Organizing Comprehensive Literacy Assessment: How to Get Started, Part I September 10,2008

Before Beginning Assessment Ensure maximum access to print/picture/logo/writing materials, etc. –Positioning –Assistive technology/aug com needs –Sensory issues that require modification of materials (e.g., increasing size of print or picture)

Organizing Assessment: Areas to Evaluate Language level* Early or Emergent literacy: Understanding of print Phonological & phonemic Awareness Word recognition skills: automatic mediated Reading fluency Listening & reading comprehension Writing (composing text) Attitudes toward literacy

Organizing Assessment: Areas to Evaluate Language Level* –Level of language or communication (intentional? Symbolic?) –Mode of communication (e.g., speech, sign, PECS, other or combination –Vocabulary level (e.g., Peabody Picture Vocabulary) Listening (receptive) and speaking (expressive) vocabulary Early or Emergent Literacy: Understanding of print –Symbol recognition (if appropriate) –Might include sight words or be limited to concrete objects, photographs, or picsyms –E.g., Concepts About Print; Early Literacy Checklist

Evaluating What Students Understand About Print Examples: Concepts About Print Checklist of Early Literacy

Organizing Assessment: Areas to Evaluate Phonological & Phonemic Awareness (if student is in early stages of reading) –E.g., observation, Dibbles, Yopp-Singer,...Yopp-Singer,

Word Recognition Skills: Automatic & Mediated –Letter name/sound knowledge; single words; words within connected text; includes phonics skills (decoding) –E.g., running records w/ miscue analysis, Informal Reading Inventories (IRI); standardized instruments, such as W-JR or Brigance; CBM; GDRT Organizing Assessment: Areas to Evaluate

Reading (Word Recognition) Levels Independent level – read without support –Recognize a minimum of 99% of words/comprehend 90% Instructional level – read with support –Recognize a minimum of 95% of words/comprehend 75% Frustration level – too difficult even with support –Recognize less than 90% of words/comprehend less than 50% Listening comprehension level –Comprehend 75% of material read to her/him

Word Recognition: Phonics Examples of Formal and Informal assessments –The Abecedarian Reading Assessment (can provide this upon request) –Grey Diagnostic Reading Test –Sections of the some of the Brigance tests –Informal Word Recognition skills test

Running Records Are a method of assessing oral reading skills; can determine reading level and do miscue analysis to determine strategies student is currently using –Can also examine comprehension w/ running records by using re-tellings, summarizing, etc. Can be a part of an Informal Reading Inventory OR can use weekly as a separate informal measure of student progress Don’t require special materials Use a set of symbols to record students’ performance

Use material at student’s instructional level; try to use a passage of at least 100 words Record student performance (using set of symbols) on top line/text on bottom line Calculate % of words read correctly: mispronunciations, omissions, additions, substitutions, reversals count as an error; – # of words read correctly/ total # of words x 100 = % read correctly (accuracy) Running Records

Miscue Analysis – method to examine types of errors student is making (using info from a running record) to determine which strategies for word recognition a student is applying

Miscue Analysis Looking at a student’s errors and analyzing them to see what types they are: –Mispronunciations –Omissions –Substitutions –repetitions and re-readings, –Self-corrections –Hesitations, and –Requests for help

Types of miscues Semantic (meaning related) –Kim lives on an island far out in the sea (ocean). Graphophonic (visual, phonic) –Kim likes (lives) on an island far out in the open (ocean). Syntactic –The boy walked tomorrow (through) the door. Self-corrected Calculate % for each type of error

WordsMeaningVisualSyntax TextChildSelf- Correction Similar Meaning? Graphophonic similarity? Grammatically acceptable? grumblegrumblyX always- didn’tdid notXXX I’llIXXX movemakeXX scarfcafrX oforX mymeXX scarfselfX takentakeXX scarfscaferX thattheyXX maymaybeX stillsitX Analysis: Seth overrelies on visual cues and rarely self-corrects errors. Tompkins, G. (2007). Figure 3-2 Miscue analysis of Seth’s errors. (p. 79(

You Try It: Listen as Natalia reads. Code her reading on the handout provided. Then –Calculate her reading accuracy –Categorize her miscues –Determine what strategies for word recognition she is using; what area(s) might you focus on with her to improve word recognition skills?

Organizing Assessment: Areas to Evaluate Reading Fluency e.g., CBM procedures using fluency norms, phrasing, words correct per min,... Calculate rate (# of correctly read words/time) Also observe phrasing (chunking), hesitations, prosody (stress and intonation)

Reading Fluency Word by word reading Reads in phrases Too slow or too fast Appropriate pacing No expression Appropriate expression Not aware of punctuation Aware of punctuation Poor sight word recognition Automatic sight word recognition

Next Week Continue examining areas of literacy assessment and types of assessments within each area. Read –Jennings et al. Chapter 5 (2006) –Winn & Otis-Wilborn (1999) You will need this background for class discussion and small group activities. Begin outlining the assessments you will use for the student you will be working with on the literacy project.