Accommodations, Modifications, & Interventions

Many times you will hear educators discussing accommodations, modifications, and interventions.  Often those terms will seem interchangeable.  But there is a difference between the terms.

Accommodations are changes made to instruction.  These changes are made to help students fully participate in the general education curriculum without changing the instructional content.  They do not change the learning expectations in regards to the goal being addressed.  Typically the student product produced using accommodations is equal to the student product produced without accommodations.  Some examples of accommodations would be providing more time to complete work, allowing oral responses instead of written responses, or providing a study guide before a test.

Modifications are changes made to instruction that changes or reduces learning expectations.  This can include rewording test questions, shortening an assignment (odd or even numbers only), or using a different grading scale.

Interventions are strategies that are used to teach a skill in a new situation.  They should include an assessment, planning, and data collection from activities of student achievement.  The interventions are to be scientifically research based.  Regular progress monitoring (example: once a week) should occur to determine skill growth and help shape instructional planning.  Examples of scientifically research based interventions would be S.P.I.R.E or Florida Center of Reading Research activities.

Using S.P.I.R.E. for reading intervention

Our district has decided to begin using S.P.I.R.E. for reading intervention.  Each school has arranged a master schedule so that each grade level has an intervention block.  Every child in the district receives a universal screening in the area of reading three times a year.  After the screening, the children are ranked according to their score.  The children who are in greatest need receive intervention from academic interventionists.  The remaining children participate in intervention or enrichment groups with the classroom teachers.

S.P.I.R.E. stands for Specialized Program Individualizing Reading Excellence.  It is a multisensory systematic reading program for students who are struggling with reading.  It begins with the PreK level and reaches up to the 8th grade.  S.P.I.R.E has been used across the United States with good success.  It covers the five areas of reading recommended by the National Reading Panel; Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Comprehension, and Vocabulary.  It can include (if purchased) an initial placement assessment. This program incorporates best practices in reading instruction.

What research-based reading intervention programs does your school system use?  Have you found it to be successful?  We are just beginning our journey but are excited at the possibilities.