Chapter 4 Informal Assessment: Informing Instruction

Introduction Observation and Interview Strategies Teacher-Made and Teacher-Selected Curriculum-Based Assessment Specific Skills Assessments Error Analysis Informal Reading Inventories Running Records Curriculum-Based Assessment Portfolio Assessment Readability Leveled Texts Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Young Children Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Adults Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of English Language Learners

Observation and Interview Strategies Kidwatching (Goodman, 1985) Teachers engage in observation-based assessment every day Note bits of behavior and make inferences about the behavior Anecdotal information is available to teachers for analyses of specific errors or error patterns

Observation and Interview Concepts About Print: Emergent Literacy ( Clay, Klesius & Searls) Figure 4.1, Text Box 4.1 Oral reading Letter identification Word naming Writing Dictation

Teacher-Made and Teacher-Selected Curriculum-Based Assessment

Basal Series Assessments Figures 4.2 and 4.3 Word Study (e.g., High Frequency Words and Phonics) Comprehension Writing Summative Assessment of Skills

Specific Skills Assessments Definition: Designed to give information about specific skills (e.g., for young readers, aspects of phonological awareness, phonics, or concepts of print). May be used prior to instruction and throughout school year.

Specific Skills Assessment Examples San Diego Quick Assessment (McKenna & Stahl, 2009) Consortium on Reading Excellence’s Assessing Reading: Multiple Measures for Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade, 2 nd edition (Diamond & Thorsnes, 2008) The Reading Teacher’s Survival Kit (Miller, 2001) Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing (Miller, 1995) Three-minute reading assessments (Rasinski and Padak, 2005a; 2005b) provide user-friendly, teacher-based evaluation of word recognition, fluency, and comprehension.

Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation Figure 4.4 Student segments words presented orally by the examiner dog /d/ /o/ /g/ wave /w/ /a/ /v/ that /th/ /a/ /t/

Error Analysis A technique all teachers use, whether they know the terminology or not A technique for determining patterns or reasons for student errors or difficulties E.g., Ms. Crockett listens to Misha read connected text and notices she does not attend to punctuation (pause her reading at period noting end of sentence).

Error Analysis Relies on Task Analysis To effectively perform error analysis, teachers must also be proficient at task analysis. Task analysis “involves breaking down a task into the smallest steps necessary to complete the task” (Overton, 2012, p. 186). In other words, teachers must have working knowledge of various reading processes and the tasks and subtasks that are necessary for effective reading.

Informal Reading Inventories Individually administered assessments Three Main Components Graded word lists Reading passages Comprehension questions Explicit Implicit IRIs provide teachers with… Reading level – Independent, Instructional, Frustration Reading rate Instructional Information Types of reading errors made Types of comprehension errors made And more

Betts Criteria For Determining Reading Level LevelWord RecognitionComprehension Independent 99% 1/10090% Instructional 95%5/10075% Frustration 90%10/10050%

IRI- Informal Reading Inventories Examples: Analytical Reading Inventory, 7 th Ed. Basic Reading Inventory: Pre-Primer Through Grade Twelve And Early Literacy Assessments, 9th Ed. Burns/Roe Informal Reading Inventory: Preprimer to Twelfth Grade, 6th Ed. Classroom Reading Inventory, 10th Ed. Developmental Reading Assessment K–3/4–8 Ekwall/Shanker Reading Inventory, 4th Ed. Reading & Reader Passages & Reading & Language Inventory Pkg., 5th Ed. Reading Inventory for the Classroom & Tutorial Audiotape Package, 5th Ed. Stieglitz Reading Inventory, 3rd Ed.

Example: Qualitative Reading Inventory, 5 th ed. (QRI-5) Individually administered assessment for pre-primer–high school Reading Level Progress Monitoring Planning Instruction/Intervention Several Assessment Options Word Lists Passages Measures of Comprehension

QRI-5 Area of Reading Sight-Word Recognition Fluency Comprehension QRI-5 Assessment Word Lists Oral Reading Passages Retell Questions

QRI-5: Jesse, a 1 st grader Figures 4.5 through 4.10

Number of words (correct) WCPM = __________________X 60=_________ Number of seconds read Formula 4.1 Determining Words Read Correctly Per Minute (WCPM)

QRI-5 at-a-Glance Publisher: Leslie & Caldwell, 2011 Ages/Grades: Pre-primer – High School Administration Time: Varies Administration Format: Individual Reliability: Alt. Forms -.80 and up Inter-rater-.98 and up Diagnostic-.87 Validity: Not reported

How to Do an IRI Figure 4.11 Select six to eight passages from a reader or other target material Develop six to eight comprehension questions per passage (include factual, interpretive, etc.) Mark the number of words per passage As child reads, note miscues, observe interest level Administer until comprehension drops to 75% or 15 miscues per 100 words

