Have you considered the L Level TABE to demonstrate gains?  It's a shame
that the non-scored sections that address phonemic awareness and
decoding skills aren't the sections that actually get scored.  These
sections would probably be more in sync with instruction using Wilson.  

Stephanie Korber
Director of Youth Education
Center for Literacy, Inc.
636 S. 48th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19143
215 474 1235 ext. 270 & 219
korber at centerforliteracy.org

-----Original Message-----
From: learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:learningdisabilities-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Christy
Breihan
Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 12:16 PM
To: learningdisabilities at nifl.gov
Subject: [LearningDisabilities 2501] Re: Question

I have followed the same strategy and would add that, while I support
accountability, the TABE requirements you mention are not appropriate
for our population. Our students' skills are so uneven, and unstable
even after they've been acquired. If they start like Swiss cheese, they
progress like melted Swiss, pulling ahead in some areas, getting stuck
in others, and sometimes snapping back to the starting point. That's why
I believe their progress should be measured in terms of what they need
and will use, so that practice and reinforcement will be contextualized
as part of their lives, not just their classes. But that doesn't address
your immediate question.

I have found that for many students with decoding problems, the Level 1
of Wilson results in the biggest gains. Often the students have learned
to recognize larger words, although their tendency to look at only a
part of the word before they retrieve a candidate from their memory bank
causes many errors. Just teaching them to associate sounds with letters
provides breakthroughs, and can go a long way with students who have
worked hard to learn to read by sight. So I usually stick with that
beginning level as my starting point.

Chris Breihan


>>> Shoshanah Dean Hilmer <wcjshannie at hotmail.com> 10/28/08 9:44 AM >>>


I want to pose a question to the literacy professionals on the list that
needs some background information first.  In the past, when a student
came into our center needing decoding skills, and their comprehension
skills were good, I'd place them in a basic word study class using, for
example, the Wilson Reading System.  Even if a student's reading ability
was at an upper intermediate level, I'd start her on 1.3 in Wilson or at
the beginning (if her comprehension was excellent and her main issue was
picking apart unknown words/spelling).  This has worked very well for my
program.  Students have been happy with their placement.  However, now
we find ourselves in a position where we need to show quick gains on the
TABE.  We need a 2 grade level jump ASAP to get some funding.  What is
your advice for materials to use for students who read between 2nd grade
and a 5th grade level?  Would you still start them at Wilson 1.3 or at
the beginning?  My problem is adults have what I call 
 
 "swiss cheese gaps".  They have some skills and not other foundational
knowledge.  Every student's prior knowledge is different.  I feel like I
"spin my wheels" just trying to find out where the gaps are.  However, I
don't have time to waste starting everyone from basically the beginning
if that's not the best plan.
 
Thank you,
Shannie
 
 
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