VIENNA — Maries R-1 Title I teacher Amber Schell presented data at the Feb. 27 school board meeting gathered from i-Ready, a program Vienna Elementary School uses to track student progress.

Through the i-Ready program, the school does reading diagnostic testing on students three times each year. This school year, students took the test in September and November and will take it again in April. Schell explained that diagnostic tests are adaptive, so when students get questions correct, the test asks more difficult questions. When the students get questions wrong, the test asks easier questions.

Schell said the tests are only a snapshot of student performance, but the nature of the tests allows teachers to tailor lessons to students’ needs. The school gave the first test at the earliest opportunity to give teachers a baseline idea of how students performed near the start of the school year.

“It does help give us a precise level and help us set goals for our kids,” she said. “Monitor where they’re at. Know if they’re doing the right thing.”

The tests also help to predict students’ scores on the annual Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test. Schell said knowing which students are on the bubble between different MAP categories (below basic, basic, proficient and advanced) helps teachers to work with those students and get them to the next level.

“We’re going to gather them and just teach them some good test-taking strategies,” she said. “Because that’s probably the only thing that’s preventing them from getting into that proficient group.”

The data groups students into five levels.

Students at the highest level are above grade level. Students in the second group are at grade level. Students in the third group are slightly behind grade level. Students in the fourth group test at a significant deficit. Students in the last group are at a very significant deficit.

After testing in September, 13 students scored above the grade level. Another 32 students were already at grade level. The most students, 91, were slightly behind grade level. Another 37 students scored at a significant deficit and 10 students’ scores showed very significant deficits.

After testing in November, students in each tier had improved. The highest category improved to 35 students. Another 45 students tested at grade level, and 73 students were slightly behind grade level. For students testing at a deficit, 27 showed a significant deficit and five tested at a very significant deficit.

“The testing got harder, too,” Schell said. “When we take it again in April, it should be harder to get in those brackets again.”

The diagnostic testing also breaks down certain skills that may challenge students, such as phonological awareness, phonics, high-frequency words, vocabulary words, reading comprehension and more. Teachers take that data and reshape lessons to focus on skills with which students need more practice.

After reviewing data from the September and November tests, elementary school teachers decided they needed to highlight vocabulary skills during class because 44 percent of students scored low in vocabulary. Schell said one of the reasons vocabulary may challenge students in the district is that the tests are made for all types of schools, and students who live in urban areas may have more exposure to vocabulary words in their everyday lives than students in rural areas. Another possible reason she cited is the increase of technology in homes and a resulting decrease in spoken language.

“We have to step in and fill that gap in vocabulary,” Schell said.

Elementary school teachers have collaborated on how to make vocabulary more of a focus. During meetings, they have discussed the importance of background knowledge to vocabulary. In class, they have put an emphasis on introducing information before students read it. They have taken classes in the hallways for interactive word games. Students have words of the day, such as “rambunctious,” that teachers challenge them to use in their conversations.

Another strategy that elementary school teachers use to implement vocabulary is theming lessons and incorporating vocabulary activities into those themes. One example Schell shared was when the third-grade class was learning about hurricanes and VES secretary Barb Laughlin came into the class to read a story she wrote about living through Hurricane Hugo.

“Finding those people to come in to help and make it a team effort is our goal,” Schell said.

Following diagnostic testing, students receive printouts that show their current level, how much they improved from the previous test, improvement goals, ideas for teachers and parents to help the student improve and more. Schell said the reports include both a goal that the student should be able to achieve in a year and a stretch goal for students to work for if they meet the initial goal.

After testing, students also log on to an online program called My Path outlining ways to further reading growth. They engage with lessons tailored to the gaps they have shown in their testing. Schell said students usually do either 15 minutes each day or two 30-minute sessions per week.

“There’s a sweet spot where kids still really enjoy it and it gets the job done, but it’s not too much time on the computer,” she said.

Teachers can track students’ progress on the platform. If students fail a lesson, then they have to meet with the teacher and talk about the lesson before the teacher can unlock it and the student can try again. Schell said teachers offer incentives such as hot chocolate or root beer floats to students for completing lessons.

Diagnostic tests also cluster students who struggle with similar subjects so teachers can engage them in smaller groups. My Path offers ideas for how teachers can help the students as a group.

Schell said one of the purposes of diagnostic testing other than monitoring reading progress is teaching students about high-stakes testing.

“Kids dread (testing),” she said. “But we only teach them to dread it. We want to teach them to have anticipation for it (and) to be eager to show what they can do.”

Schell said teachers include students in the conversation about their test results because their results dictate their lesson paths.

Diagnostic testing helps teachers set goals both for classes as a whole and individual students. One recent reward for students who showed growth on their tests was to toss a pie in a teacher’s face.

“That was very exciting for them,” Schell said. “We try to think of fun things like that.”

Near the end of the presentation, Schell reiterated the improvement of several students between the September and November tests.

“With all that said, we’re not where we want to be just yet,” she said. “We have big goals, and we’re not satisfied with that. What we are celebrating is that we’re not where we were. We can do both.”

The board thanked Schell for the presentation. She told them she would be available for any questions they had.