Transcript Exploring Evidence-Based Interventions for Early Writing

RTI Institute: Writing Module
for Elementary Schools
Carroll County Schools
Sharon Rinks, Psy.D.
Lisa Sirian, Ph.D.
Michelle Avila Bolling, Ed.S., NCSP
Carroll County Schools
Agenda
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RTI implementation status reports
Process the application activity
Activating prior knowledge
Evidence-based RTI practices in writing
 Universal screening
 Intervention
 Progress monitoring
Practice progress monitoring scoring
Case studies
Discuss application activity
RTI Implementation- Status Report
 Share with the group how RTI implementation is
going at your school
For example you might…
 Talk about tools are you using
 Talk about what you have planned
 Talk about something creative you are doing
 Discuss any roadblocks you’ve encountered
 Highlight something that you are proud of
 Talk about how you have used something from this
training
 Take notes on good ideas that you can steal… or
help others problem solve.
Processing the Application Activity
 Has your team begun your reading application
activity?
 Did you find the materials useful?
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If so, how?
If not, how might they be improved?
 Did you find the team able to complete the
intervention form successfully?
 Any questions about that?
 What was the biggest challenge so far?
 What kinds of changes did completing this activity
spur you to make at your school?
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
Activating Prior Knowledge
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 It’s every man, woman, and child for him- or
herself! Hope you know your RTI vocabulary.
There are two ways to win!
 Make a cross
 Make an X
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 Brief, easily administered, predictive
assessments that are sensitive to small
increments of change and have alternate
forms available. Used at Tier 1.
 When you subtract the baseline rate from the
desired goal and divide by the # of weeks
until the benchmark assessment, you get this.
You need this to calculate the aim line.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 The minimum number of times universal
screening should be conducted yearly.
 In graphing RTI data, this line represents the
actual projected performance of the student
based on the data points already gathered.
If this line does not display an adequate rate
of improvement, you might consider
adjusting your intervention.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 The ability to read a text accurately, quickly
and expressively. This provides a bridge
between word recognition and
comprehension.
 The research group who, sponsored by the
federal government, reviewed over 100,000
studies on reading instruction. This group
ultimately established the essential “big five”
skills for reading.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 In graphing RTI data, this term refers to the
line connecting the student’s baseline
performance to the projected goal.
 The percentage of students who should be
successful with an appropriate 4-tier service
delivery model in place.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 Assesses a child’s skill in reading connected text of
grade-level material using one-minute probes. It is
the most researched, efficient and standardized
measure of reading proficiency. This can serve as a
substitute for measuring overall reading proficiency,
especially in the lower grades.
 The ability to notice, think about, and work with the
individual sounds in spoken words. This is auditory
and does not involve words in print.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 One of the big five in reading, this involves
our knowledge of words we need to
communicate effectively—these can be in
speech or in print.
 The practice of (1) providing high-quality
instruction and interventions matched to
student needs and, (2) using learning rate
over time and level of performance to (3)
make important educational decisions.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 A type of Curriculum Based Measurement
probe designed to assess comprehension
and fluency of reading. This involves reading
a passage from which every 7th word has
been deleted and the student must select a
word from three choices provided.
 The Tier 1 standards-based classroom
instruction that ALL students get.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 The Tier at which highly specialized services
are provided to meet individual students’
needs. This is not a place, location, or
specific classroom; may be provided in a
regular education class or in a separate
setting and may include Special Education
and related services.
 The percentage of students who should
make benchmark with appropriate Tier 1
instruction.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 The relationship between the letters
(graphemes) and the sounds (phonemes) in
order to read and write words. Denotes the
systematic and predictable relationship
between written letters and spoken sounds.
 Interventions that are empirically tested
using sound research methodology,
accepted by experts within the field,
published in scholarly research journals.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
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The reason for reading. The ultimate goal of reading
instruction. Purposeful and active reading that
occurs during passages. Involves making
connections between prior knowledge and the
current text.
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Frequent teacher assessment of student
performance using brief measures. It catches
potential false positives from universal screening
and is not meant to be diagnostic. It helps you figure
out if your intervention is working.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 The number of words at which Oral Reading
Fluency typically plateaus in the middle
grades.
 The process of building capacity in personnel,
building up resources, adding personnel,
creating effective teams, and increasing skills
of staff to analyze data for RTI.
