Educational Report

Brigham Young University Idaho

Demographics

Name: Makenzie Tucker

Date of Birth: 07/30/2009
Age: 7 years 7 months
Evaluation Date: 3/03/2017
Evaluators: Larsen, Murray, and VanEvery
Report Author: 04-635-4839, 32-630-6012, and 01-421-1280

Reason for Referral

Makenzie is below average in her reading. Although she enjoys reading, she is below where she
should be at the end of a school year. She has been observed in the classroom setting, her
mother has been interviewed, and the Woodcock Johnson IV achievement test has been
administered to her. Makenzies mom is concerned shes not currently getting the reading
intervention she needs.

Background

Developmental History
Makenzies mother had a normal pregnancy although after 19 hours of labor, her mom wasnt
progressing. Because Makenzie had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, the delivery
resulted in a caesarean section. Makenzie scored a 9 on the Apgar test so there were no long-
term effects on her. Since then, she has progressed normally and hit all her milestones at the
appropriate time.

Family Information and Social/Emotional History

Makenzie is the oldest of four children. She is very responsible and helpful around the house,
she always completes her chores on time and helps her brothers to get ready for school and
complete their chores as well. She enjoys vacuuming and likes to dust the house as well. Her
family reports that she is the Mini Mom. Her mom reports that she has shown characteristics
of anxiety. Makenzie refuses to use the bathroom at school because of fears that she has about
the toilets and germs. She also insists that her mom tell her every night before bed exactly what
will happen the following day because she doesnt enjoy surprises. Makenzie has also become
aware of others opinions and being judged. Her mom reports that she always asks her mom
how an outfit looks on her and if everything matches. Makenzie is able to dress herself and do
her hair as well, though her mom usually helps to fix it. Makenzie enjoys cleaning and crafting
with her mom as well as using her calculator. She has always been a loving child who enjoys
hugs and quality time with her family members. Her family enjoys doing activities together on
the weekends such as going out to eat and going rollerskating. Both of her grandparents and
most of her aunts and uncles all live in Pocatello and she spends lots of time with all of them.
Makenzie is a very sensitive and empathetic child. Her mom reports that she gets sad if she
sees other children who dont have friends, and when her brothers hurt her feelings they have
to write her a note saying they are sorry before she can move on. She is used to people being
nice to her, so when someone hurts her feelings she is unsure how to react. Her mom is helping
her learn to regulate her emotions more effectively. Makenzie sleeps through the night and
enjoys to read before falling asleep.

Medical
Makenzies eyes and ears have both been tested this year, she has normal vision and hearing.
Both of her parents had poor eyesight starting around junior high, so they test her frequently
for any issues. Though they havent found any allergy issues, she did have a few experiences
when she was little where she broke out in hives.

Educational History
Makenzie is currently in the second grade at Gate City Elementary. Makenzie says that her
favorite subject in school is either science or math. Her mom reports that she struggles with
reading and is below grade level. Makenzie is not aware that she is below, her mom just has her
practice. She participates in the Walk to Read program at her school and has been assigned
extra reading assignments.

Observation

Reading
While reading over her writing she would hold her paper up at eye level or look down at her
paper and tap her pencil repetitively. At one point one of the students sitting next to her was
reading and Makenzie said, Ive read that book! During testing Makenzie would sounding out
most words and make self-corrections. There was little to no inflection in her voice. Her mom
stated that Makenzie isnt reading at grade level.

Writing
During class, Makenzie was writing a story based on pictures the teacher would hold up. While
writing she would repeatedly pull her pencil through her fingers, get up, and walk over to look
at the picture, then sit back down and continue to write. Each time her teacher would say,
your stories need to match the picture she would get back up and walk over to look at the
picture. She scratched her head a few times and would erase before beginning to write again.
At one point, she bit her lip and looked up with her fingers interlocked around the pencil then
looked down at the paper for a second before beginning to write again. Often while writing
other children would be talking and Makenzie wouldnt look up from her paper unless she had
stopped writing.

Oral Language
Makenzie was seen during class having conversations with other students and her teacher. At
one point the whole class was writing in their journals and the teacher said, Ok, about a
minute more. After the teacher said this Makenzie began to write faster. While other students
 at her table were talking, she would look at them for about 15 seconds and then continue
writing. Makenzie would look at the teacher whenever she was speaking to the whole class.
Makenzie approached her teacher multiple times to show what she was working on and one
time said, I wrote that the fish were jealous. Id be jealous. Near the end of the class period
she asked the girl sitting next to her, Are we stopping? The girl shrugged and Makenzie began
writing again. Her mother stated that she speaks at home and gives directions to her younger
siblings. Her mother also explains to her every night the plan for the next day so that she can be
prepared.

