1. INFORMAL ASSESSMENT

2. Usefulness of Norm-Referenced Tests
Norm-referenced tests are standardized methods for assessing skills or behaviors. They are useful for making statistically accurate comparisons between the performance of a target student and the performances of other students of the same age or grade level. With the results of norm referenced tests, it is possible to determine whether a target student’s performance is typical or atypical, based on national norms.

3. Problems with Norm-Referenced Tests
Norm-referenced tests are useful in assessing students for
eligibility for special education, but they do have
significant limitations; such as…
May not accurately reflect curriculum being taught
Have limited numbers of alternative forms; problems exist with “test wiseness”
May not be sensitive to small gains in academic growth
Problems of bias exist in selection of items

4. Informal Assessment
Informal assessment means using non-standardized methods of diagnosing learning problems and measuring student progress.

5. Advantages of Informal Assessment
Informal assessment has the following advantages
over norm-referenced testing:
Can be more closely related to the curriculum
More sensitive to small gains
Less cumbersome to administer and score
Relates directly to planning instruction and teaching
Can identify specific error patterns

6. Comprehensive Assessment= Comprehensive Test Battery
May include formal and informal assessments.
Possible to take the good parts of each test.

7. Types of Informal Assessment
criterion-related assessment--an assessment which involves comparing a student’s performance to a given criteria (rather than to a norm group; mastery testing)
curriculum-based assessment--tests which use excerpts from the general education curriculum as the subject matter for testing
direct measurement--measuring progress by using the same instructional materials or tasks that are used in the classroom
probes--brief tests used for assessment of mastery of specific skill or sub-skill

8. Teacher-Made Tests
When designing informal instruments research has shown that teachers
are prone to make errors that may skew the results.
E.g., matching items, followed by completion, essay and true/false.
Teachers may write test items using different levels of learning,
although, many teachers use items at the knowledge level because
they are easier to write.
Such items require the student merely to recall, recognize, or match the material.
Higher order thinking skills are needed to assess a student’s ability to
sequence, apply information, analyze, synthesize, infer, or deduct.

9. Criterion-Referenced Testing
Criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) compare the
performance of a student to a given criterion for mastery.
Criterion-referenced testing can be used to determine the
examinee’s position along the continuum from acquisition
to mastery. To be accurate, criterion-referenced tests
must have “item density,” enough items in each domain to
make sure that the topic is covered adequately. The
advantages of CRTs include:
Practical
Fair
Assists with measuring educational accountability

10. Sources for CRTs Adapt existing norm-referenced instruments
Use published criterion-referenced tests (like The Brigance Inventories)
Design teacher-made CRTs
Curriculum-based
Direct measurement

11. Establishing Criterion
With published CRTs, the authors provide a criterion for
mastery on their instrument. When a teacher designs a CRT,
the teacher must determine an appropriate mastery criterion.
Some tasks require 100% mastery (e.g., math facts) and others
can tolerate a lower standard like 80 or 90% (e.g., reading
comprehension). Typical criterion for mastery are listed
below:
More than 95% = mastery of objective
90% to 95% = instructional level
76% to 89% = difficult level
Less than 76% = failure level
(See Activity 5.6, p. 165)

12. What Does Mastery Mean?
If a student is able to reach a mastery level score just once on a particular criterion-referenced instrument, this does not necessarily mean that the student actually has mastered the skills being tested. To establish mastery with some certainty, the student would need to be tested over multiple trials.

13. Beyond Mastery: Other Considerations
Does passing the test mean that the student is proficient and will maintain the skills?
Is the student ready to progress to the next level in the curriculum?
Will the student be able to generalize and apply the skills in other contexts?
Would the student pass the mastery test if it were given again at a later date?

14. Brigance Inventories
The Brigance is standardized assessment system that
provides criterion-related assessment of basic academic
skills. There are three age levels of Brigance Inventories.
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development (birth to age 7)
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills (elementary-aged students)
Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Essential Skills (intermediate and secondary students)

15. Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development
The Brigance Inventory of Early Development, Revised (IED) is a
criterion-referenced scale for young children. It contains ten skill
clusters:
Pre-ambulatory motor
Gross motor
Fine motor
Self-help
Speech and language
General knowledge and comprehension
Readiness
Basic reading
Manuscript writing
Basic math.
The IED is designed for teachers to identify present levels of
performance and measure progress and as an instructional guide with
written objective for developing intervention programs.

16. Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills
Author: Albert Brigance (1991) Publisher: Curriculum Associates Description of Test: The test is presented in a plastic ring binder that is designed to be laid open and placed between the examiner and the student. A separate student booklet provided for the student’s answers is designed so that the skills range from easy to difficult; thus, the teacher can quickly ascertain the skills level the student has achieved. Administration Time: Specific time limits are listed on many tests; others are untimed. Age/Grade Levels: Grades K through 9. It is also used for academic assessment of older students who are functioning below sixth-grade academic levels. Subtest Information: There are four subtests including 143 pencil and-paper or oral-response tests: readiness, reading, language arts, and mathematics

17. Brigance Comprehensive Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills-Revised (CIBS-R)
The CIBS-R is a criterion-referenced inventory designed for use with elementary and middle school students. The inventory includes subtests in the following domains: readiness, reading (word recognition, passage reading, word analysis, vocabulary), language arts (handwriting, grammar mechanics, spelling, and reference skills), and math (grade level math, numbers, operations, and measurement). For each area, several subskills are assessed. For each of the items assessed within a subskill, objectives are included. If a student fails to show mastery of a particular subskill, the objective for that subskill can be used for educational planning. Some of the tests on the CIBS-R have been normed and results can be expressed as standard scores, percentile ranks, and grade equivalents. A computer program, the CIBS-R Standardized Scoring Conversion Software, is available to assist in the scoring.

18. Brigance Inventory of Essential Skills
The criterion-referenced individually administered Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Essential Skills covers academic skill areas and life skills. The former includes reading/language arts, math, and study skills. Life skill subtests include food and clothing, money and finance, travel and transportation, and communication and telephone skills. The Inventory of Essential Skills also includes rating scales for measuring health and attitude, responsibility and self-discipline, job interview preparation, communication, and auto safety. Inventory materials include a student record book that records competency levels and defines instructional objectives and a class record book that provides a matrix of skills assessed, skills mastered, and objectives for a group of up to 15 students. The inventory is widely used to assess secondary level students and adult learners with special needs.

19. Strengths of the Brigance
The Brigance is considered one of the most comprehensive
criterion-referenced instruments. It is also viewed as being well
suited to determining mastery of very specific learning objectives.
The test manual states that results of the Brigance should be
considered in conjunction with the student’s classroom
performance, classroom observations, and scrutiny of actual
curriculum goals. The specific strengths of the Brigance include:
Helps to determine what a student has or has not learned
Contains suggestions for specific instructional objectives
Requires no testing expertise
Can help with referral decisions

20. Curriculum-Based Assessment
Curriculum-based assessment (CBA) means using materials and tasks from the general curriculum to diagnose learning problems or to measure student progress. Curriculum-based assessments are usually given at the end of an instructional period (summative). CBA assesses mastery of specific content or skill taught during an academic period. Students results are compared against a standard of mastery (e.g., student must pass with 80% of items correct).

21. What Is Curriculum-Based Measurement?
Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is the method of monitoring student progress through direct, continuous assessment of basic skills. CBM is used to assess skills such as reading fluency, comprehension, spelling, mathematics, and written expression. Early literacy skills (phonics and phonological awareness) are similar measures and are downward extensions of CBM.

22. CBM Is Formative Assessment
With curriculum-based assessment, the student is measured from
the beginning of instruction against the ultimate goal for the
student’s learning. For example, a child in third grade would be
measured against a year-end goal in reading (e.g., beginning fourth
grade), even though at the beginning of the year, the child would not
be expected to have mastered the goal. Throughout the school year,
the student would be measured against the year-end goal to see if the
student is making reasonable progress. Measuring progress during
instruction is called formative assessment. Formative assessment
allows the teacher to make changes in instruction based upon the
student’s academic performance. Thus, the teacher is able to make
quick adjustments so the student does not “get stuck” and continues
to make progress toward the ultimate learning goal.

23. How Valid Is CBM? CBM assessment practices are based on 25 years
of scientific research at the University of Minnesota and
elsewhere (Deno, 1985; Deno, Marston, & Mirkin, 1982;
Deno, Marston, Shinn, & Tindal, 1983). These informal
tests are time efficient and inexpensive, yet produce
accurate charts of student growth over time.

