Reading Horizons Discover Assessment Stacy Hurst November 29, 2012

We will discuss… the purpose, design, and administration of each type of assessment available in Reading Horizons Discovery direct instruction materials as well as the software. how to use results from these assessments to guide instruction. the relationship of Reading Horizons Discovery assessments to other assessments used to evaluate reading progress. Objectives of Today’s Presentation

Discuss the purpose, design, and administration of each type of assessment available in Reading Horizons Discovery direct instruction materials as well as the software. How to use results from these assessments to guide instruction. The relationship of Reading Horizons Discovery assessments to other assessments used to evaluate reading progress. Objectives of Today’s Presentation:

Formative Assessment used during the learning process can have an immediate influence on instruction is usually not quantified/graded feedback is more “in the moment” process oriented Two General Types of Assessment

Summative Assessment used to “sum up” what students have learned up to specified points in the instructional sequence is quantified/graded feedback is not necessarily immediate influence on instruction is more remedial in nature focus is on the outcome Two General Types of Assessment

Formative Assessments: Dictation Process Transfer Cards Reading Writing Games Direct Instruction Assessments

Summative Assessments Skill Checks Chapter Tests Comprehension Questions Spelling Tests Coming Soon: Running Records Direct Instruction Assessments

Created to provide feedback on student progress with skills within each chapter Can be given after a chapter test or intermittently during chapter instruction Administered one-on-one Teacher form and student form Can be scored/administered one skill at a time or as a whole Skill Checks

Can be used to ‘catch’ students before they get too far behind. Especially useful for measuring MCWs Assessment to Guide Instruction

Created to measure student learning for the content of each chapter Administered whole group or small group Can be administered/scored skill by skill Can be given as a pre-test as well as at the end of each chapter Each skill in the chapter is tested Each chapter test is worth 50 points Reference lesson section is separate and optional Chapter Tests

Use as a pre-test to determine instructional course Use to identify students who need further intervention/remediation Assessment to Guide Instruction

Comprehension Questions Main Idea Detail Vocabulary Inference

Can be used to determine comprehension strategies that need to be taught, practiced or emphasized Provides an opportunity for vocabulary instruction Can pinpoint areas of strength and weakness in comprehending text Assessment to Guide Instruction

Formative Performance on the activities in each lesson influences instruction Vocabulary Word Wall Time spent in each section of the software is measured and recorded Software Assessments

Summative Phonemic Awareness Spelling/Word Recognition Most Common Word Assessment Passage/Story Comprehension Chapter Tests Software Assessments

Assess seven areas of phonemic awareness (rhyming, syllables, initial sound, blending, final sound, medial sound, segmentation) Designed to be a ‘readiness’ measure and to identify students who have not mastered these skills Phonemic Awareness

If a student fails a section of the assessment, they receive instruction for that element of phonemic awareness Teachers can use results to provide direct instruction for struggling students Assessment to Guide Instruction

Test was created to identify skills that students have mastered as well as to show progress throughout the program The test is a feature analysis so it is more diagnostic in nature Spelling and reading scores are compared Stops when student misses multiple features or words in a row Is given up to four times throughout the software Challenges students who decode well Spelling/Word Recognition

Information can be used to accelerate instruction Identifies ‘holes’ that students may have in decoding by identifying specific skills that were not mastered Provides insight to level of mastery by comparing spelling to reading using the same words Shows how the student actually spelled each word Assessment to Guide Instruction

Designed to assess automatic recognition of up to 300 of the most frequently used English words Timer can be modified Determines which Most Common Words lessons students receive on the software Most Common Words

Can pinpoint specific words that students struggle with Can be used for instruction across grade levels Provides direction for accelerated readers Assessment to Guide Instruction

Given at the end of each story Measures four areas of comprehension (main idea, detail, inference, and vocabulary) Students take it twice and scores are compared Half fiction, half non-fiction stories WPM is recorded for teacher to see Questions and possible answers are read to the student Passage/Story Comprehension

Identifies areas of strength and weakness in comprehension over time Informs comprehension instruction for individuals as well as the whole class Can compare silent reading fluency (wpm) with level of comprehension Provides an opportunity for specific vocabulary instruction Assessment to Guide Instruction

Created to measure student learning for the content of each chapter Can be administered to each student at the same time Can be taken in place of, or in addition to, the paper/pencil version of the test Can be given as a pre-test (for placement) as well as at the end of each chapter Chapter Tests

Each skill in the chapter is tested twice in isolation and at least once in context Chapter tests on the software include more response opportunities than the paper/pencil version Reference lesson section is included for all students taking the reference lessons Students earn coins for taking the test Class averages are reported for each skill as well as the test as a whole Chapter Tests

Students failing an area of the assessment will receive additional instruction followed by assessment Results can be ‘dialed down’ to the smallest skill or overall lesson content Provides information for differentiated instruction Skills in isolation and in context can be compared Assessment to Guide Instruction

Discuss the purpose, design, and administration of each type of assessment available in Reading Horizons Discovery direct instruction materials as well as the software. How to use results from these assessments to guide instruction. The relationship of Reading Horizons Discovery assessments to other assessments used to evaluate reading progress. Objectives of Today’s Presentation:

Reading Horizons Discovery assessments provide information with how well students are responding to the instruction delivered within the program. However, if there are other reading assessments that are in place on the school, district, or state level, they can be used in conjunction with Discovery assessments to measure progress and identify areas that require specific types of instruction. Discovery Assessments and Other Assessments

Screening Diagnostic Assessments Progress Monitoring Assessments Outcome Assessments Types of Assessments in an RtI/MTSS Framework

Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) or other Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) Basal assessments Running Records Writing Assessments Some Examples

We discussed… the purpose, design, and administration of each type of assessment available in Reading Horizons Discovery direct instruction materials as well as the software. how to use results from these assessments to guide instruction. the relationship of Reading Horizons Discovery assessments to other assessments used to evaluate reading progress. Objectives of Today’s Presentation

Questions?