1. Adams 12 Five Star Schools PALS Kindergarten Protocol Refresher
Literacy Assessment Support PALS K Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening
Adams 12 Five Star Schools
PALS Kindergarten Protocol Refresher
DLT. 5/28/10 Update

2. Online Learning: Support for Kindergarten Literacy Assessment
Purpose:
Outcomes:
• Engage in a self-directed refresher to support the accurate collection of data that
Meets state reporting requirements
Complies with the district assessment schedule
Informs instruction
As the result of this session, you will
Know the district expectations for reading assessment
Be prepared for the District Assessment Day
Understand the PALS assessment protocol
Have answers to frequently asked questions with regard to PALS

3. How to Use this Online Learning Opportunity
Gather the materials listed on the right
View this PowerPoint to refresh your knowledge of the PALS protocol
Stop at identified points to view clips from the PALS CD-ROM
Continue viewing until the session is complete
Return to this resource as often as needed (posted on the district’s literacy website)
Materials needed
from your PALS Kit:
Administration and Scoring Guide (Form B)
Assessment Training CD-ROM
Let’s get started!

4. Kindergarten Reading Assessment Overview
District Requirements for
• PALS Form B is given in the fall and spring
• DRA 1 at mid-year
• DRA in the spring (DRA 3 is grade level)
Scores are due in ScholarsMart:
September 24, 2010
January 21, 2011
May 20, 2011

5. Why does the district require PALS and DRA in K?
The PALS K screening measures a set of skills necessary for successful reading.
It does not provide a measure of strategic reading and comprehension.
When students are assessed with PALS and DRA, the teacher has a more complete profile of students in reading.

6. Purpose of PALS Beginning of the year: Mid-year: End of Year:
Determine instructional needs of students
Mid-year:
Monitor progress from fall screening
Fulfill requirement to monitor below grade-level readers
Determine effectiveness of instruction
End of Year:
Determine if a student is reading below, on, or above grade level
Set plans for next school year

7. Contents of PALS K Kit
The following materials will be needed when administering PALS tasks:
Administration and Scoring Guide Form A or B (form for current year)
Student Summary Sheet (individual recording form - Form A or B)
Student Spelling Sheet or plain paper
Student Packet (student materials for assessment tasks)
letter charts
COW picture sheet, word list, booklets with fall/spring rhymes
optional word recognition lists
individual rhyme awareness book
sound awareness cards
Pencils, whiteboard, dry-erase marker (add to kit)

8. Basic Screening Principles
Test within the PALS testing window.
Do not pre-teach test items such as words from word lists.
Follow the directions and script in the Administration and Scoring Guide, prompting only as directed.
Failure to follow these principles invalidates the screening results.

9. Assessment Window
The District Assessment Day is the first day of the assessment window for administering PALS.
However, the first two tasks (Group Rhyme and Group Beginning Sound Awareness) cannot be given on the same day because the tasks are so similar that students may not fully understand what they are expected to do (see page 14 of Administration and Scoring Guide).
Therefore, you may administer Group Rhyme Awareness the day before the District Assessment Day.

10. An Introduction to PALS
Insert the CD-ROM and click on the PALS K icon.
Click on the “play” arrow to view an introduction to PALS by one of its creators.
Pause the CD when the bar at the bottom of the PALS screen shifts from “Introduction” to “Phonological Awareness.” Otherwise, the CD will play continuously.

11. PALS K Assessment Tasks for All Students
Turn to the chart on page 5 of Administration and Scoring Guide.
For all students, the following untimed tasks are given:
Section I:
Group Rhyme Awareness
Group Beginning Sound Awareness
Section II:
Alphabet Knowledge: Lowercase Alphabet Recognition
Letter Sound Knowledge: Letter Sounds
Section III:
Letter-Sound Knowledge: Spelling
Section IV:
Concept of Word: Concept of Word (COW) in Text and COW Word List
Section V: (Optional)
Word Recognition in Isolation (recommended for students reading at preprimer level or above)

12. Section I: Phonological Awareness
This section measures student awareness of rhyme and beginning sounds.
Benchmarks are provided for fall and spring testing (see
p. 5 in Administration and Scoring Guide).