Cut-Throat RTI Bingo!
 Agreement from the top down and the
bottom up which is essential to the RTI
process.
 The extent to which the intervention was
implemented in the manner it was supposed
to be implemented, on the number of
occasions and, for the duration it was
supposed to be implemented.
Activating Prior Knowledge
 One of the cornerstones of an RTI model is
that scientific, evidence-based Tier 1
instruction effectively eliminates inappropriate
instruction as a reason for inadequate
progress.
Activating Prior Knowledge
 Remember that RTI is about prevention
 Schools do not wait for students to fail before coming
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to their assistance
Screening is conducted for all students to identify
those who, despite a strong core curriculum (Tier 1),
are on a path to failure
To have any chance of deviating from the path to
failure, students must get help early (Tiers 2 & 3)
When RTI is implemented fully, reading, math,
writing, and behavior screening is conducted with all
students
Those at risk for difficulties in one or more of these
areas receive targeted evidence-based interventions
(Jenkins & Johnson, 2008)
Activating Prior Knowledge
 Important factors in sustainability of RTI:
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extensive, ongoing professional development,
administrative support at the system and
building level,
teacher buy-in and willingness to adjust their
traditional instructional roles,
involvement of all school personnel, and
adequate meeting time for coordination.
(Hughes & Dexter, 2008)
Exploring Evidence-Based RTI
Practices for Writing
IRA and NCTE 12 ELA Standards
Include the Writing Process
 Students adjust their use of spoken, written,
and visual language (e.g., conventions,
style, vocabulary) to communicate
effectively with a variety of audiences and
for different purposes
 Students employ a wide range of strategies
as they write and use different writing
process elements appropriately to
communicate with different audiences for a
variety of purposes
IRA and NCTE 12 ELA Standards
Include the Writing Process
 Students apply knowledge of language
structure, language conventions (e.g.,
spelling and punctuation), media techniques,
figurative language, and genre to create,
critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts
 Students use spoken, written, and visual
language to accomplish their own purposes
(e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion,
and the exchange of information)
Statewide Assessment and
Accountability
 Writing Assessments and Benchmarks have
increased demands such as:
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Writing in different genres
Writing for different audiences
Writing for different purposes
Demonstrating writing conventions
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Grammar
Sentence construction
Spelling
Writing fluently within time constraints
Research
 Written Expression in the early grades is a
good predictor of overall school success
(Isaacson, 1985)
 However,
 14% of 4th grade students
 15% of 8th grade students
 26% of 12th grade students
Were not able to write at even the most basic
level (2002 NAEP Writing Assessment)
Writing Problems
 Begin early and tend to continue with
students throughout their education (Isaacson, 1995)
 Often the 1st indicator to teachers that there is
a learning problem (Isaacson, 1985)
 With reading problems, writing problems lead
to greatest number of referrals to and
placements in Special Education (Hallahan & Kaufman,
1986; Howell, Fox, & Morehead, 1993)
Components of Writing
 Writing involves:
 Transcription skills (low-level processes)
 Self-regulation skills (high-level processes)
 Most children with writing problems have
difficulty with one or the other
 Only 1 in 3 have difficulty with both types of
processes
(Juel, 1988)
Components of Writing:
Writing Mechanics (Low-Level)
Graphemic
realization of writing
Spelling
Vocabulary
Grammar/syntax/semantics
Punctuation/capitalization
Components of Writing:
Writing Process (High-Level)
Acquire
knowledge
Retrieve knowledge
Plan text
Construct text
Edit text
Regulate entire process
Paradigm Shift
 Shift of focus from emphasis on writing
mechanics to address ways to improve
writing process and content
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Influenced by development of cognitive
models of writing that emphasize the mental
operations that skilled writers use (e.g.,
planning, evaluating, revising)
 Research suggests that a combination of
approaches is most effective for children with
writing problems
Effective Writing Instruction
 Includes clear and specific objectives
 Has activities for student to interact on writing tasks
 Activates and builds on prior knowledge about a
topic
 Involves activities to organize the information
 Places emphasis on text structure: narrative,
expository, etc.
 Teaches each step of the writing process explicitly:
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4.
