A teacher has four students in a 30-minute reading group, each with a fluency goal. Each week she hears each student read for a minute, writes four scores on four index cards, and by Thursday cannot find two of them. The lesson was fine. The data went missing.
Groups save time for instruction. They should not cost data. This guide covers what can be collected together, what cannot, and a grid that keeps four students' data on one page without mixing them up.
What the group changes, and what it does not
A group changes how you teach and how you collect. It does not change whose goal it is. The IEP goal belongs to one student, and the data that show progress belong to that student too. NCII's guidance on graphs and goal lines, in aimline and trendline explained, applies to each student separately.
The PROGRESS Center treats group size as one way to adjust dosage. It says teachers can increase dosage, meaning the number of opportunities students have to practice and receive feedback, by reducing group size and incorporating more frequent response opportunities, among other strategies. So a group is a teaching decision, and the data are about what each student does inside it.
What can be collected as a group
| Probe type | Can it be given to a group? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Math computation sheet | Often | Texas says its probes can be given individually, in small groups, or whole group |
| Written expression sample | Often | Students write at the same time with the same prompt |
| Oral reading fluency | Normally no | Needs one-to-one listening and error marking |
| Behavior tally | One observer, several students | Each student needs a separate column |
| Letter naming or sound fluency | Normally no | Individual oral response |
Whatever the type, follow the publisher's directions. Texas stresses that the timing be followed precisely and consistently, and that the administrator avoid answering questions about the items. Those rules apply to a group of five as much as to a single student.
A grid for four students
Put each student in a row, and each week in a column. Use codes, not names.
| Student | Goal | Baseline | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 90 by May | 52 | 54 | 55 | 58 | 57 |
| B | 70 by May | 38 | 40 | 39 | 43 | 44 |
| C | 100 by May | 71 | 72 | 75 | 76 | 79 |
| D | 60 by May | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 27 |
The grid takes about a minute per student each week. It also shows at a glance that student D is flat while the others are rising. An average of the four would hide that: the group mean rises, and student D still needs a conversation.
For each student, copy the scores to their own data log and graph. The grid is for collecting, not for deciding.
Reading the grid in numbers
With 30 weeks left, you can compare growth so far with growth needed for each student, as in rate of improvement explained.
| Student | Gain so far | Per week so far | Needed per week from now |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 5 | 1.25 | 1.10 |
| B | 6 | 1.50 | 0.87 |
| C | 8 | 2.00 | 0.70 |
| D | 2 | 0.50 | 1.10 |
The last column is the goal minus the latest score, divided by the 30 weeks left. Students A, B, and C are growing faster than they need to, and D is growing at less than half the needed rate. Four points are too few for any decision rule, which needs six or more, so the next step for D is to keep collecting and check fidelity, not to change the plan. But the grid has told you where to look first.
Why separate graphs
An IEP team asks about one student at a time. A group line cannot answer "is Maya on track for her goal?" A graph with the goal line, trend line, and baseline can. See graphing IEP data in a spreadsheet for a template to copy per student.
If you are using a decision rule, apply it to each student. In the grid above, student D is a candidate for the steps in goal not progressing? A checklist once the minimum for the rule has passed.
Do not let the lesson quiz stand in
Small groups often have their own end-of-unit checks. They are useful for lesson decisions. NCII cautions that measures used as part of a specific intervention typically measure progress within the intervention, not on a broader measure of performance, and that using only them may lead a team to wrong conclusions about progress toward grade-level expectations. For that reason NCII recommends curriculum-independent tools for the IEP goal.
Keep both. The lesson quiz tells you if the lesson worked. The probe tells you if the goal is moving.
Taking behavior data in a group
For a behavior goal, one adult can track several students with a simple tally grid, with a column for each student and a row for each time block. The IES practice guide recommends keeping methods very simple, with a tally mark under the time and activity when the behavior occurs. If you are also teaching, limit yourself to one behavior per student, and tally only that. Watching four students for four behaviors at once is not realistic.
Spread the probes across the week
If you give every student a probe on the same day, one day each week is spent testing. Instead, give one or two students a probe at the start of each session. Over a week, everyone has a score and no day is lost. Keep the day of the week constant for each student, so the spacing between scores stays even.
Group data errors
- Averaging the group. A mean hides the student who is stuck.
- Using names on the grid. Use codes. See data privacy for IEP records.
- Mixing probe types in one column. Each student's measure stays the same.
- Skipping absent students. Write "absent" so the gap is visible.
- Giving the probe differently in a group than alone. The same directions, every time.
For fitting this into a whole week, see a weekly data routine for a caseload. Terms are in the glossary.
Group size and time sharing
The sources do not say how large a group can be for a probe, or how to share time among students. Your tool's manual and your district's procedures decide. The goal is to keep each student's data separate, regular, and comparable.