Math
During the class time we observed, Makenzie didnt demonstrate any math skills, but while
testing when she was doing math calculations of three or more numbers Makenzie would write
a number next to every second number. The number was the sum of that second number and
the one above it. She completed math problems on the test quickly with no observed difficulty.
Her mom stated that Makenzie is good at math.

Tests Administered

WJ IV: Woodcock Johnson IV Achievement Test

The Woodcock Johnson IV Achievement Test is a norm referenced test that measures
intellectual ability and academic achievement. We administered this test to get a general idea
of where Makenzie is academically.
Date Administered: March 3, 2017

Test Results

WJ IV
Raw Score Standard Score Percentile Rank
Reading - 110 74
Letter-Word Identification 50 110 74
Passage Comprehension 29 107 68
Sentence Reading Fluency 26 67 1
Word Attack 21 115 83
Oral Reading - 94 34
Mathematics - 103 59
Applied Problems 28 112 79
Calculation 17 96 40
Math Facts Fluency 36 103 58
Written Language - 111 76
Spelling 29 92 30
Writing Samples 17 129 98
Sentence Writing Fluency 13 121 92
Interpretation

Reading:
Based on testing, observation, and interview, it has been determined that Makenzie is in the
below average range for reading. Her Woodcock Johnson results show that she is average in all
areas of reading except for sentence reading fluency, in which she is below average. However,
both Makenzies mother and teacher have reported that Makenzie is reading below grade level.
In both administrations of fluency tests Makenzie would read at a slow rate, self-correct,
substitute words, and sound out words. She also lacks prosody when reading below grade level
passages. There seems to be a disconnect in her ability to identify words independently and in
sentences. If Makenzie does not improve her reading fluency she will continue to fall behind
which will have a negative impact on her schooling later on. She will not be able to complete
assignments correctly or efficiently because it will take her longer to understand what is being
asked of her. Being a slow reader will affect her comprehension of higher level texts.

Makenzie is consistently able to:

1. Identify letter relationships in real and made up words.
2. Identify sight words at her grade level and above.
3. Sound out words she doesnt know.

Makenzie can partially and sometimes do the following:

1. Correctly identify 4th grade level words.
2. Demonstrate appropriate rate in below grade level passages
3. Demonstrate accuracy in below grade level passages.

Makenzie has yet to show proficiency in:

1. Read grade level sentences at an appropriate rate.
2. Read grade level sentences with prosody
3. Read grade level sentences accurately.
Math
Based on testing and interview Makenzie falls in the average range for math. On the WJ IV she
scored in the 59th percentile for Mathematics with her lowest score being in calculations and
her highest in applied problems. Both scores were within the average range. Makenzie didnt
demonstrate any math skills while we observed her in the classroom, but her mom stated that
she is good at math. This is in congruence with the test results. During the math portion of the
WJ IV she completed the problems quickly and with ease. These findings indicate that Makenzie
will continue to be able to complete any grade level math assignments she is assigned.

Makenzie is consistently able to:

1. Mentally add and subtract one digit numbers.
2. Read and write numbers to 1,000.
3. Use addition and subtraction within 100 to solve one- and two-step word problems.

Makenzie can partially and sometimes do the following:

1. Add and subtract within 100 using strategies based on place value.
2. Multiply one digit numbers.
3. Compare two three-digit numbers based on meanings of the hundreds, tens, and
ones digits.

Makenzie has yet to show proficiency in:

1. Division of numbers within 100.
2. Addition and subtraction with fractions that have the same denominator.
3. Adding and subtracting within 1000 using strategies and algorithms based on place
value.
Oral Language
According to tests, observations, and interviews Makenzie falls in the average range for oral
language. On the Oral Reading section of the WJ IV it shows that she is below average, but that
does not necessarily mean she has poor oral language, only that she struggles with reading.
Observations and interviews show that her oral language is in the average range. She was
observed holding understandable conversations with other students in her class and to her
teacher. While doing a writing activity the teacher said, Ok, about a minute more. After the
teacher said this Makenzie began to write faster which showed her understanding of the
teachers instructions. At one point during the observation Makenzie spoke directly to us saying,
Youre Ambers friends. She said this in a way that was completely understandable. Her
mother stated that Makenzie holds conversations at home with both her parents and siblings.
She gives understandable directions to younger brothers and sisters. Since Makenzie has
average oral language for her age she should continue to develop her vocabulary and be able to
hold intelligent conversations with others as she continues in school. She will also be able to
understand lessons and instructions that are given to her.

