goals for a lesson, unit, or semester, and then creating assignments and lessons that align with these goals.

When using backward mapping for consistency in education, the teacher begins with the objectives of a unit or course by focusing on what they expect their students to learn and be able to do by the end of instruction. The teacher then proceeds backward to create lessons that achieve their desired goals, as noted above.

In most K–12 schools, the educational goals of a course or unit will be a given state’s learning standards—i.e., concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education.

Example of backward mapping

Let’s say you’re teaching a unit about the American Civil War.

According to state standards, your students should understand the political, cultural, and economic causes of the war, as well as the significance of slavery, state vs. federal rights, the Dred Scott Decision, and the election of Abraham Lincoln in November 1860.

Students also need to understand the importance and impact of people like Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Harriet Tubman.

Backward mapping for consistency of the Civil War may look like this:

1. Assessment: By the end of a unit on the tensions between the North and the South, students will write a letter for or against the war from the point of view of a key player in the conflict.
2. Learning: Through direct instruction, group discussions, in- and out-of-class readings, and educational videos, students will become familiar with the issue of slavery, how it affected the lives of the enslaved, what the Underground Railroad was, and the series of events that led to the war.
3. Progress: Students will demonstrate their growing understanding of the who, what, when, where, and why of the events of the Civil War through short quizzes, in-class activities, and take-home assignments.
4. Outcome: For the final assessment, students will read their letters aloud to the class. If time allows, students may invite responses and engage in debates about their topics.

What is the benefit of using backward mapping?

Backward mapping for consistency helps educators focus on the learning goals throughout the entire teaching process.

The basic rationale of backward mapping is that starting with the end goal of a unit or course—rather than viewing the lessons chronologically—helps teachers to more effectively design a sequence of lessons, problems, projects, presentations, assignments, outcomes, and assessments that result in students learning what they were expected to learn.

The process of backward mapping helps teachers create courses and units that are focused on the goal of learning, rather than the process of teaching.

Because “beginning with the end” is often a counterintuitive process, backward mapping gives educators a structure they can follow when creating a curriculum and planning their instructional process. Advocates of backward mapping believe that the instructional process must serve the goals, rather than the goals—and the results for students—being determined by the process.

6 steps in the backward mapping process

By following these six steps, you can create high-quality assessments that help you to gain the insights needed to inform instruction, delivering the right information at the right time to improve teaching and learning.

#1: Determine the desired outcome(s)

If teams intend to use data to make better instructional decisions, they must ensure they’re choosing the right type of assessment to yield the data they need to achieve the goal of the assessment. This requires having a solid understanding of different assessment types, their purposes, and what they actually measure.

What are you looking to learn from the assessment? This might be to determine what students already know about a topic before you begin the instruction. In contrast, it might be the knowledge and skills students can demonstrate by the end of the unit.

Understanding the desired outcomes will help you to choose the assessment method that’s best suited to measuring these outcomes. Here’s a useful chart that can help you match the assessment type to your desired goals:

#2: Determine standards and learning targets

Knowing the goal or purpose of the assessment is the first step in backward mapping. The next step is to determine the standards and learning targets you want to assess.

Learning targets describe the specific evidence that you’re trying to measure. We know that some standards are written using fairly broad language. We have to unpack the standards so that we can meaningfully assess them. What knowledge, skills, or abilities do students need to demonstrate?

When you identify learning targets, it can be especially helpful to do this with your students in mind. Look at your priority and supporting standards, and rewrite them in language that your students will understand. This helps the learning targets become more accessible to and attainable by the students.

#3: Evaluate the rigor of standards and learning targets

The next step is to identify the level of rigor for the learning targets you’re looking to assess. Work as a team to unpack the complexity and difficulty of the learning target.

There are different models to describe cognitive rigor, such as Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. You can use these models to help you determine the rigor of the learning targets.

#4: Match the assessment to the desired outcomes, learning targets, and level of rigor

Once you’ve determined the rigor of learning, it’s time to choose the assessment method that best matches your desired outcomes. Choose or create assessment item types (e.g., multiple choice, constructed response, EBSR, etc.) and questions that match the learning targets and level of rigor you’re aiming to measure.

#5: Create the assessment blueprint

Develop a map of your entire assessment, so you know exactly how to build it. This step connects the dots between learning targets, depth of knowledge (DOK), assessment methods, and items.

Decide which formative assessment strategies will be used to check for understanding and progress throughout the unit. You may decide to implement:

• A pre-class open-ended question, asking students what they learned in the last class session
• A live multiple-choice poll that asks students about what you’re currently teaching
• A short, end-of-class survey to discover whether students found the information to be interesting, challenging, and/or enjoyable to learn
• A quick Word Cloud where students provide a short or one-word answer to your question about learning content

#6: Generate or select the test items and/or tasks

The final step in backward mapping is to use your blueprint to select or create the right items for your assessment.

DnA by Renaissance makes it easy to ensure success for all students by allowing teachers to create standardized assessments and actionable reports that accelerate learning.

With DnA, you’ll have…

• Thousands of standards-aligned, high-quality items in core subject areas
• Instant scoring
• Formative feedback; and
• Interactive reporting

…that will help you gain the clarity you need to understand where your students are in the learning process and guide instructional practice to improve learning outcomes.

The post Beginning with the end in mind: How to use backward mapping to enhance learning appeared first on Renaissance.

We recently had the opportunity to discuss Star CBM Lectura—including the research and best practices that informed its design—with four of our Renaissance colleagues: Doris Chávez-Linville, Director of Linguistic and Culturally Diverse Innovation; Dr. Scott McConnell, Director of Assessment Innovation; Heidi Lund, Senior Product Manager; and Amy Patnoe, Project Manager.

Highlights from our conversation appear below.

Why did Renaissance create Star CBM Lectura? How does it differ from other Spanish assessments?

Heidi Lund: After we released Star CBM Reading, our school and district partners began asking us for a Spanish CBM as well. These requests aligned perfectly with our commitment to biliteracy development, so we were eager to respond.

Unfortunately, this was in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when no one knew where students would be learning or what the typical school day would look like. We wanted to “do this right” with careful design of the new Spanish measures and robust field testing, but the uncertainties of the 2020–2021 school year made planning difficult.

By spring 2021, however, we’d reached a critical mass in the number of districts volunteering to participate in the field testing. At that point, it made sense to bring together our internal teams and external advisors to begin the design process. Input from educators played a key role here, with teachers telling us how existing Spanish CBMs were failing to meet their needs. They wanted a measure that deeply reflected students’ language and literacy development in Spanish.

Over the last few years, we’ve invested heavily in our computer-adaptive Star Assessments in Spanish, and Star CBM Lectura builds on this commitment. We want to provide educators with a Spanish assessment that they can administer to students one-on-one, along with the flexibility and differentiated data that’s provided by curriculum-based measurement. Educators understand that CATs and CBMs have unique strengths. Together, they provide detailed information about what to do next in the classroom.

Doris Chávez-Linville: Our mission at Renaissance is to accelerate learning for all. We recognize that this is a big mission—and something that is an ongoing process that we are always working toward. We also recognize that equity does not mean “the same.” Too often, testing companies have said something like, “We have a CBM in English, so let’s translate it into Spanish!” This is clearly not the way to achieve equity in education.

From the beginning, we knew that we needed to fully understand the research on bilingualism and biliteracy and to work with experts in the field. We also asked educators, When you’re assessing students who are learning to read in both languages, what does that look like? And we used this input to design authentic Spanish measures, rather than translating or transadapting existing English measures. As Heidi said, our focus remained firmly on the teachers and the students.

What design best practices did we follow when creating Star CBM Lectura? What makes the measures authentic?

Scott McConnell: When we created Star CBM Reading, one of our guiding principles was simplicity. Rather than developing every measure under the sun, we followed the research and focused on foundations of literacy that are most predictive of learning to read in English: Letter Sounds, Phoneme Segmentation, Nonsense Word Reading, and Passage Oral Reading. Simplicity meant sticking to the major pillars to provide great measures of progress—and empowering teachers to intervene for those students needing supplemental instruction.

We took the same approach with Star CBM Lectura, while also acknowledging that learning to read in Spanish has differences from learning to read in English. This is why, for example, Star CBM Lectura doesn’t include measures for Letter Naming, even though other CBMs in Spanish do. So why don’t we? Because our goal is to create an authentic assessment, as Doris explained. Reviewing the research and consulting with experts led us to focus on very young students reading simple and then more complex syllables, which is typically the first instructional and developmental component of Spanish literacy.

To put this another way, “parity” with our English CBM doesn’t depend on what the measures look like. Instead, it’s rooted in our commitment to empowering teachers and strengthening the connection between assessment and classroom instruction.

Doris Chávez-Linville: When I first came to the US from Mexico, I was always surprised when people would ask how to spell my name. In Spanish, there’s only one way to spell “Doris.” This is because Spanish is a transparent language, with a one-to-one correspondence between letters and sounds. Unlike English, Spanish does not have short and long vowels or hard and soft consonants. In Spanish, children begin not by learning the letter names but by learning sounds and then syllables. For example, a child learning to spell the word murciélago would break it down into syllables rather than individual letters: mur-cié-la-go.

Dr. Jose Medina jokingly uses the phrase “Spanish á la anglais” to refer to programs that have obviously been translated from English. When teachers who work in bilingual education see a Letter Naming measure in Spanish, their immediate reaction is: It’s been translated. In Spanish, letter names and the order of the alphabet are typically taught in grade 2—as part of dictionary skills or sorting skills, not literacy skills.

Amy Patnoe: Before I joined Renaissance, I managed bilingual programming in a public school district. When we implemented a CBM in Spanish, we were expected to implement the same measures that our English CBM provided. Bilingual educators immediately contacted me with concerns. As Doris and Scott have explained, foundational literacy development differs between Spanish and English. There was immense frustration that the CBM our district implemented in Spanish did not honor these differences and—therefore—did not honor our students’ needs.

Teachers quickly noticed that the Letter Naming measure in Spanish was not indicative of the reading progress students were making, particularly in the early grades. Teachers saw that their CBM data was not triangulating with other assessments they were using in the classroom, and they had a challenging time narrating the rationale behind these differences.

I began working with the district’s Accountability, Reliability, and Evaluation department to adjust the measure. This created further psychometric challenges because we were then straying from the way the assessment was supposed to be implemented. If we’d had a CBM that was authentically designed in Spanish, these issues would not have arisen, and we would have been able to invest our advocacy efforts for Emergent Bilingual students in other ways.

What does the Star CBM Lectura field test involve? What feedback have we received from educators and students?

Heidi Lund: Thousands of students are participating in the field testing, which we designed to be as efficient as possible, knowing that educators have more demands than ever on their time this year. For maximum flexibility, all three Star CBM Lectura administration modes are available: paper-only, online-only, and mixed, with the student using paper and the educator recording responses online.

Doris, Amy, and team have been tireless in supporting educators and students during this process. They’ve visited schools, provided professional development in Spanish, hosted Q&A sessions, and more. Educators’ feedback has been very positive, and we’ve made updates to the testing instructions and training materials based on what we’re learning. The field-testing data will also allow our psychometrics team to set the grade-level benchmarks and other norms that educators will see in the commercial version of the product.

Doris Chávez-Linville: Observing the field testing in person allows us to really connect with teachers and students as they’re using the assessment. I’m especially interested in observing the administration of the Passage Oral Reading measures (as modeled in this video). In the past, educators often relied on Spanish passages that had been translated from English—and usually not very well. As part of the design process for Star CBM Lectura, our internal team—whose members are former bilingual educators who also have assessment design experience—wrote passages in Spanish. We also sourced passages from Spain, Mexico, and Chile.

Like all of the content in Star, these passages have gone through a rigorous editorial process and content review to ensure they’re accessible and free of bias. There is another consideration, however. Spanish is the official language in 21 countries, which leads to a lot of variety. There are 11 different Spanish words for a drinking straw, for example. So we worked to balance this rich diversity in vocabulary with the need to ensure passages are accessible to all learners.

The response has been very positive. In one classroom, a student looked at the passage before her teacher had even asked her to read it. She immediately had a smile on her face and said, “This is real Spanish!” Students aren’t always excited about testing, but this was a genuine moment of joy in the classroom. When the language is authentic, students can feel it, because it’s part of their identity and their culture.

How might educators use Star CBM Lectura during the 2022–2023 school year?

Amy Patnoe: We intend to include 20 parallel forms of each measure. Because measures can be administered between screening windows, Star CBM Lectura not only screens but also provides real-time data on foundational literacy components in Spanish—data that many teachers have never had before. They can use this data to inform instructional design and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support. The data will also support conversations with colleagues (such as Related Service Professionals) and with students’ families and caregivers.

In my previous role, I was often invited to join Child Study meetings to help explain the nuances of literacy and language development in Spanish. I saw that the teachers of bilingual or multilingual students were being held to a standard and measure that was not designed for them, because they did not have access to authentic assessment tools. Watching these teachers as they tried to explain that their students were making progress—and that the assessment data did not paint an accurate picture—was heartbreaking.

Someone I admire once said, “Changing our beliefs begins with changing our language, with the words we use.” Star CBM Lectura provides educators with the understandings and concept knowledge of foundational literacy components in Spanish, and also with the data necessary to accurately understand the metacognition and literacy development of bilingual students. This is an assessment that schools and districts have needed for a long time.

Scott McConnell: Educators will also see continuity between Star CBM Lectura and our other Star Assessments, given the common design principles we’ve followed. This includes using authentic language, providing data that’s instructionally meaningful, making the assessment engaging for students, and ensuring that it’s both easy to use and psychometrically strong.

As Doris and Amy have explained, Star CBM Lectura helps us to deliver on our mission of accelerating learning for all children—not just some children. Respecting the language and culture that children bring to the classroom is an essential part of this work. Our approach at Renaissance is to keep the teacher and the student at the center, and to make sure that technology is there to help move learning forward. With Star CBM Lectura, we have a sensitive measure that shows how students are progressing toward becoming proficient readers in Spanish. This creates a really solid foundation for supporting biliteracy, whether we’re talking about Spanish-speaking students who are learning English, or English-speaking students who are learning Spanish in a bilingual program.

Doris Chávez-Linville: I always remind people that there is no such thing as a bilingual assessment. So instead educators use two monolingual assessments. The goal is for each one to be authentic to the language, and to truly assess the skills that are critical for reading proficiently. In English, this means Letter Names, as we’ve discussed. It also means onset and rime, which are often used as an indicator of kindergarten readiness.

Tools for assessing these skills have existed in English for many years. But teachers in the US have not had comparable tools in Spanish—where onset and rime do not exist, for example. So the ability to access an authentic, psychometrically solid tool in Spanish that can be used across schools and provides reliable data for decision-making is a game-changer, helping educators to more fully support literacy development in both languages. That has been our goal from the beginning, and I cannot wait for educators to start using this assessment.

The post Providing authentic assessment with Star CBM Lectura appeared first on Renaissance.

For many educators, administering tests can be a logistical challenge if they don’t have the right tools and a comprehensive assessment system in place. For others, the connection between daily teaching and higher student test scores feels distant—if even at all related. 

In this blog, I’ll take a close look at the measurement of learning and discuss tools that can help you to best understand your students’ progress and needs. I’ll look at:

• What these tools are
• Why measurement and assessments are vital to a strong multi-tiered system of support (MTSS)
• What types of assessments you can use in your school or district

Defining the terms: Measurement and assessment

The terms “measurement” and “assessment” are often used interchangeably in education. However, while they are related, they have different meanings and purposes. Let’s explore each of these terms and their applications in more depth.

Measurement defined

When we think about measurement, we often assume it means quantifying concrete objects. For example, you may imagine a ruler or a measuring cup. In these cases, there is a physical object naming the value, the amount, or the length of something.

But this definition fails to fully define measurement in:

• Teaching
• The learning process; or
• Education

When it comes to testing students, measurement is the standard or process students are compared against. Measurement is, in other words, the “yardstick” of education.

Measurement is the quantifiable part of the testing process, and it is required to gauge the efficacy of our programs and the growth of our students. Without measurement, we do not know what to assess.

An example of measurement in education

So, how do you measure student learning? Assessments are one of the primary tools for measurement in education. We can use the results of assessments, such as standardized test scores, to measure student progress.

Other examples of measurement in education are:

• Percentile rankings
• Raw scores
• Standard scores
• Completion percentages

All of the data we can collect through assessment and evaluation allows us to measure student progress and determine student achievement levels.

Assessment defined

Assessment is a process that utilizes a variety of tools that can have both formative and summative qualities. When we assess a student, we are clearly gathering information about the student, such as the student’s knowledge or skills.

An assessment is a tool that allows us to look at the data and the student together and determine what is working and/or not working. In this way, assessments can give us a broader picture of the overall system and any areas of potential weakness.

Successful assessment systems commonly include:

• Just-in-time/short-cycle assessments
• Universal screening/benchmarking
• Skills analysis/diagnostic
• Progress monitoring
• Interim assessments
• Summative assessments

It is important to note that while testing helps to assess a student, it is not the only way students can or should be assessed. Testing is an invaluable part of a larger assessment strategy.

An example of assessment in education

Assessments can take many forms. While we may commonly think of formal, high-stakes tests when we imagine assessments, they are far from the only way to assess a student.

Some examples of assessment in education include:

• Screeners
• Classroom observations
• Interviews
• Diagnostic tests
• Concept maps
• Prompted journaling

Learning is not linear, and multi-dimensional growth is only measurable if appropriate assessments are taking place.

Understanding standards and skills: What are the types of measurement in assessment?

Comprehensive assessment systems provide structure to education. A complete system will have different types of assessments that are administered at various times to give an overall view of student progress.

Once we know what to measure, our next question becomes, what are the right assessment tools to measure learning? These tools fall under two general categories: standards assessment and skills assessment.

#1: Standards assessment

Standards are the specific, hierarchical learning goals expected of students in a particular grade, grade range, or area of study.

We can imagine standards as the road students are driving along during their academic journey. The student starts at Point A and will eventually reach Point B. Regardless of the pace or the path they take, our goal is that they arrive at the destination. And if we want to know whether a student is meeting the learning objectives, we can offer a standards assessment.

The benefits of standards assessments

Not every student learns the same way or at the same pace. A standards assessment doesn’t judge a student based on how they got to the destination, just that they arrived.

Within test measurements and evaluations, standards assessments can give an objective overview of classroom success.

Examples of standards assessments

Most basic measurements of learning include a type of standards assessment. For example, state testing is a type of standards assessment that reveals how much of what the student learned was retained. Students take the test in the spring on everything they should have learned over the course of the school year.

Standards assessments include:

• Just-in-time/short-cycle assessments (formative)
• Interim assessments
• Summative assessments

Just-in-time/short-cycle assessments

Short-cycle assessments are common in the classroom. Students across all grades and subjects are familiar with this type of assessment, even if they are unfamiliar with the name.

These formative assessments confirm that specific learning has taken place and provide data to inform future instruction. Examples of short-cycle assessments include:

• Pop quizzes
• End-of-chapter tests
• Class discussion
• Comprehension checks

Interim assessments

Interim assessments measure students’ proficiency in the standards. These tests are given periodically and can help to determine the efficacy of instruction.

Examples of interim assessments include:

• Standards-aligned common assessments
• Curriculum vendor-provided interims
• District-created interims

Summative assessments

At the end of a unit, course, or school year, grades need to be assigned to each student. Summative assessments are useful for evaluating and certifying learning. Students can demonstrate their mastery of the material and have their knowledge measured and graded.

Examples of summative assessments include:

• Standards-aligned common assessments
• State standards assessments
• Curriculum vendor-provided summative assessments
• District-created summative assessments
• Classroom summative assessments

#2: Skills assessment

Skills are the abilities students need in order to use their knowledge effectively and readily.

Let’s return to the road analogy. If standards are the road, then skills are the foundation under the road. If there are too many missing or rough pieces, navigating the road can be treacherous. In order to determine what type of foundation the student is driving on, we need to conduct a skills assessment.

The benefits of skills assessments

Assessing the methods and skills students use to reach the destination can reveal a lot. Some students may have a smooth road and an easy journey. Others may face potholes and rough terrain. If a student is facing too many obstacles, learning will clearly suffer.

A skills assessment can give insight into the student’s journey and help you to develop strategies to improve the learning process and meet the needs of each student.

Examples of skills assessments

Skills assessments can look like ordinary teaching tools, such as spelling tests or pop quizzes. Most, if not all, classrooms included some type of skills assessment activity long before regular testing was a part of the school year.

Skills assessments include:

• Universal screening/benchmarking
• Skills analysis/diagnostic
• Progress monitoring

Universal screening/benchmarking

We often need a starting point to determine how best to guide a student. Universal screening or benchmarking helps identify which students may need additional services or assistance or are at risk of falling behind.

Examples of universal screening/benchmarking include:

• FastBridge’s combined suite of reading, math, and social-emotional behavior assessments
• Star Assessments for early literacy, reading, and math, available in both English and Spanish

Skills analysis/diagnostic

A skills analysis can be used as a reporting component of the universal screening or as a follow-up for students who are flagged during the benchmark test. Skills analysis and diagnostic testing can help you to pinpoint specific learning needs or deficits.

Examples of skills analysis and diagnostic assessments include the unique Star Phonics assessment from Renaissance, which is administered to students in addition to the FastBridge or Star universal screener for reading.

Progress monitoring

For students receiving Tier 2 or Tier 3 interventions, progress monitoring is needed to measure the effectiveness of the intervention.

Progress monitoring allows you to evaluate progress toward learning goals based on the student’s rate of improvement. You can determine if the student benefits from intervention by measuring their advancement in specific skills.

Examples of progress monitoring include FastBridge’s FAST Projection line and the Progress Monitoring Report in Star Assessments.

The importance of assessment, measurement, evaluation, and testing

Measurement and assessment are keys to making sure we are serving students well. Without them, we have no way of knowing what we are doing or why. Using assessments and measurements to gauge the success of students, instruction, and school and district initiatives can also help us to continue to improve the learning process.

Standards exist to measure a student’s proficiency in their grade level. We can use assessments to determine whether a student meets the standards for their grade or subject. A skills assessment helps identify skills the student might be missing and gives us a closer look at their educational needs.

We can use these tools as part of a comprehensive assessment system to provide students with a stronger foundation. Assessments give us answers to questions like:

• What do students know?
• Where are students struggling?
• Why are they struggling?
• What should I teach next?
• What adjustments can I make to future lessons?
• Which students need academic intervention?
• Which interventions best match the student’s needs?
• Does the student’s retained learning meet district and state standards?
• Are there gaps in the curriculum between expectations and assessment?

When we complete the assessments and measure the outcomes, we can create an effective and efficient plan to improve the rate of success among our students.

Are we testing too much?

Not all tests are created equal. As noted earlier, each test is going to have a different purpose and give us specific information. And remember, while all tests are assessments, not all assessments are formal tests.

We hear the terms over and over: measurement, assessment, and evaluation. It can be overwhelming, and it feels that we must ask: Are we testing too much?

The short answer is “no.” We want to enable students to learn and ensure they meet state standards. To do that, we need assessments to show us where we are succeeding and where we can evaluate and improve. It is not feasible to know if a student can learn and retain information without assessing their skills and abilities.

Assessments also help us to identify problems before they become insurmountable. It is in the best interest of the student to be assessed so we can recognize how to give them the support they need.

Renaissance: Turning measurement and assessment data into actionable insights

You can’t create the best learning plan for your students with only a couple of pieces of data, just like you can’t see the whole picture if you’re only holding one piece of the puzzle. If you already have a system, Renaissance can help you to strengthen your assessment plan and give you the rest of the pieces to the puzzle.

We provide comprehensive assessment, MTSS collaboration and management, and real-time dashboard tools for data-driven decision making. With our tools, you can:

• Visualize each student’s progress
• Determine the right instructional or intervention strategy; and
• Take the best next action, moment-by-moment

No more guessing or doing what you’ve always done. We give you a road map to success.

The post Evaluation, measurement, and assessment in teaching and learning appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (March 28, 2022) – Renaissance, a global leader in student-centered, pre-K–12 personalized practice and assessment, has acquired KeyPhonics, to deliver early literacy assessment data that can be linked directly to phonics-based reading instruction.

