Samantha Holland

EDSP 570 - Dr. Dennis Sisco-Taylor

Due: 5/23/2017

Academic Assessment Report

Student: Parker
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Grade Level: Eleventh
School: Mission Bay High School (SDUSD)
Primary Language: English

Background Information

Parker is a white-caucasian American that comes from a middle to high class family. He
is currently receives specialized academic instruction 126 hours a year, and 126 hours in a
general education classroom. This breaks down to spending 25.68 in general education and 5.5
of academic instruction in special education (resource room) out of the 30.33 hours a week he is
in school. Parker also does receive some services and accommodations, for example he does get
time and a half on all of his testing. He is athletic, polite, and well-mannered young man. He
works well with peers and staff, and has both the desire and the drive to be successful. In the
classroom environment he is very quiet and reserved. Parker regularly completes his tasks and
assignments for his classes. He learns best when material is presented in multiple ways and when
he is provided with practice time and modeling. Parker is interested in baseball and photography,
he hopes to pursue both these interests post-high school in college.
His favorite subject is Physical Education, he loves to play sports, especially baseball.
Parker is driven to keep his academic performance high so he can stay on the Varsity baseball
team at school, and also so he can possibly continue his passion and love for baseball in college.
Parkers typical school day is like most students he attends all general education classes,
however he does also attend one period a day for study skills/resource. This is because according
to his IEP he meets the eligibility for special education services because he has a specific
learning disability in auditory phonological processing, which adversely affects his educational
performance. In this study skills/resource class he receives additional help in his academics and
is allotted extra time to work on his assignments/homework.

Social-Emotional/Behavioral Functioning
Observation 1:
In the lesson that I observed the goal of the curriculum was to teach students how to
break an assignment into steps and pieces; and then to teach them how to better organize the
work they need to complete. The teacher showed them how to use a graphic organizer so they
can write down in steps what needs done and by what date. Parker seemed to be zoning out and
not listening to his teacher talking and going over the material. I could tell that he thought the
lesson was a waste a time by his body language. He kept looking around the room, doodling in
his notebook, and checking his phone. To help reach the desired level of behavior the lesson
could have been altered to be a bit more challenging. Although I feel the lesson was beneficial
for the students, I feel it was pretty self-explanatory and they could have figured it out
independently.

Observation 2:
In the lesson that I observed the goal of the curriculum was to have students engage in
critical thinking conversations. These conversations were meant to challenge the students in
arguing their sides and opinions on the topics. The purpose of this lesson is to promote the
students in expressing their individual ideas and creative perspectives and to teach them the
importance of using their own voice in life. This lesson Parker struggled with participating
because he is more reserved and quiet. When it was his turn to take a side and share/argue his
reasoning he basically said nothing, and mumbled the little words that he did say. To help reach
the desired level of behavior the lesson could have been altered to by approaching this lesson in
different ways to reach all of the types of learners. For example, the teacher could have used
topics that would have interested the students more. A few of the topics he used I feel as if the
students did not even truly know what to argue, because they didnt have enough background
knowledge to take a side. Or the teacher could have provided the students with a short article or
explanation of each topic, therefore the students could have had a better understanding of what
they were supposed to argue. I know this lessons goal was to be about discussion, but the
teacher could have at least demonstrated what was expected through examples of videos or a
reading about the purpose of the lesson.

Observation 3:
In the lesson that I observed the goal of the curriculum was to have students learn how to
plan and conduct an essay for their personal statements that they would be filling out for their
college applications. Parker demonstrated to be engaged and interested in this lesson. He was
asking questions, using full body listening skills, and asked for help/feedback multiple times
throughout the period. I believe this behavior is because he hopes to attend a four-year university
of high school. To help reach the desired level of behavior the lesson could have been altered to
by approaching this lesson with not just the desired goal to be that students write a personal
statement. Some students may not be planning on going to college, therefore I think this lesson
did not relate and connect to each student. I feel as if the teacher should have 2-3 options for the
students to choose from that they had to write a paper about.

Observation 4:
In the lesson that I observed the goal of the curriculum was to have students learn new
terms in figurative language, and use a graphic organizer to help them better understand these
words and phrases that were being taught in this lesson. Parker struggles in English due to his
learning disability. This lesson showed to be difficult for him because he did understand
figurative language in general. He just wrote down these terms effortlessly just to finish the
worksheet, although he did not understand any of the material he was writing down. To help
reach the desired level of behavior the lesson could have been altered to by also using technology
in this lesson. There are plenty of videos out there that demonstrate the use of figurative
language in real life situations and conversations. Showing these videos could help students even
further their understanding by seeing this terms used in everyday life.

Academic Achievement
Woodcock Johnson
The Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement was administered to test Parkers
academic skills. The WJ-IV assesses a broad range of academic skills including reading, writing,
mathematics and oral language.

