Web Conference Reflection - School Community Relations Class

I was able to attend one web conference during this course. I enjoyed being able to attend. It allowed me to be able to get questions answered and hear what others were thinking. It was also beneficial to hear other information that was presented regarding requirements of the masters program. Many of which I still need to complete. When I can't attend the web conferences I try to read the conversations on-line. Thanks for having them.

New Action Research Topic

Due to changes with administration and needs of the district my supervisor has decided it would be best to change the action research topic. She has asked me to help her with this action research study on the reliability and validity of universal screeners in math and reading. We currently have a universal screener we have used in the past but have the opportunity to use a couple of other screeners at no or little cost. We are currently looking at using three screeners with a possibility of a fourth. We are going to set up a study at the elementary level to determine which screener is best for our district. We are looking at two key aspects. First, we are going to look at the relationship between a universal screener and the accompanying intervention on student performance as measured by the state assessment. Secondly, we are going to look at the validity and reliability of screeners from various vendors in determining appropriate interventions. We will determine the results by looking at how the students performed on the state test last year in comparison to performance this year. We also realize there are several factors that we cannot control: absolute fidelity to the program, teacher variability, technical support, and student motivation. We have spent time researching and picking the screeners, writing and editing the proposal, and dividing the schools with each screener. We have also had several meetings with key members of the research team. At this time schools have received their assignments and are currently screening or waiting for more information.