Luxemburg-Casco Case Study
Luxemburg-Casco School District, WI partnered with Capti to strengthen literacy instruction in Grades 4–12 using ReadBasix as a diagnostic assessment tool.
2000
students
4
schools
+19 points
average gain in Word Recognition & Decoding
Introduction
Luxemburg-Casco School District (LCSD), situated less than 20 miles east of Green Bay, is home to 2,000 students. The district includes four schools: primary, intermediate, middle, and high.
Like many schools across the nation, Luxemburg-Casco recognized and acted upon an opportunity to improve student learning outcomes through literacy initiatives.
The leadership at LCSD decided to partner with Capti. This partnership has supported Luxemburg-Casco Schools by providing:
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Evidence-based solutions
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Research-based instructional recommendations
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Support in developing systems that improve student growth
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Ongoing professional development
Why Capti?
Luxemburg-Casco Teaching/Learning Values
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We will model behaviors we desire to see in our students.
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We will make learning relevant and engaging.
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We will coach students to become real-world problem solvers.
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We will challenge our students with rigorous experiences.
“Reading is a very complex task which requires the appropriate instruction for each student. In order to provide that instruction, you have to be able to diagnose the students’ needs. We feel our K-3 system has the ability to know what students need, but as we go up in grade levels it becomes more complex, knowing what a student needs for instruction is a bit more challenging.”
Evidence-Based Solutions
LCSD administered the ReadBasix assessments in the fall, specifically seeking information on the foundational reading needs of their students in middle school and high school.
| SKILLS AND SUBTESTS | AVG-MAX1 | NUMBER OF ITEMS |
|---|---|---|
| Word Recognition & Decoding | 5-8 min | 30 |
| Vocabulary | 5-9 min | 30 |
| Morphology | 5-10 min | 30 |
| Sentence Processing | 5-9 min | 30 |
| Reading Efficiency | 5-13 min | 32-51 (3 passages) |
| Reading Comprehension | 20-30 min | 31-32 (4 passages) |
Note. 1 The MAX time reflects the time limit for each subtest when timed.
Luxemburg-Casco Middle School and High School were able to decide how to best administer the subtests. Capti Assess with ReadBasix offers flexibility with the ability to administer each subtest separately or grouping them to fit class times accordingly.
The schools received insightful data that revealed district-wide trends as well the foundational reading skills of each individual student. As Mike said, “reading is complex,” therefore, so is the data.
Kyle, an ELA Coach at Luxemburg-Casco, started conversations with Capti’s Literacy Team. He sought clarification while he gained a deeper understanding of the students’ foundational reading skills.
Research-Based Instructional Recommendations
After the school district’s fall test administration, the Capti Literacy Team conducted data meetings with LCSD leaders and educators. Capti provided personalized reports including detailed instructional recommendations.
As the teachers in the district continue processing ReadBasix data and understanding their students‘ foundational reading skills, Capti’s Literacy Team culls and vets researched-based practices and resources that are best fit for the group of students in each school. Luxemburg-Casco Middle School and High School are now implementing a multicomponent reading intervention. A separate multisyllabic word reading program is being used to intervene with students with significant decoding needs.
“We feel Capti provides us with the information so students can receive the correct intervention. In our partnership, Margaret (Reading Research Scientist at Capti) provided us with the data and recommended interventions for our students. She is well read and very knowledgeable about the different interventions available.”
Improving Instructional Systems
The Luxemburg-Casco Teaching and Learning Department aims to “create a comprehensive, well-organized, and effective learning environment that promotes student success.”
In the Intermediate, Middle, and High Schools Luxemburg-Casco is using the ReadBasix assessments as both a benchmarking diagnostic and a progress monitoring tool. Utilizing these vertically aligned assessments allows the district’s administration and the Capti Literacy Team to make accurate evaluations of the implemented instruction.
Part of this reflective process includes the willingness of Luxemburg-Casco Schools to share other literacy data points with Capti. Capti will be able to conduct correlation studies with ReadBasix and the Wisconsin Student Assessment System (WSAS). Then ReadBasix can offer predictive feedback pertaining to the WSAS’s reading measures.
Correlating multiple literacy data points is just one actionable step the Teaching and Learning Department has taken in their mission of ensuring a learning environment that is both comprehensive and well-organized.
Ongoing Professional Learning
According to the Wisconsin state report card, Luxemburg-Casco School District exceeds expectations. The school’s leadership is careful not to become complacent. They have placed a priority on improving student growth.
“You have to be able to diagnose the students’ needs.”
Understanding and responding to a student’s needs involves three major components:
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A teacher building a strong rapport with the individual
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Accurate and insightful data
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A toolbox constructed of sound research and evidence-based resources
The school’s partnership with Capti provides support and development in those last two components. Kyle, Luxemburg-Casco’s ELA Coach, has utilized Capti’s research-based analysis and data review meetings to make the ReadBasix data meaningful for the district’s educators.
Capti’s offering of remote professional development has assisted Luxemburg-Casco Schools in making data-informed decisions.
Both Luxemburg-Casco School District and Capti agree, a partnership that improves literacy instruction and student learning outcomes is a worthy investment.
Measuring Growth and Informing Instruction
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Using ReadBasix to pre- and post-test interventions allowed LCSD to measure growth and refine instructional recommendations.
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After 12 weeks of word-level interventions, 9th graders (n=15) improved their Word Recognition and Decoding scores by an average of 19 points.
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Students moved above the Decoding Threshold, meaning their decoding skills now actively contribute to reading comprehension.
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With this new data, teachers are advancing instruction to focus on morphological awareness and reading complex, academic texts.
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Read other case studies
Marshall Case Study
Marshall Middle School screened 600+ students in Grades 5–8 with ReadBasix and built its literacy system around the decoding threshold. By the end of Q3 in Year 1, the share of students in the strong-high category for Word Recognition & Decoding rose from 39% to 62%, and Reading Comprehension from 53% to 61%.
Cloquet Case Study
Cloquet Middle School used ReadBasix to identify the root causes of reading challenges and implement targeted, word-level interventions. As a result, the number of students below the decoding threshold dropped from 32 to just 9, leading to expanded use of ReadBasix data to strengthen Tier 1 instruction.