Establish a purpose
Generate and organize ideas
Put ideas in print
Revise and edit
(Hillocks, 1984; Isaacson, 1985)
Universal Screening in Writing
 Tier 1 – all students screened for writing
progress
 Conducted 3 times per year
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Early fall, midwinter & spring
 Provides mechanism for identifying students
at-risk for failure
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Slightly over-identifies (false positives)
 Allows schools to intervene early, before
intensive intervention is necessary
Characteristics of Quality Screening
Instruments
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Brief and easily administered
Research-based
Highly correlated to writing proficiency
High reliability and validity
Sensitive to small increments of change
Alternate forms available
Data analysis and reporting available
Universal Screening in Writing
 AIMSweb
 Uses CBM in: ORF, Maze, Early Literacy,
Spelling, Early Numeracy, Written Expression,
and Math
 www.AIMSweb.com
 Grades K-8 for universal screening
 $3/student for just reading
 $5/student complete (reading, language arts
and math computation)
 Curriculum Based Measurement - FREE
AIMSweb
 There are a bunch of probes and administration
directions at
http://www.AIMSweb.com/measures/written/sample.php
 Scores
 Total Words Written (universal screening measure for
grades 1-6)
 Correct Writing Sequences (universal screening
measure for grades 6-8)
 Words Spelled Correctly (can be used for progress
monitoring)
Benchmarks for Writing- TWW
Grade
Fall
Winter
Spring
Mean ROI
1
7
14
20
.4
2
18
23
30
.4
3
27
34
39
.3
4
37
42
47
.3
5
42
46
50
.2
6
45
49
55
.3
7
47
52
57
.3
8
50
56
61
.3
IMPORTANT NOTE: THESE NORMS ARE ALL FOR 3 MINUTES OF
WRITING
-- From AIMSweb, 2007
Benchmarks for Writing- CWS
Grade
Fall
Winter
Spring
Mean ROI
1
3
6
11
.2
2
9
16
21
.4
3
19
26
30
.3
4
28
34
40
.4
5
35
40
46
.3
6
41
46
50
.3
7
45
50
53
.2
8
50
52
56
.2
IMPORTANT NOTE: THESE NORMS ARE ALL FOR 3 MINUTES OF
WRITING
-- From AIMSweb, 2007
Curriculum Based Measurement
(CBM)
 Alternate forms of equal difficulty
 Sample of the year-long curriculum
 Highly standardized
 Given at regular intervals
 Brief and easy to administer
 Assess the same skill at the same
difficulty level
Curriculum Based Measurement
(CBM)
 Written Expression can be used as a
universal screener in grades 1-12
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As soon as the child can write a sentence
 Spelling CBM can be used in grades 1-6
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More useful as a progress monitoring tool than
a universal screener
Loses reliability toward the upper grades
 Directions and probes are included on the CD
Research on CBM
 When teachers use CBM to guide
instructional decision making:
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students learn more,
teacher decision-making improves,
and students are more aware of their own
performance.
(e.g., Fuchs, Deno, & Mirkin, 1984)
Research on CBM
 Reliability: a test consistently measures in the
same way
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Inter-rater reliability
Test-retest, etc.
 Validity: a test measures what it is intended to
measure
 Using the SAT-9 as the criterion, CBM Writing
was found to be reliable and valid
(Gansle, VanDerheyden, Noell, Resetar, & Williams, 2006)
Research on CBM
 For secondary students:
 Total Words Written (TWW) and Total Words
Spelled Correctly (TWS) are LESS reliable
and valid than other indices in higher grades
 Correct minus Incorrect Word Sequences
(CIWS) seems to have the most reliability
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More sensitive to change (important for
progress monitoring)
Independent of the prompt
(McMaster & Espin, 2007)
Interventions
 Six Areas
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Beginning Writing
Handwriting
Spelling
Editing
Planning
Fluency
 Comprehensive Strategies
Beginning Writers
 Young writers with and without learning
disabilities spend little time planning before
they write; they plan as they write without
thinking ahead of time about content or
organization schemes
(Burtis, Bereiter, Scardamalia, and Tetroe,1983; Graham, Harris, MacArthur, and Schwartz, 1991)
 Important note: Many beginning writers
struggle with phonics. It is appropriate for
these students to use the Phonics
intervention strategies from the reading CD.
