Research Update

Research and data collection is complete and I have been synthesizing my data for that past few weeks. I am using the data to help create a procedure for special education teachers to use when evaluating students for a specific learning disability. Although this evaluation method is geared specifically for English Language Learners, it is still universal enough to support other students as well. This evaluation process created was stemmed from using the process that was trialed in my previous research update. Students were supported in their Tier 1 classroom to determine their rate of progress when compared to similar peers. I was able to use graphs to visualize students rate of learning throughout the process.

Figure 1.1  represents six students in first grade that are receive English Language services and also have been placed into the referral process for special education. Students were referred into the special education process in late September. In order to support students, collaboration occurred between the general education teachers, the ELD teacher, the reading leadership team and the special education team. All teachers were trained in five ELL strategies to support the skill of learning letter and sound correspondence. Students were administered the Consortium on Reading Excellence to measure progress. The graph shows that Student F responded the best to ELD strategies being placed into the general education classroom. Student’s A, B, D and E showed relatively strong growth, however during December it was decided to support students with Tier 2 interventions. Student C showed a very slow rate of progress and it was decided at a team that this student would get consent signed for special education. This process showed that the Tier 1 ELD strategies and Tier 2 interventions did not support this students’ progress. Figure 1.2 represents the students DIBELS data, which is used to determine early academic reading ability. The graph shows if students transferred their learned skill to better reading performance. The graph shows that students rate of progress in learning letter sounds correlated similarly with their success in improving their reading rate. Student C appeared to be very different from his like peers in this graph as well. 

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2

This process has been very challenging because of how many factors may affect a student’s academic growth. When surveys were referenced, there were some patterns that demonstrated that ELD students who spoke their primary the longest, had a slower rate of progress. However, poor bilinguals demonstrated regression and low levels in comprehension. With the correlation of the interventions in place, and referencing the survey, we saw what factors may impact a students academic growth more than others. 

 The evaluation needs to continue to be effective and efficient in order to be functional for special education teachers to utilize. Special education teachers need support with the increase in their demanding positions. A general theme within my research has shown that special education teachers need to be educated in other fields besides special education. With a growing population in ELL students, my research has shown me that our knowledge needs to be expanding as well. There is also an increase in the demand for higher communication between the general education teacher, the ELD teacher and the speech-language pathologist. The factors in my checklist will also reflect the communication and conversations that need to occur between these professionals in order for a comprehensive evaluation. 

I am extremely excited to present my data to my colleagues. Since my research has been a topic of discussion for a while at my school, I know I will receive a lot of feedback to further this process. I will be meeting with a team of special education teachers, speech pathologists and ELD professionals in the administration building at the end of the school year as well, and hope to use the information I have gathered to support my district as a whole. I will propose for special education teachers to receive training on language development and ELD strategies. I also will propose for a concrete evaluation checklist for ELL students, so special education teachers are more confident in their decisions. Lastly, I want to propose that our district creates a database of our English Language Leaners and their assessments in order to compare their data to like peers. This will truly allow for ELL students with a learning disability. This data will show that ELL students across the board need more support in their general education classrooms.