Math and Reading Intervention in Special Education
Targeted Skill Sequences for Math and Reading Intervention
Experienced special education teachers know that effective intervention begins with knowing exactly which skills to teach and in what order. iSTEEP follows a research-based sequence of skills in both reading and math, ensuring that instruction starts at the student’s current level and builds step-by-step toward mastery of more complex skills.
We make it easy to link IEP development and reporting to student data with:
- Streamlined IEP Objective Development: iSTEEP data facilitates the creation of precise and measurable IEP objectives, aligning interventions with individual student needs.
- Data-Driven Objective Alignment: iSTEEP allows for direct linking of IEP objectives to specific student data, ensuring that goals are grounded in concrete performance measures.
- Tailored Intervention Design: iSTEEP supports the development of individualized interventions targeted to address the student's identified needs, as determined by the assessment data.
- Efficient Progress Monitoring: iSTEEP provides tools for ongoing monitoring of student progress during intervention, enabling educators to track growth and adjust strategies as needed.
- Documented Progress Toward IEP Goals: iSTEEP enables educators to link student progress data directly to documentation of progress toward meeting IEP objectives, simplifying reporting and accountability.
Our interventions are designed to provide precise and effective support for students with diverse learning needs in reading and math fluency. The diagnostic component pinpoints the exact foundational skills requiring intervention, ensuring instruction begins precisely where the student needs it most.
Math Skill Sequences: Building from the Ground Up
Math learning must follow a logical, scaffolded progression. iSTEEP’s math diagnostic tools help you identify the precise entry point in the skill sequence so you can deliver the right intervention at the right time.
Key Points:
- Start with the Basics: Skills like number recognition, counting, place value, and simple operations (addition and subtraction) come first, providing a foundation for future growth.
- Move to Advanced Concepts: As students master the basics, instruction shifts toward multiplication, division, multi-digit problem solving, fractions, decimals, and eventually algebraic reasoning.
- Pinpoint the Starting Point: Before starting intervention, it’s critical to identify where a student currently performs in the skill sequence. iSTEEP diagnostics make this step quick and accurate, so you don’t waste time guessing.
Reading Skill Sequences: From Sounds to Meaning
Reading development also follows a carefully sequenced progression, beginning with sound-level skills and building toward comprehension and critical thinking.
Key Points:
- Students begin with recognizing and manipulating sounds (phonological awareness), then learn to connect sounds to letters (phonics), which is essential for decoding.
- Develop Fluency: Once students can decode, fluency becomes the focus—reading with speed, accuracy, and expression. Fluency supports comprehension by reducing cognitive load during reading.
- Advance to Vocabulary and Comprehension: As fluency builds, instruction targets vocabulary growth and comprehension strategies like summarizing, predicting, and drawing inferences—skills essential for academic success across subjects.
How iSTEEP Diagnostics Support Instructional Planning
iSTEEP diagnostics are designed to align perfectly with these research-based skill sequences. They don’t just show how a student is performing—they tell you exactly what skill to teach next.
Here’s How It Works:
- Find the Right Skill with the Diagnostic
Think of each subject as a ladder. Every rung represents a key skill that builds on the last. iSTEEP diagnostic assessments pinpoint the exact "rung" a student is on—so you can start instruction from a place that makes sense. - Deliver the Right Intervention
Once you know the skill, iSTEEP connects you to aligned intervention activities that match the student’s current level. - Monitor Progress with Confidence
Progress monitoring tools are easy to use, graphically display growth, and even provide plain-language recommendations—such as when to intensify support, change the intervention, or move on because the student has mastered the skill.
Reading Fluency Intervention: The Reading Center
The Reading Center offers a structured, evidence-based approach to building reading fluency. Its systematic design is particularly beneficial for students with reading difficulties.
- Step 1: Precise Placement (if needed). Utilizing the diagnostic within our platform, we can accurately identify a student's instructional reading level, ensuring they begin at a point of productive challenge.
- Step 2: Focused Independent Practice. Students engage in individualized, computer-based practice. Each grade level (1-5) features 12 targeted lessons with three parts, emphasizing core vocabulary and concepts. These concise 20-30 minute sessions incorporate repeated readings, supported listening previews, and practice with novel or challenging words. The format allows for focused practice within a manageable timeframe, accommodating varying attention spans.
- Step 3: Immediate Fluency Check ("Hot Timing"). Following each lesson, students apply their newly practiced skills by reading an unfamiliar passage with familiar vocabulary for one minute. This immediate feedback mechanism helps solidify learning. Consistent success indicates readiness to advance, while repetition reinforces necessary skills.
- Step 4: Ongoing Progress Monitoring ("Cold Timing"). Integrated weekly "cold timing" sessions assess generalization of fluency skills to new, unpracticed text. This provides valuable data on the student's sustained progress within the curriculum, informing IEP goals and instructional adjustments.
Math Fluency Intervention: iSTEEP Math Lessons - Individualized Support for Foundational and Advanced Skills
Our iSTEEP Math Lessons provide targeted interventions across the K-12 spectrum, addressing both basic computation and more complex mathematical concepts. This comprehensive approach supports students with a wide range of math learning profiles.
- Addressing Foundational Gaps and Building Advanced Proficiency: We offer explicit instruction and practice in areas such as basic facts, computation, fractions, decimals, and integers. Math fact lessons emphasize automaticity, crucial for students with processing challenges, while advanced lessons promote procedural fluency and efficient problem-solving.
- Evidence-Based Motivation for Consistent Practice: Recognizing that repetitive practice can be challenging, our approach leverages research-backed behavioral momentum strategies. By strategically interspersing easier and more difficult problems, we foster student motivation through frequent success and build confidence, encouraging sustained engagement without reliance on distracting gamification.
Step 1: Targeted Math Diagnostic (Optional). The computer-based diagnostic identifies a specific math skill the student understands but hasn't yet mastered for fluency. This precision ensures intervention starts at an optimal point for growth.
Step 2: Efficient Lesson Assignment. Educators can easily assign individualized or group lessons through the platform, streamlining the intervention process.
Step 3: Focused Skill Practice and Mastery Checks. Students engage in brief (10-15 minute) sessions dedicated to practicing the assigned skill. The majority of the time is spent on active practice, followed by an automated mastery check. Weekly progress monitoring is seamlessly integrated within the lessons, reducing the need for separate assessment sessions unless more intensive monitoring is required.
By focusing on precise skill identification, structured practice, and ongoing progress monitoring, our interventions provide special education professionals with valuable tools to effectively support students in developing essential reading and math fluency skills.
For additional information on Special Education: Writing and Tracking Individualized Education Plan Objectives with iSTEEP