24. What Is a CBM Probe Like?
CBM probes last from 1 to 5 minutes depending on the skill being measured and student performance is scored for speed and accuracy to determine proficiency. Because CBM probes are quick to administer and simple to score, they can be given frequently to provide continuous progress data. The results are charted and provide for timely evaluation based on hard data.

25. What Is the Content of CBM?
As the name implies, CBM materials have historically been derived from individual school curricula. Currently, the CBM field is moving towards standard general curriculum probes to increase standardization and make more accurate comparisons. This is especially helpful when curriculum changes over time.

26. Rule of Thumb
Teachers can design their own curriculum-based assessments using
classroom materials. There are some basic guidelines for developing
curriculum-based assessments. Below are some “rules” for
assessment design in various academic areas:
In reading, students should read aloud from reading
materials for 1 minute. The number of words read
correctly per minute (WCPM) constitutes the basic decision-making unit.
In spelling, students write words that are dictated at specific intervals (either 5, 7, or 10 seconds) for 2 minutes. The number of correct letter sequences and words spelled correctly are counted.
In written expression, students write a story for 3 minutes after viewing a story starter. The number of words written, spelled correctly, and/or correct word sequences are counted.
In mathematics, students write answers to computational problems via two minute probes. The numbers of correctly written digits in correct position are counted.

27. Baseline and Goal
In order to set up a measurement process, the teacher first determines
baseline in the skills to be taught. For example, the teacher would do
three probes of a skill or set of skills. The scores for the three probes
are averaged or the median score can be selected as the baseline
score. Once the baseline number has been determined, the teacher
can estimate the goal (e.g., number of words read correctly, number
of problems solved correctly, number of words spelled correctly) to be
reached by the end of the year. The research literature provides
guidance for reasonable yearly gains by grade level. For example, a
second grader with a baseline of 55 correctly read words per minute
can be expected to increase oral reading proficiency by approximately
38 words by the end of the year. The goal then is 93 correctly read
words per minute.

28. Aimline The aimline is the goal line against which
progress is measured in curriculum-based
measurement. In order to plot the aimline,
the teacher would begin at the baseline
score and draw a line to the goal. To
monitor the instruction, the data are plotted
twice per week. When a student falls below
the aimline for three consecutive measures,
the instruction should be adjusted. When
the student excels above the aimline for
three consecutive measures, the instruction
should be made more challenging.

29. Content for CBA When a teacher is designing a curriculum-based
SCOPE
SEQUENCE
When a teacher is designing a curriculum-based
assessment, a good source of information for what to
include in the assessment is a scope and sequence. A
scope and sequence is a formal listing of the range of skills
and the sequence in which those skills must be learned in
a particular academic domain (e.g., reading, written
expression, mathematics). To see an example of a Scope
and Sequence, go to the Document Sharing Section of the
course.

30. Task Analysis
Sometimes when developing CBA, the test designer will look at a specific skill or sub-skill and try to address it with items that constitute the steps toward completing a task or skill. The name for this process is task analysis. Task analysis simply means analyzing a task by breaking it down into the smallest steps or sub- skills.

31. Task Analysis Example
Let’s assume, for example, that the teacher wants to assess the following skill: Recognizes initial consonant sounds and their association with the consonants in the alphabet A task analysis for recognizing initial consonant sounds might include steps like these: Test single letters (uppercase) for identification in this order– M, T, S, F, D, G, L, H, C, B, N, K, V, W, J, P Test single letters (lowercase) for identification in this order-- m, t, s, f, d, r, g, l, h, c, b, n , k ,v, w, j, p Test matching of upper- and lowercase consonants Test matching most common sounds with consonants Test initial consonant sound identification in CVC words
Important in planning and scaffolding instruction

32. Error Analysis Error analysis is one of the best ways to
determine what types of academic problems a
student may be having. What the teacher does is
look for patterns of errors. Once the error
patterns are discovered, the teacher can then
develop instructional lessons to correct the errors.
(See Activity 5.9,p. 167)

33. CBA/CBM Summary
Curriculum-based assessment is a relatively simple process, involving a thorough analysis of the requirements of the curriculum in a particular domain, the development of items to cover the domain, and arrangement of those items in order from the simplest (or easiest) to the most complex (or most difficult). Using CBM allows the teacher to keep track of a student’s progress in the curriculum and to compare one student’s scores to those of other classmates learning the same curriculum.

