Transcript Slide 1
Why is assessment important?
Reading is a complex activity
Teachers must know:
where skills break down
how to address problems
Value of daily observations
Informal observations are useful, but should not be
a teacher’s only form of assessment
Observations can supplement assessment, but not
substitute for it — too unsystematic
Process of assessment across school year
Screening assessments identify kids who may have
problems with language
Diagnostic tools give specific information to plan
instruction
Progress monitoring gives teacher feedback on
whether lessons and interventions are working
Outcome measures at the end of the year help us
accumulate information across classrooms and schools
Assessing motivation
Raises teacher awareness about what
motivates certain kids
Allows teacher to:
identify areas of interest
connect frustrated readers with books that help
them overcome a reluctance to read
Finding time for assessment
Myths:
Assessment is very complicated
Assessment is the job of special educators or
clinicians
Facts:
Assessment can be quick and effective with the
right toolkit
Assessment information is useful when collected
systematically
What makes a good assessment?
Goes beyond identifying the problem and gives
specific information about what to do next
Can be informal and quick, as long as it is
systematic
Gives teacher feedback about whether
teaching practices are working
Timed assessments
It’s not a race!
Tester’s job to make sure timing aspect is de-emphasized
Timing keeps assessments efficient — high quality
information in a short amount of time
Measures student’s level of confidence with particular
skill
Student may have knowledge of skill but lack mastery,
need additional practice
All measured skills are steppingstones to higher level
skills, so fluency and mastery are important
Assessing students with learning disabilities
Distinguish between measures of time and power
Are we looking at what the child knows, or how quickly
they can complete a task?
Minimize impact of the disability
Have a clear sense of the purpose of the assessment
When measuring comprehension, offer multiple types of
comprehension exercises. Don’t confuse poor decoding with
poor comprehension skills!
Targeted error analysis
Find strengths and identify how to support learning
Video
Metzger Elementary School, Portland, OR
Tiered instruction approach
Students with greater needs get higher levels
of intensity
Monitor progress to track improvement rate
The child is always right
Metzger school district basic belief: we must teach all
children to read
Weekly monitoring helps them ensure that progress is
adequate to reach literacy goals
Inadequate progress means more support is needed
If we want all children to reach the same goals, we have
to provide more support to some children than we do to
others.
Good assessment can lead to better readers
Evidence shows: Waiting doesn’t work!
Children do not generally mature into good
readers
When a child is not making adequate progress,
action is needed to change trajectory
Assessment-driven instruction
To be workable, it must be:
Efficient
• Get maximum information in smallest amount of time
Purposeful
• Assess in order to make a decision — don’t spend six
weeks assessing!
• Tie assessment to a decision-making model
Reliable and valid measures can lead to
improved outcomes
Challenges for teachers
Student has been assessed — now what?
Linking assessment results to appropriate intervention
Student is receiving intervention but still not improving
Knowing how to change intervention if it’s not working
Professional development and coaching are essential
to provide answers to these challenges
Assessing struggling readers
Identifying students at risk is easier than judging a
student’s progress
We tend to think if we are teaching our hardest, progress is
being made
Assessments tell us when students are not making progress
and we have to do something different
Research shows that regular progress monitoring and
adjusted teaching methods can improve outcomes
dramatically
Bonus: Tracking progress regularly can be a motivating
factor for struggling readers!
Assessing stronger students
Check in on these students regularly, but less
often
Make sure advanced readers are not missing a
foundational skill
Students missing essential skills can become at
risk later
Role of technology
Technology plays a role in testing and in interventions
Hand-held computers can:
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Help perform assessments
Record progress for individual students
Synchronize to a database
Provide reports to teacher, principal, superintendent
Analysis software can:
• Show itemized student responses
• Suggest appropriate targets for instruction
• Suggest appropriate interventions
High stakes testing
Pro:
Legitimate need of stakeholders (parents, policymakers,
etc.) to see how effective teaching efforts are
Con:
Tail wags the dog: To avoid being penalized, schools
spend class time preparing for high stakes tests
Lost instructional time
Test results are not useful for planning instruction, meeting
individual student needs
Parent role in assessment process
Parents have unique knowledge of their child
Knowledge of home life, cultural background
Knowledge of child’s interests
Gut-level concerns about child’s skills
Treat parents as partners
Share concrete examples from class work and assessments
Invite parents to share observations
Share your plan for helping this child — lay out the roadmap!
