In response to reading assessment results showing most students did not understand a concept, what should a special education teacher do first?

• A. Adjusting instruction to help the students improve reading skills
• B. Meeting with parents and team members to discuss the students' reading progress
• C. Suggesting a new educational placement for the students who did not pass the reading assessment
• D. Recommending after-school reading tutoring for the students who did not pass the assessment

Answer: (A)

When many students don’t understand a concept on a reading assessment, the teacher’s first action is to adjust instruction to address that gap. This means revising teaching strategies to be explicit and evidence-based, providing targeted supports, and offering more guided practice and differentiation so students can access the material and show improvement. By making this instructional change first and then checking for progress, you use the data to drive what happens next. Collaboration with parents or the team, placement decisions, or tutoring are important steps, but they come after you’ve tried targeted instructional adjustments and assessed whether students are making progress.