Strategies for Beginning Writers
 Draw a Story
 Making Words
 Graham’s Alphabet Exercises
 Share the Pen
 Writer’s Workshop
 Word Sorts for Beginning and Struggling
Readers
Draw A Story
(Renee Goularte, readwritethink.org)
 Introduces students in grades K through 2 to
the writing process in a way that supports the
transition from oral to written storytelling
 Useful in helping students work with
sequential content that includes character,
action, problem, and solution
Draw A Story
(Renee Goularte, readwritethink.org)
 Students draw a series of pictures that
tells a simple, sequential story
 They ‘read’ their story to others,
transcribe their oral story into writing,
and create an accordion book with
drawings on the front side and writing
on the back
Writer’s Workshop
 Mini-lessons/Class Status
 The Writing Process/Conferencing
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Rehearsal, drafting, editing, & revising
 Sharing/Author’s Chair/Publication
 Jasmine & Weiner, 2007
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Increased enthusiasm
Increased confidence
Increased proficiency
Taking the Orthographic Process Out
of the Equation
 Students with LD who dictated their
stories had more written output (De La Paz &
Graham, 1995)
 In some studies the amount tripled for
LD students who dictated (MacArthur & Graham, 1987)
Handwriting Strategies
 Handwriting Without Tears
 Making and Writing Words
 Graham’s Alphabet Exercises
 Word Ladders
“Graham’s Alphabet Exercises”
(Graham, Harris, & Fink, 2000)
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To teach the lowercase manuscript alphabet
Designed to be implemented individually by a tutor
Three new letters are introduced in each instructional unit (e.g., l,
i, t)
Each unit has three lessons
Easier and more frequently used letters taught first
Each lesson includes four activities:
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Alphabet Warm-Up
Alphabet Practice – to teach how to write specific letters
Alphabet Rockets – to increase handwriting speed
Alphabet Fun – to ensure lessons end enjoyably
Word Ladders
 Children are given a key phrase
 Letters in the key phrase are used to compose new
words based on teacher prompts and hints
 Fun supplemental intervention that can be added to
your curriculum to get students involved in
manipulating sounds in words to increase spelling
and orthographic skills
 For handwriting, emphasis should be placed on the
skill of copying of the word
Word Ladders
Key Phrase: Team to Work
Target Word
Letter Changes
Required Clue
Team
Meat
Rearrange letters
Food that comes from animals.
Tame
Rearrange letters
Not wild.
Take
Chg 1
To get possession of something. To grab.
Tale
Chg 1
A story.
Tall
Chg 1
Not short.
Toll
Chg 1
A fee paid for a service or privilege. We had to pay a one dollar toll to
cross the bridge.
Ton
-2, + 1
A weight, 2,000 pounds.
Torn
+1
To have divided or separated something by pulling.
Worn
Chg 1
To have caused something to deteriorate or go bad by using it or wearing it
out.
Work
Chg 1
What teams must do together.
Research on the Writing Process
 Spelling accounts for 41% of variability in
writing (Graham, Berninger, & Abbot, 1997)
 Handwriting fluency accounts for 66% of
variability in writing (Graham, Berninger, & Abbot, 1997)
 Extra handwriting instruction and practice
increase writing output of poor writers (Berninger, et al.,
1997)
Spelling Strategies
 Cover, Copy, Compare
 Making Words
 Making and Writing Words
 Word Ladders
Making Words (Cunningham and Cunningham, 1992)
Making & Writing Words (Rasinski, 1999)
 Early writers can begin the writing process by
learning to spell simple words with letter
cards, tiles, or plastic letters (Making Words)
 Using representations of the letters removes
the cognitive demand of the orthographic
process and isolates the phonetic process
involved in spelling
 More advanced writers do the same activities
with pencil and paper (Making & Writing
Words)
Making Words (Cunningham and Cunningham, 1992)
Making & Writing Words (Rasinski, 1999)
The Challenge Word: SPORT
 Words list in order: to, so, or, pot, rot, top, sop, port, sort, stop, pots, SPORT
 The teacher would say:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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With two letters, make the word “to”. I like to spell words.
Change one letter and turn “to” into “so”. So I will be a good speller
when I grow up.
Let’s make a three letter word now. With three letters, make “pot”. I cook
soup in a pot.
Etc…
There is a word we can make using ALL of these letters. Has anyone
figured it out? A hint may be provided: “basketball, baseball, soccer, and
volleyball are all examples of this word.” If they don’t get it… you can
provide the word.