KeyPhonics, the first commercially available web-based phonics assessment, was developed after years of research with the goal to quickly and efficiently screen and diagnose the twelve most critical phonics categories and 102 specific target patterns. It was created by Dr. Michelle Hosp after realizing as a school psychologist that phonics assessments didn’t answer one crucial question: which phonics patterns the student needed help with. Universal screening assessments confirm which students are struggling to read, but they are not designed to identify which phonics patterns students need instruction on, therefore limiting their utility to plan instruction.

“Detailed awareness of a child’s mastery of phonics skills is one of the most important indicators of early literacy, and we know it is a top priority for teachers and reading specialists to have actionable data they can use to inform their instruction,” said Todd Brekhus, chief product officer at Renaissance. “We look forward to adding KeyPhonics to the Renaissance family, and together providing teachers and administrators with the insights they need to prepare students for reading proficiency.”

KeyPhonics is designed for grades 1 through 6 and for older students who need help learning phonics. It provides valuable information about phonics skills essential for instruction through a fast and easy assessment, while providing data at the student, class, grade, and district levels. In addition to diagnosing and monitoring progress, educators can also screen all students to enable teachers and administrators to see how students are performing. This helps teachers to provide more effective instruction, and administrators to determine the resources needed to support students and staff.

“We’re thrilled to join Renaissance and create this critical partnership to support teachers and school leaders as they are guiding their students to become proficient, life-long readers,” said Dr. Hosp, founder and scientific advisor at KeyPhonics. “Teaching reading is our most important job as educators, as it has life-long implications for our students. Joining Renaissance allows us to expand the reach of the KeyPhonics assessment and provide educators with the tools and information they need to support instruction and help all students become proficient readers.”

KeyPhonics is Renaissance’s second recent acquisition to support foundational literacy. In 2021, the company acquired Lalilo, which provides K–2 students with engaging practice and instruction across all components of literacy. Lalilo also aligns with Science of Reading research and supports Renaissance’s commitment to reading development.

KeyPhonics customers will continue to receive the support and service they have come to expect and love from the company. Existing Renaissance customers can look forward to learning more about KeyPhonics in the weeks ahead.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery. For more information, visit Renaissance.com.

Contact for Media Inquiries Only:
Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
(832) 651-1189
tracy.stewart@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Expands Its Early Literacy Portfolio with the Acquisition of KeyPhonics appeared first on Renaissance.

A functional behavior assessment may be necessary if a student’s challenging behavior interferes with learning, be it for the student exhibiting the behavior or for other students in the learning environment.

Continue reading to determine if a functional behavior assessment is needed for students who display disruptive or problematic behaviors. In this blog, I’ll discuss:

• What a functional behavior assessment is
• The six steps of a functional behavior assessment
• When a functional behavior assessment might be used for an IEP
• And more

What is functional behavior assessment?

A functional behavior assessment (FBA) identifies problem behaviors, and the environmental functions of those behaviors, that interfere with learning in children and provides recommendations to reduce or replace them.

A functional behavior assessment is needed for any challenging behavior, and it is recommended that FBAs be implemented before placing a child into an intervention. An FBA should (a) identify both positive and negative behaviors, and (b) provide a more complete picture of the child. This will allow intervention to be tailored to the student’s unique needs.

During an FBA, you collect granular data when a behavior occurs, such as:

• The time the behavior occurred
• The learning environment involved
• Those who were with the child
• The subject being taught
• The antecedent(s) that led to the behavior
• The function the behavior served (e.g., avoiding group work, etc.)

The data collected from an FBA is what drives the next steps in providing support to the student.

Functional behavior assessment starts with understanding the ABCs

Functional behavior assessments are used to determine the function or purpose of an interfering behavior. During this assessment, the “ABCs” will be examined:

• A (antecedent): What happens directly before the behavior occurs (events, actions, circumstances).
• B (behavior): The behavior that occurs. This should be an observable and measurable act, and the observer should not make a guess about the internal state of the student exhibiting the behavior.
• C (consequence): What happens directly after the behavior (response, action, or event). This may include verbal interactions with peers or staff, physical interactions with peers or staff, and prompting of any type.

Observers may need to collect data over several sessions before they have enough information to see a clear ABC pattern. In addition to taking notes about the events, the observer should also record the setting of the behavior, time of day in which it took place, and the people involved.

Here are three brief examples of ABC data recording:

Example 1:

• Antecedent—The teacher asks Sarah to stop her work on the computer.
• Behavior—Sarah screams “No!” and continues what she is doing.
• Consequence—The teacher repeats her direction for Sarah to leave the computer.

Example 2:

• Antecedent—The teacher calls on Juan to answer a question during a social studies lesson.
• Behavior—Juan sings his answer.
• Consequence—The teacher ignores Juan’s behavior.

Example 3:

• Antecedent—The teacher puts Robert’s book on the desk in front of him.
• Behavior—Robert throws the book on the floor.
• Consequence—The classroom assistant moves Robert to the time-out table, and Robert avoids having to do his reading assignment.

It’s important to examine what happens before and during the behavior, but it’s perhaps even more crucial to look at the consequence part of the data recording. Do the responses lead to an increase or a decrease in problem behavior?

For example, if a child is exhibiting a behavior to get out of completing their work, then isolating them from the rest of the class with nothing to do only reinforces their behavior, and other consequences should be applied instead.

If a student shows a lot of attention-seeking behavior, they should be ignored in certain circumstances and directed on how to get attention in a more positive manner at a different time.

Looking at the patterns of the ABC data collection can help us make better choices when correcting behaviors. Responses should focus on:

• Strengthening the desired behavior
• Suggesting a replacement behavior
• Decreasing the amount of problem behavior

What is included in a functional behavior assessment? The 6-step process

To help determine the function or purpose of an interfering behavior, functional behavior assessments involve six key steps. Let’s examine each step in detail.

Step 1: Collect the data

The first step in a functional behavior assessment is collecting as much data as possible to determine the interfering behavior.

Collecting this information under various conditions can help determine the context of specific behaviors. This information allows educators to get ahead of problem behaviors by predicting when the behavior may occur.

There are two methods that can be used to collect data:

Direct observation

Data collected during a direct observation is done by observing the student in settings or situations in which the challenging behavior typically occurs.

Indirect observation

Indirect observations involve gathering information via interviews with people who know the students well and interact with them regularly.

Information obtained during these interviews should include:

• How often the problem behavior occurs
• How intense the behavior is
• What events might be influencing the behavior
• What events occur immediately before and immediately after the behavior
• The assumed function of the behavior (e.g., Is it attention-seeking behavior?)

Step 2: Analyze the data

Once the data has been collected, an analysis of the indirect data should be done to identify any consistent patterns, common responses, or similar observations.

Next, review all of the direct data as well to identify patterns in:

• How the student responds to antecedents
• How any adults or peers respond to the behavior
• What happens after the behavior
• Consequences of the behavior

Finally, compare the direct data with the indirect data. If the data is in agreement, it may suggest a strong explanation for why the behaviors are happening.

If the observations are not in agreement, both types of observations should continue to be conducted.

Step 3: Develop a hypothesis

To create an effective plan, forming a hypothesis about why a student misbehaves is essential. Developing a hypothesis can be broken down into three parts:

1. Function: What is the desired response or activity the student hopes to receive? Is it to get attention?
2. Skill deficit: Is the student struggling to perform at the behavioral or academic level expected of them?
3. Performance deficit: Does the student know the academic or behavioral skill but chooses not to perform it?

The hypothesis should:

• Identify why the displayed behavior might be occurring
• Define the student’s purpose for displaying said behaviors
• Be used as a guide for creating a behavior support plan

Step 4: Form a behavior support plan

Observers should create a plan that addresses any behaviors identified in the functional behavior assessment process. The plan should include strategies that will:

• Address antecedents of the behavior
• Teach replacement behaviors
• Provide consequences to maintaining the problem behavior

Step 5: Implement a behavioral intervention plan

Implementing an effective behavioral intervention plan involves providing educators and family members with clear information on:

• The one or two target behaviors being addressed
• Strategies that will be used to change the behavior
• When the strategies will be implemented—and who will implement them
• How educators and family members will know if the support plan is working
• A schedule to follow up and evaluate the progress and success of the support plan

Step 6: Evaluate

When evaluating a functional behavior assessment, the evaluator should monitor whether the plan is being followed appropriately and how well it is changing the student’s negative behaviors. Making periodic progress checks is necessary in order to see whether the support plan is making a positive impact.

If the problem behavior is persistent, moving back to the assessment phase may be necessary.

When is functional behavior assessment necessary?

When a student exhibits behavior that limits or inhibits their ability to learn within the parameters of the classroom or school environment, the assessment is a helpful tool.

As noted earlier, functional behavior assessments should identify both positive and negative behaviors to get a clear picture of the whole child. This can help inform instruction and intervention for the student.

Typically, functional behavior assessments are conducted in response to student behaviors that cause concern among:

• Parents or guardians
• Teachers
• School staff
• Community members

The concern is often that the student may have emotional or behavioral problems—these are behaviors that may interfere with their ability to learn and grow personally.

Functional behavior assessments can be coordinated with other efforts to better understand a student’s situation, including the confirmation of a disability or the development of an Individualized Learning Plan.

When a functional behavior assessment might be used for an IEP

A functional behavior assessment is often conducted as a first step for teachers or practitioners to understand why a learner, including students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), may be engaging in interfering behaviors. Upon becoming aware of the behavior’s purpose, teachers and practitioners can then develop interventions to reduce its occurrence.

To address these behaviors in learners, teachers and practitioners commonly use:

• Functional communication training: Oftentimes, verbal language can be confusing for students, and this is especially true of learners with ASD. To help communicate, consider using pictures and icons, communication scripts that include visuals, or social stories.
• Differential reinforcement: It is important to be aware when behavior is reinforced and acknowledged. Be strategic when behavior is recognized. For example, positively reinforce only the desired behavior when exhibited by the student and ignore undesired behaviors when exhibited.
• Response interruption/redirection: Students form patterns of behavior. This happens for positive behavior as well as negative behavior. Therefore, when an undesired behavior begins, immediately introduce a prompt or distractor (i.e., redirect the student). This diverts the student’s attention from the negative behavior and limits the “pattern of behavior” for the student. Interrupting the pattern of behavior when undesired behavior is exhibited helps the student form new patterns of positive behavior.
• Extinction: The ultimate goal is to have the negative behavior end and, in turn, have the desired behavior remain. Therefore, take away current reinforcement/consequences (which are typically provided unintentionally) to decrease or eliminate the negative behaviors.
• Stimulus control/environmental modification: Often, environmental stimuli can lead to a pattern of behavior. Assess the learning environment and remove stimuli that lead to negative behavior and introduce stimuli that lead to positive behavior.

What is an example of a functional behavior assessment?

The table below provides a detailed example of how a functional behavior assessment works.

The antecedent: Mr. Smith announces it’s time for the students to clean up their art supplies, wash their hands, and go to lunch. As the school year continues, Mr. Smith notices a trend of behaviors from Marissa.

The hypothesis: Marissa is seeking attention from the teacher.

The plan for Marissa is to help her understand that she can gain positive attention by:

• Encouraging her to explain to Mr. Smith that she likes to finish what she is working on without feeling rushed
• Using a stool to promote independence at the hand-washing sink
• Following directions on the first prompt

Mr. Smith can further support Marissa by:

• Allowing her to be the line leader the next time she finishes her task accordingly
• Positively acknowledging her when she follows directions on the first prompt (and continuing this pattern in the future)
• Ringing a bell for a two-minute warning so she has time to complete her task without feeling rushed

How Renaissance helps educators support the whole child through functional behavior assessment

A data-driven approach to serving the whole child is at the heart of what Renaissance does.

Our solution combines…

• Social-emotional behavior (SEB) screening to identify any SEB skill deficits
• Methods for direct and indirect observations which can be viewed alongside other whole-child data
• Methods to complete FBAs directly within the system
• Methods for educators to generate and monitor interventions that are created from an FBA
• Actionable plans in which progress can be assessed and the next best step can be taken
• Management and collaboration of your multi-tiered system of support (MTSS)

… and places them in educators’ hands.

As a result, educators can:

• Continually monitor learning and growth
• Identify the academic and social-emotional needs of the student; and
• Optimize learning for each student by aligning targeted support.

The post What is functional behavior assessment and how can it be used to support the whole child? appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (March 23, 2022) – Renaissance , a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, today released the latest How Kids Are Performing, a report detailing the academic impacts associated with COVID-19 school disruptions.

The report compares performance and growth data for the first half of the 2021–2022 school year with data from the same period last year. This “snapshot” is a useful tool to document the extent to which the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect student achievement in grades K–12 in reading and 1–12 in math.

The new report’s findings confirm that the pandemic has had a profoundly disruptive effect on education that continues to be felt today. While student performance in the second year of the pandemic is lower than during the first year, there are encouraging signs in many grades that fall-to-winter student growth rates in 2021–2022 are stronger compared to the same period in 2020–2021.

Key findings include:

• Performance: Overall, students are performing lower in 2021–2022 compared to 2020–2021, suggesting that the pandemic continues to have a compounding effect on student achievement.
• Growth: Fall-to-winter growth in 2021–2022 was stronger than growth during the same period last year, although it remains below typical growth in most grade levels.
• Results by Group: Although performance and growth vary between student and school groups, most follow this same overall pattern of lower performance but stronger growth compared to the prior year.
• Pre-readers: Concerning results were observed for pre-readers in grade 1, where school disruptions may have interrupted the development of foundational literacy skills.

“All signs suggest that this is going to be a multiyear recovery,” said Dr. Gene Kerns, vice president and chief academic officer at Renaissance. “We can reset instruction back to where it was pre-pandemic, but that isn’t going to instantly move students up to where they would have been had the pandemic not occurred. For example, if you worked out every day and then stopped for two years, you aren’t going to be in the same shape as before the break when you return to the gym. We know what to do—and educators are rising to meet this great challenge—but it’s going to take time.”

The Monroe County School District in Florida has consistently monitored student progress before and during the pandemic, and district leaders are encouraged by the data they see this school year. “For me, the growth score has the most meaning,” said Superintendent Theresa Axford. “What we are seeing is that our teachers are being effective and supporting the kids in the exact ways they need to be supported, and that is reflected in the student growth data.”

To ensure a fair comparison, the report restricts its analysis to schools using the same computer-adaptive Star Assessments for early literacy, reading, or math during both the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 academic years. The analysis includes 4.4 million early literacy or reading assessments at 19,046 schools and 2.9 million math assessments at 12,754 schools. The sample covers K–12 students from schools from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

Renaissance is providing additional resources to support educators, schools, and families this spring and summer:

• Summer Learning Toolkit, which includes a variety of free resources: Student and Family Engagement Kits, summer funding information, and guidance on designing an effective summer learning program;
• Focus Skills in English and Spanish, so educators can target the most important learning at each grade level;
• Trip Steps for Reading, showing the most difficult reading skills for students to master across grades K–12;
• Trip Steps for Mathematics, showing the most difficult math skills for students to master from pre-K through Algebra 1.

The full How Kid Are Performing report is available at ​​renaissance.com/performing.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40% of US schools and more than a half million students in other regions across the world. The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery.

Media Contact
Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
(832) 651-1189
tracy.stewart@renaissance.com

The post National Report Reveals Pandemic Has Had Profound Effect On K–12 Student Outcomes appeared first on Renaissance.

In this blog, we’ll explain how to approach MTSS problem-solving models in education with Renaissance’s five-step problem-solving method.

How to approach MTSS problem-solving models in education

When a school implements an MTSS model, how can educators figure out what type of support each student needs and whether a student should receive intensive, one-on-one interventions? One approach that schools can take is to have a problem-solving team.

Such teams can help teachers plan and implement tiered interventions and collect data to identify which students need more intensive academic or behavioral support. Usually, a referral is made to the problem-solving team when a student is not improving despite receiving Tier 1 (e.g., core) plus Tier 2 (e.g., small group) intervention.

What does a problem-solving team look like?

The members of a problem-solving team (PST) act as consultants to teachers and other staff who have worked with a student. Because many of the referrals could reflect various academic and behavioral problems, it is important to make sure that the team is made up of people from different educational positions who can offer different perspectives about students’ needs.

Ideally, a PST should include at least one classroom teacher, a special educator, a school psychologist, a counselor or social worker, and the building principal. All PST members should be encouraged to think about students’ school difficulties in relation to the expectations of students in the same grade level. The primary function of the PST is to reduce any differences between those expectations and the student’s current school performance.

Responsibilities of the PST

The PST is the engine that drives the MTSS system. By reviewing school-wide data, the PST can proactively address system needs and support individual student growth.

The team members should meet regularly throughout each month with a structured agenda that varies to:

• Review universal screening data
• Provide expertise related to MTSS professional development
• Review school-wide data and make data-based decisions
• Collaborate with general education teachers to support grade levels/departments serving students during interventions
• Provide expertise regarding school site enrichment/intervention schedule, course offerings, and curriculum
• Communicate MTSS-relevant issues to the site administrator
• Hold problem-solving meetings with parents for individual students
• Collaborate and consult with teachers, counselors, administrators, and parents about the MTSS problem-solving model
• Review data and refer students for comprehensive special education evaluations when warranted

Communication and collaboration is critical to the functioning of an effective PST.

What is an MTSS problem-solving model?

The MTSS problem-solving model is a data-driven decision-making process that helps educators utilize and analyze interventions based on students’ needs on a continual basis.

Traditionally, the MTSS problem-solving model only involves four steps:

1. Identifying the student’s strengths and needs, based on data.
2. Analyzing data and formulating appropriate interventions.
3. Implementing these interventions.
4. Reflecting on and evaluating intervention outcomes.

Let’s consider how this compares to Renaissance’s five-step MTSS problem-solving model.

Renaissance’s five-step MTSS problem-solving model

While similar to the traditional four-step MTSS problem-solving model, the Renaissance problem-solving method adds an extra step to fully flesh out the process. Renaissance endorses a five-step problem-solving method that includes:

1. Problem Identification
2. Problem Analysis
3. Plan Development
4. Plan Implementation
5. Plan Evaluation

When used at any time of the school year, MTSS problem-solving models in education help school teams engage in data-based decision-making for the benefit of all students.

Let’s consider each of the components in detail.

#1: Problem identification

Every educator knows that a student can develop school-related problems at any time of the school year. Problem identification is the point in time when a possible problem first shows up on the “radar” among school staff.

For example, in the spring, especially before the final screening period, problems that may arise include issues like:

• Students who have not (yet) responded to intervention
• Students who were doing well earlier in the year but are now struggling with more challenging material
• Efforts to have 80% or more of students meet the winter learning benchmarks were not achieved

In each of these cases, the next step is to analyze the problem based on available evidence.

#2: Problem analysis

Problem analysis involves using collected data to identify the size and effects of the problem. Some problems might be small enough that they do not justify additional resources to address.

For example, if a student’s progress data indicated somewhat lower scores after a school break, but quickly returned to higher levels, giving attention to this probably does not make sense because the student’s performance improved once school resumed.

A bigger problem could be if many students in a class or grade did not meet a benchmark screening goal. It is expected that all students will make growth throughout the school year.

To recognize this growth, benchmark goals are adjusted upwards for each screening period during the school year. If there are students who met the benchmark in the fall but not the winter, more information to analyze the source of the problem is needed.

Examples include:

• What percentages of students did and did not meet the goal?
• Were they all from the same class or different classes?
• Did they have similar scores in the fall?
• How close to the goal are they now?
• Exactly what instruction has been provided to these students?

To address the above questions and complete a thorough analysis, additional data about student performance and instructional practices might be needed. The most recent (e.g., winter) screening scores answer the first four questions. An interview with teachers and/or classroom observations could answer the final question.

The goal is to develop a hypothesis about exactly why an unexpectedly large number of students did not meet the winter benchmark.

#3: Plan development

With a hypothesis in hand, the school team then turns to consider possible plans that can address the problem. The planning process needs to cover what steps will be taken to improve the scores of the underachieving students.

One approach could be to add those students to existing intervention groups so that they can participate in additional instruction. This might work if the number of students is small, but if many students need intervention, there might not be enough groups or interventionists to teach them.

Another approach would be to revise the Tier 1 core instruction to include the specific skills that these students lack. This approach has the benefit of meeting the needs of more students at one time, but it will work only if the students have relatively similar learning needs.

The team might need to explore both of these options and then compare the costs and benefits of each to make a decision.

In addition to developing a short-term solution to the students’ learning gaps, the team should think about and work on plans to develop a way to prevent the same thing from happening next year. Collecting and using continuous data to set longer-term goals is an important part of system-level data-based decision-making.

If the team checks and reviews the effects of the selected plan to support the struggling students throughout the rest of the school year, the information gained can help in a decision about whether additional new plans are needed.

Specifically, in the course of observing the effects of either small-group interventions or whole-class instructional changes, the team will likely have more information about whether the original Tier 1 core instruction that appeared to work in the fall needs to be changed in the future.

Such changes could include additional training for teachers, a new pacing guide that narrows the focus of what to teach, or an entirely new set of materials and methods.

Using group-level data from the current school year is an essential and effective way to plan for the future needs of all students.

#4: Plan implementation

Once a specific plan for addressing the student’s needs is developed, the next step is to implement it. For any plan, additional resources will likely be needed.

For example, if the students are added to existing intervention groups, who will gather and prepare the necessary materials? If the Tier 1 core instruction is changed, how will teachers learn about the changes and become ready to teach the revised lessons?

To support those charged with plan implementation, it’s very helpful for a member of the school’s problem-solving team to conduct regular “check-ins” with those implementing the plan. These checks can be weekly and will help the staff know that they are supported in their efforts to meet individual students’ needs.

Another component of implementation is to verify intervention or teaching accuracy. This is also called teaching integrity, or fidelity. It is important because it provides data about whether the planned change was done correctly. Checking on teaching integrity can involve interviewing the teachers or observing lessons.

The method used should match the…

• Type;
• Location; and
• Nature

…of the instruction.

Having teaching integrity is important because unless the data collected as part of the instructional change can be trusted, there is no point in evaluating the plan.

#5: Plan evaluation

The final step of the problem-solving model is to assess the data collected during and after the changes to see whether they worked.

In the case of instructional changes made between the winter and spring benchmark periods, one way to evaluate the plan would be to see if the students’ spring screening scores reflect a significant improvement over the winter scores.

The downside of relying entirely on the spring screening scores is that they might not be collected for weeks or months. Instead, it could be better to gather additional data on student performance before the spring screening.

If the team opted to have the students join existing intervention groups, the newly added students should complete regular progress measures alongside all the other students in the groups.

Given the time of the year and the urgency of the learning needs, weekly progress monitoring would be recommended. If the team opted to change the Tier 1 core instruction, alternate assessments might be better, depending on whether there are brief and easy-to-administer options that all students could complete.

Renaissance offers two solutions—FastBridge and Star Assessments— that can be used for regular progress monitoring and whole-class interim assessments.

FastBridge assessments for reading that would work for both small and large groups include AUTOreading and COMPefficiency. For math, FastBridge offers CBMmath-Automaticity and CBMmath-Concepts and Applications (CAP).

These are all computer-administered and scored assessments that provide immediate feedback on student performance. For younger students, selected measures from FastBridge earlyReading and earlyMath can also be used for progress monitoring as they are used at least monthly.

Similarly, the Star suite includes both computer-adaptive assessments (CATs) and curriculum-based measures (CBMs) for reading and math. Star CATs and CBMs support progress monitoring and whole-class interim assessment in both English and Spanish, from preschool through grade 12.

Utilizing MTSS problem-solving models with Renaissance

Both FastBridge and Star Assessments are aligned with a problem-solving approach to assisting students.

The five problem-solving steps can be used continuously throughout the school year to identify, define, and address individual and group learning needs. Educators do not need to wait until the new school year before addressing such learning needs.

Instead, they can continue to use the problem-solving steps with new issues as they arise. Using the problem-solving approach throughout each school year has benefits for both individual students and groups:

• At the individual student level, the benefit is improvement in skills and a more satisfactory school experience.
• At the group (e.g., grade or school) level, the benefit is planning for improved system-level practices and will make both students’ and teachers’ school experiences better in the future.

To learn more about FastBridge or Star Assessments and how they support the MTSS problem-solving model, connect with an expert today.

