1 The Background and an Overview of…. Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR)

Objectives Participants will learn definitions specific to the Florida Assessments for Instruction (FAIR) Participants will become familiar with the K-2 FAIR Participants will become familiar with the 3-5 FAIR

FAIR Definitions Assessment Period: A window of days in which the Assessment Types and Tasks are delivered. There are three Assessment Periods per school year: AP1, AP2, and AP3. Assessment Type: There are Assessment Types in the K-2 FAIR and the 3-5 FAIR: (1) Broad Screen (BS), (K-2 & 3-5) (2) Broad Diagnostic Inventory (BDI) (K-2 only) (3) Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI), (K-2 & 3-5) (4) Ongoing Progress Monitoring (OPM) (K-2 & 3-5) (5) Informal Diagnostic Toolkit, (3-5 only) and Task: Each Assessment Type consists of a task or tasks. These are the “tests” within the Assessment Type. Item: These are the questions within the Task. They are referred to as items. Web-based Assessment Module (WAM): This is the computer application that delivers the tasks.

Assessment Periods (AP1, AP2, AP3) Instructional days 6 to 40: Aug 31 to Oct 21 Instructional days 66 to 100: Dec 4 to Feb 9 Instructional days 136 to 170: April 13 to Jun 1

The Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) Comprehensive assessment is key to providing effective reading instruction The FL Assessments for Instruction in Reading provide: A balance of assessment of learning with assessment for learning Early identification of students who may require extra instructional support to achieve grade level standards in reading Uniform set of measures across 3-12 for teachers to guide instruction

Why Assess for Learning to Read? Learning to read is not natural for many individuals, who remain dependent on the skill, knowledge, and persistence of their teachers to acquire reading proficiency. Drs. Louisa Moats & Barbara Foorman (1997) The need for accurate assessments arises because of the enormous diversity in the rate of learning and level of literacy skills among adolescents. Because of this enormous diversity, a key to meeting our instructional goals is accurate assessment that allows teachers and schools to differentiate instruction according to individual student’s needs. Dr. Joseph Torgesen (2007)

The Elements of Reading: Critical to Assessment AND Instruction 7

8 Why should teachers individually assess in the early grades? To promote authentic opportunities to use assessment to guide instruction; To balance assessment for learning, with assessment of learning (Edwards et al., 2008)

9 The K-2 FAIR

The K-2 “Big Picture” Map Broad Screen/Progress Monitoring Tool (BS/PMT) “All” children Letter Naming & Sounds Phonemic Awareness Word Reading Broad Diagnostic Inventory (BDI) “All” children for Comprehension and Spelling (grade 2) “Some” (ALL in LCSD) children for Vocabulary Listening Comprehension Reading Comprehension Vocabulary Spelling (2 nd grade only) Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI) “Some” children K = 9 tasks 1 st = 8 tasks 2 nd = 6 tasks Ongoing Progress Monitoring (OPM) “Some” (ALL in LCSD) children Focus on TDI tasks that are below expectations k-2 Oral Reading Fluency 1-2

11 K-2 Broad Screen (BS) Tasks

12 How long will it take to administer the K-2 Assessment Types? Broad Screen Broad Diagnostic Inventory Targeted Diagnostic Inventory 3- 5 minutes minutes per task Time varies by student

13 85% or better probability of grade-level or above performance on the SESAT or SAT-10 or FCAT 16-84% probability of grade-level or above performance on the SESAT or SAT-10 or FCAT 15% or less probability of grade- level or above performance on the SESAT or SAT-10 or FCAT YELLOW Success Zones – Probability of Reading Success (PRS) scores (K-2) or FCAT Success Probability (FSP) scores (3-5) These probabilities were established based on analysis during test development with Florida K-2 and 3-5 students GREEN RED

14 K-2 Broad Diagnostic Inventory (BDI) The K-2 Broad Diagnostic Inventory (BDI) focuses on key reading components that relate to reading success Comprehension - includes a fluency score, accuracy score, and comprehension score Vocabulary Spelling – grade 2 only

