Screen all students to identify those at risk for potential mathematics difficulties and provide interventions to students identified at risk.
Develop an understanding of the components of technical adequacy (e.g., reliability, validity) that need to be considered when evaluating and choosing screening measures.
Read pages 13-17 of the I.E.S. Practice Guide Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Response to Intervention (RtI) for Elementary and Middle Schools. Pay particular attention to the guidelines provided for evaluating screening measures.
Clarify understanding of the purposes for and characteristics of universal screening measures for math.
Review the presentation by Dr. Ben Clarke, entitled Thinking Smart About K-8 Math Assessment. Slides 13-38 examine recommendations for valid and reliable screening of all students.
Gain understanding of the universal screening measures available across the grade levels for math and identify the critical components of those measures.
Review slides 6-22 from the presentation by Dr. Anne Foegen that describes the types and provides examples of universal screening measures available for math. Using the tool provided, as a group identify potential screening measures for your district or school and summarize the critical information for each measure.
Develop a plan (at the school or district level) for collecting universal screening data for math.
Use the PowerPoint entitled “Approaches and Considerations for Collecting Universal Screening and Progress Monitoring Data” to guide your discussion around planning for collecting math screening data.
Read pages 6 -13 of the research brief entitled “Screening for Mathematics Difficulties in K-3 Students” published by the Center on Instruction.
Data regarding the average percentage of students meeting the benchmark in the areas outlined in the Tool can be used to guide the selection of single component or multi-component universal screening measures.
As a grade level, or as a district with a particular grade level in mind, complete the appropriate section of the Needs Assessment Tool for Mathematics Professional Development, Grades 3-7 (2nd edition), published by the Center on Instruction.
Develop a deeper understanding of the importance of screening and progress monitoring and how to involve a variety of school and district staff in the organization, management, and data collection processes associated with screening and progress monitoring students.
Build your knowledge base about universal screening and progress monitoring students in math by accessing the following resources:
Response to Intervention in Elementary-Middle Math: Screening & Monitoring