1. Reading Comprehension
Week One Assessment Protocol

2. Overview
This assessment is different from typical assessments of reading comprehension because instead of attempting to determine a “reading level” for students, it instead attempts to determine how much and what type of assistance, or scaffolding, students will need.
There are three sections to the assessment. Each section contains three subsections. The first is written very simply and asks students to answer literal questions. The second is a bit more difficult and asks inferential questions. The third is more difficult and asks for students to answer critical questions. In addition, the assessment is meant to measure not only individual performance, but the performance of students as a group.
In addition, each section is read with different levels of input from the teacher. The first section should be read aloud to the students without discussion. The second section is read with the students, in which the instructor reads the first sentence of each subsection aloud, engages students in discussion and prediction about the rest of the subsection, and then has students answer the questions independently. For the third section, students read alone without assistance at all from the instructor.

3. The assessment provides nine measures (in addition to the “group” measure of the second section.
Section 1: Literal
Section 2: Inferential
Section 3: Critical
Reading Aloud
Leila Abouzeid
Shared Reading
Driss Chraibi
Silent Reading
Laila Lalami

4. 1. Reading Aloud: Leila Abouzeid
Read the first subsection of the assessment aloud to the students. Read the questions to them. Instruct them to answer each question for the first section.
When everyone is finished, read the second subsection aloud following the same procedure as the first.
When everyone is finished with the second subsection, read the third subsection aloud, including the questions.
Proceed to the second section. Do not discuss this section with the students until the assessment is finished and students have turned in their papers.

5. 2. Shared Reading: Driss Chraibi
Read the first sentence of the first subsection aloud to the students. Stop and discuss the meaning of the first sentence; ask students to predict what the next sentence will be about. Have the students read the remainder of the first subsection and answer the questions on their own.
Read the first sentence of the second subsection aloud and discuss it, asking for predictions about Chraibi’s life. Have the students read the rest of the paragraph on their own and answer the questions on their own.
Read the first sentence of the third subsection aloud and discuss it. Have the students read the rest of the paragraph on their own and answer the questions on their own.
Do not discuss this section until the students have completed the entire assessment and turned it in.

6. 3. Laila Lalami: Silent Reading
Have the students read all three sections silently without help from each other or the instructor. Have the students answer all questions on their own.
Collect all assessments from the students when finished, making sure each has a student name on it.
Now the readings can be discussed with the students.