Understanding the Screening to Intervention (s2i) Report

By: Nicole M. McKevett, MA, NCSP

After a screening period, do you find yourself wondering “Now what?” Because of this common burning question of many educators, we have developed a report that can help you answer this in an accurate and timely manner. Developed in the 2016-17 school year, the Screening to Intervention Report (s2i) is a tool completely unique to the FastBridge assessment system. By using the s2i report, educators can quickly and simply connect student assessment results to the interventions available in their district, to accurately target students’ deficit skills. Here are sample reading and math s2i reports.

The s2i report was designed based on evidence-based recommendations for MTSS implementation. One of these recommendations is that decisions be based on multiple data points, because many single scores include some form of error. This error could be due to anything, including student fatigue, environmental distractions, student effort, and testing conditions. The s2i report uses data from multiple FastBridge measures that reflect similar academic skills. Altogether, it is estimated that students will spend about 30 minutes completing the measures necessary to complete the requirements of an s2i report in reading or math.

Below are tables showing the specific subtests that contribute scores for both basic and broad areas of reading and math on the s2i report. It is important to note that schools have a choice about what assessments and levels to use for screenings and the school or district selections will determine what data are used in the s2i report. For example, for some specific skill areas, there is a choice of assessments to use.  In addition, for fall screenings, schools can opt to use either the prior grade material or the current grade level.  The option for the prior year is provided because such data will show if the students are ready for the new level or need remedial instruction.

The s2i report offers many benefits to educators beyond what is found in common screening reports. These benefits include:

• Automatic comparison of student performance on multiple measures
• Information on the general reliability of each score
• Scores displayed side-by-side so that teachers can view them quickly
• Detailed recommendations on what kind of intervention will best target deficit skills
• Detailed recommendations on what measure to use to progress monitor the student’s skills
• Ability to customize what recommendations are provided, based on the interventions and tools available in the school or district

In reading, the s2i report also provides information on other reading indicators, such as Lexile, Basal, or F&P level.

The recommended intervention area is indicated by five short-hand notations:

1. ACC (reading and math): This indicates that the student will most benefit from an intervention that focuses on accuracy. The goal of an accuracy intervention will be for the student to achieve 90-95% accuracy on small sets of items/skill.
2. AUTO (reading and math): This indicates that the student will most benefit from an intervention that focuses on automaticity. This kind of intervention will include both accuracy and fluency. The goal of an automaticity intervention will be for the student to achieve 90-95% accuracy with automatic responses. This skill is important as it will free of cognitive resources of higher order skills, including problem solving and reading comprehension.
3. ACC-AUTO (reading only): This indicates that the student will most benefit from an intervention that focuses on both accuracy and automaticity. The goal for this kind of intervention will be to achieve 90-95% accuracy on a broader set of skills.
4. BRD (reading and math): This indicates that the student will most benefit from an intervention that focuses on the broad skill. The goal of a broad intervention will be to improve performance in skills that are related to a target skill, as well as develop an understanding for the need to slow down and seek information to achieve the goal of the task (i.e. reading comprehension and math problem solving).
5. PROC (math only): This indicates that the student will most benefit from an intervention that focuses on the process of the skill. The goal for this kind of intervention will be to accurately complete a multi-step problem in the correct order, with the correct solution at each step of the problem. For example, this type of intervention will be common for students that struggle with multi-step math problems.

There is also a notation to show if a student is on track and intervention is not recommended. One of the most unique features of the s2i report is that schools can add available intervention programs and strategies to the FastBridge website that can be used for each of these instructional areas. This helps teams determine quickly and accurately which intervention to begin in relation to a student’s deficit skills.

Another feature of the s2i report is the inclusion of the suggested weekly score gain (or the Rate of Improvement, ROI) needed for the student to reach the end of year benchmark. For example, if the recommended progress monitoring measure is CBMreading, the score would be correct words per minute. The suggested weekly score gain is the number of words read correctly per minute that the student would need to gain per week to meet the end of year benchmark.

The s2i report will also include a list of existing progress monitoring groups and suggest the one that a best fits a student’s needs. This is particularly helpful for planning purposes after each screening period. It can help educators know how many students need progress monitoring with certain measures, and how often. This feature can guide planning after screening and reduce the leg work required in deciphering the results of the screening assessments, what measures you need to administer next, and how to group students for intervention and progress monitoring.

Teachers can also use the s2i report to determine flexible instructional grouping of students. The report offers recommendations of what “tier” of support a student needs based on the performance on the measures necessary to complete the s2i report. Tier 1 indicates the student is on track to meet the end of year benchmarks, with core instruction alone. Tier 1+ indicates the student might benefit from grouping within the classroom for small-group instruction during core instruction time. Tier 2 indicates the student might benefit from additional instruction in the target area beyond what is provided during in core instruction. Tier 3 is not designated in the s2i report because this determination requires a team decision, and will depend on the entire school’s needs and available supports.

The s2i report is an innovative report that can be used to seamlessly tie together the screening results with the instructional needs of each student. Teachers can use the s2i report to answer the question of “Now what?,” determine the flexible grouping needs of their students, determine the correct intervention and progress monitoring measure, and work efficiently within their building’s MTSS system. If you have any questions about how to set up or interpret the s2i report after your class completes the fall, winter, or spring screening period, more information is available in the FastBridge Learning Knowledge Base.