Taylor Blair

Homewood Middle School

Pre/Posttest Intervention Plan
Student Performance
Student C is considered to be in the higher-level group for math in Mrs. Bryans special
education class. Student C has been diagnosed as having a Specific Learning Disability and has
difficulty applying specific rules and procedures to the right problems in math. Student C is very
smart, but he struggles with identifying the procedure necessary to complete a math problem.
Approximately each week, the students take the STAR math test to monitor progress throughout
the weeks. The STAR assessment originally stood for Standardized Test for the Assessment of
Reading. Since the creation of STAR Math the reading test is referred to as STAR Reading. The
STAR assessments monitor progress and give a clear graph to show display student achievement.
STAR also displays the students grade equivalent according to his or her assessment results.
Student C had started out very low according to the STAR test. On my first day student C took
the STAR assessment as received a grade equivalent of 4.2 meaning he is on a fourth grade math
level. Student C was mainly struggling with multiplying multiple digit numbers, which then
leads to having difficulty dividing multiple digit numbers. Student C is not motivated to learn,
and it is difficult to get him excited about doing well in school. Student C is considered to be in
the higher-level math group in Mrs. Bryans caseload. C is able to comprehend high-level
content; unfortunately his grades do not reflect his ability and potential. This is due to the fact
that he does not check his work and is careless when solving problems. C is able to understand
the concepts, but he lacks the self-motivation that would truly help him excel not only in math,
but also in other subject areas as well.

Intervention Process
The most difficult part of the intervention process was finding times to meet with student
C on a consistent basis. Student C arrives early each morning to receive help from Mrs. Bryan so
that he can be pre-taught the lesson that will be taught in math class that day. This pre-teaching
time is extremely valuable for C and I was respectful of that time to only work with C when the
pre-teaching had concluded, and C still had time to spare before going to his first class. Mondays
during STAR testing was another great time for me to work with C, because he would usually
finish early. This allowed us a good amount of time to practice dividing. On the pre assessment,
student C had the most trouble working out multiple digit multiplication and division. According
to these results I decided to focus on division, which would involve multiplication rather than
only focusing on multiplication, which would not allow C to learn more division. I began the
intervention by giving C Math reminder cards to help him with the steps on how to begin to
solve a multiple digit division problem. These reminder cards have big print with a fun border
that make them easy to read, and when laminated easy to keep track of and hold on to. The preassessment also showed that C was having difficulty with place value, which I found contributed
to his confusion with multiplying and dividing larger numbers. Once we established a
groundwork of place value and wear to start with multiple digit multiplication problems, the rest
of our meetings involved C working out two or three problems on the small white board. C told
me from the beginning he enjoyed using the small white board to solve problems, so I wanted to
be sure he was able to solve the problems in a way he enjoyed most. During this intervention
process, I learned with Math the most effective instruction is giving students examples, working
out problems together and then practicing solving problems. White boards work extremely well
for practicing math problems, because the students are able to erase mistakes very easily, which

eliminates students getting frustrated if they continue to make errors. The white board allow
student to make errors and easily correct them when recognized. One thing I would do
differently for this intervention would be to have a concrete way of assessing how well the
intervention worked. In this case, it is difficult to determine whether the results of Cs success
correlate directly to the intervention, or if his success is based on other factors including his
general education teachers instruction along with Mrs. Bryans instruction.
Intervention Results
Student C performed very well on his final assessment compared to his pre assessment.
On the pre assessment, C had difficulty with dividing three digit numbers. On the post
assessment, C was able to complete each problem successfully with no errors and even verbally
explain his thought process on how to solve the problems. Another way I was able to monitor Cs
progress was through his results of the STAR math tests. Before intervention, C was at a 4.2
grade-level equivalent. The next week he improved to a 5 grade-level equivalent. The last week
he scored another 5 on grade-level equivalent. This means C made significant improvement in
math skills during the time of the intervention. The results of the STAR tests include further
teaching and resources provided to C during class time instruction and independent work apart
form our intervention time. These extended resources and teachings contributed to Cs success
on the STAR test. Our time for intervention was always short, but it was effective in mastering
multiplying and dividing procedures that are the foundation for math problems. Cs behavior
improved as a result as well. After our time together during interventions, I noticed that he was
more confident in his skills and was able to complete problems more easily due to his confidence
in the skill. C keeps his reminders in his math notebook to reference, and has said that they help
him in class. It was difficult to determine the main cause of student Cs success on the final

assessment as well as on his STAR tests. The combination of learning and practicing in the
general education classroom as well as receiving additional help from Mrs. Bryans preteachings and also my interventions contributed to Cs success on his progress reports and post
assessment. Student C is more confident in multiplying and dividing, which has been clear as he
has progressed each week feeling more and more confident in his ability complete multiplication
and division problems.

MATH REMINDER CARDS

PRACTICE
PROBLEMS ON WHITE BOARD

PRE TEST

POST TEST

STAR TEST RESULTS