13. Section I, Part A: Group Rhyme Awareness Task
Turn to page 10 in the Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task.
Locate the materials used in this task:
Student Booklet
Student Summary Sheet
Then return to the CD-ROM and click “play” to view the first part of “Phonological Awareness.”
Pause following this screen “…do not administer Group Rhyme Awareness on the same day...” and continue with the PowerPoint.
What are the key points?
This task can be administered individually or in small groups and can be given the day before the District Assessment Day.
Do not give this task on the same day as the Group Beginning Sound Awareness.
Students who score below the benchmark on Group Rhyme Awareness must be given the Individual Rhyme Awareness task.
Change this to a chart to reflect reading passages on charts

14. Section I, Part B: Group Beginning Sound Awareness Task
Turn to page 14 in the Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task.
Locate the materials used in this task:
Student Booklet
Student Summary Sheet
Then return to the CD-ROM and click “play” to continue viewing more of the section on Phonological Awareness.
Pause after the teacher scores this section and continue with the PowerPoint.
What are the key points?
This task can be administered individually or in small groups.
Do not administer Group Beginning Sound Awareness on same day as Group Rhyme Awareness.
Students who score below the benchmark on Group Beginning Sound Awareness must be given Individual Sound Awareness.

15. Section I, Part C: Individual Rhyme Awareness
Key Points:
To administer the task:
This task is given to students scoring below the benchmark on Group Rhyme Awareness. Turn to page 18 in the Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task. Return to the CD-ROM and click “play” to continue viewing. Pause after the teacher is shown recording the student’s response to this task and continue with the PowerPoint.
Assemble materials:
Individual Rhyme Awareness Booklet (in Student Packet)
Student Summary Sheet
Administration and Scoring Guide
Follow directions exactly as on pp
Use the individual (not the group score) in determining the student’s summed score.
Enter the individual (not the group score) into ScholarsMart.

16. Part I, Section D: Individual Beginning Sound Awareness
Key Points:
To administer the task:
This task is given to students scoring below the benchmark on the Group Beginning Sound Awareness. Turn to page 22 in the Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task. Return to the CD-ROM and click “play” to continue viewing this section. Pause when the bar on the PALS screen shifts to the next section, “Alphabet Knowledge,” and continue with the PowerPoint.
Assemble materials:
Beginning Sound Awareness Picture Cards
Student Summary Sheet
Administration and Scoring Guide
Follow directions exactly as on pp
Use the individual (not the group score) in determining the student’s summed score.
Enter the individual (not the group score) into ScholarsMart.

17. Section II: Alphabet Knowledge (Lower-Case Alphabet Recognition)
Turn to page 24 of Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task.
Locate materials needed:
Lower Case Alphabet Recognition Sheet from Student Packet
Student Summary Sheet for recording
Pencils
When giving the test, follow the directions for prompting and recording exactly.

18. Lower-Case Recognition Task in Action
What are the key points?
Self-corrections are acceptable.
Hint: Recording what a student substitutes provides a window into the thinking behind the response and can be useful in planning instruction.
Go to the CD-ROM to continue viewing if paused or click “Alphabet Knowledge” in the menu.
Pause when the bar on the PALS screen shifts to the next section, “Letter-Sound Knowledge,” and continue with the PowerPoint.

19. Section III: Letter-Sound Knowledge Part A: Letter Sounds
Turn to page 25 of Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task.
Locate materials needed for this task:
Letter Sounds Sheet from Student Packet
Student Summary Sheet for recording
Pencils
When giving the test, follow directions for prompting and recording exactly.

20. Letter-Sound Task in Action
Go to the CD-ROM and press “play” if paused to continue viewing or click “Letter-Sound Knowledge” in the menu.
Pause when the CD shifts to “Spelling” and continue with the PowerPoint.
What are the key points?
The short vowel sound is the correct response for the Letter-Sound task.
See the specific prompt on page 25 of the Administration and Scoring Guide for a student offering a long vowel sound.

