Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Programs for Higher Education
Advisor
Charles Danowski
Committee Member
Polly A. Ebbs
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
ASPIRE, assessment techniques, diagnostic process, diagnostic teaching, direct instruction, early literacy, First-Grade Unit Survey, functional assessment, intervention strategies, learning strengths and weaknesses, literacy acquisition, Linwood Public School system, listening and writing, oral expression, phonemic awareness, phonics, pretests and posttests, primary education, reading achievement, reading groups, reading programs, reading rate, self-assessment, small-group instruction, student achievement, teacher competency
Abstract
Over a 5-year period from 1995-1996 to 1999-2000, an average of 18% of the students entering fifth grade in the Linwood Public School system were reading below grade level. This statistic clearly indicates that reading difficulties must be addressed early in the process of reading acquisition. With the understanding that learning to read is a developmental process, classroom teachers were challenged to obtain and utilize the diagnostic skills necessary to meet the individual educational needs of their students by identifying their learning strengths and weaknesses.
With the goal of developing a reading program designed around the diagnostic process, All Students Progressing Individually for Reading Excellence (ASPIRE) was created. As part of the ASPIRE program, classroom teachers used a functional assessment instrument to determine the levels of literacy acquisition through the mastery of 4 learning strands: (a) phonemic awareness, (b) phonics, (c) reading and oral expression, and (d) listening and writing. Intervention strategies were used to help teachers meet the individual needs of their students. Strategies that teachers used included direct instruction and small-group instruction. Training was provided on the use of the functional assessment instrument along with the individual strategies to be employed.
Student achievement was measured by pre- and posttests given in October and June of the 2001-2002 school year. Of 23 students who tested below grade level in October 2001, 14 or 61% tested at grade level by June 2002. Students placed in the highest level reading group demonstrated a 56% average increase in reading rate.
Teacher competency was measured through self-assessment using a First-Grade Unit Survey to determine how teachers rated their ability to implement specific literacy components and teaching assessment techniques after participating in the ASPIRE program during the 2001-2002 school year. Results of the survey revealed that teachers rated themselves an average of 40.7% higher in June of 2002 as compared to November 2001.