Serpa’s Report Writing Rules
The Do’s & Don’ts in Report Writing
Do’s & Don’ts in Report Writing
The Opposites Rule: If you are not willing to say or write the opposite word in a report, do not use that word! For example, if you are not willing to say ugly-looking, do not use nice-looking…
When in Doubt Rule: When in doubt, leave it out of the written report. If you are unsure whether to include a piece of information in the written report, discuss it at the meeting first and seek the team's advice.
“ English learners in any program shall be taught to the same academic standards and curriculum frameworks as all students, and shall be provided the same opportunities to master such standards and frameworks as other students. Districts shall regularly assess mastery of academic standards and curriculum frameworks. ”
Never Use…
1. Rosa scored....
2. ‘weaknesses’
3. "ability" or ’ is able to…’
4. unable to read
5. was not able to spell
6. was not capable …
7. s/he/they enjoys…
8. s/he/they is struggling
9. good looking seven-year-old...
10. poor reader or poor scores
11. he was shy
12. he speaks like a two-year-old
13. "intelligent" little child
14. refuses to speak
15. AGE SCORES in Norm Referenced Tests (NRT). Refer to professional Organizations recommendations to test users to stop using age and grade level scores because they are mathematical guesswork
16. GRADE EQUIVALENT SCORES in Norm Referenced Tests (NRT) Refer to professional Organizations recommendations to test users to stop using age and grade level scores because they are mathematical guess work
17. " I "
18. Do not report test scores that are invalid. Invalid scores may be due to (1) the inappropriateness of the norming group as a reference group for comparison, or (2) the administration of the test is in a language other than English without Linguistic Validity, or (3) the student's health that day, etc.
19. Do not use language from the test manual that is demeaning to the student and his/her/their family (i.e., very poor)
20. Other
“To ensure that an individualized plan for providing special education or disability-related services addresses the language-related needs of an EL student with a disability, it is important that the team designing the plan include participants knowledgeable about that student’s language needs ”
Instead say…
1. Rosa’s performance indicated...
2. Areas of need, area for growth…
3. Avoid using ‘is able’ or ‘ability’. Use words such as: knows, understands, skill, appears to, etc.)
4. Read a second-grade passage in English and had a 10% accuracy rate in decoding.
5. Did not know how to spell the words in the second-grade spelling list.
6. Did not know how to …
7. S/he/they said she enjoys….
8. S/he/they can speak in single words and short phrases…
9. If you cannot say the opposite, do not use it! (ugly looking?)
10. Indicate what s/he/they CAN do
11. He did not use spoken language with… Or she smiled and did not say a word…
12. He speaks in single words or short phrases. NOTE: Second language learning goes through second stages at any age. It is not appropriate to use age as a criterion in this context.
13. See below: If you cannot say the opposite, do not use it!
14. Did not respond verbally to...
NOTE: Remember that an individual who performs at WIDA pre-levels 1 he/she does not yet have the verbal expression skills to speak or spell. ‘The Silent Period Stage’ is ‘normal’.
15. DO NOT USE for any student (EP or ELL). Instead, use percentile rank (PR) and standard scores (SS) for valid test scores for the given student in comparison to the norming group. Ross age level-based performance is equivalent to the numerical average for an 8-year-old based on age-based scores in the norming group
16. DO NOT USE for any student (EP or ELL). Instead, use percentile rank (PR) and standard scores (SS) for reporting valid test scores in comparison to the norming group.
17. Use - The examiner, the ESL Inclusion classroom teacher…
18. Please write instead: Percentile Ranks and Standard Scores are not reported because they are deemed invalid due to ...
19. Use report writing language that honors variability and is respectful to each student and his /her family
20. Use the exact name of the assessment procedure and refer to the Eight Guiding Questions for Report Writing