For the sorting activity the teacher might say:
1.
2.
3.
Words that have the /or/ sound… or, port, sort, sport.
Words that are verbs/action words… rot, sop, sort, stop.
Etc…
Cover, Copy, Compare
(Skinner, McLoughlin & Logan, 1997)
 Flexible implementation – individual, small groups, or whole
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group
Can be facilitated by an adult or, once mastered by the student,
it can be used as a self-management strategy
The student examines (and visualizes) the words
Student COVERs the prompt, then writes the word from
memory (COPY)
Then the student COMPAREs his or her product to the
stimulus
The student does not erase their first response
The student repeats the CCC strategy until they have the
correct response before moving to the next stimulus
Cover, Copy, Compare
(Skinner, McLoughlin & Logan, 1997)
 Enhancing Cover, Copy, Compare:
 Set a time limit
 Use conspicuous timing
 Incorporate goal setting
 Provide feedback
 Vary the response format (vocal, written, etc.)
 If done whole group, group contingencies can be
used to increase motivation and on-task behavior
Editing Strategies
 COPS/ SH! COPS
 SCAN
 SCOPE
The SCAN Strategy
(Graham & Harris, 1999)
 Mnemonic strategy that cues students through an
editing process to edit written work
 Particularly useful for persuasive writing
 Focuses on:
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clarity
cohesiveness
correctness
 Initially developed for use with word processed writing,
but it can be implemented with hard copies as well
The SCAN Strategy
(Graham & Harris, 1999)
 SCAN Steps
 Reread your essay
 Find the sentence that tells what you believe – is it
clear?
 Add two more reasons why you can believe it
 SCAN each sentence.
Does it make sense?
 Is it connected to my belief?
 Can I add more?
 Note errors
Make your changes
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Graham & Harris, 1994, 1997
 Children with LD in writing have difficulty:
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Planning
Monitoring
Evaluating
Revising
Generating ideas
Planning Strategies
 Giraffe
 WWW. What=2, How=2
 TREE
 DARE
 SPACE
Teacher-Directed Strategy Instruction
 Specifically studying the DARE and SPACE
strategies:
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Students with this direct instruction made
significant gains in overall story quality and
wrote substantially longer stories
Students in the strategy instruction group used
more planning and spent more time in
prewriting for story writing
(Troia & Graham, 2002)
WWW. What=2, How=2
(Graham, Harris, & Sawyer, 1987)
 Narrative text (story) writing strategy that
cues students through a planning process to
compose stories that are organized and wellwritten
 Cues the students with a series of questions
to ensure that all story components are
included
WWW. What=2, How=2
(Graham, Harris & Sawyer, 1987)
1. Activate prior knowledge
2. Discuss the strategy
3. Model the strategy using a think aloud and self-
reinforcement (positive self-talk)
4. The children then memorize the strategy
5. Support the strategy
6. Fade prompts; encourage generalization
From Strategy Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities (Reid & Lienemann, 2006)
WWW. What=2, How=2
(Graham, Harris & Sawyer, 1987)
 Think of a story to share.
 Let your mind be free.
 Write down the story part reminder:
 Who is the main character? Who else is in the story?
 When does the story take place?
 Where does the story take place?
 What does the main character do?
 What happens when they try to do it?
 How does the story end?
 How does the main character feel?
 Write down story part ideas for each part.
 Write your story. Use good parts and make sense.