The post How to successfully utilize MTSS problem-solving models in education  appeared first on Renaissance.

At the request of our school and district partners, we’re now releasing Trip Steps for Reading, which span kindergarten through grade 12. We recently had the opportunity to discuss reading Trip Steps with three of our Renaissance colleagues: Dr. Gene Kerns, Vice President and Chief Academic Officer; Julianne Robar, Director, Metadata and Product Interoperability; and Dr. Jan Bryan, Vice President and National Education Officer.

Highlights from our conversation appear below.

Why does Renaissance use the name “Trip Steps” to describe these disproportionately difficult reading and math skills?

Gene Kerns: One of my more memorable experiences as an educator was chaperoning a high school trip to Europe. We visited several medieval castles, and we learned that the staircases deliberately had steps of different heights. People living in the castle would obviously be familiar with this, and would know that the fifth step or the eighth step was taller than the others. Invaders, however, wouldn’t know about these “trip steps,” and would be more likely to trip and fall when trying to storm the castle.

In education, we often describe learning as a staircase, with each skill being slightly more difficult than the one that comes before it. This is generally accurate, but as students progress within and across grade levels, they occasionally encounter a skill that is significantly more difficult than the prior skill, and which may cause a stumble in learning. The concept of “trip steps” immediately came to mind here, to provide a visual representation of this.

Why did Renaissance decide to release lists of Trip Steps now?

Gene Kerns: When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to switch from in-person to online learning, educators needed a quick and reliable way to prioritize essential skills, so they could make the best use of limited instructional time. To help, Renaissance made our Focus Skills freely available to every school and district. Focus Skills are the essential reading and math skills at each grade level, based on each state’s standards of learning. They are also important prerequisites for future learning—the skills that students must master in order to progress.

Now that we’ve lived through two years of the pandemic, educators are, in a sense, ready to take the next step. While all Focus Skills are essential, some of them are demonstrably more difficult for students to learn than others. These are the Trip Steps. Knowing which reading and math skills are most difficult for students to learn at grade level is valuable information to have as you’re planning instruction. Trip Steps also support the important work of learning recovery, by helping educators to identify essential yet challenging skills from prior grades that students may have missed out on due to the disruptions.

What major differences do you see between reading and math Trip Steps?

Julianne Robar: With Trip Steps for Mathematics, we generally see a fairly tight grade range for each domain. For example, in grades 1–4, we see multiple Trip Steps in Whole Number Concepts and Whole Number Operations. As students move into middle and high school, they’re then applying these skills to new domains—particularly Geometry and Algebra, where they need these skills to find area or solve multi-step problems.

With Trip Steps for Reading, we tend to see a larger grade span within each skill area. For example, the Trip Steps for Character and Plot span grades K–8, the Trip Steps for Main Idea and Details span grades 2–10, etc. In the document’s introduction, we highlight Author’s Purpose and Perspective, which has Trip Steps spread across grades 2, 7, and 10. Looking at the list, it’s clear how these skills build on one another and

Gene Kerns: The writer Stephen Pinker describes math as “ruthlessly cumulative”—a phrase we’ve quoted often when speaking about math Trip Steps and how these skills build on each other. This description also applies to reading Trip Steps, but in a somewhat different way. What sets reading apart is how students must operationalize the skills they’ve learned through all the different genres they encounter. Reading a novel is different from reading a poem, an essay, a persuasive piece, or a newspaper article.

I’m reminded of the saying, “Nobody cares for figurative language in a technical manual.” The Trip Steps in the Conventions and Range of Reading skill area highlight this important difference between reading literary texts and informational texts. This begins in grade 1 with the Trip Step, Understand the general differences among various print and digital materials (e.g., storybooks, fairy tales, informational books, newspapers, websites).

What strikes you in looking at the Trip Steps for Reading in grades K–3? Any surprises?

Jan Bryan: In most states, grade 1 has the highest number of reading Focus Skills, so I’m not surprised to see the large number of reading Trip Steps in kindergarten and grade 1. We know that students are building important foundational skills at these grade levels, particularly for decoding. The skill areas we see here—Phonemes, Vowel Sounds, and Consonants, Blends, Digraphs—will align with educators’ expectations.

What does strike me is the difficulty of some of these Trip Steps. For example, consider the kindergarten Trip Step for Vowel Sounds: Distinguish between similarly spelled words by identifying the sounds of the vowels that differ (e.g., pick the word that has the /a/ sound: cat, cot, cut.) Using the empirical difficulty data from our Star Assessments, we can see that this skill is roughly two grade levels ahead of kindergarten. This may lead someone to ask, “Then why isn’t this skill taught in second grade instead?” The answer is that it’s a prerequisite for the skills that come next. Even though it’s a difficult skill for kindergarteners to learn, it’s essential to their progression—which is the very definition of a Trip Step.

Gene Kerns: This example reminds me of the importance of beginning with phonemic awareness. Without training, the human mind perceives words as wholes, not as phonemes: “cat” rather than /k/ /æ/ /t/. As adults, we often forget how difficult phonemic awareness is for young children, in the sense that we’re asking them to slow language down and isolate individual sounds—hardly a natural act. We do this because once children learn the parts, they can put them back together again in order to get meaning from the written word, which is absolutely essential for literacy development.

To return to the question of surprises, some people may be surprised to only see one reading Trip Step for grade 3. Given the many state policies around grade 3 reading, this may be puzzling at first. It’s important to remember, though, that states’ high-stakes grade 3 tests are meant to assess students’ reading development through grade 3, not just in grade 3. This includes all of the critical decoding skills in kindergarten and grade 1 that Jan just mentioned.

What strikes you in looking at the Trip Steps for Reading in grades 4–12? Were you surprised to see that grade 7 has more reading Trip Steps than any other grade?

Jan Bryan: We jokingly said that if you see a seventh grader, wish them well, and if you see a seventh grade teacher, take them out to dinner!

On a more serious note, when you look at the grade 7 Trip Steps, you’ll see that we’re almost asking students to be mind readers. The skill areas deal with author’s purpose, author’s word choice, connotation, cause and effect, etc., and the skills begin with words like “Interpret,” “Analyze,” “Explain,” and “Draw conclusions.” This is not something that comes naturally to many 12- and 13-year-olds. I can imagine a seventh grade teacher asking, “What does the author mean here?”, and a student replying, “I don’t know, let me call him and ask him…”

Gene Kerns: When I was a district administrator, we used the phrase “reading the lines” to describe literacy skills in the early grades. In other words, students can generally answer the teacher’s questions by pointing to specific words or sentences in a text. You can see multiple examples of this in the list of Trip Steps, such as identifying short and long vowels in grade 1, locating key details in an informational text in grade 2, and providing the sequence of events in a text in grade 3. In all of these cases, students can literally put their fingers on the answer in the text.

When students move into middle and high school, they’re suddenly asked to read between the lines, as Jan points out. They’re making inferences, analyzing figurative language, evaluating arguments and evidence, and drawing conclusions. This is a massive shift in complexity and in how students interact with texts. We see the beginnings of this in late elementary and middle school, but it increases exponentially in grades 7 and 8.

Julianne Robar: In this sense, Trip Steps align with Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. In the lower grades, we see a lot of “Identify…” and “Distinguish…” In the later grades, the emphasis shifts to “Explain…,” “Compare…,” and “Analyze…,” which have a greater cognitive demand.

Jan Bryan: It’s often said that in grades K–3, students are learning to read, while in grades 4–12, they’re then reading to learn. This is a useful shorthand, and it’s true that once students have learned the mechanics of reading, daily independent reading is essential for building background knowledge and vocabulary, and for developing the stamina to read the long and complex informational texts they’ll encounter in college and career. However, the Trip Steps for middle and high school highlight the equally important role of teacher-led instructional reading practice in helping students to learn these challenging and more abstract skills.

How might teachers and administrators use Trip Steps for Reading this spring and beyond?

Jan Bryan: The guidance in our earlier blog on math Trip Steps is equally relevant to reading. We suggest that grade-level teams plan instruction and share resources. A focus on prerequisite skills and student motivation, along with frequent checks for understanding, are also part of our recommendations.

Gene Kerns: If I were an administrator right now, I’d devote my data team meetings to discussing Focus Skills. Yes, I realize that teachers must also cover non-Focus Skills this year, but—given the limited time and the amount of ground that needs to be made up—I’d put the emphasis on the essentials. Trip Steps then provide another tool for prioritization, a way to “zoom in” on the Focus Skills that will likely require the most instructional time, the most support, and the most student practice.

I’d also share the list of Trip Steps with my master teachers and instructional specialists. I’d ask them to find quality resources, lesson plans, manipulatives, activities—in short, any instructional tools that would give my teachers the best shot at teaching these skills that are both absolutely necessary and really challenging for kids to learn.

The post Using Trip Steps to guide instructional reading time appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN (March 1, 2022) – Renaissance , a global leader in pre-K–12 education technology, today released the latest What Kids Are Reading (WKAR) report, the world’s largest annual survey of K–12 reading habits.

Each year, the WKAR report lists the most popular books at every grade level, and also provides new understanding of K–12 students’ reading practice. The report is uniquely illuminating because it draws from two Renaissance programs: Accelerated Reader, which records the books students are actually reading, not just buying or checking out from libraries, and myON, which provides students with instant access to thousands of digital titles for online or offline reading.

The 2022 report uses the data of 4.5 million students in 22,749 US schools who read 128 million books, revealing insights into students’ reading comprehension and the characteristics of what they choose to read, such as word count and text difficulty.

“Beyond sharing data on student reading, the report’s goal has always been to celebrate books and to encourage students to read for pleasure, both in and out of school,” said Dr. Gene Kerns, the chief academic officer at Renaissance. “We know from prior research that the amount of reading that students do is a strong predictor of how much they’ll grow and achieve, and the likelihood they’ll be able to understand more complex texts later in school and in their careers.”

This year’s report includes author essays about topics such as the value of reading, the process of writing, and the power of storytelling to engage students and support vocabulary and knowledge development, all of which lead to greater reading comprehension. Essay authors include:

• Jacqueline Woodson, author of The Day You Begin;
• Yangsook Choi, author of The Name Jar;
• Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World; and
• Dr. Padma Venkatraman, author of A Time to Dance.

Dr. Kymyona Burk, a senior policy fellow for early literacy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education, writes in the introduction to the report, “As children grow as readers and as individuals, it is important for them to find engaging books that they can connect with and that motivate them to read. Sometimes, it only takes one character, one book, or one shared experience to change the trajectory of a child’s life.”

The report also features helpful book lists designed to help educators provide choices for students who may be struggling to find books they are interested in, and to help all students discover new titles they might otherwise miss. Grade-Range Lists highlight how different literacy education looks as students move between ages, grades, and abilities, and focus on the specific skill sets literacy experts believe will support literacy growth and comprehension at each grade band. This includes Highly Decodable books for grades K–2, Vocabulary Practice for grades 3–5, Background Knowledge Builders for grades 6–8, and High Interest and Accessible books for struggling readers in grades 9–12.

In addition to the always popular Signature Books list—which highlights the most popular book in each state—the report includes the following lists for each grade level:

• New and Now Reads, which are titles just being discovered by students;
• Top Print Titles and Popular Digital Reads;
• Authentic Spanish Titles, written for native speakers to help students make real-life connections, develop deeper vocabulary and linguistic understanding, and foster cultural appreciation;
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Themes, designed to help educators and students begin conversations about our diverse makeup and how inclusion can help us thrive; and
• Social and Emotional Learning Topics, which features two books that address a SEL-related topic.

Visit https://www.renaissance.com/wkar/ to download a free copy of the report, explore data by state, and create personalized book lists.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than half a million students in other regions across the world. The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery. For more information, visit renaissance.com.

Press contact:
Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Shares Findings of World’s Largest Annual K–12 Reading Survey appeared first on Renaissance.

As districts consider how to best use this funding, they may find opportunities to adopt resources that not only support learning this summer, but also during summers well into the future. Before we explore this point and how Renaissance can help, let’s consider what we really know about summer learning—and, more specifically, about summer learning loss.

The research on summer learning

Time away from school during the summer definitively impacts student performance, particularly for those who are otherwise disadvantaged. Right? Many of us have heard that it’s summer, not the regular school year, that contributes the most to gaps in performance.

Many of our beliefs about the “summer slide” are based on the findings of the Beginning School Study, which began in the fall of 1982 and tracked 838 first graders in Baltimore City Public Schools for the next 20 years. The results, published in 2003, are the basis of many strongly held beliefs about summer learning loss. The data have been discussed in Time magazine and The Economist, and featured in well-known books like Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers.

That study, however, is now nearly 20 years old, involved a relatively small sample size, and measured students’ progress using assessment tools that are outdated by today’s standards. So, are the results truly valid?

Recently, Paul von Hippel of the University of Texas, as well as researchers at the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) Program, independently tried to replicate the Beginning School Study’s results, and their collective findings do not agree. In fact, the three analyses show very different levels of impact. The Beginning School Study found that summer learning loss had major impacts on students, while von Hippel found that students experienced two to three months of “slide” and the ECLS researchers found only minimal impact.

Von Hippel’s summary of the conflicting results is clarifying. “So, what do we know about summer learning loss?,” he asks. “Less than we think.” Despite the variance as to the scale of the impact, however, some findings are consistent across the three analyses. Most notably that, as von Hippel states, “Nearly all children, no matter how advantaged, learn much more slowly during summer vacations than they do during the school year.” This finding allows us to see the summer as a unique opportunity.

How so? If all students are either learning more slowly or regressing when they are away from school, then summer is an occasion to offer programs and support for students who are on the lower ends of performance and help them to catch up. If educators can help them grow faster while other students are slowing down, achievement gaps can be lessened.

While we’re just past the mid-point of the academic year, it’s not too early to begin to plan for students’ summer 2022 learning experiences by thinking about initiatives ranging from required and highly structured to optional and less structured. While some programs may take the form of mandatory summer school, all of these reflect important forms of learning during the summer months.

Let’s explore three options.

1. Formal summer school (including High-Dosage Tutoring and Acceleration Academies)

At this most intense level of summer programming, participation may be highly encouraged or even required, because the students served are typically performing significantly off grade-level expectations. There’s been a recent and important shift in the thinking about how to best address the instructional needs of such students. This is captured in the mantra, “Accelerate, don’t remediate,” and is based on instructional approaches gathered under the umbrella term Accelerated Learning. This approach features prominently in recent guidance from the US Department of Education and appears in many states’ COVID-19 recovery plans as well.

As I noted in an earlier blog, the primary emphasis of accelerated learning is maximizing the time students spend with grade-level content. This is achieved through a purposeful consideration of essential grade-level skills and targeted, “just-in-time” instruction and support for any necessary prerequisites, rather than more indiscriminate “just-in-case” review or remediation.

The challenge is that this approach requires detailed knowledge of both essential grade-level skills and necessary prerequisites. Renaissance’s free Focus Skills Resource Center provides detailed information on both fronts, and these resources have recently been expanded to include Focus Skills for Spanish reading as well.

Implementing accelerated learning also requires up-to-date student assessment data. An understanding of where students are academically and how they’re progressing is critical. Users of Renaissance Star Assessments who close out the core academic year with spring screening will begin summer school with data on student performance—as well as up-to-date instructional planning information—already available. Time is of the essence with summer learning, and new Star users trying out the assessment for the first time will find it to be not only highly reliable and valid, but also capable of providing information in the shortest amount of time of any leading interim assessment.

Also, unlike some assessments, Star provides answers to the critical “what’s next?” question with essential Focus Skills highlighted on all reports and dashboards, along with immediate access to thousands of aligned educational resources. Administering Star at the end of a summer program is also advisable. This allows educators to gauge student growth over the summer months and offers a “fresh crop” of placement information for back-to-school.

Of course, it’s also critical to provide the right instruction and practice to help students meet grade-level expectations. The following Renaissance practice products can be a valuable addition to summer school programs:

• The myON digital reading platform, which provides both online and offline access to thousands of enhanced digital books and news articles.
• Lalilo, which helps K–2 students to develop foundational literacy skills in phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, comprehension, and more.
• Freckle for math and ELA, which supports both teacher-assigned practice and differentiated, adaptive practice in and out of the classroom.

Freckle is particularly well suited to an accelerated learning approach, as shown in the screenshot below. Here, the teacher sees student performance on an “exit ticket” for Base 10—Rounding. At a glance, she can identify who needs re-teaching of prerequisite skills (in this case, Tony), who needs a bit more practice with the current skills (Rafferty), and who’s ready for a deeper challenge that probes their Depth of Knowledge (Abraham and Carry). She can even assign appropriate practice activities to each student by clicking the links at the bottom of the screen.

2. Summer enrichment programs

For many students, summer learning doesn’t mean a required “summer school” experience. Their needs may not be as great, and it’s possible that your capacity to accommodate learners in summer school is limited.

Less intense but still very meaningful programs can take a variety of forms and can even be provided by community partners. For example, daily attendance at a Boys and Girls Club or similar programming is a reality for some students. When informed and supported, community partners can provide and facilitate dedicated daily time for reading and/or math practice using Renaissance products like myON, Freckle, Lalilo, and Accelerated Reader.

Other students might not attend school-based or community partner programming daily, but even weekly check-ins with teachers or others can be of tremendous help in sustaining motivation and providing feedback. For example, a district might offer “Math Mornings” once per week where students could come in to school buildings to review their independent practice in Freckle and participate in power lessons and math games focused on essential skills—the Focus Skills I mentioned earlier.

Similarly, the public library might facilitate a reading club each Monday and Friday where students can take Accelerated Reader quizzes and experience read-alouds. Many districts build myON Projects—a collection of digital texts on a common topic or theme, with embedded reading and writing activities—which could be the focus of group discussions and activities when students meet with others

From math camps and reading clubs to summer initiatives organized in partnership with community organizations, the goal of enrichment programs is to keep students engaged in learning, ensuring that summer is a season of continued growth, rather than one of any possible “slide.”

3. Independent summer learning

Schedules, priorities, or even geography might prevent some students from participating in more formal programs, but with a few supports, an independent summer learning experience can be an useful option as well.

From at-home reading and math activities to DIY challenges, independent learning—which includes targeted reading and math practice—can help maintain and even grow students’ skills over the summer months, particularly essential Focus Skills. Using technology to support this learning offers several key benefits. For example, many digital products like Freckle are adaptive, meaning that they respond and adjust to students’ needs in real time, a capability well beyond static, paper-based activities. These programs’ interactive and visual nature is also more engaging than paper and pencil. Finally, digital resources typically provide teachers, families, and even students with ongoing feedback about how much students are engaging and how well they are performing when they do.

Although I’m calling this category “independent” learning, it’s ideal if some form of adult monitoring and feedback can be incorporated. For example, you might use family letters to help parents and guardians understand how to access information on their child’s summer engagement. Perhaps with ESSER funding, some teachers might be willing to work a set number of hours per week over the summer, so they can review student activity online and remotely “check in” with students to offer feedback, support, and encouragement.

Making the most of your ESSER funding

While we face many challenges from the COVID-related disruptions, there is also unprecedented federal funding that we can tap. This means that we have more money than usual for summer initiatives, and this money can also support advanced and deeper summer planning. Consider lightening the time commitment on teachers who might be willing to assist with summer school or math and reading camps by beginning to plan now—and take full advantage of your available technology.

For example, myON Projects are ideal for summer learning. If teacher teams begin developing even a handful of projects each month between now and the end of the school year, they will be well positioned for summer. These projects can even live on into future years, providing consistency in summer learning and minimizing your planning tasks for future summers.

As I stated earlier, summer learning reflects a unique opportunity to close achievement gaps. Such gaps existed prior to the pandemic, but the disruptions have clearly exacerbated them. While we cannot change these realities, we can change how we respond to them. In an era when so many things are out of educators’ control, a well-planned and thoughtful summer learning program is something we can build to help get students back on track.

Paul von Hippel notes that “every summer offers children who are behind a chance to catch up.” He adds that even if the scale of the summer slide is smaller than we think, and if “gaps don’t grow much during summer vacations, summer vacations still offer a chance to shrink them.” This summer, let’s make the most of the opportunity before us.

The post How to accelerate learning during summer 2022 appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, MN & Durham, NC (February 24, 2022) – Renaissance , the global leader in pre-K–12 educational technology, and MetaMetrics^®, developer of the Lexile^® and Quantile^® Frameworks, today announced the extension of their partnership via an enterprise-level agreement. This means that educators and students using Renaissance’s assessment and practice products will continue to receive Lexile measures for reading and Quantile measures for mathematics.

The companies’ partnership began in 2011, with the addition of Lexile measures to Renaissance’s myON digital reading platform. In 2014, Lexile measures were made available in the company’s Star Assessments and Accelerated Reader programs and, in 2018, Quantile measures were added. El Sistema Lexile para Leer, MetaMetrics’ framework for Spanish reading, is now available in Star Assessments in Spanish as well.

The Lexile and Quantile Frameworks place both the student and instructional material on the same scale to match the learner with reading and math resources at their ability level. When students receive Lexile and Quantile measures from an assessment, their test scores become more actionable, allowing teachers and parents to use assessment results to improve instruction.

Moving forward, Renaissance will explore opportunities for reporting Lexile and Quantile measures from additional products within its portfolio. This includes Freckle, which provides students with differentiated practice in both math and ELA; Nearpod, an instructional platform that merges interactive lessons, rich media, and real-time formative assessment; and Lalilo, a foundational literacy practice program for grades K–2.

“Lexile measures have played an important role in myON’s success, and we are pleased to continue our partnership with MetaMetrics,” said Todd Brekhus, chief product officer at Renaissance. “We’re committed to providing educators and students with insights to accelerate learning and growth, and our partnership with MetaMetrics builds on this commitment.”

“We are excited to extend and expand our long-term partnership with Renaissance, a true global leader in creating education technology solutions that improve learning,” said Malbert Smith, CEO and co-founder, MetaMetrics. “By growing the number of products in the Renaissance family that report Lexile and Quantile measures and expanding into new skill areas, together we’ll ensure that students, educators, and parents worldwide have access to the tools and information necessary to help learners navigate a path to success.”

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than a half million students in other regions across the world. The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery. For more information, visit renaissance.com.

About MetaMetrics

MetaMetrics is an award-winning education technology organization that offers the only scientifically valid, universal scales for measuring silent and oral reading and listening (Lexile) and math (Quantile) with plans to develop measures for writing. The Lexile and Quantile Frameworks measure student ability and the complexity of the content they encounter. Lexile and Quantile measures and related technologies link assessment to instruction and provide next steps for students of all ages and abilities. The measures also provide valuable insights about students’ potential for growth. MetaMetrics’ measures, products and services are licensed to dozens of education product companies to help achieve that growth. For 35 years, MetaMetrics’ work is increasingly recognized for its research-based approach to improving learning. For more information, visit metametricsinc.com.

Press contact:
Tracy Stewart
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
tracy.stewart@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance and MetaMetrics extend partnership to accelerate student learning appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, Minn. (Feb. 9, 2022) – Renaissance , the global leader in pre-K–12 educational technology, is honored to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the community reading initiative Read on myON, a first-of-its-kind partnership between Renaissance and Hillsborough County Public Schools. A community open house commemorating the milestone, and honoring the partnership, will be held from 3–6 PM on Thursday, February 10, at the Kaminis Platt Regional Public Library, located at 3910 S. Manhattan Ave. in Tampa, FL.

Designed to promote equity and eliminate accessibility gaps in access to high quality books regardless of a student’s socioeconomic status or attendance in a particular school, Read on myON was made possible by an entire community of partners, including Hillsborough County Public Schools, The Children’s Board of Hillsborough County, Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County, Head Start of Hillsborough County, Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative, Tampa Housing Authority, Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA, and United Way Suncoast.

Over the 10 years of the Read on myON collaboration, hundreds of thousands of children from birth through 8th grade have had free access to the myON platform. Thirty-nine percent of the books children access through the program are opened for the first time outside of school hours, and books have been accessed over 71,718,216 times since the inception of the program in 2012, equating to over 336 million minutes spent reading.

“Read on myON continues to cultivate a love of literacy for thousands of students in Hillsborough County Public Schools. This incredible program is a testament to what our community partners can achieve when we come together collectively for our children. We are deeply appreciative of the lasting support from Renaissance as we continue the quest to close achievement gaps while providing innovative experiences for all learners,” said Superintendent Addison Davis.  

