Berrien RESA Student Achievement Framework

Berrien RESA Student Achievement Framework

Mapping for Implementation

(06-15-2011)

(06-15-2011) Student Achievement Framework – Mapping for Implementation

Page 1

Summary

The Student Achievement Framework (SAF) is a dynamic problem solving model designed to identify and implement high quality instruction, leadership, and data use practices to improve student achievement. The Framework is a map to guide decision making so that all parties involved in the learning process match these practices to student need, make decisions about changes in instruction or goals and apply student response data to important educational decisions. SAF should be applied to decisions in general, creating a well-integrated system of instruction guided by student outcome data.

Student outcome data is crucial to:

Make accurate decisions about the effectiveness of instruction/interventions;

Undertake early identification/intervention of academic and behavioral problems;

Stimulate accelerated achievement;

Validate effective school practices; and

Prevent unnecessary and excessive identification of students.

This document was created by adapting work completed by the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc., entitled, “Response to Intervention: Blueprints for Implementation” (2008). The purpose of this document is to provide a “map” around which implementation of SAF can be accomplished. This adaptation is designed to provide concrete guidance for implementation. This document is not rigid in its construction. That is, one of the lessons of large-scale system change is that change must be driven by both principals and practices. The Map in many cases specifies processes that must be accomplished rather than specific practices that must be adopted. This structure allows implementation sites to tailor their applications by selecting practices consistent with the principles of their site, maintaining the integrity of the model and building buy-in and ownership with implementation.

The Map for Implementation addresses the following key points:

There are crucial components of SAF implementation that if not attended can render otherwise acceptable implementations ineffective.

The school building is the unit of change in SAF. Multiple buildings within a district can implement SAF, but their implementations will likely be somewhat different.

District-level supports must be systematically built in to support building-level implementation.

Building change should be guided by the answers to key questions. By answering a specific set of interrelated questions, using research and site-based data, buildings can be assured that they are implementing the major components of SAF. Specific mandated answers to these questions should not be imposed uniformly across all buildings.

Implementation of SAF in practice typically proceeds through three stages:

1. Agreement building – SAF concepts are communicated broadly to implementers and the foundational “whys” are taught, discussed, and embraced.
2. Infrastructure building – sites examine their implementations against critical components of SAF, find aspects that are being implemented well and gaps that need to be addressed. Infrastructure building centers around closing these practice steps.
3. Implementation – where the structures are put in place to support, stabilize, and institutionalize SAF practices into a new “business as usual.”

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT FRAMEWORK (SAF): A Working Definition1

SAF is the practice of (1) providing high quality instruction/intervention matched to student needs and (2) using learning rate over time and level of performance to (3) make important educational decisions. These components of SAF are essential to the development of a successful SAF implementation strategy.

1. HIGH QUALITY INSTRUCTION/INTERVENTION is defined as instruction or intervention matched to student need that been demonstrated through research and practice to produce high learning rates in most students. Individual responses to even the best instruction/intervention are variable. Selection and implementation of research based instruction/intervention markedly increases the probability of, but does not guarantee positive individual response. Therefore, individual response is assessed in SAF and modifications to instruction/intervention or goals are made depending on results with individual students.

1. LEARNING RATEAND LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE are primary sources of information used in ongoing decision making. Learning rate refers to a student’s individual growth in achievement or behavior competencies over time. Level of performance refers to a student’s relative standing on some dimension of achievement/performance compared to expected performance. Learning rates and levels of performance vary significantly across students. Most students with achievement or behavioral challenges respond positively to explicit and intense instruction/interventions. Decisions about the use of more or less intense interventions are made using information on learning rate and level.

1. IMPORTANT EDUCATIONAL DECISIONS about intensity and the likely duration of interventions are based on individual student response to instruction across multiple tiers of intervention. Decisions about the necessity of more intense interventions are informed by data on learning rate and level.

1Batsche, G., Elliott, J., Graden, J., Grimes, J., Kovaleski, J., Prasse, D., et al. (2005). Response to Intervention: Policy Considerations and Implementation. Alexandria, VA: National Association of State Directors of Special Education.

HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT

This document has been modifiedto include the analogy of using a map when in taking a trip.If you have ever taken a trip with your family one of the first elements is to agree on where you are going. It can be a long trip if most of the family doesn’t like the final destination.

The Berrien RESA Student Achievement Framework document map will assist in the consideration of key elements for successful implementation of the Student Achievement Framework itself. There are a number of characteristics to consider when using this document. First, just like mapping out a trip, it is a document that is intended to take conceptual material and make it concrete. Second, it is intended to provide critical information about successful implementation from experiences of those that have been successful in implementation in the past. It will tell you what key components to put into place to be successful while allowing for individual adaptation. It is assumed that there is reasonable variation in implementation. However, if you neglect to install key elements, you can be assured that the final product will not produce the desired results.

The document is written in a three-column format. In the first column, critical implementation components are identified and described in a question format. These are the concepts that must be attended to in each SAF implementation. In the second column, resources are identified that might be used by implementers as they go about mapping out their SAF. The resources listed should not be considered comprehensive, but illustrative. The third column contains “wisdom from the field.” The wisdom was provided by experts from many Response to Intervention and Systems change implementations throughout the country. These individuals have been implementing these concepts for many years in practice and have experienced all of the predictable challenges associated with implementation.

