Why is it important to screen, diagnose, and monitor a student’s progress?
- Understanding the student’s progress will allow the instructor to make well-informed and timely decisions about the instructional needs of the student.
- This allows instructors to better prevent reading difficulties and provide more targeted intervention.
Screening:
- Schools should administer screening as soon as possible and consistently through the 5th grade.
- Passages should be selected from text at the student’s grade level.
- Compare the student’s WCPM scores to the 50th percentile (chart can be found at original source).
- A score falling more than 10 words below the 50th percentile should raise concern and prompt a diagnosis of the student’s below-average performance. This student might need additional testing.
Diagnosing
- Passages should be selected at the student’s instructional level (may be lower than his/her grade level)
- Text should be challenging but manageable.
- Errors should be made on no more than 1/10 words.
- The instructor should take a careful look at the student’s strengths and needs. The student may be struggling from a deficiency in a variety of reading skills.
Monitoring
- WCPM procedures can be used to monitor a student’s progress.
- Passages should be selected at the student’s individually determined goal level.
- The frequency of progress monitoring depends on how many months below grade level the student is reading at. For example, for students reading 6-12 months below grade level, progress monitoring should be about twice a month. For those reading more than a year below grade level, weekly monitoring may be necessary. This allows for modifications to be made if the current intervention is not working well.
- Each time the student is assessed, his/her WCPM score should be recorded and compared against his/her aim line (which is set on a case-by-case basis)
