DRA Training Lyndhurst Public Schools K- 3 Elba Castrovinci September 2013

A little about the DRA….. Provides a standardized method for assessing primary students’ reading development Documents student progress over time Is conducted during a one-on one conference Utilizes carefully selected assessment texts

DRA- Text Characteristics Levels A-2 Highly patterned text with simple illustrations One or two lines of text on left hand page Familiar animals and objects Repetitive language structures

DRA- Text Characteristics Levels 3-6 Simple stories with repetitive words, phrases and actions Predictable language structures Familiar characters and experiences Highly supportive illustrations

DRA- Text Characteristics Levels 8-14 Stories include problems with which children can relate Repetition of events More complex book, oral language structures, and high frequency words Supportive illustrations

DRA- Text Characteristics Levels Imaginary or animal characters with human characteristics Familiar topics and vocabulary Nonfiction text features such as photographs, labels, charts, flowcharts, diagrams Some literary language structures Some description of characters and setting Moderate to minimum picture support

DRA- Text Characteristics 16-28

DRA- Text Characteristics Levels More complex stories Characters, setting, problems, and resolutions described in greater detail Different genres Minimum of picture support More specialized vocabulary Nonfiction text features such as headings, maps, time lines, graphs, photographs

DRA- Text Characteristics 30-40

Administration Suggestions… Get ORGANIZED Photocopy ahead of time Make a schedule Conduct 2-3 per day Decide which students to assess first. Score the Oral Reading as soon as possible. Take anecdotal notes as the students reads aloud. Ask “Elba” to model a DRA.

DRA Testing Procedures Read only the bold directions in the Teacher Observation Guide. Paraphrasing or giving more information can compromise the reliability of the test. Beginning at Level 14, use a stopwatch to time the reading. If a student is stuck on a word, give 5 seconds of wait time, then supply the word and mark it as a miscue.

DRA Testing Procedures After taking a running record of a student’s oral reading, go directly to the Oral Reading Fluency section of the Continuum and score the student’s reading. ▼ If the student’s total falls below the Independent range, move to a lower level text. ► If the total is in the Independent or Advanced range, administer the Comprehension section of the test.

DRA Testing Procedures Beginning at Level 28, have the student write in the student booklet. All students must do the writing, unless they have a documented accommodation for scribing. (This includes 1 st graders) You may ask students the questions orally afterwards to gather instructional information, but you need to score the written answers.

DRA-Observation Guides Record of Oral Reading Coding Conventions As the student reads the text, the teacher uses these conventions as a means of recording the behaviors of the reader. Classifying Errors Is a repetition an error? Is a substitution an error? What about contractions? What about when students sound out the word?

Identifying Miscues The Record of Oral Reading Guidelines, which provides directions on how to code the oral reading, is included at the back of the Teacher’s Guide. Make sure you have a copy available during testing for quick reference.

Identifying Miscues Answers to frequently asked questions about miscues: Proper names—Count as an error only the first time if the student reads it the same way; counts as an error each time the student reads it differently and incorrectly. Contractions (e.g., “don’t for “’do not” or vice versa)—Count as one miscue each time it occurs. Dialect or speech issues—Words mispronounced due to a speech problem or dialect may be coded but are not counted as errors. Skipped line of text—Count as one error (missed whole line). Headers—Count as one error (missed whole line). Repetitions and self-corrections—Do Not Count as errors.

During the Running Record… The only permissible things a teacher may say during the running record are: “Try something” if the student comes to a word and just stops and doesn’t try anything. Tell the word (after waiting for 5 seconds). A “Told” is an error.

Scoring the Running Record If the Oral Reading Fluency and/or the COMP total are in the “Advanced” column, go to the next higher text level. If either the Oral Reading Fluency or the COMP total is below the “Independent” column, go to the next lower text level.

Other important information- Fall Testing If student was in the district use information from previous teacher to help. If there is no DRA data, place three books out for the student to choose. One above and one below the student’s grade level. Testing should be completed within a 2 week period by October 1 st.

Other important information- Text Levels A & 1 It is a good idea to give students both levels A &1. Level 1 gives the student the opportunity to demonstrate some early concepts of print not available in text level A. L to R 1 to 1 match

Reading isn’t just decoding words… ReadingisThinking!