Literacy Assessments

1. Literacy Assessments Guiding our Teaching

2. Observe Children’s Responses • For competencies and confusions • for strengths and weaknesses • for the processes and strategies used • for evidence of what the child already understands

3. The Reading Process • Involves messages expressed in language • Involves knowing about the conventions used to print language • Involves visual patterns -clusters of words/syllables/blends/letters • The flow of language does not always make the breaks between words clear and children may have trouble breaking messages into words

4. Literacy Assessments • Running Records • Letter ID • Concepts about Print - CAP • Word Tests • Writing • Dictation

5. Text Difficulty & Text Type • Easy text (95-100% correct) • Instructional Text (90-94% correct) • Hard/Frustration Text (80-89% correct)

6. Learning to Take A Running Record • Record everything the child says and does as he tries to read the book (tape recorder) • Know the conventions/abbreviations • Use ticks for each correct response • Make a record of each child reading his three little books or selections. • A sample reading of 100-200 words required

7. Analyzing Running Records • Use conventions for scoring records • Check directional movement • Calculate the error rate • Learn from child’s error behavior • Does the child use meaning, structure, visual information, word memory??? • How about cross-checking strategies? • Self checking?

8. Letter Identification • Administration • introduce task, point to each letter, ask questions, move to other letters • Scoring the record • Mark A for alphabetical response, S for sound or W for word beginning similarly - record everything child says-including incorrect • Interpretation of scores

9. Concepts about Print (CAP) • Use Sand or Stones Book • Follow directions exactly • Measures knowledge about front of book, print tells a story, letters, clusters of letters are called words, first letters and last letters, spaces, punctuation marks, upper and lower case letters

10. Word Tests • Administration - Read one list of words • Use of test - will tell which children are accumulating a reading vocabulary • Scoring - stanine scores • Interpretation - can be used for grouping children for skill teaching or to measure if progressive changes are occurring in skills

11. Writing • Ask children to write all the words they know - can give them suggestions • Record: Language level, message quality, and directional principles • Interpreting the observation • Connecting the progress between reading and writing - visual differences in print

12. Dictation Task • Ask children to record a dictated sentence • Choose from five sentences • Read slowly while child writes • Record & Score the writing • Retesting - important for recording changes over time

13. Summarizing the Observation Survey Results • Book reading - Instructional Level? • Analysis of strategies used by the child • Useful strategies on text, with words, and with letters • Write up the survey summary • Read example - p. 77 • USE THE RESULTS IN TEACHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!