Ten years into the partnership, Read on myON is still playing a central part in Hillsborough’s literacy initiatives in the 2021–2022 school year. In addition to supporting teachers and curriculum staff, myON serves as a historical resource offering students a variety of books to encourage and build the love of reading. Throughout the ten years, this community-wide partnership has:

• Supported all major sports teams through community reading challenges
• Supported the annual Black History Month Digital Read-In
• Increased engagement with early childhood initiatives by supplementing core curriculum, creating specific reading challenges, and collaborating with Hillsborough board member Dr. Stacy Hahn on early childhood literacy fairs
• Developed projects to support “STEMtober”
• Offered parent support by partnering with community agencies and neighborhood schools

“It’s been an honor to work with Hillsborough County and their many dedicated partners for the last decade,” said Todd Brekhus, chief product officer at Renaissance and myON founder. “Together, they have built a literacy ecosystem that serves as a flagship to districts across the country, demonstrating what a community can achieve when it comes together for a common purpose. We look forward to continuing to support them for many years to come.”

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40% of US schools and more than a half million students in other regions across the world. The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery. For more information, visit renaissance.com.

About Hillsborough Schools

Hillsborough County Public Schools is America’s seventh largest school district and the largest in central Florida. We have more than 230 public schools, 24,000+ employees and 217,000+ students. Hillsborough Schools is proudly celebrating the highest graduation rate in our district’s history: 89.2% in the 2020–2021 school year. All twenty-seven of our high schools were recently listed in the US News and World Report Best High Schools ranking report. Hillsborough Schools boasts the 2020 #1 Elementary Magnet School of the Year—MacFarlane Park Elementary, the Florida Teacher of the Year, Dr. Dakeyan Graham of King High, and the Presidential Award of Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching Winner, Tiffany Oliver of Robinson High. See our website at hillsboroughschools.org for more information.

Press contact:
Tracy Stewart
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
tracy.stewart@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance and Hillsborough County Celebrate 10 Years of Equitable Access to Thousands of Books appeared first on Renaissance.

Analyzing data through an equity lens can be eye-opening, as various student group achievement gaps become apparent. This isn’t news to anyone. In fact, many districts have always analyzed data in this way. At times, the data is easy to analyze. At other times, the data is very hard to view. However, it’s only through looking at the data that change can happen.

In this blog, we’ll discuss data and equity in K–12 education and explain how to prepare for and lead effective data conversations with teachers to make a change.

What is equity in education?

When it comes to creating equity in education, districts and educators are pursuing an educational system that caters to all kinds of learners and develops their education experience accordingly. What does this mean? That no matter a student’s race, language, economic profile, gender, disability, family background, learning capability, etc., all students have the opportunity to get the necessary support and resources to achieve their educational goals.

Some students struggle with not feeling safe or cared about at school. Others have disabilities that leave them feeling alone, nervous, or anxious as learners. Some simply struggle with feeling less than their peers or are left out by others.

What does creating equity look like in the classroom? Educators should adapt their teaching style to match their student’s learning capabilities. For example:

• Auditory learners process information out loud by asking questions and talking through problems
• Visual learners utilize pictures, illustrations, or graphics to absorb information
• Tactile learners utilize models, charts, or diagrams and act things out to get the most out of their learning

Educators should also incorporate history lessons that cover different races, ethnic groups, and communities. To achieve this, educators should focus on interventions, resources, and conversations around inclusion and fairness in education.

The importance of having data and equity conversations in education

Conversations around equity can be delicate and complex situations to navigate. If a group isn’t yet accustomed to looking at data regularly—and looking for areas of equity or inequity—these conversations can be uncomfortable. This makes it no less important to have these data-based conversations, but it does mean that some preparation can go a long way in terms of how impactful the discussion can be.

The way these conversations happen is very important. To be successful, they need to be data-driven. If they aren’t, they can feel like unfocused and fearful data conversations or unjustified blaming sessions, neither of which will drive change.

Renaissance offers a powerful platform—eduCLIMBER—to help educators gather, review, and discuss data and equity in education. eduCLIMBER offers key features to make this process both efficient and productive.

7 steps for leading conversations about equity in education

Leading data conversations with teachers about equity can be difficult. You want educators to feel safe and supported, and you want your conversations and meetings to be productive and positive.

If you are working to lead your team in data-driven conversations around equitable practices, here are seven steps you should follow to keep conversations constructive, targeted, and focused on true areas of need.

#1: Reflect

Start by considering what you are currently doing in the classroom. Does it promote positive student outcomes for all students? Think about instructional strategies, responses to behavior, and communication with families. But, most importantly, consider what your relationship is like with each student. Do they trust you? Do they feel comfortable in the classroom? Are they comfortable taking risks, trying new strategies, etc.?

#2: Look at the data

Look at all of the data for specific cohorts and groups of students. This can be based on gender, ethnicity, disability, English Learner status, meal status, and more. Then, with each group, consider the following:

• Academic trends (both positive and negative)
• The number of students in various courses (remedial, advanced, STEM-related)
• The number of major/Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs)
• The specific incidents in which students receive a major/ODR
• Responses to specific incidents or behaviors
• Academic and behavior trends compared to other student groups

Take all of the data that you have access to and analyze it thoroughly through an equity lens. What does it look like for each student cohort? Where are the achievement gaps? What are the trends? Most importantly, why are the trends continuing and what can be done to improve them?

#3: Make a plan of action

While we often want to “think big,” we have to remember that conversations around equity are often delicate. They need to be managed and communicated in a way that educators don’t feel threatened.

Your plan of action should start with bringing awareness around inequities. Encourage others in the district to contribute to the discussion and offer ideas about why inequities might exist and what can be done about them.

Consider creating an Equity Team in the district, where topics can be discussed in a safe place and decisions can be made to help promote positive outcomes for all students, regardless of their gender, disability, ethnicity, English Learner status, or any other differences.

You should also plan and identify the meeting logistics—the who, what, and where of your meeting, which involves the following steps:

Identify an appropriate facilitator

To ensure an open and honest conversation, select a neutral facilitator for the meeting. This should be someone who is trusted and respected by their peers and is seen as a safe ally. They should not be connected to teacher evaluations, pay, or promotions.

The facilitator should also be skilled and comfortable in analyzing data and navigating uncomfortable conversations with care. This person should not be an administrator but could be a math or literacy coach, for example.

Pick a new physical location

Try to schedule the meeting in a location that is different from where other staff meetings are held, especially if those meetings tend to be of the “sit and get” type.

Onsite locations are ideal for these conversations, but if your meeting takes place virtually, be sure to establish the appropriate norms and standards. For example, should participants have their cameras turned on? Should they be muted? What does active participation look like?

Set an appropriate time frame

Ultimately, questions about equity should become part of all data conversations—and learning how teams can start to weave those questions into their regular data conversations is very important.

However, if your team is new to equity-based conversations—or data conversations in general—try to schedule a dedicated meeting around this work instead of merging it into an existing meeting. This allows your team to take its time and be thoughtful without rushing into the next task of the day.

Ideally, try to allow two to three hours for your first meeting.

Use your data management platform

This work depends on your team’s ability to quickly analyze data from multiple sources through multiple lenses. If your team is distracted by how long it takes to find or access different data, the meeting will be frustrating and unfocused.

Ensure that the right data is loaded into your platform before you begin and that the right people have access to appropriate data for the conversations. This makes it easily accessible and easy to reference during your meeting.

Create small groups

These conversations should not be held as assemblies. Because of their nature, these conversations are best had in smaller groups of people. Plan on breaking participants into groups of six or seven people for the training.

Consider providing snacks and a break

Providing refreshments can make staff feel more at ease and more comfortable in their environment. When basic needs are met—like food and drink—it’s easier for educators to engage in mentally rigorous conversations.

Incorporating a planned break gives the group an expected opportunity to clear their heads and catch up on anything that might be a distraction during the meeting.

#4: Set up for success

Complete some pre-work around the content of the meeting. This helps the meeting to run smoothly and have some direction. Your pre-work should include the following:

Have a pre-meeting about the data

Before holding the meeting, assemble a group to review the data. This team can be anyone—instructional coaches, literacy or math coaches, PBIS leaders, administrators, or special education directors—but, most importantly, include the facilitator.

The goal of the pre-meeting is not to craft a narrative to present during the meeting. If you approach the meeting this way, other educators might feel like their input isn’t valued or their colleagues are colluding against them.

Instead, the goal is to bring a number of perspectives to the table to unpack the data and identify possible pathways on which the facilitator can guide the conversation, especially if key findings exist a few layers down within the data. It also ensures that the facilitator is familiar with and has time to process the data, as opposed to reacting to surprises during the meeting.

Finally, this pre-meeting helps establish cohesion across data conversations, as opposed to different groups looking at different data sets.

Create questions and prompts

After the team has looked at the data, create a list of questions and/or prompts for the facilitator to reference throughout the meeting. While it’s important that the team members are actively digging into the data and identifying findings, the facilitator can use a reference sheet for guiding the conversation.

This helps the facilitator to remember to draw attention to important data points throughout the meeting and can be a grounding reference if difficult moments arise.

Brainstorm strategies and next steps

It’s also during the pre-meeting that you should work together to create a menu of strategies and resources that can be available to help educators take action on areas of need. This avoids the event of identifying alarming or troubling issues without having clear next steps to take.

This list should correlate with the findings from the pre-meeting. It should include resources and actions that are available immediately—not something that the participants have to wait to receive more information about.

Depending on the situation, possible next steps might include:

• Reviewing additional data
• Creating a dashboard to monitor data
• Sharing findings with stakeholders
• Forming a committee or workgroup
• Creating an action plan
• Implementing specific classroom strategies

Consider administering student and staff surveys

Surveys can be a powerful tool for better understanding how students and staff perceive themselves, their environment, and one another. This data set can help disprove or validate assumptions about system-level causes and must be anonymous.

Work as a team to prepare the facilitator for uncomfortable situations

Even with deliberate messaging to keep the meeting growth-oriented and student-centered, there will likely be moments when the meeting stalls, emotions become high, or discomfort sets in. Knowing that this is possible and having a plan of action for navigating these situations makes it easier for the facilitator to unpack and work through them, without appearing to gloss over them or allowing them to derail any progress.

#5: Facilitating

During this step, everyone involved in the pre-meeting should review the tips for facilitating the meeting itself to ensure that it runs smoothly. This involves the following steps:

Create a safe space and establish norms

Before jumping into the data, set the stage for the meeting around growth and student success. The staff must know they are not under attack or at risk of being blamed or shamed. The goal is to work as a team to ensure all students have equitable access, opportunities, and outcomes. Data can help us both celebrate areas of success and explore and change areas of need.

The book Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools provides a great example. Author Glenn Singleton proposes Four Agreements for Courageous Conversations:

1. Stay engaged.
2. Experience discomfort.
3. Speak your truth.
4. Expect and accept non-closure.

Utilize data

The significance of using data is that it creates an inarguable starting point for conversations to happen and ensures that conversations are focused on the right areas for your district. If the meeting starts to drift away from data, pull it back.

The intention is not to dismiss the importance of daily observations, gut feelings, and teachers’ experiences with students, all of which have their place in supporting learners. Rather, data provides a starting point for these conversations to happen. Data points are only as useful as the ways that they’re used, and these types of conversations are part of why the data is collected. Use the facilitator reference sheet your team created in the pre-meeting as a guide.

Begin with the data that is easiest to digest. For instance, starting with attendance data might be more approachable than starting with behavior or assessment data. Disaggregating by gender first might feel more approachable than starting with race/ethnicity.

We also suggest starting with data at the district or school level, even if teachers are eager to look at data for their own classrooms. Then, gauge how the group is doing and determine whether to move into grade- or teacher-level data. Teacher-level data may not be appropriate for an initial data conversation around equity.

Let the staff do the exploring, questioning, and discovering

The facilitator’s role is to:

• Guide the conversation
• Establish a safe space for learning and growth
• Help participants ask questions about what they are seeing

It is very important that this is not a “sit and get” meeting, which can cause participants to shut down immediately, feel attacked, and eliminate the potential for positive outcomes.

Ensure that participants are actively reviewing the data and asking the questions. The facilitator can ask general questions and highlight important data points as they arise, but the staff should actively explore the data on their own.

Start with areas of success

Deliberately celebrating areas of success can help keep morale and momentum high while also pinpointing successful practices and strategies that can be applied to areas of need. It’s easier to replicate a successful process in a new context than to continually start from scratch in every scenario.

Starting with areas of success puts the participants in a positive mindset that makes it easier to process and unpack data that is concerning.

Use a common format

If you have multiple groups reviewing data in various meetings, use consistent documentation and processes for examining data and action planning. This way, possible next steps can be more easily aggregated across the various meetings.

#6: Measure success

Determine how you will measure success. What data will tell you if the action plan you made was successful? Change is a process, not an event. How long do you need to measure success, and what indicators will be needed to do so?

#7: Consider next steps & follow up

Here, you will connect the findings from your meeting to decide the appropriate next steps. This is a often a three-part process:

End the meeting with specific action steps

At the end of the meeting, outline specific action steps with your team. These could be:

• Reviewing additional data
• Creating a dashboard to monitor data
• Sharing findings with other stakeholders
• Forming a committee or workgroup to address a specific issue
• Creating an action plan

Outline who is responsible for each task and determine its due date.

Specify when the next meeting will occur

Meetings should be ongoing. Create a calendar and schedule meetings ahead of time to help establish a regular cadence.

Ensure district and school leaders prioritize follow-up

In order to follow through on the planned next steps and further meetings, teams will need support from administrators. Leaders have the ability and responsibility to provide the time, space, prioritization, and tools that this work requires.

If team members are constantly getting pulled out of data meetings or can only work on follow-up steps during evenings and weekends, it is unlikely that continued data conversations and follow-up steps will happen. Leaders can help ensure this work occurs by valuing and protecting the time and resources that the next steps require.

Use resources from Renaissance to analyze equity data and to begin conversations on equity in education

As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure all students are successful in school, feel safe and accepted for who they are, and have access to everything the district has to offer. We will never know if what we are doing is working unless we look at data on multiple levels for a variety of purposes. Creating a simple data protocol can help with analyzing data at the next level to improve outcomes.

To ensure all students have equitable access to a great education, we need to change our thinking as we look at data. It is our responsibility to look at data to ensure our systems are supporting students at all levels so students have equal opportunities.

As mentioned earlier, Renaissance offers a great resource, eduCLIMBER, to analyze equity and disproportionalities as your team analyzes various data. Connect with an expert today to learn more.

The post Data and equity in education: 7 steps for leading conversations about equity appeared first on Renaissance.

Given reading’s many forms, is it any wonder that students need a variety of educational experiences to become skilled readers? While much of the work of schools is intently focused on standards-based reading instruction with grade-level texts, often paired with writing activities to demonstrate students’ depth of knowledge, isn’t there more to reading than this? When adults describe themselves as “avid readers,” is this what they have in mind? Do they really feel they’ve missed out if there isn’t a required writing activity at the end of every book?

I strongly contend that discussions about reading should recognize three distinct categories: (1) reading to students; (2) reading with students (instructional reading); and (3) Having students read independently. Each type of reading makes an important contribution to students’ literacy development, and—perhaps more importantly—different rules govern what constitutes “success” in each. For these reasons, failure to distinguish between categories can have a negative impact on what we do in the classroom. Let’s explore this point.

Reading to students

Research shows that reading aloud to students is of significant benefit to them. In Becoming a Nation of Readers, Anderson et al. (1985) note that “the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.” This statement has been echoed and extended by later commentators, including those highlighted below.

Given the propensity of human beings to learn language by hearing it spoken, is there any question that we should read aloud to students regularly? Yet some do question why, once students can read independently, teachers still need to read to them. As Linda Gambrell pointed out, a key reason is that “the everyday language that students hear does not prepare them to enter into the world of books, because both narrative and informational books represent ‘book language’ that is very different from spoken language” (quoted in Layne 2015).

Why do authors use drastically different language in written work? They need to do so because “speech usually takes place in a communicative context, meaning that some cues that are present in speech (e.g., gesture, tone of voice, facial expression) are absent in writing. To compensate, written language draws on a much larger vocabulary and more complex grammar: Noun phrases and clauses are longer and more embedded, and the passive, more formal voice is much more common” (Castles et al., 2018).

So, teachers will either (a) take the time to expose students to the advanced language of texts by reading aloud to them, or (b) fail to take this step and hope that students will somehow be successful when they encounter this unfamiliar world of advanced language on their own—clearly an unlikely occurrence.

When reading to students, text complexity is obviously a consideration. For students to optimally benefit, we should not read texts to them that they could reasonably access on their own. Layne (2015) positions reading aloud as helping students to “listen up.” This is because “the listening level of a child (the level at which he hears and comprehends text) is significantly higher than his silent reading level” until the two converge around grade 8. This makes reading aloud “the medium for exposing students to more mature vocabulary, more complex literary devices, and more sophisticated sentence structures than they would be finding in the grade-level texts they could navigate on their own.”

Layne’s general guidance is that teachers “consider selecting the majority of read-alouds from texts written one to two grade levels above the grade level [they] are teaching.” I’ve encountered other recommendations that suggest going a bit higher, two grade levels or more. In either case, it’s clear that reading to students has unique dynamics, as do the other two categories of reading.

Reading with students

I choose to refer to instructional reading as “reading with students” because instructional reading is not typically an activity that students undertake on their own. Instead, teachers call attention to specific words and details, pose questions, provide background information, facilitate conversations, and conduct “think-alouds” to scaffold the experience and to model close, thoughtful reading. In contrast to the uninterrupted flow that occurs when reading to students, reading with students is often punctuated by all sorts of activities. In other words, instructional reading is a mediated experience.

This type of reading rightfully consumes the majority of class time. It’s during this activity that reading “grade-level texts” is paramount. Also, the focus isn’t solely on what we read with students; there are also considerations around what we ask students to do in response. During instructional reading, whole-class or small-group discussions and written responses to open-ended questions are not only useful but mandatory for fostering close reading and deeper thinking about the text.

Guidance from the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), for example, expressly notes that “students need opportunities to stretch their reading abilities”—opportunities that instructional reading provides. But many educators miss the fact that these standards also note that students should “experience the satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading.” In other words, the CCSS expressly recommends both types of reading experiences—instructional and independent (pleasure) reading.

This brings us to the third and final category.

Reading independently

Although independent reading is overlooked in many schools, there are many references to and calls for extensive independent reading within different standards sets. As noted above, the CCSS calls for students to “experience the satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading.” Similarly, the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) state that “the student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time” across all grade levels. The connection between wide reading and higher levels of literacy performance is well documented, and one analysis found that students who read independently for anything less than 15 minutes per day simply cannot keep up with rising expectations.

Wide independent reading holds significant and undervalued potential. This essential activity fosters the self-teaching necessary to become highly literate (Share, 1995; Share, 1999). Early on, it helps elementary students learn the letter combinations of English and immediately recognize more words by sight. In the middle and upper grades, it transitions into an activity that helps readers develop vocabulary, background knowledge, and other critical elements of literacy.

Not only are there clear academic benefits of independent reading, but motivational benefits as well. Daniel Willingham (2015) points out that “one source—probably the primary source—of positive reading attitudes is positive reading experiences.” But when “reading” is always a challenging and arduous activity—think of close instructional reading of complex texts, followed by a writing assignment—students are unlikely to see it as pleasurable. For this reason, Willingham recommends that schools set aside at least 15 minutes a day for students’ pleasure reading. He remarks that this “is the best solution [he] can see for a student who has no interest in reading,” because “it offers the gentlest pressure that is still likely to work.”

For some students, daily independent reading time may actually be their first experience of taking pleasure in reading—but only if we understand and recognize the difference between this and the two other categories.

Different categories, different rules

I noted earlier that different rules govern what counts as “success” within each category of reading. Let’s explore this point through the lens of text complexity.

The CCSS, for example, has specific recommendations for instructional reading through the “text complexity grade bands,” as shown in the table below. While other standards sets might not quantify text complexity in this level of detail, there is always some consideration of or guidance about texts that represent “on grade level” for instructional reading.

Also, think about how student activities vary across the categories. With instructional reading, we want students to think deeply and analytically about the text, and to respond—most likely in writing—to open-ended, text-based questions. In contrast, when students are reading independently for pleasure, we can afford to be a bit less concerned about text complexity.

The “satisfaction and pleasure of easy, fluent reading” are not afforded when we use the text-complexity recommendations for instructional reading as guidance for what students are to read during their independent (pleasure) reading. For this reason, most structured programs around independent reading suggest reading ranges for texts that are lower than those used for instructional purposes.

As Willingham (2015) notes, “Academic reading feels like work because it is work. But pleasure ought to be the litmus test for reading for pleasure.” He adds that the opposite is also true: while some educators might “like to think that academic reading is pleasurable…‘pleasure’ is not a litmus test” for the activities we associate with instructional reading. This is to say that students should find independent reading pleasurable—which is unlikely to occur if we’re always requiring them to read at the edge of their abilities.

Let’s see how this discussion of text complexity might look for a hypothetical grade 6 student named Maya. Assume Maya takes the Star Reading assessment and receives a scaled score of 1068. This translates to a Grade Equivalent (GE) of 6.0, and a recommended reading range—or Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)—of 4.0–6.1 for independent reading. If Maya lives in a CCSS state, the text complexity recommendation for instructional reading for grades 6–8 is text written at 7.0–9.98. Finally, if most students in Maya’s class are performing at a similar level, her teacher would be looking for texts written at 8.0 or higher for read-aloud.

In other words, three types of reading, three different sets of rules.

On misunderstanding the power of reading

On the surface, delineating the three types of reading seems simple and straightforward. Yet I find that they are often misunderstood. For example, one administrator recently pushed back on allowing students to use the myON digital platform for independent reading, because students might find and read books that are below their grade level. In his mind, all student reading must be “at grade level.” Clearly, this is pitting the text complexity concerns of instructional reading against the desire for the pleasure of “easy and fluent” independent reading. There is a time and a need for both.

This lack of understanding is also demonstrated by people I’ve encountered over the years who suggest that the comprehension questions in Accelerated Reader are not “deep” enough, and that students must be given open-ended discussion questions and writing prompts for every text they encounter. Again, this is to bring the pedagogical considerations of instructional reading into the world of independent, pleasure reading. If we overload pleasure reading with requirements and assignments, we’ll quickly sap the pleasure—and students’ motivation—from the activity.

Whether you draw on the Book of Ecclesiastes or the classic song by The Byrds, it’s clear that “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” In this spirit, I’ll once again contend that in every classroom and at every level, students must be read to, they must be read with, and they must read independently. It’s only by acknowledging the critical role of each type of reading—and by respecting the differences among them—that we have any hope of creating “a nation of readers.”

References

Anderson, R., Hiebert, E., Scott, J., & Wilkinson, I. (1985). Becoming a nation of readers: The report of the Commission on Reading. Washington, DC: National Academy of Education.

Castles, A., Rastle, K., & Nation, K. (2018). Ending the reading wars: Reading acquisition from novice to expert. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(1), 5–51.

Layne, S. (2015). In defense of read-aloud: Sustaining best practice. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Lemov, D., Driggs, C., & Woolway, E. (2016). Reading reconsidered: A practical guide to rigorous literacy instruction. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Routman, R. (1991). Invitations: Changing as teachers and learners K–12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Share, D. (1995). Phonological recoding and self-teaching: Sine qua non of reading acquisition. Cognition, 55(2), 151–218.

Share, D. (1999). Phonological recoding and orthographic learning: A direct test of the self-teaching hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 72(2), 95–129.

Willingham, D. (2015). Raising kids who read: What parents and teachers can do. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

The post What many people don’t understand about student reading practice appeared first on Renaissance.

Research shows that even a few minutes of dedicated effort each day can help you to develop relationships with your students that will help drive student success. This blog breaks down the benefits of good relationships with students and provides strategies for building these relationships. Read on to find out more.

Why is it important to build relationships with students?

Having positive relationships with teachers is fundamental to students’ success. When students feel supported in the classroom, they are more engaged in learning and more likely to achieve better academic outcomes. They are also less likely to have behavioral problems.

