District Generates Flexible Student Groups and Differentiates Instruction with Formative Assessment Data

Cranston, RI | serving ~11,000 students in PK-12

SUMMARY

Cranston is a district with 24 schools, 17 of them serving elementary grades. The district’s student population is diverse ethnically, academically and in terms of English language proficiency. Cranston began using the Children’s Progress Academic Assessment (CPAA) at its Gladstone Street School in 2008 and upon seeing the program’s positive impact, expanded it to be used district-wide for K-2 universal screening and progress tracking.

We love that the CPAA is so user friendly. You’ll have no problems manipulating it even if you’re not tech-savvy… but what’s even more important for us is that it’s ADAPTIVE. It helps our students stretch to see how far they can go and it helps us identify exactly how to help them get there.
Roxanne Murphy
Math Coach
Gladstone Street Elementary

CHALLENGE

Prior to using the CPAA, Cranston was administering several literacy and mathematics assessments in the early grades. These included end-of-unit tests, a district-wide math assessment, PALS and running records. Information collected from these tools was used summatively, to measure what students had learned. Early educators were interested in adding a formative program to their toolkit that could help them proactively focus on specific skills students may be struggling with and remove barriers preventing understanding.

The Gladstone team initially decided to try the CPAA because of its child-friendly format and the fact that it was short yet informative. They needed a tool that would deliver instructionally useful information without subjecting their youngest students to lengthy or developmentally inappropriate testing.

SOLUTION

The Gladstone Street team began using the CPAA in 2008. In 2010, the district expanded the program to all of its elementary schools. Roxanne Murphy, Math Coach at Gladstone says, “The kids were motivated and really enjoyed it. They wanted to take it again. And we were getting actionable, detailed data we could use right away.”

The assessment is currently administered district-wide three times a year for screening in kindergarten through grade 2. A district assessment schedule helps keep all early educators on the same page.

Aside from acting as a whole-group screener, Murphy notes that the CPAA has been especially helpful for identifying the needs of migrant students. “No matter when they arrive, we can assess them right away to identify where they need to go,” she explains.
The CPAA’s instant reports have been the most helpful feature for educators. “All of the data is immediate. It’s easy to read, easy to group students for support and to review progress. Teachers also use the reports to collaborate with parents, sometimes sending activities home or sharing a report during a conference,” Murphy says.

CPAA data is discussed regularly by educational teams. At Gladstone, both Murphy and the teachers review their reports and meet once a month for a grade-level discussion. “We ask deep, reflective questions about practices and discuss what’s working and whether specific students need additional support,” Murphy recounts. The team works together to maintain a forum for open dialogue. In an effort to help share the best practices established at Gladstone and ensure that the benefits of collaboration extend beyond her school, Murphy has also trained teachers at other Cranston elementary schools to use the CPAA.

CPAA reports are also used in the context of RTI. Combined with other data sources and teacher observations, they are referenced to determine where students need additional support. As a Math Coach, Murphy sometimes uses the CPAA’s recommended activities with pull-out students. Moreover, in the interest of tracking student progress, the Gladstone team tries to administer the CPAA twice each season – once at the beginning and again at the end to assess growth.

IMPACT

A More Accurate Snapshot of Student Learning
“Sometimes we have students who struggle to produce written work. We often see that on the CPAA, they’re much more comfortable. They take their time and the assessment gives us a more accurate picture of their understanding. We’re able to see them making progress at their own pace,” Murphy says. She also emphasizes that Cranston educators use CPAA data in a formative manner, to guide instruction: “Our goal is to understand where they’re at, not to assign a proficiency score.”

Instant Information for Flexible Grouping
Murphy says, “One of the great ways in which we’ve been able to use CPAA reports is for creating activity groups. We use the reports both to generate the dynamic groups and to choose an appropriate concept-specific activity.” This has helped teachers adjust groups throughout the year, ensuring greater flexibility and responsiveness to student needs. “All of our students have strengths in different areas within each subject and those strengths are not static. CPAA reports help us gather that data quickly and use it to tailor our instruction,” Murphy clarifies.

Fostering Collaboration
Murphy and her team already use CPAA data to communicate with parents and share best practices within each grade. Since CPAA data is longitudinal, in coming years she hopes to also use it to foster cross-grade collaboration.