Literacy Blogs

I am a classroom teacher (grade 3) and a follower of your blog.  I also have an M.A. in Reading. Last year our new principal told us that our RtI students do not need to be in the classroom during grade level instruction. I strongly disagree. I think that these students benefit from scaffolded grade level instruction and benefit from the kind of thinking and reading the class is being asked to do during this time.  Am I wrong to insist my students be in the room during regular reading instruction? If so, please set me straight.    Dear Perplexed: The point of RtI is ...

          When I arose today I saw lots of Twitters and Facebook entries about a new U.S. Department of Education study. Then I started getting emails from folks in the schools and in the state departments of education. IES Study on RtI           “What’s going on here?” was the common trope.           Basically, the study looked at RtI programs in Grades 1 through 3. The reports say that RtI interventions were lowering reading achievement in Grade 1 and while the RtI interventions weren’t hurting the older kids, they weren’t helping them ...

This week I was honored to speak at the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Oregon. I was asked to talk about evaluation, which is a big issue in the great northwest because of RtI (response to instruction). They are testing the heck out of kids towards ensuring that no one falls behind. It's a grand sentiment, but a poor practice. Teachers there told me they were testing some kids weekly or biweekly. That is too much. How do I know it is too much? The answer depends on two variables: the standard error of measurement of the test you are using and the student growth rate. The ...

The latest rage in the schools is RtI. Special education money (about 15% of it) can now be used for improving classroom instruction and installing preventative intervention programs. I'm a big fan of this movement for several reasons: First, because the best way to determine if someone has a learning problem is to offer really good teaching and if the struggling continues then you know. Second, special education programs simply haven't worked very well for most kids, and the learning disabilities label has been over applied, and those programs are getting expensive.   But even though I like RtI, I have problems ...