The following is an overview of the “Actions” and questions or steps to be completed to successfully implement the Student Achievement Framework:

Student Achievement Framework: Mapping Overview

AgreementBuilding / Infrastructure / Implementation
Action 1: / Provide information and coordinate with district administration. / Action 1: / Form a leadership team. / Action 1: / Provide professional development and ongoing supports for those administering assessments and providing instruction.
Step 1: Establish rationale for building adoption of SAF. / Step 1: Establish a leadership team. / Step 1: Provide initial professional development to those who will administer, score and interpret assessments.
Step 2: Determine who will share rationale and how it will be shared. / Action 2: / Leadership team receives appropriate training and skill development to lead the SAF initiative. / Step 2: Provide initial professional development to those who will provide core, strategic and intensive instruction.
Step 3: Identify district- and building-level leadership responsibilities for implementation of SAF. / Step 1: Leadership team receives specific training on SAF. / Step 3: Provide supports for implementers, including on-site technical assistance, coaching, mentoring and feedback opportunities.
Step 4: Identify the resources necessary to build consistency. / Step 2: Ongoing coaching is provided to leadership team. / Step 4: Provide ongoing professional development for new instructional practices and new staff.
Action 2: / Provide information to school staff and others about SAF. / Action 3: / The leadership team will work through ten basic questions to develop action plan. / Action 2: / Implement logistics of assessments and periodic data analysis.
Step 1: Establish rationale for building adoption of SAF practices. / Q1: Is our core program sufficient? / Step 1: Organize team structure for ongoing data-based decision making.
Step 2: Determine who will share rationale and how it will be shared. / Q2: If the core program is not sufficient, what led to this? / Step 2: Conduct screening assessments 3-4 times per year.
Step 3: Discuss the resources and commitments necessary to build consistency. / Q3: How will the need identified in the core program be addressed? / Step 3: Engage diagnostic assessment activities as needed to match instruction or to make adjustments to individual plans when students are not successful.
Action 3: / Identify agreement level among staff necessary for implementing SAF. / Q4: How will the sufficiency and effectiveness of the core program be monitored over time? / Step 4: Conduct progress monitoring assessment monthly for those receiving strategic instruction and weekly or biweekly for those receiving intensive instruction.
Step 1: Identify the level of agreement needed to proceed with SAF. / Q5: Have improvements to the core program been effective? / Step 5: Meet in collaborative groups to examine building-wide data after each screening assessment (consider core effectiveness and instructional groups).
Step 2: Survey staff to determine the percent of staff who are supportive of SAF. / Q6: For which students is the core instruction sufficient or not sufficient? Why or why not? / Step 6: Meet in teams to examine ongoing progress monitoring data and make adjustments as needed.
Action 4: / Determine next steps. / Q7: What specific supplemental and intensive instructions are needed? / Action 3: / Implement logistics of core, strategic and intensive instruction.
Step 1: Compare current consistency level to that needed to proceed. / Q8: How will specific strategic and intensive instruction be delivered? / Step 1: Implement improvements to core.
Step 2: Design and implement ongoing agreement building activities until desired agreement is achieved. / Q9: How will the effectiveness of strategic and intensive instruction be monitored? / Step 2: Develop a specific schedule for strategic and intensive instruction based on results of data analysis and needs of students.
Action 5: / Plan to support change initiative. / Q10: How will you determine which students need to move to a different level of instruction? / Step 3: Provide strategic and intensive instruction as indicated by data.
Step 1: Integrate SAF principles and beliefs with school values, mission, and vision. / Action 4: / Monitor implementation.
Step 2: Identify supports necessary to facilitate change process. / Step 1: Develop an evaluation cycle to monitor implementation of all instructional programs.
Step 3: Develop a systematic, ongoing communication plan with all stakeholders. / Step 2: Use systematic methods to monitor implementation of instructional programs.
Step 3: Adjust the program based on ongoing analysis of implementation integrity and other data.
Action 5: / Collect and summarize program evaluation data.
Step 1: Examine data on change in the percent of students considered to need core, strategic and intensive instruction.
Step 2: Examine data on changes in accountability data.
Step 3: Examine data on the number of initial special education identifications by grade.
Action 6: / Communicate regularly with school staff.
Action 7: / Celebrate your success.
With teachers, educators, central office staff, parents, and students.

Student Achievement Framework Implementation: SchoolBuilding Level

Component 1: AgreementBuilding

Objectives for SchoolLevelAgreementBuilding

• Schools have time and support available to build agreement.

• Schools need access to agreement building tools.

• Schools understand the process and importance of building agreement before moving forward with infrastructurebuilding and implementation.