Studies have shown that there are many positive results when students feel safe and understood. Some of the benefits of positive student-teacher relationships are that they:

• Build motivation
• Create safe spaces for learning
• Build new pathways for learning
• Improve student behavior

So, how do you build positive relationships with your students? The best way teachers can build relationships in the classroom is simply by talking with learners. This not only helps you to get a sense of their home life and any struggles you may need to be aware of, but it also helps you to build the foundation for a strong relationship.

In fact, a strong student-teacher relationship is the number one strategy for promoting positive student behavior and can go a long way in building resilience in students from challenging backgrounds.

4 benefits of building strong relationships with students

We know it’s important to develop relationships with students in the classroom. But what are the top benefits of doing so? Let’s explore the top four.

#1: Building connections with students is the number one strategy in promoting positive student behavior

Research demonstrates that interactions with teachers, especially in early childhood, plays an important role in shaping the behavior and social skills of students. Your students are likely mirroring your behavior—so the more positive interactions, the better!

We can look to neuroscience to find out why this happens. Here, we’re interested in a structure called the mirror-neuron system. When people observe an action, the neural pathways that would be active if they actually performed it themselves light up. This means the brain is practicing the action it sees, which allows people to act more quickly than if they hadn’t seen it.

How does this apply to the classroom?

As you talk to your students, think about what behaviors and social skills you want to impart—and model those. Because children are more likely than adults to imitate behaviors they see, these positive behaviors in the classroom will benefit your students and the environment as a whole.

#2: Positive feedback fosters positive relationships in the classroom

When you have a positive interaction with students or give them praise, their brains release dopamine. This creates a cycle of positivity. It works like this:

1. You give positive feedback.
2. The student’s brain releases dopamine.
3. The student feels good and wants to repeat that sensation.
4. The student has more motivation to perform in such a way that will earn more praise.
5. You give more praise…and the cycle repeats.

Taking the extra effort to ensure each student receives positive feedback throughout the day helps to make your classroom environment more positive, safe, and conducive to learning.

#3: Positive relationships create safe spaces for learning

If students are continually criticized for their failures, especially without also receiving more positive feedback, they’ll learn to be afraid to take risks in their learning. But risk-taking can:

• Empower students
• Increase self-esteem
• Build resilience to failure

So it’s important to build psychological safety for students. You can do this by praising the effort they made, as well as unpacking the outcome they achieved. Let them know that some things are hard and it’s okay to answer incorrectly or fail sometimes.

You can also model this by letting them see how you respond to your own failures.

#4: Good relationships offer new opportunities for learning

Let’s get back to the neuroscience we were discussing earlier. When unfamiliar material is taught, new neural pathways are formed to connect things the students already know with the new information. If they don’t understand the context or can’t link the new material with something they know, they won’t understand the lesson as well.

So how can having a better relationship with your students help with this?

You can use the deep knowledge you have of your students to connect learning material to their interests, hobbies, and backgrounds. But without investing dedicated time in getting to know the students in your class, you won’t have access to this valuable tool.

How to build relationships with students

A productive relationship between teachers and students requires that they have more positive interactions than negative ones. Researchers recommend that you follow the “Magic Ratio,” meaning that you have five positive interactions for every negative interaction.

Some examples of positive interactions with students could be:

• Asking about a sibling or a pet
• Commenting on a student’s success in sports, dance, or other extracurricular activity
• Complimenting a student’s haircut

Many students who learn and think differently tend to have more negative interactions than positive ones. Think about a student who has ADHD and needs constant reminders to stay on task. This kind of situation presents a challenge when it comes to the Magic Ratio.

But that doesn’t mean you should never correct students or give reminders. You just need to make sure the positive outweighs the negative. When you get to know your students well, you’ll understand when they need encouragement or praise and when they are open to constructive feedback.

Connect 1-on-1

Every student can benefit from one-on-one time with a teacher, especially students who demonstrate behavioral issues. When students can interact with just the teacher, they won’t feel the need to show off for others and will often be more open and honest.

A fantastic way to connect with students is to employ the 2 x 10 Strategy. This is when a teacher spends two minutes a day for ten days in a row talking to a student who needs support about anything positive. This strategy helps teachers intentionally build relationships with students whom they may not have connected with before.

Show interest in students’ lives outside of school

Getting to know the student as a whole instead of just by their classroom performance will go a long way to helping build relationships. For instance, you can show that you want to know about the things they like to do or what interests them.

For example, have you ever met a student who was into Minecraft and didn’t want to spend hours talking about it? Take advantage of that as a time to connect with the student.

Teachers can also consider attending student events. A teacher’s time is precious, but investing moments here and there in going to student …

• Competitions;
• Productions; and
• Sporting events

…helps create a bond with your learners and shows them that they are important to you. The time you dedicate here has a positive effect in the classroom

Get creative with seat assignments

We know that seat assignments are an important part of a good classroom management plan. But they can also be a good way for you to get to know your students better—and for them to get to know each other.

For instance, if you have students sitting in table groups, you can use an online random seating chart generator to reassign them once a week, once a month, or at whatever interval you decide.

Each time students move to their new seats, have them all answer a question for each other, such as “What food could you eat every day for the rest of your life and never get tired of?” Circulate throughout the room and participate in the discussions to learn more and build connections with students.

Pay attention to the small details

Even something as simple as learning a student’s name quickly and correctly can be part of the foundation of building relationships with students. This shows each student that you value their identity.

Look for something to comment on, like a t-shirt or a fun pair of shoes. This affirms to your students that you notice them as people, not as numbers or grades. Finding small ways to connect can add up in big ways.

How can teachers improve student relationships?

Students demonstrating challenging behavior may not be as open to the techniques we’ve discussed. Because these students tend to have a higher percentage of negative interactions with adults at school, they may not be as open to your initial attempts to communicate with them.

Here are some ways you can make an extra effort to build relationships with students demonstrating behavior issues:

• Find a time or place—sometimes away from the classroom is best—where you can have a positive discussion.
• Remind yourself to take notice of any good behaviors they exhibit—no matter how small—and mention them to the student.
• Don’t lose heart if they don’t seem to respond right away. Your message is being heard and will likely make a difference in the long run, even if you don’t see the immediate effects.

Teachers share 7 tips for building relationships with students

Positive student relationships are fundamental to academic success. Knowing this, we invited educators in our Renaissance Royals community to share how they build positive relationships in the classroom. Here are seven ideas:

#1: Welcome letters

“I send a welcome letter home at the beginning of the year, introducing myself to my students and welcoming them and their parents to my class. I make it personable, so they see me as a person, not just as a teacher.” —Dawn H.

#2: Student-interest surveys

“On the first day of school, I have students complete an interest survey. This gives me an idea of the things they are interested in, such as movies, TV shows, books, and hobbies. I try to incorporate the things they enjoy into lessons as much as possible. If it is something I do not know much about, I try to learn about it, so we have something to discuss. If they have certain career goals, I try to incorporate them. The survey has definitely helped to build relationships with my students, and it shows that I really pay attention to what they care about as well.” —Angela L.

#3: Student input

“I ask my students for their input in class decisions that affect them. For example, each quarter, they decide the order they will use to line up. Also, I let them choose their partners in activities to reduce conflicts.” —Monica B.

#4: Teacher involvement

“Go the extra mile with your students whenever possible. If you have a student who plays a sport, attend a game. If they have an event, make an appearance. They notice your dedication and that you support them in multiple aspects of their lives.” —Jacob B.

#5: Personalized interactions

“I give each of my students a hug, call them by name, and acknowledge them EVERY MORNING…BEFORE THEY ENTER MY CLASSROOM!” —Emily C.

#6: Reward systems

“I use stickers to encourage my students and reward them for good behavior and hard work. If they get an ‘apple of my eye,’ ‘superstar,’ or ‘paw-sitively awesome’ sticker, they leave their name on my board. At the end of the week, I write a card to their parents, telling them positive things about their child, and mail the cards. This builds relationships with the students and parents.” —Meredith S.

 #7: Pay attention

“Listen when students need someone to hear them out. Show you care, because you never know what type of affection they are getting at home. Most importantly, act as if they are the most important person in the world!” —Fatima P.

Join Renaissance Royals for more ideas on how to build relationships with your students

Building relationships takes time and patience. From chatting with students while supervising recess to attending a sporting event or music recital, there are plenty of ways to make connections with your students.

If you’re looking for more ideas, join Renaissance Royals. It’s a free online community for Renaissance educators where you can engage in discussions and get even more ideas on building relationships with students.

The post A teacher’s guide to building relationships with students appeared first on Renaissance.

A summary of these recent enhancements appears below. To read the full details, visit our Product Updates Blog. We also invite you to bookmark the Product Updates Blog and visit throughout the year for the latest information and resources.

Enhanced Family Report in Star Assessments

A strong home-school connection plays an important role in students’ success. The enhanced Star Family Report helps you to strengthen this connection by easily sharing students’ Star Reading and Star Math scores with families. As shown below, the report shows students’ overall performance in relation to school, district, or state benchmarks, as well as performance by domain:

Families can scan the report’s QR code to access additional information about Star scores, along with guidance for interpreting the student’s results. For Star Reading, the report also identifies the student’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), which is the “just-right” range for daily reading practice.

Learn more: Read the post on the Product Updates Blog. See the guidance that’s provided to families when they scan the report’s QR code. Learn more about ZPD in Star Assessments and Accelerated Reader.

Helpful new features in the Star Record Book

Star’s Record Book enables you to review students’ performance on both the computer-adaptive assessments and curriculum-based measures. You’ll find several new features in the Record Book to help you act on your students’ Star data.

For example, alerts now appear for extremely short testing times, indicating that students may have rushed through the assessment. You can also create dynamic instructional groups of students who are ready to work on the same skills. And you now have greater control over how skills are displayed. For example, you can choose to view all skills or only Focus Skills. If you’re using Star Assessments in Spanish, you can also easily toggle between skills in Spanish and English, and you can choose to flag English/Spanish transferable skills as well.

Learn more: Read the post on the Product Updates Blog. Discover transferable skills in Star. Explore Focus Skills in English and in Spanish.

Expanded Spanish support in Freckle

Freckle for math provides students with engaging, differentiated practice from kindergarten through Algebra 2. To better support students whose dominant language is Spanish, Freckle now integrates with Star Math in Spanish. This means students’ Star scores are used to place them at the appropriate level in Freckle, without the need for an additional assessment.

Also, students whose language is set to Spanish in Freckle can now toggle between Spanish and English while practicing math. Teachers can also preview Freckle math practice in Spanish (as shown below), and Freckle reports now reflect the student’s language setting as well. If a student completes a math activity in Spanish, the Spanish version of the activity is accessible from the report.

Learn more: Read the post on the Product Updates Blog. Explore the integration between Freckle and Star Assessments. See how Freckle helps you to monitor students’ progress toward important math milestones.

New features and titles in myON

Over the past two years, the number of students and families reading digital books on myON has grown significantly. Educators who are using myON for the first time have a new onboarding experience to introduce them to the program. Plus, all educators can now easily “demo” the student experience in myON, so they can quickly show students and families how to browse and search for digital books, how to review reading recommendations, and much more.

Students and families will also find more than 100 new titles in the myON Core Collection, along with 65 titles that are also now available in Spanish. These additions include both fiction and nonfiction books at a range of reading levels and interest levels—to provide students with even greater choice for daily reading practice.

Learn more: Read the post about the new myON demo experience. Explore the new titles in the myON Core Collection. Get tips for implementing myON across your curriculum.

New insights on foundational literacy development in Lalilo

Lalilo is an innovative program that helps K–2 students master foundational skills in phonics, word recognition, comprehension, and more. Districts using the premium version of Lalilo now have access to administrator reports and dashboards that show student engagement and usage by classroom, by school, and across the district.

With this data, administrators can more easily understand students’ foundational literacy practice and identify schools and classrooms that may be underutilizing the program. They can also better implement a blended approach that includes both face-to-face instruction and independent practice on important early literacy skills.

Learn more: Read the post on the Product Updates blog. Explore key Lalilo features in our new Literacy Minutes videos. See the 5 ways the Science of Reading should guide early literacy instruction in every district.

New skill set reporting in Star Early Literacy in Spanish

Star Early Literacy assesses the developing literacy skills of K–3 students. The Spanish version of Star Early Literacy now provides subdomain and skill set scores, so you can easily identify areas to focus on as you guide students toward reading proficiently in Spanish. This data is also useful in states where educators are required to screen all students for early indicators of dyslexia.

Learn more: Read the post on the Product Updates Blog. Explore Star Assessments in Spanish. Discover a new instructional resource in Star for English and Spanish literacy development.

Connecting assessment to instruction in Star CBM

Star’s curriculum-based measures are available for reading (K–6) and math (K–3). In the Star Record Book, you can now quickly see skills students are ready to learn, based on their performance on a Star CBM measure. You can view all skills or only critical Focus Skills. You can also easily create instructional groups for students with similar needs, as shown below.

In addition, Star CBM’s Data Insights Dashboard has new filtering options, to give you a more granular view of student proficiency and growth. You can choose to view data from grade-level screening measures, all measures given, all normed measures, or any individual measure to get the just-right data picture to meet your needs.

Learn more: Read the post on the Product Updates Blog. Explore the Star CBM Data Insights Dashboard. See which measures are available for reading and for math in Star CBM.

A strong start to the new year

You’ll see additional product enhancements in the weeks and months ahead. You’ll also continue to find new content in your Renaissance programs—including new Accelerated Reader book quizzes that reflect our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. If you’re using our Nearpod platform, you’ll also soon have access to activities from Freckle, myON, and Lalilo in the Nearpod library, offering further opportunities to engage students in just-right practice both in and out of the classroom.

The post Product Highlights: Shared insights for educators, students, and families appeared first on Renaissance.

However, the number of research studies has increased on this topic and the evidence for why social-emotional learning is important—indeed, essential—for student success is overwhelming. Let’s explore this point.

What is social-emotional learning (SEL)?

A common social-emotional learning definition states that SEL is the process of developing the…

• Self-awareness;
• Self-control; and
• Interpersonal skills

…that are vital for school, work, and life success. This social and emotional learning definition encompasses skills like:

• Developing healthy identities
• Managing emotions
• Achieving personal and collective goals
• Feeling and showing empathy for others
• Establishing and maintaining supportive relationships
• Making responsible and caring decisions

Why is social-emotional learning so important?

Studies have shown that many risky behaviors—including drug use, bullying, and absenteeism—are often linked to poor social and emotional skills. What’s more, SEL has been linked to actual performance within the classroom and on assessments, solidifying why it is so important.

According to Roger P. Weissberg, the editor of the Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning: Research and Practice, citing Durlak et al.: “SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but it also increases prosocial behaviors and reduces depression and stress among students.”

With new insights and ongoing research, many schools are now strengthening their efforts to properly develop and assess a teaching methodology that will account for social-emotional learning concepts and skill sets.

How does social-emotional learning impact education overall?

This approach towards the overall health of children and their mindset to embrace learning is critical. When educators approach SEL from a perspective of equity and wanting to ensure that the conditions of a school are appropriate for healthy learning, students will be given the best chance to succeed in their education and in life.

When did SEL become a priority?

In 2001, Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) to establish greater accountability for student achievement. Its plan was to measure academic performance through state standards and assessments, with a special focus on boosting the performance of certain groups of students such as Emerging Bilinguals (EBs) and socio-economically disadvantaged students.

Schools were required to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which would result in rewarding schools that did well and providing sanctions for schools that didn’t. Sanctions included possible student transfers and potential loss of federal Title I money.

What happened over the next decade and a half was a gradual realization of the limitations surrounding NCLB. Complaints soon surfaced about its narrow focus on testing, and that it failed to compensate for other social factors like behavior and attendance.

In 2013, several California districts received waivers from penalties under NCLB. This freed districts from key sanctions and provided additional funding for school improvement. The California Office to Reform Education (CORE) also proposed reducing the number of students within a subgroup from 100 or more to 20 or more, which would account for another 150,000 students who were left unrepresented in the CORE districts under NCLB.

Under CORE, students would be measured not only by state assessments but also by a more holistic view of SEL and engagement:

• 60%: Scores on state exams and high school graduation rates
• 20%: Parent and teacher surveys (perception data)
• 20%: SEL factors like chronic absenteeism, suspensions, and expulsions

These changes have resulted in at least two critical outcomes:

1. There is greater insight into the academics of specific student groups, which has sparked conversations around issues of disproportionality (especially among Black and Latinx students).
2. New initiatives are being introduced to teach soft skills as part of educating the whole child.

What is the goal of SEL?

The goal of social-emotional learning in education is to promote and improve students’ attitudes and beliefs about themselves, their relationships with others, and their education.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has identified five areas of social-emotional learning (SEL) competence that support students’ development and well-being—known as the CASEL framework. These five SEL competencies are intended to cultivate skills that advance students’ learning and development:

These sets of competencies are related to one another in various degrees and involve multiple cognitive and behavioral skills. All of these skills can and must be developed within the school and home environments.

What are the CASEL 5 core competencies of social-emotional learning?

The SEL core competencies are:

Self-management: Managing one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and achieving goals and aspirations. This includes the capacity to manage stress and maintain motivation and agency to accomplish personal and collective goals.

Examples: Identifying and using stress management strategies, keeping materials organized, and being on time.

Responsible decision making: Making caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across situations. This includes the capacity to consider ethical standards and safety concerns and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal and collective well-being.

Examples: Completing homework on time, studying, and anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one’s actions.

Relationship skills: Establishing and maintaining healthy and supportive relationships and effectively navigating settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed.

Examples: Cooperating with peers, developing positive relationships, demonstrating cultural competency, practicing teamwork, and collaborative problem-solving.

Social awareness: Understanding the perspectives of and empathizing with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. This includes the capacity to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and support.

Examples: Being polite to others, demonstrating empathy and compassion, identifying diverse social norms, and understanding and expressing gratitude.

Self-awareness: Understanding one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one’s strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.

Examples: Identifying one’s emotions, demonstrating honesty and integrity, linking feelings, values, and thoughts, examining prejudices and biases, and having a growth mindset.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is directly linked to student achievement, equity, and long-term well-being. One study found that students who participate in SEL programs have, on average, an 11-point gain in academic achievement, as noted earlier. SEL has also been linked to the development of important study skills, such as homework completion and engagement.

The importance of supporting the 5 SEL competencies: research on the pandemic’s effect on students’ social, emotional, and mental well-being

Although providing resources to support students’ well-being was already a top priority for many districts, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need. Research conducted by the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) summarizes what is currently known about the pandemic’s impact on students’ social-emotional well-being:

• A significant portion of young people have experienced negative impacts on their mental or social-emotional health during the pandemic.
• Students who learned remotely for long periods of time and historically marginalized students were more likely to experience negative effects.
• Rates of anxiety and attempted suicides, already on the rise pre-pandemic, appear to have increased among all students, especially among girls.
• While some students fared well initially—or even fared better—when learning remotely than they did in person, these positive effects did not last. Negative effects for students increased over time.
• Schools and districts, especially in rural areas without a strong social-service infrastructure, lacked systems to track student well-being or strategies to address and improve it.
• A report from the Centers for Disease Control reinforces the need for mental health resources. In 2020, there was a 24 percent increase in emergency room visits related to mental health for children ages 5 through 11, and a more than 30 percent increase in visits for those between 12 and 17 years old.

In addition to these impacts, the pandemic is also affecting some students’ growth in core subject areas, including math and reading. The latest iteration of the Nation’s Report Card also revealed a growing gap between high- and low-performing students—a “matter for national concern.”

So, how can schools help to mitigate these impacts and effectively bolster student success? Let’s return to our discussion of the five SEL competencies.

How should we approach the SEL 5 competencies?

Understanding the various elements and standards that constitute SEL is just the first step in the process. The next step is to determine how to build an effective implementation of a system-wide SEL program. This requires a three-pronged approach: professional learning, curriculum, and measurement.

#1: Professional learning

Critical to the success of any new initiative is ongoing, job-embedded professional learning for teachers and staff. SEL programs are no different. Educator teams need support to understand what SEL is and to implement evidence-based SEL practices and programs.

They also need training on how to validly administer SEB assessments, how to interpret the results of screening, and how to take action on the data.

High-quality professional learning increases team buy-in and accelerates the effective system-wide implementation of SEL curriculum and screening tools. But most importantly, it amplifies the impact of your programs, ensuring that the benefits of integrated SEL programs are fully realized.

#2: Curriculum

Social-emotional skills can be taught, and there are many SEL curricula and programs available to support the development of social-emotional competencies. As with math and reading, students need explicit social-emotional instruction using an evidence-based program.

Various SEL programs take different approaches. Some focus on teaching core competencies such as self-awareness and responsible decision making, while others focus on the development of specific SEL skills such as setting and achieving goals and developing positive relationships.

When selecting a curriculum or program, it’s important to identify your SEL goals so you can determine whether the curricula you’re evaluating have the content and support to help you meet those goals.

Context is also an important factor to consider. Curricula that take into account different cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and social settings when designing their lesson plans will be more effective with a broader range of students.

While an SEL curriculum plays an important role in a school-wide program, SEL should not be relegated to a specific time, class, or stand-alone lesson. Rather, incorporate SEL into the fabric of the school day, from a morning check-in on how students are feeling to pointing out a character’s social-emotional skills when reading a book.

Integrating SEL into every part of students’ educational experience provides opportunities for them to practice and build their skills.

#3: Measurement

While curriculum is a key component of an effective SEL program, too often districts choose a curriculum before identifying which SEL skills their students are strong in and which they may need instruction and practice to develop.

Prior to selecting and implementing an SEL curriculum, educators should first select a social-emotional behavior screener and measure their students’ social-emotional skills. With this data, educators will have insight into where to focus instructional efforts in order to best address the specific needs of their students.

Similar to how we monitor students’ academic progress to gauge the effectiveness of core curricular programs and teacher professional learning, social-emotional screeners provide insight into the effectiveness of school-wide SEL efforts.

Other considerations when approaching SEL competency data for student success

What other key points should we consider?

First, we need to understand that every student comes into the classroom with various outside factors that could affect their learning ability. If students are dealing with issues like family dysfunction or peer pressure, they won’t be as prepared or focused on learning. For this reason, it’s essential to come up with ways to identify those problems and address them early on.

Second, we need to apply our efforts in figuring out a student’s beliefs towards education. How willing are they to learn? What are their motivations for school? What things actually support, enhance, or reinforce their beliefs about education?

Addressing their purpose within the classroom and helping to define their “why” is crucial in getting students to participate as much as they can in their own education.

When we consider these two points, we’ll be more equipped to educate the whole child. A resource that could be helpful in this process is an MTSS collaboration and management solution. Having a system that will measure, track, and analyze data in regard to student behavior and performance will allow educators to keep a pulse on student progress and identify any red flags along the way.

Facilitate early intervention and prevention efforts using the five SEL competencies with SAEBRS

Today, districts are launching robust initiatives to help students build solid SEL foundations necessary to prevent long-term mental health problems. To find success in these efforts, districts should leverage evidence-based SEL resources and supports to help students succeed socially, emotionally, and academically.

Universal screening is an efficient, research-proven way to address social-emotional behavior (SEB) concerns and support early intervention efforts and SEL programming. Screening can inform educators where to target universal and prevention efforts including:

• Selecting an SEL curriculum that matches students’ specific and unique needs
• Pinpointing social-emotional needs in the classroom
• Identifying students in need of more intensive support

The post SEL competencies: The importance of social-emotional learning and the CASEL framework appeared first on Renaissance.

Furthermore, we use the term “emergent readers” when referring to pre-readers. Students are “emergent” until they can decode words with ease. Learning to read English requires students to master a finite set of phonemes (44 in all) and graphemes (around 250). From there, reading—as we well know—shifts to a focus on vocabulary and building knowledge. At this point, we start to refer to students as “readers.”

So, our approach suggests that when students have met the milestone of reading on grade level by the end of grade 3, we feel that they’re on somewhat solid ground. Successfully “learn to read” by the end of grade 3, and then continue to “read to learn” from that point on, and things should turn out fairly well. Reading on grade level by the end of grade 3 is, in other words, the primary benchmark to be met.

This raises some obvious questions. Does mathematics have an equivalent benchmark? When do students transition from being “emergent mathematicians” to being “mathematicians”? Is there some point along the journey where we can begin to feel that students are on a sure footing in math? Several studies have explored this question. Let’s take a look at their findings.

