Using the Results
We have chosen and administered assessments, now what?
- Examine the assessment results - look for patterns of strength and weakness.
- Try to prioritize what elements of instruction each student needs next based on the results.
- Let the assessments be your guide!
- One option of differentiating your instruction to meet the needs of students is to incorporate small group instruction into your routine. Maybe there are four or five students that, based on the Words Their Way assessment results, need to focus on the 'within word' stage of spelling, while other groups of students need to work on the 'syllables and affixes' stage. Setting up rotations that include small group instruction with you, as well as independent activities could be one way to approach meeting individual student's literacy needs.
- Continue to assess to monitor progress. This can tell you if your instruction is making a difference, what needs to be revisited/reviewed, and what needs to happen next in terms of lessons and activities.
- Team Share: Share your ideas about responding to assessment results. Do you have any tips or tricks for providing differentiated instruction that we could use after we have a better idea of our students' individual needs?
Differentiating instruction can seem stressful, but once you get started and into a routine, it isn't as daunting as it seems. If you would like more information on differentiating instruction, please don't hesitate to ask. Stick around after the presentation, email me, or come visit during a planning time!