34. Value of Curriculum-Based Assessment
Provides more direct feedback to students
Supports increases in student achievement
Provides accurate screening information for eligibility
Provides useful data to determine when students are ready to return to the general education program
Is appropriate for assessing medication effects
Is useful in designing instructional programs

35. Cautions in Using CBM
Limited to measuring discrete skills; can’t measure global skills like creativity
More sensitive to changes in rote learning than in higher level thinking skills

36. Issues in Informal Testing
Are standards appropriate for student in terms of race, culture and gender?
Are test items free from cultural bias?
Is the language appropriate for the student?
Does the measure bypass the limitations imposed by the disability?
Are CBA measures of sufficient technical quality?
Does the CBA measure thoroughly cover the skill range?
Is the test long enough to provide enough information on the student’s performance?

37. Informal Assessment of Reading
Decoding, word recognition, fluency, and comprehension
are the broad areas of reading that teachers typically
assess using informal methods.
Decoding--the ability to associate sounds and symbols
Word Recognition—the ability to read words instantly on sight
Fluency--rate and ease with which a student reads orally
Comprehension--ability to derive meaning from written language

38. Informal Techniques for Assessing Reading Attitudes Toward Reading
Decoding
Word Recognition
Fluency
Comprehension
Attitudes Toward Reading
Match letters and sounds
Read grade level word lists
Timed oral reading of letters
Answering questions
Interview
Read isolated letters, blends, syllables and real words
Read Dolch Words
Timed oral reading of word lists
Paraphrasing
Questionnaire
Sound out nonsense words
Timed oral reading of phrases
Story retelling
Student history
Sound out combinations of vowel sounds and patterns, consonant blends, and digraphs
Timed oral reading of sentences
Cloze
Read sentences that contain new words
Timed oral reading of paragraphs
Maze
Sentence Verification
Vocabulary identification

39. Informal Reading Inventories
Informal reading inventories are informal assessments that usually contain graded word lists for testing word recognition ability and graded reading passages for evaluating oral reading, silent reading, and comprehension. Teachers may select from among many commercially available informal reading inventories or design one of their own. To learn more about commercial informal reading inventories, conduct a search with the ETS Test File at using the keywords reading inventories. On the next slide is a description of one commercial inventory.

40. Informal Reading Inventory—5th Ed IRI-5
The Informal Reading Inventory by Burns and Roe introduces reading passages with a sentence that provides a purpose for reading. The student reads the selection orally and then responds to eight comprehension questions read by the examiner The number and percentage of word recognition and comprehension errors made by the student are recorded to determine whether the selection falls at the student’s Independent, Instruction, or Frustration reading level.

41. Basic Sight Words aka High Frequency Words aka Dolch List
See wiki

42. Sample Informal Reading Inventory
Motivation Statement: Imagine how you would feel if you
were up to bat and this was your team’s last chance to win
the game! Please read this story.
Passage:
Whiz! The baseball went right by me, and I struck at the air! “Strike
one!” called the man. I could feel my legs begin to shake! Whiz! The
ball went by me again, and I began to feel bad. “Strike two,”
screamed the man. I held the bat back because this time I would kill
the ball! I would hit it right out of the park! I was so scared that I
bit down on my lip. My knees shook and my hands grew wet. Swish!
The ball came right over the plate. Crack! I hit it a good one! Then I
ran like the wind. Everyone was yelling for me because I was now a
baseball star!

43. Comprehension Questions and Possible Answers
1. What is this story about? (Main idea--a baseball game, someone who gets two strikes and finally gets a hit 2. After the second strike, what did the batter plan to do? (Factual--Hit the ball right out of the park) 3. Who is the “man” in this story who called strikes? (Inferential--the umpire) 4. In this story, what was meant when the batter said, “I would kill the ball”? (Terminology--Hit it very hard) 5. Why was the last pitch a good one? (Cause and effect--Because it went right over the plate) 6. What did the batter do after the last pitch? (Case and effect--The batter hit it a good one and ran like the wind.)