Milestone 1: Mastering elementary math topics

Siegler et al. (2012) explored the relationship between students’ mastery of five major topics in elementary mathematics—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions—and their eventual success in high school math courses. Of these five areas, mastery of fractions and of whole-number division were found to be most predictive of eventual high school math success. In fact, knowledge of fractions and whole-number division have a stronger relation to students’ overall math achievement than family income level.

This is not to say that mastery of the other topics—addition, subtraction, and multiplication—is unimportant. In fact, when one considers these topic areas through the lens of learning progressions, it’s apparent that success with division and fractions is dependent on having already mastered addition, subtraction, and multiplication, because these are all prerequisites for division and fractions.

In essence, what Siegler et al. found was that mastering all five topic areas of elementary school mathematics places students in a position where success with high school math courses is far more likely. So, is this the key math milestone? Other studies suggest not.

Milestone 2: Passing grade 6 math

Balfanz, Herzog, and MacIver (2007) conducted a longitudinal study examining the graduation patterns of nearly 13,000 students in an urban district to discover how middle school factors related to high school graduation. They found that a shocking 81 percent of students who failed their grade 6 mathematics course did not graduate from high school. Another 6 percent did graduate, but late. This means that only 13 percent of students who failed their grade 6 math class were able to graduate high school on time—making the passing of grade 6 math extremely predictive of eventual high school graduation. The authors add that “failing a sixth-grade math course was a better predictor of failure to graduate than either a student’s race or status as an English Language Learner.”

Milestone 3: Passing grade 7 math

A study by Finkelstein et al. (2012) further complicates this picture. The authors conducted a longitudinal analysis that tracked more than 24,000 California students from 24 districts from grade 7 through high school graduation. The analysis “looked at the student’s performance in each [math] course, as demonstrated by the grade earned and student proficiency, using as a proxy the student’s score (e.g., Below Basic, Basic, Proficient) on the related California Standards Test for each course.” The authors also explored the results of different “course patterns,” primarily to compare students who took Algebra 1 in grade 8 to students who took Algebra 1 in grade 9.

What did the authors find? “Students who perform well in grade 7 math are likely to take more-advanced courses in high school compared to those who struggle with middle school math.” In fact, of their large sample (N=24,279), “not a single student who earned below a grade of D in seventh-grade math went on to take calculus in high school.”

Does this make grade 7 math the key milestone?

Milestone 4: Passing Algebra 1 on the first attempt

Additional findings by Finkelstein et al. suggest not. They note that while “many students repeat algebra…few repeaters achieve proficiency on their second attempt.” Roughly one-third of the students in their sample were required to repeat their algebra course. Among those who took Algebra 1 in grade 8 and repeated it in grade 9, the eventual proficiency rate on the state test was 21 percent. For those who initially took the course in grade 9 and repeated it in grade 10, the proficiency rate was just 9 percent.

The researchers concluded that “these low proficiency rates illustrate that Algebra 1 repeaters are often unsuccessful at demonstrating content mastery their second time around.” Based on this finding, a reporter highlighting this research began her coverage by stating, “California students who fail algebra and repeat the course are pretty much doomed to fail again” (Tucker 2012).

Are there really any math milestones?

So, where does this leave us? Is there any mathematics equivalent to reading on grade level by the end of grade 3? It appears not. Of the benchmarks outlined above, successfully passing Algebra 1 on the first attempt is probably the first time that we might consider students to be on some degree of solid ground. But Stephen Pinker (1997) said it best when he remarked that “math is ruthlessly cumulative.” And while the importance of mastering prerequisite skills is manifest in all subject areas, no subject area is as “ruthlessly cumulative” as mathematics—as the studies that I’ve described so clearly demonstrate.

What does this mean in terms of instructional practice? It speaks to the need for ongoing formative assessment and progress monitoring—student by student and skill by skill—so that we can ensure the mastery of each and every essential math skill. Otherwise, we risk having this “ruthlessly cumulative” subject area rise up and stifle the progress of the learner.

The power of regular practice—and feedback

Decades ago, when I was a high school student, my teacher for Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus would walk up and down the aisle and “spot check” a few key problems from our math homework of the night before. The information she noted in her gradebook was either a check, a check-plus, or a check-minus. This process was time consuming and somewhat flawed, because she was only able to capture limited information on a small portion of the work that we’d done. While our homework had a positive effect on us, with some key changes, it could have been far more effective.

In a classic study, Paschal, Weinstein, and Walberg (1984) conducted a meta-analysis of research on various homework approaches. They found that, overall, homework has a positive effect size of 0.36, but corrected homework has a much larger positive effect size of 0.80. To put this another way: If educators and students aren’t receiving as much information (feedback) as possible from the activities that students undertake, then the impact of those activities is far less than it could be.

This is where the features of digital math practice programs really shine. With today’s technology, capturing every response from every student to every math problem is easily accomplished. At Renaissance, we offer our Freckle for math program, which provides differentiated practice from kindergarten through Algebra 2. As shown in the screenshot below, teachers using Freckle can easily access a gradebook-like view to see performance student-by-student and skill-by-skill, which is so critical for monitoring students’ progress.

Freckle then makes suggestions for appropriate next steps based on students’ performance. For example, on the screen shown below, teachers can quickly review students’ performance on an “exit ticket” for Base 10—Rounding. Freckle also identifies students who might need some re-teaching of prerequisite skills (in this case, Tony), students who need a bit more practice with the current skills before moving on (Rafferty), and students who are ready for a deeper challenge that probes their Depth of Knowledge (DOK) on the current skill (Abraham and Carry).

Why monitoring progress is key in mathematics

When I was a teacher, I primarily taught one subject area. When I became the Supervisor of Academic Services in my school district, I worked with educators across all content areas—and this is also the case in my role as Chief Academic Officer at Renaissance. Anyone who has made this transition from teaching one subject area to supporting all subject areas knows that you quickly understand how very different the pedagogical concerns and considerations are across areas. What social studies teachers must consider and do is fundamentally different in many ways from what their ELA colleagues or math colleagues or science colleagues must do. Yes, there are common elements of well-crafted instruction, but each content area has its own feel and dynamics.

Given that mathematics is “ruthlessly cumulative”—due to the interdependency of so many discrete skills that must be applied with absolute precision—it simply is a content area in which the close monitoring of student progress, on a detailed level, is paramount. We cannot afford for students to achieve anything less than mastery of essential skills and concepts during the long journey through the various milestones of progress.

Decades ago, my math teachers did what they could to sample and spot-check the work that my classmates and I were doing. But today, a student-by-student and skill-by-skill feed of information can be easily provided by technology, regardless of whether students are practicing math in the school building, at home, or a combination of the two. Our goal should be to ensure that this level of detailed monitoring and feedback is the norm in every math classroom.

References

Balfanz, R., Herzog, L., & MacIver, D. (2007). Preventing student disengagement and keeping students on the graduation path in urban middle-grades schools: Early identification and effective interventions. Educational Psychologist, 42(4), 223–235.
Finkelstein, N., Fong, A., Tiffany-Morales, J., Shields, P., & Huang, M. (2012). College bound in middle school and high school? How math course sequences matter. Sacramento, CA: The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd.
Paschal, R., Weinstein, T., & Walberg, H. (1984). The effects of homework on learning: A quantitative synthesis. The Journal of Educational Research, 78(2), 97–104.
Pinker, S. (1997). How the mind works. New York: Norton.
Siegler, R., Duncan, G., Davis-Kean, P., Duckworth, K., Claessens, A., Engel, M., Susperreguy, M., & Chen, M. (2012). Early predictors of high school mathematics achievement. Psychological Science 23(7), 691–697.
Tucker, J. (2012). Students failing algebra rarely recover. Retrieved from: https://www.sfgate.com/education/article/Students-failing-algebra-rarely-recover-4082741.php

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So, what is formative assessment in education? And why is it so important? Let’s dive in.

What is formative assessment?

One popular way of thinking about formative assessment is that it “in-forms” instruction. The National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) uses the following formative assessment definition:

“Formative assessment practices are those that provide teachers and students with information about learning as it develops—not just at the end of a project, unit, or year. The information is formative because it enables adjustments that deepen learning. Teachers use formative assessments to make adjustments to instruction, and students use the feedback from formative assessments to make revisions to their work and their approaches to it.”

The NCME definition does not indicate if formative assessment is specifically a product or a process, but it points more toward it being a process when stating that it relates to “information about learning as it develops.”

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) defines formative assessment as a process that involves both students and teachers in the classroom:

“Formative assessment is a planned, ongoing process used by all students and teachers during learning and teaching to elicit and use evidence of student learning to improve student understanding of intended disciplinary learning outcomes and support students to become self-directed learners. Effective use of the formative assessment process requires students and teachers to integrate and embed the following practices in a collaborative and respectful classroom environment:

• Clarifying learning goals and success criteria within a broader progression of learning
• Eliciting and analyzing evidence of student thinking
• Engaging in self-assessment and peer feedback
• Providing actionable feedback
• Using evidence and feedback to move learning forward by adjusting learning strategies, goals, or next instructional steps.”

The CCSSO definition includes guidance concerning effective formative assessment practices, further emphasizing that it is a process and not a product.

Formative assessment vs. summative assessment

To some extent, all assessments are part of a larger process of learning. However, formative assessment is often contrasted with summative assessment in order to distinguish key features.

One of the primary differences between formative and summative assessments is that formative assessments are conducted at multiple time points during learning, whereas summative assessment happens only at the end of the learning. Thus, the repetition of formative assessments confirms that it is a process. That said, an assessment could be used for both formative and summative purposes.

Examples of formative vs. summative assessment purposes

There are many examples of classroom formative assessments, each designed to answer a specific question about student learning. The following table displays types of assessments commonly used in schools with examples of their formative and summative applications. Note that some of the assessments listed serve the same purpose, and not all of them are necessarily used in one school.

By definition, formative assessment is the action taken after the assessment to improve student learning. In this way, the data informs instruction. Formative assessments require a process in order to be helpful to students and teachers.

Summative assessments also provide important information about student performance, but the results are not used to modify individual student instruction. Instead, they are often used to review data from a group of students and identify patterns in performance by cohorts. In this regard, formative and summative assessments serve different purposes.

Use formative assessment for formative purposes and summative assessment for summative purposes

A formative assessment’s process depends on its function or purpose. An excellent way to define the purpose is by asking what question about student performance the assessment is designed to answer.

Here are common questions that teachers ask about student performance:

1. What did my students learn during today’s lesson?
2. Which of my students might need additional instruction to reach learning goals?
3. What type of additional instruction or intervention do my students need?
4. Which of my students have mastered the content in this chapter or unit and which ones need additional instruction?
5. Is the core instruction we provide effective for 80% or more of students? If not, what needs to be changed?
6. Is the intervention provided for a struggling student working? If not, what needs to change?
7. Does my student display characteristics of a disability that requires specialized instruction?
8. Did the students in my course master all of the content taught?
9. How did this year’s second graders perform compared to second graders in prior years?

Some of these questions are best answered with formative assessments and others with summative ones. The following table shows each of the above questions with the type of assessment best suited and whether the assessment is formative or summative.

Neither formative nor summative assessments are “best.” Instead, each type should be matched to the assessment purpose and the question(s) the test is seeking to answer.

Remember, classroom formative assessment involves a process, and many steps and tools are typically used during this process.

How to evaluate your own assessment system

A helpful activity that school leaders and teachers can do is to list all the assessments currently used in their school and then list the purpose of each assessment. Once all the assessments and their purposes are listed, it’s possible to see whether there are multiple tests used to answer the same questions.

Similarly, school leaders and teachers can list the questions they routinely ask about student performance and then match those questions to current assessments. If there are questions with no corresponding assessment, the team can discuss if it’s a question that must be answered. When it’s an essential question, an appropriate assessment should be selected to answer that question. Importantly, educators should strive to conduct as few assessments as possible to answer questions about student learning.

4 categories of formative assessment you can use in your classroom

Let’s break down some of the different ways you may use formative assessment with your students.

#1: Pre-assessment

Pre-assessment occurs before instruction of new content begins to find out what students know. It can also help teachers to identify any knowledge gaps or misconceptions surrounding the material. This pre-assessment can be used throughout the educational process to help students see what they have learned.

Some examples of pre-assessment include:

• Conversation
• Multiple-choice questions
• Use of writing prompts
• Creating a concept map

Pre-assessment is a powerful tool because it can—and should—be used to guide instruction. Pre-assessment results can also be used to help students set learning goals.

#2: Self-assessment

Self-assessment lets students reflect on their learning and the quality of their work thus far and then decide what their next steps should be. This isn’t about having students assign themselves grades or scores—it’s simply about feedback.

Self-assessment involves:

• Awareness of goals
• Checking progress
• Making adjustments as needed

Self-assessment should always be followed by opportunities to relearn a concept or revise work. Knowing they have room for improvement keeps students honest in their assessments.

#3: Peer feedback

These techniques allow students to give constructive and useful feedback to each other about their work. They don’t grade each other, but they may recommend revisions or possible next steps.

Peer feedback is a collaborative learning activity. It allows students to practice recognizing what success looks like in the work of others, which may help them better understand their learning goals.

#4: Feedback breaks

Feedback breaks are exercises that can be sprinkled throughout your lessons. They give teachers information about what and how the students are learning while allowing them to change and develop their understanding of new content.

Feedback breaks are self-assessment exercises built into parts of the lesson where it would be natural to pause and examine one’s thinking—for instance, after a concept has been introduced and before moving on to the next piece of content.

Feedback breaks help students put their understanding into words and process the new information. This also helps teachers evaluate student progress as they go and strategically use questions at pause points to help give direction to the rest of the lesson.

Some people refer to these as hinge-point questions because the way the lesson evolves hinges on students’ answers. A good example of a hinge-point question is a multiple-choice inquiry where some of the choices are common misconceptions.

Support the classroom formative assessment process with Renaissance

Renaissance offers a number of assessment tools that educators can use to understand their students’ performance. Remember, formative assessment is a process that involves selecting and using assessments aligned to the question the teacher seeks to answer. The following list includes types of assessments, the questions they address, and which Renaissance tool best answers the questions.

Just-in-time/short cycle assessment:

• Confirms that specific learning has taken place and provides data to inform instruction that follows
• Example: DnA

Universal screening:

• Informs Tier 1 instruction and intervention; informs which students may need interventions to succeed; informs system-level resourcing
• Examples: FastBridge and Star Assessments

Diagnostic assessment:

• Pinpoints specific skill areas of need; diagnostic assessment ensures instructional supports are aligned with learning needs
• Example: Star Phonics

Progress monitoring:

• Informs intervention decisions and whether to continue, adjust, or fade supports
• Examples: FastBridge and Star Assessments

Interim assessment:

• Informs whether students are mastering grade-level content or if adjustments should be made to improve end-of-year outcomes
• Examples: DnA; SchoolCity

Summative assessment:

• Informs system-level adjustments to curriculum, instruction, assessment, and scope and sequence to improve learning outcomes for all students
• Examples: DnA; SchoolCity

To learn more about these Renaissance assessments and how they support greater student growth, connect with an expert.

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Assessments also provide a key way for teachers to address students’ needs, by showing education or performance gaps. Ideally, assessment data will help educators to figure out which topics students are struggling with and—more importantly—why.

Test item analysis is a way to help teachers gain more insight into their students’ learning. But first, you must start by understanding what item analysis involves.

Let’s delve into the specifics of item analysis for teachers and explore its components.

What is test item analysis?

Item analysis is the act of analyzing responses to individual test questions, or items, to make sure that their difficulty level is appropriate. This means that the items discriminate well between students of different performance levels. Item analysis also involves looking deeper into other metrics of the test items, as I’ll explain below.

Item analysis is crucial to upholding both the fairness and effectiveness of tests. And while it’s often something teachers do unconsciously, formalizing the process and laying out the method to it provides a way to uphold academic integrity and improve assessments.

Why do we need item analysis?

Item analysis helps teachers examine assessments and figure out if they’re a good measure for testing their students. For example, if a test is too difficult or too easy for a group of students, then administering the assessment is a waste of time and doesn’t aid us in the measurement of student learning.

The frequent use of item analysis also allows teachers to measure assessments and figure out where any learning gaps may be present. Teachers can then provide the right instruction and support to target and bridge those gaps, as I mentioned earlier.

The 4 components of item analysis

The four components of test item analysis are item difficulty, item discrimination, item distractors, and response frequency. Let’s look at each of these factors and how they help teachers to further understand test quality.

#1: Item difficulty

The first thing we can look at in terms of item analysis is item difficulty. Item difficulty is a percentage of students scoring correctly on any one test item. As a rule of thumb, we’re looking for at least 20% of students to score correctly. If we have fewer than 20% of students scoring correctly on the item, it is likely too difficult.

At the same time, if we have more than 80% of students scoring correctly on the item, that item might be too easy. However, in some situations this might be okay.

For example, on a mastery test, we can expect a lot of items to be easy because a majority of students will have mastered the material. This is opposed to a pretest, where we can expect most of the items to be difficult, because the students have not yet been taught the material.

If there’s a test item that no students answer correctly, the reliability factor decreases sharply. (In other words, we learn that the item is far too difficult for them, but we do not gain any insight into what the students do know.) In contrast, when students give the right answers, it helps teachers track how knowledgeable the students are in any given subject.

 #2: Item discrimination

The second component we can examine is item discrimination. In other words, how well does the item discriminate between students who performed higher and lower on a particular test?

Here, we look at how well the students scored on the assessment as a whole and how well the students scored on any given item. Are the students who performed higher on the assessment generally answering the item correctly? Are students who performed lower on the assessment generally answering the item incorrectly?

With item discrimination, you’re comparing the number of correct answers to the total test score numbers. Discrimination examines one question at a time and compares high-scoring students’ answers to those of low-scoring students to see which group answered which items correctly.

The overall point of item discrimination is to confirm that individual exam questions differentiate between the students who understand the material and those who don’t.

#3: Item distractors

Within item analysis, we usually use item distractors for assessments with multiple-choice questions. We need to understand if the answer choices appropriately “distract” students taking the test from the correct answer.

For example, suppose there is a multiple-choice question with four possible answers—but two of the answers are clearly incorrect and are easy for students to eliminate from consideration. So, instead of having a 25% chance of getting the answer right by guessing, students now have a 50/50 chance, given that only two of the four answer choices are plausible.

Bad item distractors are those that are obviously not correct, so they are far less effective for assessing student knowledge than if they were more cleverly disguised.

Effective item distractors force students to focus on critical thinking to help them answer the question. For this reason, effective distractors will usually attract more students with a lower overall score than those who score higher on the test.

#4: Response frequency

Once we look at item difficulty, item discrimination, and item distractors and have cleared potential flags, it’s important for us to look at the final component: response frequency.

For items such as multiple choice, multiple select, or those that have Part A and Part B, it’s crucial to examine which responses students are choosing. If they’re not choosing the correct answer, what are some of the options they’re selecting and why?

Let’s say the correct answer to a particular item is option C, but most of the students are choosing a distractor, option B. We need to look at this specific distractor and try to figure out the common misconception. In other words, why are students choosing that particular response? What makes this response appear to be correct?

Looking at response frequency—as well as the other item analysis components listed above—and noting the pattern of student errors can give teachers feedback on how effective a test is and provide support for designing future assessments.

How Renaissance provides high-quality test items for every classroom

Renaissance’s DnA platform includes a high-quality item bank and collection of pre-built assessments created by experts who ensure the content is accurately aligned to state standards and yields results that educators can use to drive instruction.

All of our item bank content undergoes a continuous evaluation process that uses psychometric item analysis to ensure test items are performing as expected. In other words, we’ve already done the work for you!

DnA offers more than 80,000 items in core subject areas, along with a wealth of reporting—including item distractor reports to help you identify learning disconnects and guide appropriate feedback.

The post How teachers can use item analysis to evaluate assessments appeared first on Renaissance.

Bloomington, Minn. (November 12, 2021) – Renaissance , a global leader in pre-K–12 educational technology, recently announced that Freckle has earned the Research-Based Design Product Certification from Digital Promise. This certification serves as a rigorous, reliable signal for district and school administrators, educators, and families looking for edtech products that are based in research about learning.

Freckle provides K–12 students with differentiated practice in math, ELA, science, and social studies, both in and out of the classroom. Educators can use Freckle to support core instruction, as well as extended learning, summer learning, and tutoring. Freckle qualifies for ESSER funding under the CARES, CRRSA, and ARP Acts, along with other federal funding sources.

Freckle is the fourth Renaissance product to receive the Research-Based Design Product Certification. Accelerated Reader, Lalilo, and Nearpod have all previously received this honor.

“Research is central to how we design our products,” said Eric Stickney, senior director of educational research at Renaissance. “We not only use published research on how students learn, but we also analyze our assessment and practice data to understand how to best engage and provide feedback to both educators and students to maximize opportunities for growth. This certification validates these efforts.”

The Research-Based Design Product Certification helps consumers to narrow their options as they select products based on research about learning. Digital Promise launched this certification in February 2020 and has certified over 50 products to date. The organization will recognize Freckle’s certification with an official announcement in February 2022.

“Educators and researchers continue to uncover important insights about how students learn,” said Christina Luke Luna, senior director of lifelong learning pathways at Digital Promise. “The Research-Based Design Product Certification recognizes the edtech products that incorporate research about learning into their design and development. Congratulations to Freckle for demonstrating that research informs product design!”

Educators can learn more about Freckle by visiting www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than half a million students in other regions across the world.

The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery.

About Digital Promise

Digital Promise is a nonprofit organization that builds powerful networks and takes on grand challenges by working at the intersection of researchers, entrepreneurs, and educators. Our vision is that all people, at every stage of their lives, have access to learning experiences that help them acquire the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and continuously learn in an ever-changing world. For more information, visit https://digitalpromise.org/.

Press contact:
Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

The post Freckle Awarded Research-Based Product Design Certification from Digital Promise appeared first on Renaissance.

New York/San Francisco/Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. (November 9, 2021) – Renaissance (“Renaissance” or the “Company”), a global leader in pre-K–12 educational technology, today announced its entry into a definitive agreement for private equity funds managed by Blackstone (NYSE: BX; “Blackstone”) to make a significant equity investment in the Company alongside existing investors including Francisco Partners and TPG’s The Rise Fund. Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, acquired the Company in 2018 and will remain a major shareholder. Blackstone’s investment will be made through its flagship private equity vehicle.

Founded in 1986, Renaissance combines decades of experience in assessments with personalized instruction and analytics solutions delivering teachers and administrators the tools to plan, lessons to teach, and the resources to motivate students to learn. Renaissance is one of the most recognized and trusted brands in K–12 education, serving more than 40 percent of US schools and more than 16 million students worldwide. The Company’s assessment-driven, integrated instructional ecosystem enables schools and districts to benchmark student progress; teach, plan, and respond to students’ needs in real time with personalized instruction; and offer supplemental student literacy and math learning software solutions.

The new investment from Blackstone will enable the Company to further accelerate organic growth initiatives and innovation across its product suite. Building on the platform’s growth under Francisco Partners, the investment will also enable the Company to continue executing on its targeted acquisition strategy following its recent acquisitions earlier this year of Lalilo, a research-based foundational literacy program, and Nearpod, a leader in teacher-facilitated instructional delivery.

Chris Bauleke, CEO of Renaissance, said: “As technology continues to change, and as teachers and students connect in new ways, our commitment to empower teachers, students, and administrators is unwavering. Now, together with Blackstone and Francisco Partners, we have even more opportunity to further our mission to accelerate learning for all worldwide.”

Eli Nagler, a Senior Managing Director at Blackstone, said: “Chris and the Renaissance team have done an exceptional job building a next generation technology platform to meet the rapidly evolving needs of today’s classroom and beyond—where digital tools play a critical role. We’re thrilled to join with Francisco Partners to support the continued expansion of the business as educators increasingly leverage technology to provide students with personalized learning solutions.”

Jason Brein, Partner at Francisco Partners, and Alan Ni, Principal at Francisco Partners, said: “As a leading K–12 edtech software platform, Renaissance is at the forefront of developing innovative solutions that offer new ways to teach and learn across remote, hybrid, and in-person classrooms. It has been our pleasure to partner with Chris and the Renaissance team over the last few years as they have scaled their integrated platform and product suite to best support the needs of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. We are excited to continue our partnership and look forward to working together with Blackstone to further support Renaissance’s mission.”