Fluency Strategies
 Self Monitoring
 Repeated Writing
 Writing Every Day
 Share the Pen
Share the Pen
(Pinnell & McCarrier, 1994)
 Interactive writing strategy
 Students choose an activity they’ve shared and
“share the pen” in recording the story
 As each new word or sentence is added, the story
is read again
 Teacher facilitates discussion about the experience
from beginning to end
Share the Pen
(Pinnell & McCarrier, 1994)
 Teacher starts by asking the group to come up
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with a topic
Teacher then selects/asks for volunteers to begin
the story
Each student verbalizes a sentence, writes it
down, and reads it aloud
The pen is handed to the next volunteer and the
process continues
The final product is read aloud by various
students
Typing/Word Processing
 Typing is often felt to be a way to free up cognitive
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resources during the writing process for those with
orthographic-motor integration issues
BUT, typing only helps if the child has automaticity
with typing– otherwise no cognitive resources are
freed up
When a child learns to type with ease, then you may
see increased written output with this intervention
Also, use of word processing makes the revision
process easier and less painful for students
Typing skill impacts quantity, but has little effect on
quality of writing
(Christensen, 2004)
Typing Programs for Kids
http://typing-for-kids-software-review.toptenreviews.com/
Comprehensive Strategies
 POWER
 DEFENDS
 Writer’s Workshop
 Step Up to Writing
 6 Trait Writing
POWER
(Englert, Raphael, & Anderson, 1991)
 POWER: Plan, Organize, Write, Edit, and Revise
 Comprehensive procedure to explicitly teach the
stages of the writing process
 Based on cognitive strategy instruction
 Four phases: text analysis, modeling the writing
process, guided student practice in composition,
and independent writing
 Uses “Think Sheets” and “Pattern Guides”
POWER
(Englert, Raphael, & Anderson, 1991)
Step Up to Writing
 Explicit instruction in organizing writing
 Small group planning
 Multisensory techniques
Color coding to visualize writing
organization by equating the colors of a
traffic signal with different parts of a
written piece
 Using colors and folding paper, students
structure and place main ideas and
supporting information to achieve
cohesive, organized paragraphs
Guided exercises and practice
Work collaboratively in small groups
Sharing
Feedback
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Step Up to Writing
Team Work: Case Study
Create an Intervention Plan
Look at the individual student data in the case
study. Use your CD and team knowledge to
complete a Tier 2 intervention plan for the
student.
Progress Monitoring
Writing
Gender Differences
 Girls typically outperform boys on CBM writing
fluency measures girls write more under time
constraints
 Gender differences iron out in the areas of quality or
accuracy what girls write is not necessarily
qualitatively better than what boys write
 This is important when we start talking about the
ways that we progress monitor children
(Jewell & Malecki, 2005)
Progress Monitoring
 More frequent progress monitoring has been found to
increase accuracy (Skinner, McLoughlin & Logan, 1997)
 Most of the procedures described here are from the
manual Using CBM for Progress Monitoring in
Written Expression and Spelling by L. Fuchs & D.
Fuchs, 2007
 The entire manual has been included (with
permission by the authors) on your CD in the
Progress Monitoring folder
 Additional information and resources can be
downloaded at www.studentprogress.org
Spelling CBM
 Group or individual administration
 Students write spelling words that are orally presented
by the teacher
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Teacher presents a word and uses it in a sentence
Students are given 10 seconds to write the word
Then the next word is presented
There is a 2 minute time limit
Teacher presentation time is not counted in the 2 minute
administration time
 Spelling CBM probes are scored after the
administration is complete
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Spelling CBM
 Random lists of words need to be generated
 Word lists can come from any source
 Words should come from same source and
sample grade-level words taught in students’
spelling program
 Lists of words are generated from the master
list for each Spelling CBM administration
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
How to Score Spelling CBM
 Scoring a Spelling CBM: Correct letter
sequences (LS)
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Each pair of letters that appear together
correctly is marked with a carat -- ^
If the 1st letter is correct, a carat is placed
before that letter
If the last letter is correct, a carat is placed
after that letter
So the max score for each word = # of letters
+1
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
How to Score Spelling CBM
 Let’s look at the word “write”
Let’s Practice
Score the spelling probe.
What is the number of correct letter
sequences?
Spelling CBM Practice
LS = 80
out of 97
Spelling CBM Practice
(82% correct)
How to Identify the Level of Material for
Monitoring Progress
 For Spelling:
 If a student earns less than half of the total
possible letter sequences, a Spelling CBM
probe from the next lower grade should be
administered
 Once the appropriate Spelling CBM grade
level is determined, students should use the
same grade-level word lists for the entire year
Writing CBM Norms
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
How to Administer
Written Expression CBM
 Narrative writing story starters:
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Familiar theme should be used
Starters should always end in mid-sentence
Starter is written at top of student CBM probe
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
An Example
 I was on my way home from school and …
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
Another Example
 One day I went to school but nobody was
there except me …
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
A Pretty Example
This prompt is
reproduced here
with permission
of the author.
More (about 30 or
so) can be found
in the Writers
Workshop area at
http://www.meddy
bemps.com/
You can order a CD
there with 101 of them
for $15.95.