Broad Reading Cluster: provides a comprehensive measure of reading achievement including

reading decoding, reading speed, and the ability to comprehend while reading. This cluster is a
combination of Letter-Word Identification, Reading Fluency, and Passage Compressions. Parker
received a standard score of 86 which is in the low average range.
Letter-Word Identification assesses the accuracy and automaticity of word
recognition. This test asked Parker to read aloud from a list of different level
words. Parkers skills were in the below average range with a standard score of
83.
Reading Fluency measures Parkers ability to quickly read simple sentences and
decide if the statement is true, and then circle Yes or No. Parkers standard score
was a 89 which puts him in the low average range.
Passage Comprehension, which required Parker to read a short passage and
identify a missing keyword that makes sense in the context of the passage.
Parkers standard score was a 96, which is in the average range.

Broad Math Cluster: provides a comprehensive measures of math achievement including

problem solving, number facility, automaticity and reasoning. This cluster includes Calculation,
Math Fluency, and Applied Problems. Parker is in the below low average range, with a standard
score of 83.
Calculation is a test of math achievement measuring the ability of perform
mathematical computations. Parker was required to perform addition, subtraction,
multiplication, division and combinations of these basic operations including
 decimals and fractions. Parkers standard score was a 93 which is in the average
range.
Math Fluency measured Parkers ability to solve simple addition, subtraction,
and multiplication facts quickly. On this subtest Parker performed in the low
average range with a standard score of 89.
Applied Problems required Parker to analyze and solve math problems. In order
to solve the problems Parker had to listen to the problem, recognize the procedure
to be followed then perform relatively simple calculations. Parker performed in
the low average range with a standard score of 81.

Broad Written Language Cluster: provides a comprehensive measure of written language

achievement including spelling of single word responses, fluency of production, and a quality of
expression. This cluster includes Spelling, Writing Fluency, and Writing Samples. Parker
performed in the significantly below average range with a standard score of 67.
Spelling measures the ability to write a word spelled correctly that is presented
orally. Parker performed in the average range with a standard score of 95.
Writing Fluency asked Parker to come up with and write a simple sentence
quickly. Each sentence related to a stimulus picture and had to include a given set
of three words. Parkers standard score was 36 which is in the significantly below
average range.
Writing Samples measured Parkers skills in writing response to a variety of
demands. Parker performed in the low average range with a standard score of 87.

OPR-CBM: This test provides a reliable and valid way to identify if the core instructional
program is working, identify students who are at risk for reading failure, identify which students
are not making adequate progress given the instruction they are receiving, identify students
instructional level, and lastly identify which student needs additional diagnostic evaluation. The
OPR is designed to assess overall reading skills that are also highly predictive of later reading
skills. This test is administered through having students read aloud from a passage for 1 minute.
Scoring:
Step 1: 60/73 = 0.821
Step 2: 0.821 x 60 = 50
TOTAL = 50 (<10%)

MAZE CBM:This test is designed to assess overall reading skills. MAZE performs as a better
proxy and has a higher correlation with comprehension. During this assessment, students will
read a passage silently for 1 minute restoring every seventh word that has been deleted and
replaced with three words.
Scoring:
Step1: 35-4 = 31
Step 2: 180/31= 5.81
Step3: 180/5.81 = 31
TOTAL = 31 (<75%)

The above tests that I gave Parker were valid because I followed test protocol and the test
was given to standard. Additionally, I gave these assessments in my focal students primary
language, which is English. These tests provided me with reliable information about the student's
academic standings in a range of content areas. I believe these results help generalize what
Parker does in school and how he is doing as well. Lastly, these tests clearly demonstrate what
are the areas of need for Parker, which was used in the decision-making of his IEP goals.

Summary and Recommendations

Parkers projected graduation date 6/17/2017. At this time Parker is receiving a minimum
of college awareness/preparation 1 hour a week. His services are planned to be transferred into
his post high school academic situation. The parents will have a letter sent home with dates and
times for the upcoming meeting. Allow the parent time to get back to you with a time and date
that works best for them. At the meeting the parent will receive a copy of their procedural
safeguards. Parker demonstrates both a couple of strengths as well as a couple of weaknesses.
His strengths are math and science, while his weaknesses are both reading/comprehension and
writing. To further assess these needs and areas of weaknesses, it would be beneficial to provide
Parker with extra help and guidance. By scaffolding him and guiding him to better understand
passages and texts, this will help improve his reading and comprehension. Additionally, if Parker
were to receive step-by-step guidance of how to conduct both paragraphs and essays he will
grow in this area of need. By giving him help, scaffolding, showing him examples, etc. Parker
should develop the skills necessary to succeed.

IEP Goals:

By 05/05/2018, Parker will integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information

presented in different formats in order to address a question or solve a problem using a
graphic organizer as measured by four completed graphic organizer and teacher
observation.
By 05/05/2018, Parker will be able to explain how an author uses reasoning and evidence
in a provided visual and verbal prompt, in order to pinpoint the authors purpose of 2 of 3
articles per week, as measured by the students work samples and teacher observation.