There are many things I can say about assessment inside the literacy realm and outside. To start, everyone knows that assessment drives instruction. Giving different forms of assessment to your students lets you know if they are "getting it" and if they aren't you need to alter the way you are presenting the information or instructing them. There are many different ways to assess students. There are informal assessments such as checklists, walking around and visually examining your students, small quizzes, projects, etc. Then there are your formal assessments which include standardize tests, exams, and the like. The reason why assessment is so crucial in the field of teaching is because it tells us what to improve on and helps to shape us as teachers.
Being a first year teacher last year there were many assessments within the literacy realm that were almost overwhelming but were necessary. In order to know what reading level a child is on it is necessary to do a DRA (Developmental Reading Assessment) at the beginning of the year and then follow up with a running record every month. The total assessment is peformed again at the end of the year. This really helped me to see where my students were as readers, how well they were comprehending what they read, and the progress they were making.
Also at the beginning and the end of the year I had to give my students the Slosson test. This tests for verbal cognitive ability and gives you an idea what grade level they are on for that. There are columns of words and you have the child read all the words. Each column is for a separate grade level so you test them up to their grade level. If they read all the words for their grade level then they can move on until they skip a word. You count the errors and use a chart to figure how they did.
Since I taught in a 5th grade inclusion class we also had district writing and novel assessments too. The students were tested on a novel that they were required to read in class and were also given a writing sample.
These exhaustive literary assessments are ways to keep track of children. Ways to see how we can improve our own instruction and ways to make sure our children are learning and succeeding.
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2 comments:
Rachel, after all the assessment you had to do - what proved the most helpful to the students and to you as a new teacher? How did your class react to all this testing? Did you feel that these test reflected what the students really learned during the school year? And if they just provided you with information on which to structure your lessons - were you satisfied with the results - were the students?
Answer at your leisure.
Rachel,
I have to look into these test in September. As a resource teacher, none of these test were brought to my attention. I was under the impression my General Ed teachers conducted them. Now I have something specific to ask the Literacy Coach about. Thanks.
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