Teachers' Corner Initiating a Case Report Reading Services Center

Ford's assembly line model greatly influenced business. Business, in turn, sometimes wonders why education differs from their approach. But an assembly line approach implies control over raw materials and what is done with them.

We in education work with breathing, feeling, intelligent human beings. Students are not like toothpaste tubes to be filled. Rather they are intricate persons with unique mental mechanisms and feelings, molded by their own experiences and desires. Children simply develop in different ways and rates, not all alike. Sometimes we have deep concerns about one child who does not do well no matter what we have tried.

I have this student who ......	What happens when you have deep concerns about a particular child's progress? She/He is not doing as well as others, or as well as you perceive s/he should. Why is it? What goes on in his/her head? How does s/he learn? Where is s/he in the process of learning to read?
What do I do ......	At this point the Student Assistance Team process is initiated to consider the child's needs and to make appropriate suggestions. Instructional staff may be consulted and asked to observe the child and provide further suggestions. Although the teacher's perceptions may be very accurate, sometimes more probing information about the child than can be gathered in the classroom setting is needed.
How can I find out ......	Another opportunity is through reading diagnosis. Diagnosis is not an answer in itself. It provides insight into the child's mental functioning and learning needs. It helps us understand how s/he is moving along in the process of learning to read, thereby learning to learn. It is intended to generate suggestions in order to enhance the teacher's teaching efforts with the child.
How do I get the reading diagnosis started ......	The reading evaluation can be initiated by a teacher or a parent. There is a form for the teacher, which asks about the teacher's concerns and what has already been done for the child, and a permission slip to be signed by the parent. The form is then sent to Reading Services.
What happens then......	An evaluator makes arrangements to administer a test battery to the child in the building. The selection of procedures will vary with the age of the child and the information given by the teacher on the referral. It will include both formal and informal tasks. Available information, such as SAT notes, will be incorporated. Contact is made with the teacher before and after the evaluation.
So I get this report ......	A formal report will be sent to the principal who reads it and passes it along to the classroom teacher. It contains scores, observations, interpretation, and specific recommendations. Teaching models are usually included. Support staff involved with the child also receive copies. The teacher's copy is filed in the child's cumulative folder.
What do I do with the information ......	The diagnostic report usually will imply changes in the way we interact with the child, the structure of the environment, and the choice of teaching procedures. It is the responsibility of and an opportunity for the teacher to determine how s/he can provide for more appropriate individualization for the child. She/He will make professional decisions about how to respond to the recommendations. It is a good idea to spend some time thinking about the recommendations and how they can be carried out in the classroom setting. Recommendations may involve only the type of personal interaction between teacher and child. Although the teacher may already be carrying out some of the methods, awareness that this child needs this kind of interaction, as well as the confirmation of what has already been done, can make a difference. Opportunities to alter instruction may involve skill/flex groups, whole class instruction, or may be directed entirely at the personal level. Perhaps it may involve a simple adjustment in the way a lesson is presented or the directions given. Peer Coaches may be helpful in making changes for one individual within the total class environment. The evaluator's information may feed into further Student Assistance Team efforts and possibly a staffing. Information is thus put together from several sources to construct a more complete understanding of the child.

There are no easy answers. Children cannot be sorted into little boxes. The evaluation process focuses attention on characteristics and factors that may have been overlooked in the large group setting. Formal reading evaluation should empower the teacher to do a better job with the child and, hopefully, enlarge her/his skills with the entire class.