Give parents ways to help at home
Invite parents to share concerns, ideas
Video
Arlington Intake Center, Arlington, VA
Assesses English language learners before they enter school
Health
Family background
Past schooling
Literacy level and academic background
Background knowledge in native language
English language skills
Reading assessment for English language
learners
Challenge: Assessing primary language skills in hundreds
of different languages
Check for strong primary language platform to build
English literacy skills
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Rich language base?
Reading skills?
Print awareness?
Family literacy?
Bilingualism sometimes treated as a deficit rather than an
advantage
Bring positive approach to language learning!
Language of assessment
Assessment in primary language:
Taps into child’s ability to gather information
and express ideas
Gives teacher a sense of child’s interests and
experiences
Helps teacher make learning relevant for that
student
Assessing preschoolers
The earlier we identify a child’s needs, the better equipped
we are to address them
Waiting jeopardizes emerging literacy platform —
problems don’t fix themselves
Early failure eventually impacts child’s self image and self
esteem
• May begin to see lack of motivation, behavior problems
Goal of early assessment is to identify strengths, needs,
and create environment for success
Recognize and respond — not assign labels!
Recognition and Response model
Response-to-Intervention approach (originally designed for
school age students) used with younger children
Goal: Secure a high quality learning environment for all
children
Tier 1: ‘High-Velcro environment’ — many places for kids
to connect with meaningful ideas and information
Tier 2: For children who are not thriving, find out why —
use diagnostic tools to identify strengths, gaps in
knowledge, misconceptions
Tier 3: Strategic, individualized approach for student who
is still not making progress — special education, speech
language services
How would this approach look in schools?
As it emerges, we will see:
More dynamic classrooms
Assessment embedded in daily activities
Data and observations linked to instruction
Assessment that forms a bridge between child
and content
Bridge is explicit, systematic, and crossed
frequently!
How are we doing now?
Dramatic improvement in the last five years
Approaching goal of every child being on track
with three tiers of support
Becoming an expectation for schools
Successful schools:
Differentiate instruction based on systematic
collection and interpretation of data
Utilize literacy coaches to help interpret data
Requires new way of thinking about teaching
and learning
Talking to students about assessment
Getting kids on board
It’s rewarding and empowering for students to
see their progress
Self-assessment is important
Who am I as a learner?
What are my learning needs?
What are my learning goals?
Formative assessment gives students
opportunity to track and share accomplishments
Make sure assessments are not punitive! —
meant to provide recognition and support
Formal vs. informal assessments
Myth: “Real” assessments are norm-referenced, one-onone tool that requires training
Fact: Quick, informal assessments can provide very
useful information!
Key is to be systematic and purposeful
Involve kids — de-mystify the process
Explain why you’re giving assessment
Make them participants in the process of reaching their
goals
Formal vs. informal assessments
Difference between formal and informal is
beginning to blur
Variety of data sources
However you do it, make sure to use data to
improve student outcomes
Isolating skills in reading assessment
Divide reading proficiency roughly into:
Language
• Vocabulary and background knowledge
• Verbal reasoning
Decoding
Beginning analysis: Can child go from text to language?
Offer variety of formats, so that weak decoding does not
impact assessment of language skills
Select familiar topics so that insufficient background
knowledge does not impact assessment of comprehension
Build prior knowledge before reading
Can the average teacher do all this?
Requires altered mindset and time to learn,
but amount of assessment required is fairly
limited
Be less assumptive about student progress
Implement with efficiency
Final thoughts: Dr. Michael McKenna
Dispel the following myths:
Reading assessment in the classroom is not
necessary
Should be left to specialists whose materials will
meet all students’ needs
Implement strategies in a three-tiered approach,
allowing for differentiation
Final thoughts: Dr. Roland Good
Essential role of assessment:
Tells educators where student is and where they
need to be
Helps chart a trajectory and rate of progress to get
there
Lets us know when to adjust teaching strategies
Most important thing: Do something with
assessment information!
Final thoughts: Dr. Mary Ruth Coleman
Remember diversity of students
Purpose of assessments:
Help students grow, learn, and be successful
Thanks for watching!
For more information,
visit www.ReadingRockets.org