Step / Resources Available / Wisdom from the Field
Action 1: Provide information and coordinate with district administration.
Step 1: Establish rationale for building adoption of SAF. / Academics
• NASDSE/CASE white paper, available at

• NASDSE Myths about RtI available for downloading at:

• A brief RtI PowerPoint presentation designed for
administrators is available for download at

• The NASDSE guide, Response to Intervention: Policy
Considerations and Implementation, can be ordered from

• The California Department of Education produced five, 90-
minute introductory RtI videos featuring leading national RtI
experts that cover the topics Why RtI?, What is RtI?,
Administrative Issues in RtI, Instruction in RtI System and
How to Get Started. The videos, best viewed on a Windows-based machine, can be accessed for free at
• Whatever it Takes is an excellent resource that lays out the
philosophy undergirding RtI, while not mentioning RtI
specifically. This book is commercially available.
• The Pennsylvania Training & Technical Assistance Network
(PaTTAN) website includes overview information andpresentations on RtI at
• Information on IDEA can be found at the U.S. Department of
Education’s website,
• Information on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also referred to as the No Child Left Behind Act orNCLB), can be found on the U.S. Department of Education’swebsite at:
• The National Council on Learning Disabilities (NCLD) RtIAction Network,
Behavior
• The OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports website many resources(information, presentations, references, questionnaires, forms,etc.) illustrating implementation of positive behavior support(PBS), which is a tiered intervention model used in the area ofsocial, emotional and behavioral learning.
• Florida’s Positive Behavior Support Project has developed presentations and other resources that can be used in buildingawareness of PBS. These resources can be found at / • The rationale for adopting SAF is based on student outcome data.
• The rationale for adopting SAFis built on the principle that all students can learn,which should be shared with all keystakeholders by the buildingleadership.
• Presentations and discussions should include the school board and otherstakeholders, with a focus on studentoutcomes.
• Discussions and presentations should highlight connections between SAF andcurrent legal requirements andinitiatives. Potential connections may
include the following:
o the Adequate Yearly Progress(AYP) requirement in theElementary and SecondaryEducation Act (ESEA) (alsoknown as the No Child LeftBehind Act (NCLB);
o the Individuals with DisabilitiesEducation Act’s (IDEA)accountability requirements;
o general school improvementefforts;
o leadership, professionaldevelopment and changeinitiative; and
o existing state, district and building initiatives.
Step 2: Determine who will share rationale and how it will be shared. / • When considering who will share the message and how it will be shared,the message should be clearly andstrongly articulated.
• Thorough consideration of who can strongly convey this message iscritical to enhance the clarity andreception of the rationale forimplementing SAF.
Step 3: Identify district- and building-level leadership responsibilities for implementation of SAF. / • Important practices to engage in for leaders to fulfill their responsibilitiesoften include:
o planning for and allocating timefor data analysis and planning;and
o creating a support system forbuilding principals, including timeto meet with each other.
• A useful method for identifyingleadership responsibilities is to ask key building and district leaders (e.g.,superintendent, curriculumcoordinator, student services director,principal) to discuss previousexperiences with SAF.
Step 4: Identify the resources necessary to build consistency. / General
• The Positives, Concerns and Insights (PCI) document is a data-gathering grid that captures how staff feels about the RtIprocess, including positives, concerns and interesting insights.
Available at
• The Ball Foundation has created a process and set of tools
that can be used to determine the degree of consensus that
exists, as well as how to increase the degree of consensus.
Information can be obtained from
Behavior
• The OSEPTechnicalAssistanceCenter on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports website provides abrief example for achieving consensus for adopting PBS.Available at
• Colvin, G., Wilbanks, D., Borg, J., Dickey, C., Duncan, M.,
Gilmore, M., Henery, J., & Shaw, S. (1996). Establishing aneffective school-wide plan: Getting all staff on board. TheOregon Conference Monograph, 8, 81-93. / • Building principals have a central role in establishing and maintainingagreement in a building.
• Strategies and practices helpful to establishing and maintaining
agreement in a building often include:
o focusing on data as the way the success of the initiative will bejudged;
o using data to align supports asopposed to evaluating teachers;
o setting, defining and holding teachers to high expectations forprofessional practice in theschool, including defining whatteachers need to do, descriptionsand criteria for evaluatingperformance and the celebrationsthat will occur when thoseexpectations are met; and
o explaining to teachers howsupport will be provided andfollow-through with that support.
Action 2: Provide information to school staff and others about SAF
Step 1: Establish rationale for building adoption of SAF practices. / See Action 1, Step 1 above. / • It is important to share specific information about the key features of SAF, as well as the reasons for implementing SAF.
• Important questions to address toexplain the rationale for implementing SAF include:
o What are the belief statementsthat drive the actions of theschool?
o What is SAF?
o Why would a building choose to implement SAF?
o What are the benefits of SAF?
• It is important to explain that one of the key features and foundationalprinciples of SAF is the use of studentoutcome data to determineinstructional needs.
Step 2: Determine who will share rationale and how it will be shared. / • It is important to consider how the rationale will be received by staff. Toachieve agreement, a clear andappealing message is necessary.
• A number of strategies can be used to share the rationale with staff. For example:
o Have a professional-lookingbrochure that concisely summarizes the key elements ofSAF. Use stories from local areaschools so staff can makepersonal connections to theinformation.