44. Scoring an IRI Scoring Guide Error Count:
Omissions _____ Aided words _____
Insertions _____ Repetitions _____
Substitutions _____ Reversals _____
Scoring Guide
Word Recognition Errors Comprehension Errors
Independent
Instructional
Frustration

45. IRI Reading Levels
The results obtained from IRIs are grade level scores. Typically, informal inventories provide three reading levels: Independent Level, Instructional Level, and Frustration Level. A student’s Independent Level is the level of graded reading materials that can be read easily with a high degree of comprehension and few errors in decoding. At this level, the student reads independently, without instruction or assistance from the teacher. Reading materials at the student’s Instructional Level are somewhat more difficult; this is the level appropriate for reading instruction. Materials at the Frustration Level are too difficult for the student; decoding errors are too frequent and comprehension too poor for instruction to occur.

46. Criteria for Reading Levels According to Kirk, Kliebhan, and Lerner (1978), the usual criteria for determining independent, instructional and frustration levels are as shown in the chart below:
Independent Reading Level Word Recognition: 98% to 100% Comprehension: 90% to 100% Instructional Reading Level Word Recognition: 95% Comprehension: 75% Frustration Reading Level Word Recognition: less than 90% Comprehension: less than 50%
These levels have been criticized for being too stringent. For example, Spache (1972) warned that “if the teacher employs an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) for his estimate of instructional level, he may be expecting children to read with a very unrealistic degree of oral accuracy.”

47. Error Analysis in Reading
Error analysis is generally used to investigate decoding mistakes in
oral reading. The teacher records deviations from the printed text
that the student makes while reading orally. Several types of errors
can occur when students read connected text. Most systems of error
analysis include at least four classes of errors:
Additions—the reader adds words or parts of words to the text
Substitutions—the reader mispronounces a word or parts of words; this type of error is also called a mispronunciation. (e.g., want for what)
Omissions—the reader fails to pronounce words or parts of words. This error occurs when readers skip words, when they hesitate in responding, or when they say the do not know a word.
Reversals—The reader changes the order of the words in a phrase or sentence or the order of sounds within a word.

48. Miscue Analysis
An alternate method of error analysis takes into account the quality
of the errors that readers make . This is called miscue analysis.
Miscues are analyzed to determine whether they represent a change
in meaning from the original test. For example, the substitution of
hold for fight in “fight back the tears” is semantically correct and
does not alter meaning. However, the substitution of ready for right in
“he’ll be all right” does change the sense of the passage.
Miscues that produce changes in meaning can be further analyzed.
For example, the student’s miscue and the original text can be
compared in these three ways:
Graphic Similarity: How much do the two words look alike?
Sound Similarity: How much do the two words sound alike?
Grammatical Function: Is the grammatical function of the reader’s word the same as the grammatical function of the text word?

49. Informal Assessment of Mathematics
Math is a relatively easy subject to assess using informal
methods. The areas that are usually assessed include:
Math facts
Computation
Math reasoning
Math applications
The assessment should be combined with both task
analysis and error analysis to determine specific problem
areas. These problem areas should be further assessed by
using probes to determine the specific difficulty.
Interviewing the student is also helpful in determining
how the student is reasoning through a problem.

50. Methods of Informal Math Assessment
Informal Inventories—Informal inventories survey a variety of skills to determine where the student’s strengths and weaknesses lie. Inventories usually have only one or two examples of each type of math problem so further analysis of errors is necessary in more specific probes.
Criterion-Referenced Tests--CRTs are used to assess mastery of specific mathematics skills (e.g. multiplication by 9).
Error Analysis—Error analysis is a process of looking at the student’s responses to determine why a mistake was made and to see if there is a pattern of repeated types of errors. Error analysis differentiates between systematic computation errors and errors that are random or careless mistakes.
Diagnostic Probes—Probes are in-depth assessments of the mastery of a specific skill or sub-skill; typically a probe contains several items focused on the same skill.
Clinical Math Interviews—Clinical interviews elicit information about the procedures that students use to arrive at their answers. The student is observed going about the mathematics task and then the student is interviewed to find out the cognitive strategies he or she used to accomplish the task.
Portfolio Assessment—A portfolio should contain several examples of the student’s work, including classroom quizzes or assignments, group or individual projects, written math reports or math logs, or artwork related to mathematics. Portfolios may also contain results of standardized tests and informal assessments, student self-assessments, and student interest surveys and questions. Teachers might include checklists of student progress, graphs of results from CBA measures and records of clinical math interviews.