Blackstone’s investment is a continuation of the firm’s high-conviction thematic focus on the fast-growing education technology industry. It follows recent investments through its private equity business in Ellucian, a leading software provider to universities, and through its Blackstone Growth (BXG) business in Articulate, a SaaS training and development platform for companies.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC served as lead financial advisor to Renaissance, Macquarie Capital also served as a financial advisor, and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor. SVB Technology Investment Banking served as financial advisor to Blackstone, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than a half million students in other regions across the world. The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

About Blackstone

Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our $731 billion in assets under management include investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate, public debt and equity, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on Twitter @Blackstone.

About Francisco Partners

Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With more than $25 billion in assets under management, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About The Rise Funds

The Rise Funds are a core pillar of TPG Rise, TPG’s global impact investing platform. Founded in 2016 by TPG in partnership with Bono and Jeff Skoll, The Rise Funds invest behind impact entrepreneurs and growth-stage, high potential, mission-driven companies that are focused on achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The Rise Funds deliver capabilities and expertise across a wide variety of sectors and countries at scale, focusing on opportunities in climate and conservation, education, food and agriculture, financial technology, healthcare, and technology.

With more than $12 billion in assets across The Rise Funds, TPG Rise Climate, and Evercare Health Fund, the TPG Rise platform is the world’s largest private markets impact investing platform committed to achieving measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns. For more information, visit www.therisefund.com or @therisefund on Instagram.

Press contacts

For Renaissance:
Linda Germain
linda.germain@renaissance.com
(917) 930-5389

For Blackstone:
Matt Anderson
matthew.anderson@blackstone.com
(518) 248-7310

OR

Mariel Seidman-Gati
mariel.seidmangati@blackstone.com
(917) 698-1674

For Francisco Partners:
Dan Zacchei
dzacchei@sloanepr.com
(212) 446-1882

OR

Kate Sylvester
ksylvester@sloanepr.com
(212) 446-1860

The post Renaissance Announces Significant Growth Investment from Blackstone appeared first on Renaissance.

We’d like to thank the following members of the Renaissance Content Team for sharing their expertise with us: Lynnette Kopetsky (Content Curator), Carolyn Tarpey (Content Curator), Sara Cisar (Publisher Programs & Curation—Supervisor), Frank Delbovi (Content Designer), Kristi Holck (Manager, Content Design), and Dr. Chastity McFarlan (Content Quality Manager).

What does the team consider when selecting books for Accelerated Reader quizzes?

Our focus when choosing titles is always the students who will be taking the AR quizzes. We want to make sure that we’re selecting books that meet the needs of students and schools across the country, from kindergarten through high school.

We select and prioritize books based on a variety of factors. Popularity with students is obviously one consideration. For example, we know that when a new book is published in a popular series—such as Diary of a Wimpy Kid or I Survived—there will be an immediate demand for the AR quiz. We also receive thousands of online requests each year from our end-users: teachers, librarians, parents, and even from students themselves.

Another focus when choosing titles is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our goal is to select books that portray characters of differing cultures, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, and religions. To that end, we seek out books with diverse characters and settings. We want to ensure that students are able to choose books that reflect their lives and experiences—and help them to better understand other people’s lives and experiences, too.

How specifically do you seek out books with diverse characters and settings?

In some ways, the processes we follow for general book selection also apply to our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives. For example, we read reviews of new children’s and young adult (YA) books; we form relationships with both trade and school library publishers so that we receive advance notice of upcoming releases; and we review the many suggestions we receive from educators, families, and students, as mentioned above.

Another major source of titles is awards lists that focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Currently, our list contains 25 awards, including the Stonewall Book Awards, which recognize books that reflect LGBTQ+ experiences, and the Coretta Scott King Book Awards, which recognize children’s and YA books that reflect African-American experiences. Both of these awards are sponsored by the American Library Association.

Another award is the Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature—also known as The Walter Awards. This award recognizes “diverse authors whose works feature diverse main characters and address diversity in a meaningful way.” We have Accelerated Reader quizzes for the 18 winning and honoree titles from 2019–2021, including When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson.

Frank D., the Content Designer who created the AR quiz for When Stars Are Scattered, has this to say about the book:

“This is a graphic novel about a Somali boy and his brother, their life in a refugee camp, and his dreams of getting an education and becoming a social worker. The story, which is true, takes place in a refugee camp in Kenya. Eventually, the protagonist, Omar, and his brother make their way to the US. An afterword reveals that they are now US citizens, and that Omar is a social worker and is married to a fellow refugee who also found asylum in the US.

 The book is topical and deals with an underrepresented group—African asylum seekers, most of whom languish in refugee camps but some of whom make it to other parts of the world. Enough have come to the US that there are now communities in various US cities, particularly communities of Somali immigrants. There’s one in Minneapolis, for example. These folks are having children and raising them in the US. It’s good for those children to read about where their parents are from and how they arrived in the US, isn’t it?”

In addition to winning the Walter Award, When Stars Are Scattered was a National Book Award Finalist, a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Finalist, a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book, and a Time Best Book of the Year, among other honors.

Do you work directly with publishers as part of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative?

Yes. An important way of expanding our collection is by seeking books from publishers who specialize in multicultural and OwnVoices authors. For example, Lee & Low Books, one of the publishers we work with, is a family-run, minority-owned independent company specializing in diverse book publishing. They value diversity and even provide scholarship opportunities for students of color to enroll in a graduate program in children’s literature. In an effort to work with unpublished authors of color, Lee & Low established their New Voices Award. They are a solid source for books that emphasize cultural diversity and tolerance.

One of the recent books from Lee & Low that we have developed an AR quiz for is The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan: Inventor, Entrepreneur, Hero by Joan DiCicco. Garrett Morgan (1877–1963) grew up in Kentucky, the son of formerly enslaved people. He overcame racial barriers and became a successful businessperson and inventor. Not only did his inventions improve people’s lives, but one of his inventions saved men who were trapped in a collapsed tunnel, making him a hero as well!

Groundwood Books is another publisher specializing in books on diverse topics. Groundwood Books is based in Canada, but their authors are published all over the globe. They specialize in books by Indigenous Peoples in the Northern Hemisphere and, since 1998, they have published works by Latinx authors and illustrators in both English and Spanish. One of the best parts of our relationship with Groundwood Books is their willingness to recommend titles that are of interest to add to our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion collection.

Once you’ve identified a book, does it have to meet certain criteria in order for an AR quiz to be written?

Yes. There’s sometimes a misconception that the members of the Curation Team operate like book critics, and that we only select books that appeal to us personally or that we’d describe as our favorites. Our criteria are actually much less subjective.

First, the book must be quizzable, meaning that it has enough unique content for an AR quiz to accurately assess students’ reading comprehension (or their listening comprehension, in the case of books that are read aloud to them). Not every book meets this criterion. For example, think of a picture book that’s designed to teach colors to young children: the coat is yellow, the hat is red, the umbrella is blue, etc. A book like this doesn’t offer a lot of content, and potential quiz questions—What color was the coat? Which object was red? —would not be fair to students. Such questions wouldn’t assess children’s comprehension but rather their ability to remember the author’s arbitrary decisions about which color to assign to which object.

Reference books provide another example—including books that are otherwise promising from the perspective of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. For example, imagine a middle-grades book titled 40 Famous Hispanic Americans or 50 Pioneering Women in STEM, where each person receives a one-page write-up. Because the individual entries are so brief and high-level, it can be difficult to identify enough unique information to assess a student’s comprehension of the entire text.

The second criterion is that factual information must be accurate. Clearly, this criterion applies to nonfiction (which is presented as factual) much more than to fiction (which is presented as the work of the author’s imagination). Like the quizzability criterion, it also applies to all topics, from astronomy to dinosaurs to music. But when nonfiction books focus on historically underrepresented people and groups, accuracy is critical. There have been instances where titles are initially selected for AR quizzes but are then rejected when the Content Designer reads the book and identifies significant inaccuracies.

To give one recent example, a nonfiction book about the Hmong people of Southeast Asia stated that they are from a region that’s also called Hmong. This is simply not accurate. We notified the publisher of this issue, and we explained that we would not be able to move forward with an AR quiz for this title.

Does this initiative also involve reviewing existing AR quizzes through the lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion?

Absolutely. Accelerated Reader offers quizzes on more than 200,000 titles, and several thousand new quizzes are added each year. In addition to writing these new quizzes, our Content Designers regularly review and refresh existing quizzes within the collection. In fact, our goal is to have them spend about 10 percent of their time on this.

An important part of the review process is confirming that all quiz questions and answer choices adhere to AR’s Content Appropriateness Guidelines, which require “treating individuals and topic areas with appropriate respect and not offending or otherwise impeding a student’s ability to respond to content due to personal characteristics, background, or other aspects that are not relevant to the content.” The guidelines also require quizzes to treat potentially controversial topics “with sensitivity and in a manner that is respectful to the reader.”

In some cases, the Content Designer identifies the need to revise a quiz question or an answer choice to better align with these guidelines. To give a few examples:

• Treating controversial topics with sensitivity: It’s not unusual for a mystery or crime novel to involve a murder or other violent act. But rather than asking students how the murder was committed—and then listing various gruesome alternatives—we’d instead ask why the murder was committed (which is also likely more relevant to the novel’s plot than the “how”).
• Using respectful, people-first language: Rather than using a condescending phrase such as “confined to a wheelchair,” we’d instead say that a character “uses a wheelchair.”
• Avoiding negative stereotypes: Imagine a middle-grades book in which a male character apologizes to a female classmate. If we ask why he apologized, we’d need to provide a list of plausible options for students to choose from: For telling a lie, reading messages on her phone, losing the book she’d loaned to him, etc. These are the distractors—answers that are incorrect but appear plausible to students who have not read the book. Here, we’d avoid using distractors that perpetuate negative stereotypes—such as For saying that girls are no good at baseball.

We’re sometimes asked how we ensure consistency in the review and revision process. To promote consistency, we hold regular norming sessions where the Content Designers—as a team—review and comment on quiz questions and answer choices that have been marked for revision. This helps to ensure that team members are interpreting the content guidelines in the same way and take a similar approach to this process.

Earlier, you mentioned a list of 25 awards that you use to seek out diverse titles for AR quizzes. Can you share the full list?

Absolutely. When selecting books for AR quizzes, we give special consideration to:

• American Indian Youth Literature Awards and honor titles
• BCALA Children & Young Adult Literary Awards
• Coretta Scott King Book Awards and honor titles
• John Steptoe Award for New Talent
• Pura Belpré Awards and honor titles
• Schneider Family Book Awards and honor titles
• Stonewall Book Awards and honor titles (especially the Mike Morgan & Larry Romans Children’s & Young Adult Literature Award)
• Américas Award, honorable mention and commended titles
• Arab American Book Awards for Children/Young Adults and honorable mention titles
• Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature and honor titles
• Carter G. Woodson Book Awards and honor titles
• Children’s Africana Book Awards and honor titles
• Ezra Jack Keats Awards and honor titles
• Freeman Book Awards, honorable mention, and of note titles
• Jane Addams Children’s Book Award
• Lambda Literary Award for Children/Young Adults and finalist titles
• Middle East Book Awards and honorable mention titles
• NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work and nominees
• New Voices Award and honor titles
• Scholastic Asian Book Award and runner-up titles
• South Asia Book Awards, honor and highly commended titles
• Sydney Taylor Book Awards
• Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Awards
• Walter Dean Myers Awards for Outstanding Children’s Literature and honor books

We currently have 86 percent AR quiz coverage of these awards from 2019–2021, and we are working to reach 100 percent coverage by the end of the year. Also, we are always seeking awards that meet our criteria to add to this list, and we would love to hear from our customers about additional awards we should include.

The post How Accelerated Reader supports Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion appeared first on Renaissance.

I propose that we add one more analogy to this list. I contend that the recent disruptions to schooling mean that many students have experienced an academic trauma. Data from Renaissance’s How Kids Are Performing report series, for example, show significant impacts in terms of math performance. Overall, students in grades 2–8 were 11 percentile points below pre-pandemic expectations at the end of the 2020–2021 school year. Students in some racial/ethnic groups were even more impacted, performing 18–19 percentile points below expectations. These impacts are clearly significant, and this represents trauma.

Math was not the only affected subject area. The How Kids Are Performing findings indicate that students in grades 1–8 were down 4 percentile points in reading performance at the end of last school year, with some racial/ethnic groups down 7–11 percentile points. Grade 1 students, who had been faring well in the first two rounds of the analysis (Fall 2020 and Winter 2020–2021), suddenly dropped to 7 percentile points behind in the spring.

The analysis even included an estimated number of weeks of instruction that would be necessary to catch students up to pre-pandemic levels of performance. (This is defined as one additional hour of reading or math instruction each weekday, or five additional hours per week.) The findings suggest that, at most grade levels, we might need to find 80–120 additional hours of instruction across both reading and math to reverse the pandemic’s impacts.

While some commentators claim that pandemic-related learning loss is a “myth” or that students are merely “rusty” and will rebound quickly, How Kids Are Performing and similar studies demonstrate that this is not the case. The recent disruptions have unquestionably impacted student performance, and slower rates of growth last school year mean that the situation has become even more dire. Again, this is academic trauma. And in the same way that a physician would closely monitor the vital signs of an individual who experienced a physical trauma, additional monitoring of students’ progress this school year is in order.

So, how might we go about this in a thoughtful and practical way? Let me suggest three options, using examples from Renaissance’s Star Assessments.

Progress Monitoring Report—for students in intervention

For students who are in formal interventions, this is already addressed. The RTI/MTSS process requires regular Progress Monitoring, which is accommodated through Star’s Progress Monitoring Report. Prior to using the report, teachers or interventionists work through a brief setup process, where a growth goal is established and a name and target end date for the intervention are entered to fully populate the report. (The example shown below is from Star CBM Reading, although the report functions the same way in our computer-adaptive Star Assessments.)

Once students have taken 4 or more Star tests during the course of an intervention, interpreting the report is a relatively straightforward matter of comparing the desired growth rate (indicated by the green goal line) to the growth rate currently being achieved (indicated by the black trend line). In this case, the black trend line—reflecting actual growth—falls below the green goal line, meaning that the student is not responding adequately to the intervention and more intensive services are likely needed.

While this report offers detailed monitoring of progress, only a portion of students will qualify for intervention services. Yet the recent academic trauma has impacted nearly all students. For this reason, we need additional options.

Annual Progress Report—for students with a testing history

For students who are not in formal intervention settings but who have a testing history with Star, the Annual Progress Report is a useful option. While this report requires 4 or more Star tests in order for a black trend line to be generated, these tests can cross academic years. Gray lines indicate the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentile ranks (PR) of performance within the current academic year, providing reference points for the rate of growth suggested by the trend line.

In this example report, we see that Moora has 6 tests (reflected by the colored dots) in her testing history. The black trend line depicts her estimated future performance, and the gray PR lines provide additional context. At the current rate, Moora will likely finish the academic year performing mid-way between the 50th and 75th percentile for her grade level.

Depending on which benchmark option your school or district chooses, you will see different names or categories for the dots reflecting each test. Moora’s school has chosen to use a benchmark tied to the state test categories: Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic. Of Moora’s 6 tests, we see only one instance where she performed at a Basic level (yellow dot). She generally performs at a Proficient level (blue dots), and once she even achieved a score associated with the Advanced level (green dot) for that point in the school year.

As noted earlier, this report relies on information from prior academic years. If Moora’s current performance is substantially better or worse than in previous years, however, the most accurate read of her performance in relation to the expectations of the current grade level might be found in our final report.

State Performance Report—for focusing on the current year

Like the Annual Progress Report, Star’s State Performance Report involves a statistical linking to your state test, but this report focuses only on the current school year. It is read in a similar way to the Progress Monitoring Report, where the black trend line is compared to the green goal line. In this report, the goal line represents the level of performance necessary to receive a passing score on your state summative test in the spring.

This report requires 3 or more Star tests within the current academic year for a trend line to be generated. As a result, if students only take Star during the traditional fall, winter, and spring screening windows, a trend line will not be generated until spring—which may be too late for progress-monitoring purposes this year.

To address this dynamic, some schools adopt an approach called “3+1,” where the standard screening windows are supplemented with an additional screening that occurs in late fall (e.g., November). This means that the proficiency projections of the State Standards Report’s trend line would be available in January, following winter screening. In addition, the “+1” screening window provides an additional school-wide opportunity to plot students’ performance against important benchmarks, as well as updated instructional planning information.

That said, our general guidance around assessing students with Star is, Do not give the assessment unless you’re planning to review and act on the results. Before adding an additional screening window, consider whether your data teams have the capacity to review the data. If so, then “3+1” is an option. If not, then this is probably not the right solution for you.

An abbreviated option would be a “+1” window for only targeted students, grade levels, or subjects. Given common accountability requirements around grade 3 reading proficiency, for example, and given the disproportionately high number of reading Focus Skills in the early grades, you might choose to add the “+1” screening only for students in grades K–3. You might also limit the “+1” screening to only those students who were below benchmark during fall screening and who were not placed in a formal intervention. The additional screening would help to ensure that these students are not slipping in terms of performance.

Or, given that math performance has been far more impacted than reading, you might choose to forgo an additional screening in reading but screen students in math. If you can’t or don’t feel a need to screen all students in both reading and math, which student groups, grade levels, or subject areas are the most at-risk? These could be prioritized areas for a limited additional screening.

Creating a “treatment plan” for the months ahead

To return to our medical analogies, we must remember that Star tests are like check-ups with your physician. They provide useful information to help gauge whether the “patient” is responding to the treatment, but they are not treatment plans unto themselves. Here are some ideas for what to do this fall (and beyond) to address unfinished learning:

1. Consider all available options to catch students up. Options include high-dosage tutoring, which can be provided either in or outside of the classroom, and extended learning time, such as before- and after-school programs and summer programs. Excellent summaries of research on different approaches are available in an article titled “The Science of Catching Up” in The Hechinger Report, and in a recent report from the Education Commission of the States.
2. Follow the dialogue on accelerated learning. A significant pedagogical shift is occurring in how we address students who are performing below grade-level expectations. Traditionally, we spoke about “remediation” or “meeting students where they are.” The newest thinking is that we should instead “accelerate learning.” This is an umbrella term, with several strategies related to it. But the emphasis is on maximizing the time students spend with grade-level content, which has significant implications for how we plan daily instruction and intervention experiences. A succinct overview is provided in a recent EdWeek article. EdWeek’s “Deciding What to Teach? Here’s How” infographic shows you how to embed accelerated learning approaches into daily instruction.
3. Decide which standards and skills to prioritize. When working to accelerate learning, serious consideration must be given to the most essential ideas of the grade-level and to the most critical prerequisite skills from previous grades. Renaissance’s Focus Skills Resource Center provides insights in both areas. Lists of the most critical skills for progress in reading and math, tailored to the standards of each state, are available, along with helpful overview videos for getting started.
4. Consider which supplementary practice programs might be of assistance. Digital practice programs can keep students engaged in and out of the classroom, and they can provide additional insights into students’ ongoing progress. They can also support extended learning initiatives, both during the school year and over the summer. At Renaissance, we offer multiple practice programs that students can use in tandem with Star Assessments, including our myON digital reading platform; Freckle for math and ELA; Accelerated Reader, for independent reading practice; and Lalilo, for foundational literacy skill development.

Adjusting to our “new normal”

In March 2020, who had any idea that the disruptions would continue for so long? Back then, we naively assumed that in-person learning would resume in the fall, only to experience a 2020–2021 school year that was—in most locations—profoundly disrupted. We now find ourselves several months into the 2021–2022 school year still holding our breath that “normalcy” will return.

Heads down, grinding away at our work, we may not realize how long we have been toiling under the disruptions. A recent social media meme brought this clearly into focus for me by noting that today’s high school seniors have not experienced a “normal” year of schooling since they were freshmen. Similarly, our current elementary students up to grade 2 have never experienced a non-disrupted school year.

Let us hold out hope that the current year can qualify as a relatively normal one, and that the steps we take and the work we do to support student learning will contribute to this much-needed return to normalcy.

The post New insights on progress monitoring this school year appeared first on Renaissance.

Consider the following scenario: educators identify priority standards, possibly unpack standards into learning targets, plan their instruction, and then give some sort of assessment—whether it be a state test, district test, or a grade-level common assessment.

Most likely, the results from these assessments would be disappointing. This is because the instructional Depth of Knowledge almost certainly would not match the Depth of Knowledge on the assessment. 

Backward planning, where teams…

• Unpack the standard into learning targets;
• Align the targets to their DOK;
• Build out corresponding assessments; and
• Plan instruction at the same level of DOK

…provides much better student data that allows teams to improve teaching and learning. 

This blog explores the importance of Depth of Knowledge (DOK).

What is Depth of Knowledge?

Depth of Knowledge is a cognitive rigor model developed by Dr. Norman Webb in 1997. The DOK model involves four levels that describe different depths of student engagement required to complete a task.

It was originally developed to systematically analyze how well standardized tests aligned with the expectations of the content standards they sought to assess. However, the usage of the DOK model has since evolved to evaluate all educational materials including standards, assessment questions and tasks, curriculum, etc.

DOK levels provide educators with a common language to effectively communicate about the required level of thinking students must be able to demonstrate as articulated in the standards—and whether teaching, learning, and assessment are aligned with those expectations.

What are the 4 Depth of Knowledge levels?

The four levels of Depth of Knowledge are:

1. Recall and reproduction
2. Skills and concepts
3. Short-term strategic thinking
4. Extended thinking

Let’s explore examples of each of these levels.

Level 1 Depth of Knowledge examples

For Level 1 DOK, students must recall or reproduce knowledge or skills. The content at this level usually deals with facts, details, calculations, and simple procedures.

Examples of DOK Level 1 lessons and assessments may include:

• Fill-in-the-blank tasks
• Reciting math facts
• Explaining or demonstrating something
• Identifying parts of speech
• Using a map key to locate information
• Measuring and recording data

Level 2 Depth of Knowledge examples

For Level 2 DOK, students must demonstrate skills while applying multiple concepts. The content at this level involves making basic inferences, summarizing, estimating, and classifying.

Examples of DOK Level 2 lessons and assessments may include:

• Diary entries
• Graphic organizers
• Spreadsheets
• Timelines
• Survey development
• Mind maps

Level 3 Depth of Knowledge examples

For level 3 DOK, students must use higher-order short-term strategic thinking skills to explore questions with more than one possible outcome and solve real-world problems.

Examples of DOK Level 3 lessons and assessments may include:

• Literary critiques
• Complex graphs
• Short stories
• Videos or podcasts
• Storyboards
• Debates

Level 4 Depth of Knowledge examples

For level 4 DOK, students must use extended thinking as they integrate higher-order thinking processes, reflection, and adjustment of plans over time. This level often includes collaboration in a project-based setting.

Examples of DOK Level 4 lessons and assessments may include:

• Research reports
• Video games
• Multimedia projects
• Anthologies
• Documentaries
• Plays

How to determine Depth of Knowledge

A common misconception is that DOK can be easily identified from the verbs used in a given standard or learning expectation. A quick search for “Depth of Knowledge” on Google returns many image results showing a wheel of verbs categorized by the 4 levels. However, Dr. Norman Webb himself has disputed this resource.

Though the verb may provide a clue, to determine the DOK of a given standard or learning objective, the focus should be on what comes after the verb. Understanding the concepts described after the verb of the standard—in combination with the mental processing required to achieve that level of understanding—are the key components to identifying the DOK of a given learning objective.

What Depth of Knowledge measures

Depth of Knowledge measures how deeply students know, understand, and are aware of what they are learning to answer a question or solve a problem. It categorizes tasks by the complexity of thinking—not difficulty—used to complete them.

Low DOK does not necessarily mean low difficulty and vice versa.

For example, if I were to ask you to name the first President of the United States, you would simply need to recall the answer (DOK 1), and the likelihood of getting the correct answer is high (low difficulty).

Now imagine if I were to ask you to name all of the US presidents, in order, along with the years during which they served. Like before, you would need to recall the answer (DOK 1), but the likelihood of getting the correct answer has plummeted (high difficulty). The difficulty of the task could decrease over time as you study the presidents, but the complexity will never change.

