Reading instruction: Getting it right the first time

The authors point out how testing has traditionally pursued two objectives: to determine mastery of skills or knowledge and to compare students with one another. While one can argue that we have adequate types of norm-referenced assessments available, educators today–as the authors assert–do not possess the proper tools to assess skills mastery. Furthermore, these assessments are not typically administered, analyzed, or the resulting recommendations applied in real time. As Christensen, Horn, and Johnson suggest, disruptive technology can be used to link instruction to assessment and provide a customized and individualized learning environment that helps every child master skills.

So how can we, as educators, get reading instruction right the first time? I wholeheartedly believe that disruptive technology offers us the greatest impact in terms of RTI strategies. The interplay between assessment and instruction is at the center of the RTI challenge, and most of the resources required for RTI success are related to our ability to gather, interpret, and apply performance data in our instructional strategies. When technology is used to truly inform instruction–pinpointing the skills on which students are struggling, prescribing the right intervention, and evaluating the effectiveness of that intervention–we will have elevated our ability to execute RTI strategies for the benefit of our students.

Robert McCabe is chief education officer for Lexia Learning.

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