Bensenville school personalizes reading instruction

When W.A. Johnson School in Bensenville Elementary District 2 failed to make adequate yearly progress in 2010, teachers and administrators refocused their efforts in reading instruction and saw quick results.

The school came back from a year when Hispanic and low-income students struggled in reading on a standardized exam to post 2011 reading scores that improved between 5 percentage points and 10 percentage points for students in those groups and met benchmarks set by the No Child Left Behind Act.

“In a year, we really recovered and came together,” Principal Jennifer Bann said.

According to state report card data released in late October, 67.6 percent of Johnson’s Hispanic students and 68.3 percent of low-income students met or exceeded reading standards in 2010 — not enough to make adequate yearly progress.

But the percentage of Hispanic students meeting or exceeding reading standards jumped to 78.6 in 2011, while the percentage of low-income students that made the grade rose to 73.3.

Bann and District 2 administrators attribute the quick increase in reading scores to a new model of differentiated instruction they began at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.

Differentiated instruction means the school now adjusts textbooks, class exercises and curriculum to each student’s reading level instead of using the same materials for everyone regardless of comprehension, said Kay Dugan, assistant superintendent for learning.

“Differentiation is respecting all learners even if they’re in different places,” she said. “In every classroom, the kids are just not all the same.”

Johnson School teachers give a reading skills assessment to each student at the beginning of the year. If students score at, above or below their grade level, the district buys supplemental materials to make each grade’s science and social studies textbooks understandable for kids with different levels of comprehension, Dugan said.

Also last year, teachers surveyed students about their interests and used the results to create libraries in each classroom. When the books were delivered, teachers told students they were “book presents,” something fun, rather than a chore, Dugan said.

Guided reading time during each school day and book clubs before and after school give students time to enjoy the libraries in their classrooms and choose books that are at their reading level, Bann said.

So when it came time for the big test-taking day in the spring, Bann said Johnson School still tried to infuse a bit of fun. Members of the parent-teacher association brought snacks for every student, and the youngest students at the kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school made good luck cards for their older counterparts who were about to take the ISAT, Bann said.

“We make a big deal about the ISAT, but we make a big deal in a really positive way,” Bann said. “We tried to make it a really positive experience, and we also tried to make it a little more of a relaxed environment because we want the kids to take the test seriously, but we don’t want them to get so anxious.”

Dugan said students should continue to improve in reading and other subjects the longer teachers use the method of adjusting classroom materials to individual reading levels. So after one year of differentiated reading instruction and score increases, more improvements may be to come.

“Differentiation doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an ongoing initiative,” Dugan said.

“It’s opening the door so we’re meeting kids at their respective starting points and then taking them forward.”