21. Section III: Letter-Sound Knowledge Part B: Spelling
Turn to pages in the Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task.
Locate materials needed for this task:
Student spelling sheet or plain paper
Student Summary Sheet
Pencils for students
Whiteboard and dry-erase marker for teacher demonstration
Administration and Scoring Guide pages 26-28
When giving the test, follow the directions for this task carefully. You may need to say to a student who hesitates to write: “Pretend you know some of this word. What would you write?”

22. Spelling Task in Action
Go to the CD-ROM and press “play” if paused to continue viewing or click on “Letter-Sound Knowledge” in the menu.
Pause when the bar on the PALS window shifts to “Concept of Word” and continue with the PowerPoint.
Key scoring points:
Bonus points are earned for the perfect spelling of an entire word.
Reversal (mirror image) of a single letter is accepted and eligible for the bonus point (except when the reversal is another letter as in b/d or p/q).

23. Section IV: Concept of Word (COW)
Turn to pages in the Administration and Scoring Guide. Read the directions to familiarize yourself with this task.
Locate materials needed for this task:
Make sure you are using the materials for the correct form of PALS
COW picture sheet, word list, and booklet from Student Packet
When administering this part of the screening, follow the directions exactly as on pages Do not add any additional prompts.

24. COW Task in Action What are the key points?
Go to the CD-ROM and press “play” if paused to continue viewing or click on “Concept of Word” in the menu.
Pause when the bar on the PALS window shifts to “Word Recognition in Isolation” and continue with the PowerPoint.
What are the key points?
Students must know the rhyme by heart before COW is assessed.
Teach the rhyme using the picture prompts in the Student Packet (see “Preparing for Assessment Day” at the end of this PowerPoint).
Do not pre-teach the words from the COW word list.
Include only the word list score when calculating students’ summed scores.

25. Section V: Word Recognition in Isolation
This task is optional. It is recommended for students who are reading at the preprimer level or above. This task is useful to assess students who are already reading at the time of entry into Kindergarten. View this section of the CD-ROM if you will be administering this portion of the PALS K screening.

26. What is grade level?
The following scores are added for a student’s Summed Score:
Rhyme Awareness (group or individual)
Beginning Sound Awareness (group or individual)
Alphabet Recognition
Letter Sounds
Spelling
COW Word List
Summed Score Benchmarks
FALL
SPRING 28
81 and DRA Level 3

27. Preparing for the District Assessment Day
Beginning with the first day of school, use the picture prompts only to practice the COW rhyme for the correct form of PALS (see published District Assessment Schedule).
Practice often and throughout the school day to ensure the rhyme is very familiar by the District Assessment Day.
Prepare testing materials for the Individual Beginning Sound Awareness task.
Read and refer to the PALS K Administration and Scoring Guide which also provides step-by-step instructions for administering and scoring each PALS task.
Assemble all materials.
Set up a testing schedule for students.
On testing day, begin slowly to ensure that you are following the protocol procedures. Don’t worry! You’ll gain fluency as the testing continues.

28. Beyond Assessment Day: Using Information from PALS to Guide Whole Group Instruction
Information gained through the PALS K screening can be used to inform instruction in both classrooms and intervention.
Teachers can use data to address strengths and needs of individual students in:
hearing and identifying rhymes
hearing and matching letters to sounds
identification of letters
knowledge of how print and words work: directionality, letter formation, identifying first and last
Shared Reading, Small Group, Modeled Writing, and Shared Writing are times in the day when these skills and strategies can be taught and practiced.

29. Taking a Look . . .
Taking a look at what students know and what they need to learn enables teachers to analyze student strengths and needs. Then instruction can be focused and organized for maximum student learning. Using data gathered through assessments, instruction can be orchestrated with time and intensity to best facilitate students’ reading growth.