Rivera Elementary Mr. Trujillo’s Kindergarten class

Agenda  Assessment focus  Administration of assessment  Legal considerations (confidentiality)  Involvement (potential partnerships)  Expectations/Outcomes of process  Interactive activity  Evaluation  Bibliography

Assessment Focus  The end of the year is approaching, and we would like to assess our students on their reading progress. This is important because we could place them in a classroom with their appropriate reading level. We will be using the Developmental Reading Assessment tool to assess our students. "The Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) is an individually administered assessment of a child’s reading capabilities. It is a tool to be used by instructors to identify a students reading level, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. Once levels are identified, an instructor can use this information for instructional planning purposes” (Scholastic, 2014). This tool will facilitate our need to place our students in different reading groups at the beginning of school year.

Administration of Assessment  Our leveled reading assessments will be administered by our teachers instructional assistants. Students will be tested one on one, and they may be accommodated by specialists if they have any learning disabilities. “Once assessments determine the level at which students read, books are matched to that level - books that are challenging enough for the student to make progress, but not so difficult they cause frustration” (Pearson, 2014). Students will read specific passages. Administrators will observe carefully as the students read each passage. The passages become harder to read as the student keeps reading. Their reading level will be based off their accuracy, fluency, and comprehension scores. Administrators will tally off any mistakes that they notice while each student is reading. The students will be assessed again at the end of the 1 st quarter.

Legal Considerations (Confidentiality)  Our assessment scores will remain confidential. Confidentiality is very important in our school. “Parents might be touchy about anyone other than the school staff observing and recording their child’s behavior and developmental progress. This is especially true if the child has any characteristics that set him apart from others in a way that the parents view as unfavorable” (Bentzen, p.68, 2009). Our scores will only be viewed by staff members and parents.

Involvement (Potential Partnerships)  We believe that parent involvement is essential to the learning process of each student. That is why a newsletter will be sent home, inviting parents to become a part of our assessments. “When schools engage families in ways that are linked to improving learning, and support parent involvement at home and school, students make greater gains. When schools build partnerships with families that respond to their concerns, honor their contributions, and share power, they are able to sustain connections that are aimed at improving student achievement” (ncpie, 2014). We want parents to feel comfortable with the idea of using assessments to gain more insight about each student. Our open door policy allows our parents to volunteer any time they please. Additional professional help may also be obtained within our district. Our facilitator will make sure that we have all of the necessary resources.

Expectations/Outcomes of Process  We expect that each of our students will improve their reading skills with our leveled reading approach. Each student will be able to learn at their own pace. Information gathered from our assessments will give us a detailed description of each student’s developmental progress. This will allow us to make any adaptations that may be required to enhance their learning. Tutoring groups can also be formed after school, in case any of the students need further assistance from our staff. Anecdotal notes can also be used to provide a running record of scores from previous assessments.

Interactive Activity  We will be hosting a questionnaire night at our school. Parents will be invited to come learn details about our upcoming assessments. They will also complete surveys that will give us more details about their children. These details may include hobbies, academic strengths, and other important information. This information can help us plan developmentally appropriate lessons. We can also pick out books that may be of strong interest to our students. The surveys will give parents a chance to write down any thoughts or concerns regarding the DRA assessments. Parents that do not attend will be contacted via , phone, or by newsletters.

Evaluation  Parents will get an opportunity to express their feedback. Each parent will receive a take-home evaluation sheet at our questionnaire/assessment night. Parents can write down any concerns or ideas that they may have concerning our assessments. There will be a comment box at the bottom of the questionnaire. Parents will also get a chance to grade our assessment tool on a point scale. 10 being the best and 1 being the lowest. Their feedback is really important to us because it will allow us to make future changes to our assessment tools.

Bibliography  Assess DRA Reading Levels. (n.d.). Scholastic.com. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from reading-levels reading-levels  Research Review and Resources. (n.d.). National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education (NCPIE). Retrieved May 6, 2014, from  Leveled Readers for Every Reader. (n.d.). Pearson Leveled Readers. Retrieved May 5, 2014, from  Bentzen, W. R. (2009). Seeing Young Children: A Guide To Observing and Recording Behavior (Sixth Edition ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.