Ms. Hawthorn administers weekly progress-monitoring assessments to a second-grade student who is beginning to struggle with word recognition. Which of the following is the appropriate next step for the teacher to take with the assessment data?

While identifying learning disabilities is important, this step is not the immediate next action after assessing the student's word recognition. Ms. Hawthorn should first focus on understanding the student's current skills and providing interventions before considering formal evaluations for learning disabilities.

Advancing the student to the next unit without addressing their current struggles would likely exacerbate their difficulties. It's essential to ensure that the student has mastered foundational skills in word recognition before progressing to more advanced material, as this could lead to further gaps in understanding.

While self-reflection and evaluation of instructional practices are valuable, they should follow the identification of the student's specific needs. The primary focus should be on utilizing the assessment data to address the student's challenges, rather than assessing the effectiveness of the teacher's methods at this stage.