Makenzie is consistently able to:

1. Hold conversations with others her age.
2. Understand instructions given to her.
3. Uses sentences that have details.

Makenzie can partially and sometimes do the following:

1. Anticipate the needs of the listener.
2. Use words with multiple meanings.
3. Interpret the tone of a conversation.

Makenzie has yet to show proficiency in doing:

1. Adjusting choice of words to match context.
2. Know more than 80,000 words.
3. Understands jokes and riddles based on word ambiguity.
Writing
Based on testing, and observation Makenzie falls in the average range for writing. On the WJ IV
she scored in the 98th percentile for writing samples and 92nd percentile for sentence writing
fluency which means that out of a normed group of 100 other children her age Makenzie score
equal to or better than 98 of those students in writing samples and equal to or better than 92
of those students in sentence writing fluency. These scores are reflected in her observation
when she showed focus while writing in class. Makenzies mom didnt state any concerns about
writing during the interview, however, her spelling scores arent congruent with the rest of the
scores because she falls in the 30th percentile. While this is still within the average range for
her age it is significantly lower than her other writing scores. This indicates that this area of
writing does not come as easily to her. During class, Makenzies teacher would put up the
correct spelling for words and Makenzie would walk up to the board, look at them, and write
them down. Her writing on both the WJ IV test and worksheet in class were legible. Since
Makenzie is advanced in some aspects of writing she may get bored during regular writing
assignments in class. This could cause her to be off task and become a distraction to the other
students. However, since her spelling is poor her otherwise good writing could be difficult to
understand.

Makenzie is consistently able to:

1. Write for a variety of purposes.
2. Revise writing for clarity.
3. Edit final copies.

Makenzie can partially and sometimes do the following:

1. Vary sentence structure.
2. Use effective vocabulary.
3. Write to support an opinion.

Makenzie has yet to show proficiency in:

1. Correctly using complex sentence structures.
2. Creating stories beyond her own experiences.
3. Consistently using proper grammar and mechanics.
Recommendations

Through testing, observations, and interviews Makenzie has been found to be below average in
reading. Even though her test scores show she is performing in the average range, observations
and interviews show otherwise. She is currently reading below grade level and does not read
aloud with proper prosody, accuracy, or rate. These findings indicate that Makenzie is in need
of reading intervention at school.

Professional support:
1. Determine how much intervention Makenzie needs at school.
2. Begin monitoring Makenzies progress on a regular basis to make sure she is hitting her
benchmark goals.
3. Determine what, if any, accommodations and modifications can be given to Makenzie.

Parent support:
1. Makenzies parents should have her read out loud to them daily.
2. Makenzies parents should read to her and demonstrate fluency while doing so.
3. Continue to monitor her progress in reading to make sure she is hitting benchmark
goals.
4. Cultivate a love for reading.

Teacher support:
1. Makenzies teacher should continue to give her extra reading assignments to help her
catch up.
2. Makenzies teacher should identify what fluency means when reading to help Makenzie
understand.
3. Have Makenzie work in a small group of 3-5 students three times a week and get explicit
reading instruction from the teacher.
4. Keep cultivating her love for reading.

Summary

Makenzie is a 7 year old girl in her 6th month of second grade at a public elementary school
who is below average in reading. This has been found through observations, interviews, and
testing. Mackenzies mom had a normal pregnancy and birth by cesarean section with
Makenzie. Her parents did not realize she struggled with reading until she began to attend
elementary school, and her mother is concerned that because she is below average in reading,
she will need intervention. She is able to identify words individually, but when she reads them
in a sentence she lacks rate, prosody, and accuracy. Her passage comprehension and spelling
scores, while average, are lower than her other scores indicating that these are areas that do
not come as easily to her. Tests, observations, and interviews show that Makenzie is performing
in the average range for math and oral comprehension, and in the above average range for
writing. Based on these findings Makenzie is in need of reading intervention at school.