Building Consistent DRA2/EDL2 Testing Practices

Consistency is important… Administering the DRA2 with Consistency For students Provides accurate information about individual reading strengths and areas for growth. Facilitates reliable tracking of student progress. For teachers Guides instructional planning. Ensures that scores used for SGOs are reliable. For the school Informs both SIPs and School Performance Frameworks. For the district Ensures compliance with state guidelines for the CBLA. Consistency is important: For students: Consistent administration provides accurate information about individual reading strengths and areas for growth which allows teachers to create the most effective instructional groups and to provide appropriate interventions. It also facilitates reliable tracking of student progress, which is the foundation of the RtI process. For teachers: Consistent administration provides in-depth information on all students, which can be used to guide instructional planning. In addition, it ensures that the scores used for SGOs are reliable without having to retest in the fall. For the school: Consistent administration provides reliable scores that inform both the School Improvement Plans and the School Performance Frameworks. For the district: Consistent administration ensures compliance with the new state guidelines for the CBLA. 2

Administering the DRA2 with Consistency Use current information about your student to determine the appropriate starting level. Start where you believe the student is reading independently. Remember guided reading levels are “Instructional” not “Independent.” Use records from individual conferences, assessment notebooks and book bags. Select titles that students haven’t read previously, if possible. Administering the DRA2 and EDL2 with consistency: First, use current information about your student to determine the appropriate starting level. You should start where you believe the student is reading independently. Remember, guided reading levels are “Instructional,” not “Independent,” so you should start at a lower level. You may also use records from individual conferences and book bags. Also, you may want to have students read a paragraph from later in the text to determine if the text is appropriate. Remember to use a portion that is not in the oral reading section of the text. For ELA-S: You should consider the student’s language and literacy performance during both reading and ELD time. Because you may be giving both the DRA2 and the EDL2, you should take into consideration the student’s L1 and L2 language proficiency. If possible, please select titles at the different levels that students haven’t read previously. 3

Administering the DRA2with Consistency 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. Read only the bold directions in the Teacher Observation Guides. Paraphrasing the directions or giving students additional 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. Timing the student should result in a measure of their fluency, not how long it takes them to figure out an individual word. 5-second wait time.  The DIBELS is solely about measuring fluency, so they tell the word quite quickly.  The DRA2 also looks at strategies that students use and analyzes the miscues that students make, so a 5-second wait time will give the student more time to show what he/she can do and more instructional information for the teacher. 4

Administering the DRA2 with Consistency 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. By using all the descriptors on the continuum, you can get a better picture of the student’s oral reading ability. This information is new: After listening to the student read aloud, go directly to the Oral Reading Fluency section of the continuum and score the student’s reading. Do not use the Words Per Minute and Accuracy tables that follow the passage. If the student’s total falls below the Independent range, move to a lower text. If the total is in the Independent or Advanced range, administer the comprehension section. This procedure replaces the use of the Words per Minute and Accuracy tables found at the end of the running record transcript. By using all of the descriptors on the continuum, you can get a better picture of the student’s oral reading ability, rather than using rate or accuracy as the only “gatekeeper” for that level of text. 5

Administering the DRA2 with Consistency If the student scores Independent on ORF, proceed to the Comprehension section. If the student does not score in the Independent range, administer a lower level text.

Administering the DRA2 with Consistency 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 1st graders) You may ask students the questions orally afterwards to gather instructional information, but you need to score the written answers. Beginning at level 28, the student writes in the student booklet. For consistency and reliability, all students must do the writing unless they have a documented accommodation for scribing. Students must write their answers, because an accurate picture of a student’s reading ability at each level requires that the student is able to perform all of the skills required for that text level. Although students may be able to answer the questions orally, they cannot be scored at a particular DRA or EDL level unless their written answers reflect comprehension at that level. You may ask students the questions orally after testing to gather instructional information, but you need to score only the written answers. After testing has been completed, you are encouraged to complete the Teacher Analysis section of the Observation Guide. Analyzing the miscues in the Teacher Analysis section provides important instructional information. 7

Practice Scoring With Consistency

Scoring Oral Reading with Consistency Consistent scoring of Oral Reading responses is facilitated by: Using common guidelines for identifying miscues. Using the scoring continuums appropriately. Filling out all sections of the test accurately Ensuring that all schools use the online continuums. In the this section, we will address scoring oral reading with consistency. Consistent scoring of Oral Reading responses is facilitated by: Using common guidelines for identifying miscues. Using the scoring continuums appropriately. Ensuring that all schools use the UPDATED continuums and the REVISED EDL2 Words per Minute calculations. 9

Identifying Miscues with Consistency 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. A number of questions have been raised regarding miscues. The Record of Oral reading guidelines and how to code the oral reading is included at the back of the Teacher’s Guide. This reference will provide you with a more comprehensive list of miscues. Make sure you have a copy available during testing for quick reference. A PDF’d version was attached in the email with this ppt… 10

Identifying Miscues with Consistency 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. Here are some of answers to frequently asked questions regarding miscues. Proper names should be counted as an error only the first time. 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, such as using “Don’t” for “do not” or “do not” for “don’t” are counted as one miscue each time it occurs. Dialect or speech articulation issues should not be counted as reading errors if that is how the student speaks. For example, it should not be coded as a miscue if the student says “jumpted” for “jumped” or “axed” for “asked.” If the student’s natural speech is impaired, it may indicate more of a need for language development interventions than a need for reading instruction. Helpful hint: during the preview section, write as much as you can about what the students is saying; it may yield very useful information about what dialect or speech issues are evident during conversation. (If issues are present during conversation, we know that this may not impact a student’s reading comprehension.) Skipped lines of text should be coded as one error for each whole line of text missed. However, the student must have skipped the entire line of text for it to count as only one miscue. If headers are not read, they are considered a skipped line of text and are counted as one miscue. Remember: Repetitions and self-corrections are not counted as errors. 11

Running Records Training 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. Told = when teacher provides students with the word

Using the Scoring Continuums with Consistency If the ORF and/or the COMP total are in the “Advanced” column, go to the next higher text level. ▲ If either the ORF or the COMP total is below the “Independent” column, go to the next lower text level. ▼ If the ORF and/or the COMP total are in the “Advanced” column, go to the next higher text level. If both the ORF and COMP totals are in the “Independent” column, consider testing at the next higher text level to ensure that you have reached the student’s highest independent level. If either the ORF or the COMP total is below the “Independent” column, go to the next lower text level. 13

Using the Scoring Continuums with Consistency Go to a higher text level Go to a lower text level This graphic illustrates the next steps in testing based on ORF and COMP totals. 14

DRA2 Testing Demonstration Example Protocol for Calibration: Watch video Take a running record Score and analyze results Check for consistency Do you agree on the number and type of miscues that you identified? Are you within 1 point for each of the descriptors on the continuum? Are you using the anchor writing samples to support your scores? 15

Ideas for School Wide Calibration Inter-rater reliability is important and can be increased in the following ways: Watch the DRA2 training DVD together and compare scores for one or two students. Score a few students’ transcripts and booklets as a group. Observe the testing of at least one or two students in one another’s classrooms. Assess a student during a data-team meeting and score together. Use any other collaborative scoring protocols developed at your school. To ensure that scores are comparable across the district, inter-rater reliability is very important. It can be increased in the following ways: Watch the DRA2 training DVD together and compare scores for one or two students. Score a few students’ transcripts and booklets from your building as a group. Observe the testing of at least one or two students in one another’s classrooms. Use any other collaborative scoring protocols developed at your school. Any other ideas??? 16