Classroom Assessment Prole 1

Classroom Assessment Prole

University of New England EDU 741: Literacy Assessments as Teaching Tools Courtney Cooper August 5, 2012

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Name of the assessment Formative or Summative

Quantitative Reading Inventory (QRI) The QRI is a formal, summative assessment that provides a data on students reading ability in several areas - more specically, vocabulary, decoding, uency, and comprehension.

Reading Journal

Reading journals can be used as a formative assessment to gauge a students understanding of classroom readings. In reading journals, students are using showing what they understand about the reading, what main points they took away from the reading, and how they may or may not connect with the plot, characters, etc. of the book.

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Data collected with this assessment

The QRI is administered in a 1:1 setting, and determines individual students reading levels, strengths, and weaknesses. Students are asked to identify and dene words that may be found in the reading prompt, read a passage, and then reect on the passage while answering questions to gauge their comprehension ability. After this process is complete, the QRI is graded based on a clear grading scale, and each student is leveled by grade (ex. level 1 reader is appropriate for a rst grade student).

Reading journals allow for me to collect data on students comprehension, writing ability, connection to story, and understanding of plot and characters. When students reect on what they read, they are showing their clear understanding (or lack their of) of the material. Reading journals also offer students a place to ask questions or write down misunderstandings.

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Timeline for reviewing and using this data to inform instruction

The QRI can be administered at any point a teacher feels he/she needs more formal insight into a students reading abilities. I administer the QRI twice a year for all students, and at least 3 times a year for struggling students. The data is kept in students les and used for informational uses only. None of the data collected through the QRI is discussed in narrative reports, but may be discussed at parent meetings and faculty teacher meetings. The data is used immediately after testing to place students in appropriate reading groups for their ability and/or to suggest additional reading support for struggling students.

Reading journals can be used to inform instruction at any point during the school year. Because of student ability, I begin using reading journals after the rst month of school. After that point, I review the reading journals at least once a week and use that data to differentiate and change my instruction or reading material choices.

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How will this data be reported?

QRI data is kept in student les, and only discussed in certain situations during parent meetings or necessary faculty meetings.

The data taken from reading journals is reported informally in my classroom. Each week, I write notes to my students in their journals. One comment is regarding their ideas, thoughts, and questions - it is a chance for us to discuss the book one on one. The other comment is regarding their writing skills, neatness, and spelling. This is a check-in for students to ensure that they are always doing their best work. Because my students are not graded with a formal, scaled, letter grade - I use the data from their reading journals when completing their narrative reports quarterly.

How will this data provide you with information to support the learning of your students?

The QRI formally shows students leveled abilities. From there, they are placed in appropriate reading groups with students of similar ability and possibly placed in a 1:1 or very small group environment for further support and instruction. Because the QRI allows for me to level students based on ability, each reading group is differentiated for students of a certain reading level. This allows for the optimal growth in all students.

Reading journals allow for me to see what types of reading my students are connecting with. Furthermore, I am able to see how they understand the classroom readings and what questions they are left with at the end of a reading instruction session. From there, I am able to change or differentiate my instruction for the majority of the group, and through my notes in journals, for all students through my answering questions and pointing their thoughts in different directions.

How does this assessment support differentiation ?

Reading journals support differentiation by pinpointing where each student is excelling and/or struggling. I am able to see what types of connections they are (or are not) making. From there, my lessons and book choices can be differentiated to meet all students interests and abilities.

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Reection " Using this template throughout the school year will help me greater understand

the usefulness of my assessments, and the specic perks and/or downfalls of each assessment. Through this template, I found that I am currently using two very different, by very useful assessments for my literacy instruction. Each of the assessments on this template are a great example of a summative and formative assessment, and offer students very different ways to show their abilities and understanding. From there, I am able to successfully differentiate my instruction to meet each students needs. While I feel that I work hard to teach to each student in my classroom, there are times when I fail to reach everyone. I believe that this template will be a helpful, quick way for me to check-in with my assessments to ensure that I am offering students every chance possible to excel in my classroom. From the template, I can be sure that my assessments are working to help my students, not cause them stress or negatively effect the data collected on a student.