Miscue Analysis (Goodman) Definition A systematic system of analyzing student reading errors to determine skill strengths and weaknesses A miscue is a reader’s variation from print Based on two important concepts: Everyone miscues Miscues do not equal errors

Overview of Miscue Analysis Two ways to count miscues: Total Accuracy – count all miscues Total Acceptability – count only miscues that change or distort passage meaning Define miscues according to the directions found in the assessment instrument being used if possible (McKenna & Stahl, 2003) If no directions are given, or the analysis comes from informal assessment taken from the curriculum, score the six following miscues: (a) omissions, (b) insertions, (c) substitutions, (d) reversals, (e) helper supplied words, and (f) repetitions. Mark all miscues, even if they are not being scored.

Table 4.3

Total words in passage—miscues %age WC = Total words in passage = ____ Formula 4.2 Determining Percentage of Words Correct in Passage

ComprehensionTotal number of questions—errors Percent Correct=Total number of questions = ____% Formula 4.3 Determining Percentage of Comprehension Correct

Frequency of Different Miscues McKenna and Stahl (2003) About half of 1 st graders’ miscues are omissions Insertions only account for about 10% of all miscues Substitutions become more common, while omissions become less common as students mature In 1 st grade, letter reversals (no/on) are common, but these typically end by 2 nd grade

Running Records

Administering and Scoring Running Records Figure 4.12 Scoring the Running Record Figure 4.13 Quantifying the Running Record Figure 4.14 Worksheet for Summarizing the Running Record

Running Records and Curriculum-Generated CBM Figure 4.15 Use passages from curriculum Student reads orally Both can generate oral fluency score (wcpm)

Contrasting Running Records and Curriculum-Generated CBM: Figure 4.15 CBM Focuses on accuracy and speed Types of errors not emphasized Typically used to monitor progress toward end-of- year goals Running Records Types of errors are noted Can denote progress in instructional materials Inflection and comprehension can be addressed

Curriculum Based Assessment Examples: Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of Oral Reading Fluency (Deno & Fuchs) Portfolio Assessment Running Records (Marie Clay) Miscue Analysis (Goodman)

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of Oral Reading Fluency (Deno & Fuchs) May be derived from content and materials actually used in the classroom Yields measures of reading rate (speed), accuracy, or both Can be used to show progress over time Allows direct assessment of progress in the curriculum NRP areas addressed are fluency and comprehension

CBM for Assessing and Scoring Oral Reading Words correct per minute: Formula 4.1 Number of words correct/Number of seconds read X 60 = WCPM Directions for Teacher-Constructed CBM Figure 4.16 Examiner times and records errors For a reliable measure, use three passages and take median score

Average Reading Fluency Rates Table 4.7 Typical 1 st grader at mid year 47 wpm Typical 5 th grader at mid year 139 wpm Adults: 250 wpm? Silent versus oral Type of reading material, purpose of reading

Portfolio Assessment Can contain samples of various informal assessments A student’s work is collected over time and evaluated according to prescribed criteria Is considered authentic, ongoing, multidimensional, and collaborative (between student and teacher) What to include should be based on curricular and instructional priorities and related to school and system goals, but also tied to specific student needs

Portfolio Assessment Pros Can track progress over time Realistic examples of everyday products Collaborative evaluation Personal significance Involve parents Cons Difficult to score reliably May take up considerable space in the classroom May be time-consuming and expensive May not convey well the typical work of the student

Readability and Leveled Texts Readability Formulas Fry Readability: Figure 4.19 Leveled Texts Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Levels Reading A-Z Website

Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Young Children Consider background knowledge and experiences with letter-sound associations Phonological awareness Print concepts Phoneme segmentation/representation Word reading & writing Text reading & writing McGill-Franzen, 2006 Schedule for Assessment Figure 4.20 Student Profile Sheet Figure 4.21

Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Adults Text Box 4.2 Identify individual strengths & weaknesses Progress monitor Troubleshoot Assess learning over time Use authentic materials Build on oral vocabulary

Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of English Language Learners Text Box 4.3 Demonstrate, use samples Use authentic materials Link assessment to instruction Assess progress over time

Assessment at a Glance: Informal (Classroom) Assessment Table 4.9 Measures of Informal Assessment that Inform Instruction

Summary Observation and Interview Teacher-Made and Teacher-Selected Curriculum-Based Assessment Specific Skills Assessments Error Analysis Informal Reading Inventories Running Records Curriculum-Based Assessment Portfolio Assessment Readability Leveled Texts Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Young Children Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Adults Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of English Language Learners