Leveraging Depth of Knowledge to support learning

Knowing the DOK of standards is critical to ensuring that we are planning instruction and choosing standards-based materials that match the complexity in which students will be expected to show their understanding on end-of-year accountability assessments and, more importantly, in college and careers.

Students should be given ample opportunity to engage at the level(s) of complexity intended by the standards, including opportunities at the lower DOK levels at the beginning of the instructional progression. Hess’ Cognitive Rigor Matrices provide curricular examples by content area and are a valuable resource when planning instruction and designing assessments that match the depth of the expectations of the standards.

When designing assessments, questions and tasks should be chosen that align with the cognitive complexity expectations of the standards as well. By choosing assessment content that provides students with various opportunities to demonstrate their understanding across different DOK levels, educators can monitor and more deeply understand where students are in their learning and which standards may require additional intervention and resources to get them up to the depth expectations.

Depth of Knowledge summary

To sum up what we have learned about Depth of Knowledge, let’s break it down into what it IS and IS NOT.

What DOK is

• Depth of Knowledge is a language system that can differentiate between levels of complexity regarding how students engage with their educational materials.
• Depth of Knowledge can be used to interpret questions, prompts, tasks, standards, and learning objectives.
• Depth of Knowledge fosters intentionality in the way educators teach. It helps ensure that the complexity of expectations is understood and that lessons include opportunities for students to engage at those levels.
• Depth of Knowledge helps us to discern between complexity and difficulty.

What DOK is not

• Depth of Knowledge is not used to evaluate the complexity of a topic or text.
• Depth of Knowledge is not a rubric for measuring achievement.
• Depth of Knowledge is not a measure of how students engage.
• Depth of Knowledge doesn’t rate a learning progression from low to high complexity.
• Depth of Knowledge doesn’t reflect importance or value—one level of DOK isn’t better than any other.

To learn more about how Renaissance products are aligned with DOK and can help provide deeper insights into student learning, contact our team.

The post Understanding Depth of Knowledge appeared first on Renaissance.

But when district and classroom assessments are administered without focused consideration for how they inform teaching, learning, and decision making, they often wind up constraining, rather than supporting, learning and performance.

That’s why balance in assessment is so vital.

In this blog, I’ll highlight the importance of balance in assessment, describe what a balanced assessment system looks like in practice, and introduce data-driven assessment tools that help you to identify every student’s needs.

What is a comprehensive and balanced assessment system?

A comprehensive and balanced assessment system:

• Is a cohesive set of high-quality assessment practices and tools
• Promotes an informed, intentional selection of assessments for the right purpose
• Supplies all stakeholders with the right information to inform the next best steps

A system is comprehensive when it integrates a complete set of assessment types to appropriately and effectively support teaching and learning.

A system is balanced when those tools are combined with high-quality practices that support the knowledgeable use of each assessment for the right purpose and at the right time—both in isolation and as a holistic system.

In other words, comprehensive is the “what,” and balance is the “how.”

Why is balance in assessment important?

A comprehensive and balanced assessment system equips educators in every role across a district with the right…

• Assessment tools
• Practices; and
• Resources

…to support all learners. Balanced assessment systems are important because they:

• Allow teachers to link assessments to clearly defined learning targets
• Provide multiple sources of data to support decision making
• Document student progress and growth over time

In other words, rather than assessments being designed and implemented independently of one another, they must work together. Each assessment must be an appropriate tool for supporting its intended purpose, while also working with other assessments to meet the overall goal of the assessment system.

In order to make efficient and equitable decisions around instruction and intervention, educators must first understand the specific strengths and needs of the individual learner. Moreover, this information must be obtained with specificity, accuracy, and efficiency so that the right action can be taken at each turn throughout the school year.

It is through the effective application of tools in a balanced assessment system that we are able to understand, monitor, and promote student growth—in terms of both academics and social-emotional behavior (SEB)—and to respond with equitable supports.

Therefore, educators need a cohesive system that enables them to use the right assessment at the right time and for the right reason, as well as a strong culture of using data to take appropriate action. In order to help all students grow throughout the year, districts and schools must have a comprehensive system that is focused on balance in assessment.

6 tenets of balance in assessment

Although it’s important to have the right tools, simply having these tools isn’t enough—it comes down to how we use them throughout the year. In fact, the ways in which the assessments are used are what make the system not only comprehensive but also balanced.

Let’s take a look at six principles found in a balanced assessment system.

#1: Focuses on purpose

Most importantly, balance in an assessment system is rooted in purpose. A balanced assessment system is marked by the intentional usage of assessment tools for their intended purpose, thoughtfully and to a specific end.

As The Aspen Institute affirms, “Few assessments or assessment systems can serve more than two or three purposes well, and they tend to work best when the various purposes have been prioritized explicitly.” It goes on to warn educators that if an assessment is intended to “fulfill too many purposes—especially disparate purposes—it rarely fulfills any purpose well.”

Secondly, balance in assessment extends articulations of purpose to include how each assessment will be used, including asking the questions:

• What data will they produce?
• Which decisions will they inform?
• Which actions will the results put into motion?

#2: Fosters alignment

Balance in assessment promotes alignment in a variety of forms, recalling the Center for Assessment’s balanced assessment tenants of:

• Coherence
• Continuity
• Comprehensiveness

Assessments should be aligned with each other and complementary in terms of purpose and use, without duplicative assessments.

Designing a Comprehensive Assessment System, a brief from WestEd, affirms that the power of such a system is that it is structurally capable of providing the right information at the…

• Student
• Class
• Grade
• School; and
• District

… levels, and is able to yield both granular and high-level insights for educators in every role.

A balanced assessment system also supports alignment between:

• Instruction
• Curriculum
• Assessment

The Center for Assessment advises that in order to have balance, “assessment at all levels would be linked back to the same underlying model of student learning.” In other words, the right assessments are thoughtfully woven into instructional practices, paced according to the district’s scope and sequence, and assess students’ skills at the correct Depth of Knowledge (DOK) and level of rigor.

#3: Ensures quality

Balance in assessment requires that a system consists of high-quality assessment tools that are both valid and reliable:

• Validity is the extent to which a test or item accurately measures the construct, skill, or domain it purports to measure.
• Reliability means that the assessment’s results are statically stable and consistent across many administrations.

Balanced assessment systems require assessments composed of high-quality, culturally-responsive items. If either is missing, the assessment system’s quality is depreciated, leading to decisions being made based on untrustworthy data.

FutureEd affirms that high-quality assessments in support of student learning matter now more than ever. Using these tools to guide instruction helps ensure that decisions are not based on misconceptions, implicit biases, or faulty data.

#4: Promotes equity

To achieve true balance in assessment, a system must empower educators to monitor the growth of all students and identify when certain needs are not being addressed. The WestEd brief mentioned earlier notes that when done well, assessment systems yield necessary information for…

• Educators
• Families
• The community; and
• Students

…to measure progress and increase achievement.

This means that balance in assessment enables educators to carefully monitor groups of students—including those who are systematically disadvantaged—to ensure that they are receiving the support they need to succeed and make growth at expected rates.

A balanced assessment system should also help educators to avoid perpetuating unfair learning trajectories and making assumptions based on implicit biases. It is important that student needs are understood and not assumed, and balanced assessment systems provide the practices needed to do so.

#5: Reinforces assessment literacy

A balanced assessment system supports and is supported by educators’ assessment literacy, which can be defined as an understanding of fundamental assessment concepts and procedures and the skills needed to create assessments and analyze data with fidelity.

The Center for Assessment suggests that developing the assessment literacy of educators and leaders is critical to the design and implementation of high-quality balanced systems. It adds that the onus for doing so should be with the district so that assessment literacy can be anchored in the district’s unique assessment system.

As educators rely on assessment data to make key instructional decisions, deep assessment literacy is essential.

#6: Provides clarity

In a balanced assessment system, assessment data are reported in a way that makes the next steps clear for all educators, even those with limited training.

Data are not inherently valuable—it’s what we do with the data that matters.

If we do not understand the data we receive or struggle to translate it into specific next steps, data essentially does nothing positive or productive. Balance in assessment requires a system that consists of assessment tools with targeted reporting for the specific task at hand.

Renaissance: Supporting comprehensive and balanced assessment

At Renaissance, we support schools and districts with:

• Universal screening and progress monitoring for reading, math, and SEB
• Standards-based custom assessment creation and administration
• A unique screener and diagnostic assessment of essential phonics skills
• An MTSS collaboration and management platform to support the whole child

Connect with an expert to learn more about Renaissance assessment and analytics tools to support a comprehensive and balanced system for pre-K–grade 12 learners.

The post Striking the right balance: Why a balanced assessment system is key to student success  appeared first on Renaissance.

The list of approved vendors appears in the state’s Supporting Early Learning and Literacy (SELL) Guide. The guide helps schools and parishes to implement the recommendations of the Early Literacy Commission, which include investing in early learning supports for literacy and math in grades K–2. Renaissance’s professional development offerings—which can be provided to educators both in-person and remotely—will help schools and parishes to increase the fidelity of use across their Renaissance solutions, making a positive impact on student growth.

The LDOE’s approval covers professional development for the following Renaissance solutions:

• General development screening: ProLADR
• Literacy screening: myIGDIs Early Literacy, Star CBM Reading, Star Early Literacy, and Star Reading
• Literacy supplemental tools: Lalilo, Freckle for ELA, Accelerated Reader, myON, and myON News
• Math screening: myIGDIs Early Numeracy, Star CBM Math, and Star Math
• Math supplemental tools: Freckle for Math

“This school year, it’s very important that educators are equipped with effective solutions to accelerate their students’ learning,” said Jonathan Pounds, Regional Vice President at Renaissance. “A solution that is used without fidelity falls short of its purpose. We are proud to be added to the Supporting Early Learning and Literacy for Professional Development approved list, to provide further support for Louisiana educators.”

Educators can learn more about Renaissance solutions by visiting www.renaissance.com.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions reach more than 40 percent of US schools and more than half a million students in other regions across the world.

The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery.

Press contact:
Tracy Stewart
Director, Marketing Development
Renaissance
(832) 651-1189
pr@renaissance.com

The post Renaissance Approved in Louisiana as a Professional Development Vendor appeared first on Renaissance.

This school year, you’ll find new features and resources in your Renaissance products to support learning everywhere it happens. This blog provides a summary of the recent enhancements. You’ll find the full details on our Product Updates Blog, which we invite you to bookmark and revisit throughout the year for the latest news and updates.

Prioritizing instruction with Focus Skills

Focus Skills are the most critical literacy and math skills at each grade level, based on your state’s standards of learning. Focus Skills are embedded in our Star Assessments and are also freely available to all educators on our website, in both English and Spanish.

Focus Skills have been updated for the 2021–2022 school year to reflect any changes to state standards. This ensures that you’re seeing the most up-to-date information as you review these important skills, which span pre-K to grade 12. Because the COVID-19 disruptions have significantly impacted students’ math performance, we’ve also identified the math Focus Skills that are most difficult for students to learn. We refer to these challenging skills as Trip Steps. As you plan instruction this year, use the list of Trip Steps to identify skills that may require additional time and additional practice for student mastery.

Learn more: Explore the updates to Focus Skills in a short video. See how Focus Skills support accelerated learning. Discover how we identified Trip Steps and why they’re so critical to math recovery this school year.

Supporting high school math practice with Freckle

With all of the challenges impacting learning over the last year and a half, students at all grade levels will benefit from additional math practice at their just-right level. Now students in high school can benefit from using Freckle for math—the same engaging Freckle practice that teachers and students alike love, but with a more mature interface designed just for them.

Freckle for high school math includes practice for Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2, and allows students to work on the content they need, in the environment that’s right for them (in school, at home, or even on the go).

Freckle encourages independent math practice with real-time instructional supports and varied item types. You can assign targeted practice aligned with instruction and course-specific standards, and you can accelerate student growth by assigning prerequisite skills. Additionally, when Freckle is used with Star Math, students are automatically recommended K–8 Focus Skills to close learning gaps.

And Freckle’s in-depth reporting on high school skills progress helps you to gain greater insight into student proficiency and plan your next steps for instruction.

Learn more: See the features that are unique to Freckle for high school math. Create a free Freckle account—or learn about upgrading to Freckle Premium to unlock additional features and reports.

Boosting reading motivation with Accelerated Reader

Keeping students motivated to read both in and out of school, with plenty of access to books and clear reading goals, is key for literacy growth. Whether they’re at home during summer and holiday breaks, or they’re learning from home or hybrid environments, students can quiz at home with AR to stay motivated and on track.

The magic of Accelerated Reader happens when students achieve appropriate goals specifically set for them. They’re encouraged to keep reading and striving for the next benchmark. Their literacy skills continue to shine with increased authentic reading practice. This year, Accelerated Reader offers enhanced goal-setting features to make this even more straightforward for both educators and students.

Educators will find a streamlined process for setting reading goals, along with more intuitive navigation in the AR Record Book. Students will notice enhancements to the AR interface—particularly beginning readers, who will see a clearer, more visual representation of their reading goals and progress.

Learn more: Explore the new AR interface for beginning readers. See why AR is so relevant for today’s students. Get tips for using AR to engage reluctant readers in middle school.

Supporting Spanish and English instruction with Star

Every educator knows that some grade-level skills are more critical to students’ future success than others. As noted earlier, we call these Focus Skills, which are embedded in both the English and Spanish versions of Star Assessments.

If you’re teaching in an English Learner, dual-language, or immersion program, then it’s important for you to understand and build upon what your emergent bilingual students already know in both Spanish and English. That’s why Star includes a variety of helpful resources for educators. This school year, you have access to a new resource guide in both languages, which shares ideas related to vocabulary, conceptual knowledge, and Spanish language development to support your instructional planning in pre-K to grade 3. The guide also identifies transferable skills between the two languages.

In addition, for students in grades 1–8, Star Assessments in Spanish now provide score projections as well, as shown in the image below. These projections help you to understand whether students are on track for meeting benchmarks and how much growth they’re likely to achieve. Having this information early in the school year will help you to plan and adjust instruction, and to provide additional support where it’s needed most.

Learn more: Explore Star Assessments in Spanish for early literacy, reading, and math. See 6 common myths about emergent bilingual students. Take a closer look at transferable skills in Star.

New goal options, ROI, and Spanish field test in Star CBM

Teachers and students alike have embraced the flexibility and versatility of Star CBM, which offers measures for both reading (K–6) and math (K–3). Whether you’re administering assessments remotely or in-person, the one-to-one experience provides an opportunity to spend valuable time with students while they demonstrate their skills.

Student assessment data from Star CBM measures is easier to review and interpret with recent enhancements. You can now set more than one goal for each student to track progress on multiple measures. Viewing the new rate of improvement (ROI) calculation provides a precise, clear indication of growth over time. Additionally, when a student takes an out-of-grade measure, you’ll now see a green checkmark displayed in the Record Book when their score meets expectations for the nearest benchmark available.

To support educational equity, we’re also developing Star CBM Reading Español, which is designed to support K–6 students receiving instruction in Spanish with the goal of biliteracy. Educators from across the US are participating in the field test of Star CBM Reading Español this school year. Field testing is a crucial part of the process of developing a psychometrically robust assessment tool that is valid and reliable.

Learn more: Watch a short video overview of Star CBM. Explore how to use Star CBM to support both in-person and remote assessment.

Enhanced progress monitoring with Schoolzilla

With students returning to school this fall after a very challenging year, there’s no doubt school leaders and teachers are trying to determine where their students are academically and what they need to do to help make up for lost instructional time. Gathering data to inform daily instruction is critical at this time of year so you can quickly identify which students are in need of support.

Earlier this year, we introduced a new feature in Schoolzilla that gives you an at-a-glance view of how students performed from one period to the next. Using new progress indicators in the Our Students dashboard, you can assess recent changes to individual student performance, as shown in the image below. For example, not only will you see what percentile a student scored on an assessment, but also how many points this percentile score increased, decreased, or stayed the same since the last assessment. This additional data point makes it easier to find areas of strength, as well as identify opportunities for growth.

Learn more: Get more details on how this new progress monitoring feature works. See how you can use data throughout the school year to ensure continuous learning for every student.

Promoting anytime, anywhere learning

In addition to these enhancements, students have access to hundreds of new titles in myON this fall, so they can more easily discover their next great read.And educators continue to ask us great questions about the latest additions to the Renaissance family: Lalilo, for foundational literacy practice in school and at home, and Nearpod, an interactive instructional platform that merges formative assessment and dynamic media for live and self-paced learning experiences both in and out of the classroom.

There’s no doubt that schools and districts face a number of challenges this year, from making up lost instructional time to preparing to pivot from in-person to remote instruction and back, based on changes to local conditions. Rather than adding to these challenges, your educational programs should offer a solution, supporting a seamless transition between in-school and at-home instruction in order to support learning wherever it occurs.

The post Product Highlights: Supporting continuous student learning appeared first on Renaissance.

Trip Steps were identified during the empirical validation process that we use to develop our state-specific learning progressions. When the teachable order of skills is plotted against data on their relative difficulty, some skills are found to be disproportionately difficult for students to master. These are the Trip Steps.

Although Trips Steps exist in reading, we find far more of them in mathematics. This is because math is “ruthlessly cumulative,” to use Stephen Pinker’s phrase. For example, the Trip Step Find the area of a rectangle by multiplying side lengths is introduced in the latter half of third grade in most states. This is an important skill that lays the foundation for future success in geometry and problem solving. Yet it is extraordinarily difficult for most third graders to learn, because multiplication is generally introduced late in third grade, as is finding area by multiplying rather than by tiling. Essentially, new skill + new process = potential for some students to “trip.” Trip Steps have profound effects on future learning in math. Trip over one and you’re likely to trip over another. “Ruthlessly cumulative,” indeed.

This is not to say that Renaissance is dismissing Trip Steps for Reading. On the contrary, we continue our work with both reading and math Trip Steps. However, considering the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on math learning and growth—as documented in the full-year edition of our How Kids Are Performing report—we began our work with an intense focus on mathematics. So let’s take a closer look at math Trip Steps, and consider why they will be so critical for math recovery this school year.

Trip Steps and accelerated learning

Not long after school buildings closed in March 2020, conversations began to shift from where students learn to what they must learn in order to build knowledge and continue growing. Much of the conversation and ensuing guidance focuses on accelerating learning. While acceleration naturally suggests hastening or hurrying, the concept of accelerated learning is intently focused on prioritizing instruction—meaning, identifying the standards and skills that are most important in each grade level or course.

In the summer of 2020, Renaissance launched the Focus Skills Resource Center, a free resource for all who are vested in learning. Focus Skills are found at every grade level and across all domains of reading and mathematics. Essentially, Focus Skills are the building blocks of student learning and are tied directly to each state’s learning standards. Each Focus Skill is:

• Fundamental to student understanding
• A prerequisite for future learning
• Reflective of the state’s grade-level expectations

Because Focus Skills are critical to learning at grade level while also setting the stage for future grades, they—by definition—provide educators with a pathway to prioritization.

Some Focus Skills have also been identified as Trip Steps. This means that these skills are critical for learning at grade level and are especially challenging for students to acquire. Identifying these unique math skills—Focus Skills that are also Trip Steps—provides educators with a means to further prioritize instruction and plan for impactful learning experiences. This is especially important now, given the need to make up lost instructional ground due to the pandemic’s disruptions. And the How Kids Are Performing report shows the urgency of this challenge, with students across grades 2–8 ending the 2020–2021 school year 11 weeks behind expectations in math, on average.

How are Trip Steps identified?

Renaissance’s learning progressions describe the incremental way that students acquire knowledge—moving from lesser to more sophisticated understanding—within a subject area. This is the staircase we mentioned earlier. Each state’s academic standards define the goals that students must reach at each grade level. A Renaissance state-specific learning progression supports each student’s journey up the staircase to reach those goals, from pre-K through high school.

The order of the steps, or skills, in a learning progression is based on the foundation of pedagogy, skill difficulty data, and each state’s standards requirements. Of course, most educators have an intuitive sense of which steps or skills in a student’s learning journey are most challenging—for example, Divide mixed numbers or fractions for middle school students. After refining learning progression order for more than 10 years and analyzing millions of student assessments, Renaissance has identified the specific skills that are disproportionately difficult.

The graph below illustrates the difficulty data we use to identify Trip Steps. Skills are listed in learning progression order and are identified by grade level (x-axis) and difficulty (y-axis). Difficulty is based on student responses to items in our Star Math assessment. The majority of skills cluster near the yellow trend line. Skills significantly above the trend line are Trip Steps.

The higher above the trend line a skill is, the more difficult the skill is compared to other skills in that grade—and the more support a student may need to achieve that Trip Step.

Which skill area has the most Trip Steps?

Geometry & Measurement is the skill area with the most Trip Steps across grade levels. The graphic below shows a selection of these Trip Steps from grades 3–7 to illustrate the cumulative effect mentioned earlier.

Not all Trip Steps require extra instructional time and deep student mastery but—as noted earlier—Trip Steps that are also Focus Skills warrant close attention, because they’re important prerequisites for future learning. For a student to be prepared for the challenging Trip Step Solve a problem involving the surface area or volume of a 3-dimensional object at grade 7, the student will need to have already mastered the grade 4 Trip Step Solve a problem using the area or perimeter formulas for rectangles.

Grades 4 and 5 have the most math Trip Steps, reflecting the shift in the complexity of Geometry & Measurement processes listed above. These Trip Steps also reflect the transition in this grade range from Whole Numbers to Fractions. The table below shows the Trip Steps that exist in this critical transition.

The Focus Skills in the table above also provide further examples of important prerequisite relationships, like the grade 4 skill Compare fractions with unlike denominators and the grade 5 skill Solve problems involving addition or subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole.

It’s interesting to consider the prevalence of Trip Steps in grades 4 and 5 and student performance by grade level last school year, as documented in How Kids Are Performing. The table below summarizes expected versus actual student performance in Spring 2021. For students in grades 4 and 5, the scaled score difference was -21 and -18, respectively. This is a greater difference than in grades 6–8, for example, where the number of Trip Steps is lower.

You can find instructional support ideas for challenging middle school math skills here.

Trip Steps and math recovery

Dr. Amit Sood, a noted authority on resiliency and former professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, writes that our brains, by default, are attuned to everything happening around us—often creating a noisy “dialogue” in our heads. When focus and prioritization are required, first we must mute this dialogue to activate the brain’s “task-positive network.” State standards and curricula documents may include such “noise.” In a pandemic-free school year, the noise is manageable; not so in school years focused on recovery and growth. Focus Skills and Trip Steps help you to mute some of the standards/skills dialogue, activate your and your students’ task-positive networks, and accelerate learning. We suggest that teachers:

• Review math Trip Steps for your grade level or course
• Identify the prerequisite skills associated with each Trip Step
• Plan with math colleagues and share resources, techniques, and expertise related to Trip Steps
• Nurture positive mindsets by explaining to students that the skill may seem difficult, but, step-by-step, they can master it
• Share strategic feedback with students (more on this below)
• Assess student readiness for each Trip Step with an activity, observation, or brief quiz
• Engage in just-in-time support as needed
• Monitor developing mastery

Your feedback is critical to students’ perceptions of themselves as “math persons,” and teaching is as much about care and compassion as it is about instruction and motivation. When we see students’ frustration, it’s natural to comfort them—natural and necessary. Simply temper that comfort with a quick focus on finding out where the problem-solving went astray and implement just-in-time support to get students back on track (e.g., “It’s OK that you feel frustrated. Let’s fix this.”) You’ll find more information on the power of math identity and feedback here.

Why our work with Trip Steps continues

At Renaissance, we continue to look for relationships among Trip Steps, Focus Skills, how students are performing, and how they are really learning. There is always something more to learn, and there are always remarkable findings to share. To learn more about Focus Skills, and to see the most critical math and reading skills in your state, visit our Focus Skills Resource Center. To see a list of math Trip Steps that are also Focus Skills, click here. And to see the most urgent instructional needs this school year, download the new edition of How Kids Are Performing.

References

Pinker, S. (1997). How the mind works. New York: Norton.
Sood, A. (2013). The Mayo Clinic guide to stress-free living. New York: DaCapo.

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