51. Example of an Informal Inventory
Addition Subtraction Multiplication x 2 x2 x8 x0 x 4 x 4 22 x3 x 4

52. Example of Math CRT Criterion for Mastery: 100% (10/10) correct
Directions: Round off each number to the nearest
hundred (100).
721 __________
7,879 __________
6,834 __________
881 __________
8502 __________
13,782 __________
789,332 __________
3,055 __________
803 __________
419 __________

53. Math Error Analysis
The teacher examines the student’s work and observes how the student goes about solving the problems. The teacher can then analyze what types of errors the student is making. Common types of errors include:
Incorrect operation
Incorrect number fact
Incorrect algorithm
Errors in place value
Failure to follow sequence of
Placement (working from right to left)
Copying or handwriting errors
Random errors

54. Error Analysis Practice For each of the following problems, analyze and describe the types of errors the student is making. Note that within the same box, all of the problems display the same error. A B C D

55. More Error Analysis
divided by 6 = 21 x 4 x E F G H

56. Teacher-Made Probes
Teacher-made probes can be used to identify specific problem areas. Mixed
probes are used to locate areas that need further assessment or instruction.
In the probe on the following page, each of the following categories
has nine items:
basic addition facts of sums to 9 (first item and then every fourth item),
two-digit numbers plus two-digit numbers with no regrouping (second
item and then every fourth item),
two-digit number plus one-digit number with no regrouping (third item and then every fourth item), and
basic addition facts of sums to 18 (fourth item and then every fourth item).
When scoring a probe, the student receives one point for every correct digit
in the correct place. On this probe, the student can obtain a maximum score
of 63 correct digits with no errors. After three times, a high score of 40 or
more correct digits per minute with no errors is a reasonable criterion for
diagnostic purposes.

57. Example of a Math Probe
Patterns: 0-9 facts, 2D +2D, 2D + 1D, and 0-18 facts Number of Correct Digits: ___________

58. Error Analysis of Probe Results
If the student fails to reach the criterion on a mixed probe, it is important to analyze the responses and locate the errors in the items missed. This analysis provides the teacher with information for further assessment with specific skill probes (such as 0-9 facts). Also, specific skill probes can be used to monitor the daily progress of the student. For what grade level do you think this probe was designed?

59. Analysis of Math Observation and Clinical Interview
• What previous knowledge did the student bring to this problem?
To what extent are the ideas accurate and complete?
What strategy did the student employ to solve the
problem?
Could the student do the steps of the problem in proper sequence?
Were the student’s calculations accurate?

60. Diagnostic Questions for Analysis of Problem Solving
Agree Disagree ______ ______ Decodes words correctly in story problem ______ ______ Understands the meaning of the situation described in the story problem ______ ______ Identifies the relevant and irrelevant information in the problem ______ ______ Can illustrate the components of the problem ______ ______ Selects the appropriate operation (addition, subtraction, multiplication or division) ______ ______ Writes down the computational problem correctly ______ ______ Remembers number facts correctly ______ ______ Selects the appropriate computational algorithm ______ ______ Estimates the correct answer ______ ______ Determines is answer “makes sense”

61. Informal Assessment of Written Expression
Written expression includes a complex array of skills which all must be working relatively well in order for the written product to be legible, understandable, and persuasive. Informal probes of writing skills can be done in each of the important areas, including handwriting, writing mechanics, spelling, and composition. On the next slide is a chart showing common methods of informal writing assessment by category.

62. Common Informal Methods of Assessing Writing
Handwriting
Writing Mechanics
Spelling
Composition
Analysis of handwriting sample (copy 100 word passage)
CRTs of punctuation, capitalization, and grammar
Paper and pencil dictation test
Rating scales and checklists of skills
Rating handwriting sample according to grade level template (e.g., shape, slant, spacing, size, smoothness)
Informal surveys of punctuation, capitalization, and grammar
Oral spelling
Writing sample analysis (write for 15 minutes on a topic or from a story starter)
Inventories and CRTs (e.g., Denver Handwriting Analysis, Brigance)
Rating scales
Multiple-choice format
(choose the correct spelling)
Work samples
Writing samples
Spontaneous writing sample
Observation and clinical interview
Inventories of regular words, irregular words and homophones
Criterion-referenced test (usually of grade level words

63. Writing Sample
the peopol of englind didn’t the cherch roals. So a group
of pepol got to gether and desided to live. So after a lot of
comfermising. The king gov them 3 ships and they set sail
for a mew land. They sailed a long ways for a to long tine.
Then they saw it land it was North amareca. They landid
on plymouth rock. There they started to beld the ferst
coliny. The firs winter wase the hardes a lot peopl dide
from being sick. Afte the winter was over the ingin’s
becom frinds with them and to them how to hunt and
grow food.
What kinds of errors do you see in this composition? What is your error analysis?

