Ongoing progress monitoring is especially important for struggling readers because it allows for continuous awareness of students' strengths and weaknesses. As a result, problems can be addressed immediately. A student diagnosed with a skills deficiency in the third week of school has a much greater chance of overcoming it than a student who has a similar weakness that is not diagnosed until the mid-term exam.

1. Identifying Strengths and Weaknesses:
   You can use Scholastic Management Suite progress monitoring reports to identify students' specific strengths and weaknesses on a frequent basis.
   
   Here's an example:
   Reading Progress Report :This report presents a snapshot of student work in fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and spelling. You may wish to print this weekly for ongoing progress monitoring.
   
2. Identifying Patterns of Program Use:
   In addition to identifying skills strengths and weaknesses, progress monitoring reports can help you monitor effective use of the software to ensure students get the maximum benefits.
   
   Here's an example:
   Student Segment Status Report :This report presents data about program use as well as skills information. You can use this report to determine how often students are going to the Reading Zone and reading the anchor passage. This information helps you guide the student to read the passage daily to get the maximum program benefit.
   
   In addition, use this report to monitor how much time a student is spending in each learning zone. For example, some students particularly enjoy Spelling Zone activities and consequently spend too much time there at the expense of practice in other zones. Use this report to help you direct students to achieve a balance of practice in each zone, so that they can efficiently complete the segment requirements and move ahead to further develop their reading skills.
   
3. Periodic Progress Evaluation:
   Whereas ongoing progress monitoring serves to inform instruction on a continual basis, it is also important to look for larger trends in student progress. These trends are best viewed periodically, such as beginning, middle, and end of the school term or year. This is similar to the dieter who is better advised to check his weight once a week, rather than reacting to daily fluctuations.
   
   Here's an example of a periodic progress report:
   SRI Growth Report : This report shows changes in students' Lexile levels between their first and last tests. Lexile is a useful measure for observing growth, since it reflects student overall reading ability. You may wish to print this report to observe overall growth in Lexiles after students have taken the SRI at midyear and at the end of the year. You can print this report for an entire class to share with your principal, or you can print individual reports to keep in student files and share with family members.