Four examples can be
found on the CD from
this session.
Here’s another
http://www.meddybemps.com/
How to Administer
Written Expression CBM
 Administered to entire class at one time
 Students presented with a story starter read aloud by the
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teacher
Students are given time to formulate their writing (30
seconds)
Story starter is re-read
Students write for a set amount of time (to remain
consistent throughout the year)
Teacher scores Written Expression CBM probes after
administration is complete
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Suggested Time Limits for CBM
Writing Probes
Grade Level
Time
Mid-elementary
3 minutes
Late-elementary
5 minutes
Middle school
7 minutes
High school
7 minutes
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Several ways to score Written Expression CBM
 Total words written (TWW)
 Total words spelled correctly (TWS)
 Correct word sequences (CWS)
 Correct minus incorrect word sequences (CIWS)
 Teachers can use a combination of scoring
methods

Should remain consistent throughout the entire
school year
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Writing Fluency
 The total number of words (TWW) a student
writes in a timed response is a reliable and
valid measure of writing proficiency (Marston, 1989;
Shinn, 1989)
 TWW is a good universal screener at the
lower levels
 It loses reliability in the upper grades
Production Dependent vs. Production
Independent Measures
 Production Dependent – focuses on how much
text is generated
 Production Independent – focuses on the quality of
text generated regardless of the amount generated
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Students in the upper grades should use measures
that are production independent
Assessment of beginning writers should focus first
on quantity (production dependent TWW, WSC &
CWS) then move toward more production
independent measures
(Jewell & Malecki, 2005)
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Total Words Written (TWW):
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Count the total number of words written
Spelling, word usage, capitalization, and
punctuation are ignored
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Example
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Total Words Spelled correctly (TWS):
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Count the total number of words spelled
correctly
Any correctly spelled English word is counted
as correct
Word usage, capitalization, and punctuation
are ignored
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Example
TWS = 23
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):
 Quantifies writing, but also accounts for
qualitative differences
 Takes into account punctuation, capitalization,
word usage, etc.

Count the number of correct word sequences
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):

CWS is any two adjacent, correctly spelled
words acceptable within the context of the
sample to a native English speaker
 The two words must be syntactically and
semantically correct
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):
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Vertical line placed where a sentence should
end
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Judgment plays a role: make a decision rule and
stick to it
Incorrect words are underlined
 Incorrect words are: words spelled incorrectly,
grammatically incorrect words, and words
used incorrectly
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Example
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):

Carats are placed below two words that
represent an incorrect word sequence:
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Any two underlined words
An underlined word and a non-underlined word
Between an underlined or mis-capitalized word
and line at beginning of a sentence
Between an underlined word and punctuation at
end of a sentence
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Example
How to Score
Written Expression CBM
 Correct Word Sequences (CWS):

Carats are placed above two words that
represent a CWS
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Any two non-underlined words
Between a non-underlined word and the
line at the beginning of a sentence
Between a non-underlined word and the
correct punctuation at the end of a
sentence
(Fuchs & Fuchs, 2007)
Example
Let’s Practice!
On your own. Score the writing prompt
“One day I went to school, but…”
TWW = 97 CWS = 84
Check Your Scoring
V
TWS = 91
CIWS = 62
Using Rubrics to Describe Strengths
and Weaknesses
 The Fuchs & Fuchs manual on the CD provides
information on how to use a rubric to qualitatively
evaluate written expression probes
 The procedure adapted is from:
Tindal, G., & Hasbrouck, J., 1991, Analyzing student
writing to develop instructional strategies. Learning
Disabilities Research and Practice, 6, 237–245.
Rubric for Handwriting
Rubric for Paragraph Writing
Team Work: Case Study
Evaluate an Intervention Plan
Look at the individual student data in the
case study. Use data-based decision
making to evaluate the student’s response
to Tier 3 intervention.
Sarah’s Response to Intervention
Application Activity
 Select a student with a writing concern
 Collect baseline data using an appropriate progress
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monitoring tool
Establish a goal
Enter the data into the Excel graphing tool
Determine the intervention strategy and the schedule
of implementation
Determine who will do it
Establish a method and schedule for progress
monitoring
Document on the appropriate Tier Intervention Form
Begin the intervention