It’s almost that time of year again…no, not just Christmas (yay for that!), but RTI assessment time! I know many teachers can have a love/hate for RTI and all the assessments. A love (or at least a like) for how successful RTI can be, but maybe a hate for how much of our precious time it can take.
Progress monitoring, universal screening, skills testing, dyslexia screening, and the list can go on and on! All this assessing used to take a HUGE chunk of my time. Not to mention all the time spent copying and preparing tests. Over time with experience, I have figured out how to make giving these assessments take so much less time and less painful!
Tip #1: Stick to a Schedule
Prepare yourself ahead of time. Don’t wait until the last minute to assess your students. Things can happen- students will be absent, last minute assemblies will be scheduled and you may run out of time. Decide what you will assess, schedule it out with time to spare for the unexpected and then stick to your schedule as much as possible. You will thank me when you have completed it and have time left to spare!
Tip #2: Set a Testing Zone
Set up a testing zone and set out all the materials you will need. This will help you to efficiently assess students when you have just a few minutes to get a student or two completed. Keep your computer, list of students to be tested, pens, pencils, testing materials all right there at the table. You can then move in and out of this area as needed without wasting time hunting down what you need.
Tip #3: Be Efficient with Your Time
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