64. Excerpt from a Writing Checklist
Agree Disagree
Content
______ ______ Does the writing clearly communicate an idea or ideas to the reader?
______ ______ Is the content adequately developed?
______ ______ Is the content interesting to the potential reader?
Vocabulary
______ ______ Does the writer select appropriate words to communicate his/her ideas?
______ ______ Does the writer use precise/vivid vocabulary?
______ ______ Does the writer effectively use verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs?
______ ______ Does the vocabulary meet acceptable standards for written English (e.g., isn’t vs. ain’t)?
Sentences
______ ______ Are the sentences complete (subject and predicate)?
______ ______ Are run-on sentences avoided?
______ ______ Are exceptionally complex sentences avoided?
______ ______ Are the sentences grammatically correct (e.g., word order, subject-verb agreement)?
Paragraphs
______ ______ Do the sentences in the paragraph relate to one topic?
______ ______ Are the sentences organized to reflect the relationships between ideas within the paragraph?
______ ______ Does the paragraph include a topical, introductory or transition sentence?

65. Sample Writing Interview Questions
You’ve finished your composition. Tell me about what you’ve written.
When you finished, did you read over what you had written? Did you make any changes?
What did you change?
Did you have anyone else read your paper? Did you change your paper on the basis of suggestions that someone else made?
While you were writing, what did you think about? Did you consider the ideas you were writing about? What should come first, second, and so on? Choosing the exact words to express your meaning? Spelling the words correctly, using correct punctuation, and following all the rules for correct grammar?
Do you think that you’ve accomplished your purpose in writing? Why or why not? If not, what do you need to change?
Do you think your writing will be understandable for your audience? Is the vocabulary suitable? The tone? If not, what do you need to change?

66. Spelling Assessment
A short informal spelling test can be designed by selecting grade level words from a frequency-of-use word list. The student is asked to spell on paper words from each grade list until three words in a grade list are missed. The student’s spelling level can be estimated as that at which two or fewer words are missed.

67. Common Types of Spelling Errors
Dysphonetic errors. Spelling errors which reflect inaccurate spellings without regard to phonics. Words may have some correct letters, but the letters are placed in bizarre positions, such as ronaeg for orange. Students with this problem read and spell primarily through visualization.
Dyseidetic errors. Spelling errors reflect phonic-equivalent errors (e.g., pese for peace, det for debt).
What kinds of spelling errors do you see in the essay on
Slide #65?

68. Summary of Methods of Informal Assessment
Criterion Referenced Tests—tests of one skill with a designated level of accuracy in order for the skill to be considered mastered
Curriculum-Based Assessments—informal tests using content from the curriculum
Probes—tests of specific skills or sub-skills with multiple examples of the same skill to determine strengths and weaknesses of the student
Checklists—lists of academic or behavioral skills
Questionnaires—questions about a student’s behavior or academic performance that can be answered by the student or by a parent or teacher
Work Samples—samples of a student’s classroom work
Permanent Products—products made by the student that can be analyzed for academic or behavioral performance
Performance assessment--assessment that requires the student to create an answer or product to demonstrate knowledge
Authentic assessment--assessment that requires the student to apply knowledge in the real world
Portfolio assessment--evaluating student progress, strengths, and weaknesses using a collection of different measurements and work samples

69. Portfolio Contents daily assignments samples of student writing
examples of student problem solving
informal inventories and probes
criterion-referenced tests
results of standardized tests
story maps
reading log or reading list
math log
vocabulary journal
artwork, project papers, photographs, and other products
group work, papers, projects, and products
daily journal
writing ideas
letters to pen pals, letters exchanged with teacher
out-of-school writing and artwork
unit and lesson tests
multi-media products
independent research
self-evaluations
handwriting samples
math computation exercises

70. Elements of High Quality Assessment
Authentic and valid
Encompass the whole child
Involve repeated observations of patterns of behavior
Ongoing and continuous
Use a variety of methods
Provide a means for feedback
Provide an opportunity for students, teachers, and parents to discuss progress