assessment

We have to do LBA testing on our students.  This is like benchmark testing throughout the year.  The hard part is that they are on the computers.  Most of my students don't have computers at home and only see or go on them at school.  I think that this might be an easier way to assess them, but for some of them it is very difficult.  They don't know how to click correctly, or just guess.  I watched some of them take their assessment and they were just clicking on all different things.  I don't feel that this is a great assessment for this type of demographics.  They are not used to computers and therefore I don't think that you can get the best assessment of their abilities by using computers. Now the FCAT is going computerized making it even harder for those that are not familiar with technology.  Is this really helping our students?

RtI

After reading the Response to Intervention I know that it is supposed to help students, but in my classroom I find it a way for my students to get out of the lesson time and just work on intervention.  I have a student who is struggling in math. Our only intervention is the FasttMath on the computer.  So, I have been instructed to put her on the computer everyday.  She also has a behavior RtI.  When it is time for math she wants to go on the computer as soon as I start the lesson.  If I don't let her, then she pitches a fit until I let her.  She is going on the computer during the lesson, which means she is not learning anything new.  According to the philosophy of RtI this intervention is supposed to help her better herself in math, yet because she disrupts class, talks and whines until she goes on the computer, she goes during lesson.  If I don't then it disrupts the others so they don't learn.  She was told by our Math Coach that she has to go on everyday, so she uses that to her advantage and "wants" to go on when the lesson starts getting hard.  I was told to let her because of the behavior issue.  I don't see how this is helping her out at all.  She is getting further and further behind, yet because of the "No Child Left Behind" they won't hold her back again because she was held back in 1st grade.  How is this helping the student at all? I thought that RtI was supposed to help them? This bothers me because I see more use in spending one on one time with her, not on the computer doing multiplication facts during the lesson. 

Starting Up

I am using this blog for my RED 6845 class for my Masters in Reading!  I am so excited this will be my last semester before my practicum.