15 K-2 Broad Diagnostic Inventory (BDI)

K-2 Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI) A set of tasks that cover the range of developmental reading skills at each grade; they more precisely indicate the areas of instructional need based upon performance on the Broad Screen. Students in the yellow and red Probability of Reading Success (PRS) zones must be administered the Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI) A criterion of 80% accuracy is required to move on to the next task. 16

K-2 Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI) * Optional 17

18 Ongoing Progress Monitoring (OPM) Letter Name and Sound Knowledge (K) Phonemic Awareness (K – 2) Word Building ( K, 1, 2) Oral Reading Fluency (1, 2, 3-5) The monitoring tasks replicate the format used in the Florida Assessments. There are 6 additional activities per task that will allow for 4-5 week intervals to monitor progress between the three assessment periods. Informal teacher assessment will likely occur during instructional time also.

Broad Screen/Progress Monitoring Tool Reading Comprehension Task ( 3 Times a Year ) Targeted Diagnostic Inventory Maze & Word Analysis Tasks Diagnostic Toolkit ( As Needed ) Ongoing Progress Monitoring ( As Needed ) If necessary 3 – 5 FAIR Assessment Types Required by all students in the LCSD

20 The 3-12 “Big Picture” Map Type of AssessmentName of Assessment Broad Screen/Progress Monitoring Tool (BS/PMT) – ALL students Reading Comprehension Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI) – ALL LCSD students Maze Word Analysis Informal Diagnostic Toolkit (Toolkit) Lexiled Passages Instructional Level Passages Phonics Inventory Academic Word Inventory Ongoing Progress Monitoring (OPM) Maze ORF (ALL LCSD students) RC (Fall 2009)

Accessing the 3-5 Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) Software Requirements are : Internet Explorer 6.0 or later (Windows platform only) Safari version 2.0 or later (preferred for Mac users) Mozilla Firefox version 1.5 or later (Mac or PC) Flash Player 9.0 or later JavaScript and Cookies enabled Hardware requirements are: Students must have a set of headphones and a well functioning mouse to take the FAIR tasks via the WAM.

Why use a computer adaptive test for 3-5? What are the benefits? A computer adaptive test (CAT) provides a more reliable assessment of student ability in a shorter amount of time than a traditional test, because it picks questions at a level of difficulty that are most informative for each student. Computer adaptive tests provide more reliable assessments particularly for students at the extremes of ability (extremely low ability or extremely high ability).

23 Purpose of Each Assessment Broad Screen (BS): Reading Comprehension –Assists in identifying students who may not be able to meet the grade level literacy standards as assessed by the FCAT. Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI): Maze –Assists in determining whether a student has more fundamental reading problems in the area of fluency and low level reading comprehension. Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI): Word Analysis –Helps us learn more about a student's fundamental literacy skills--particularly those required to decode unfamiliar words and read accurately.

24 Information Gained From the Results of the 3 – 5 FAIR Assessment Types Broad Screen (BS): Reading Comprehension –If a student has a relatively low probability of success, it means they will need extra support for reading growth during the year, and the Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI) tasks are given as a follow up to get more information about the type of help that may be needed. Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI): Maze –If a student does well on this test, but has a low probability of success from the Broad Screen (BS), this means that they are likely to need support in the comprehension strategies, vocabulary, and thinking skills, but likely do not need intensive work to increase their basic reading skills. Targeted Diagnostic Inventory (TDI): Word Analysis –Students who perform low on both the Maze and Word Analysis may need intensive interventions to improve their basic reading skills.

Reading Concepts Assessed by the 3-5 FAIR Reading Comprehension ( Broad Screen: BS ) Text Reading Efficiency – combines low level comprehension (who, what, when) and fluency ( Maze task of the Targeted Diagnostic Inventory) Orthographic Processing/Spelling Knowledge (Word Analysis task of the Targeted Diagnostic Inventory)

Reading Comprehension Defined: The construction of meaning from printed text, using prior knowledge (of words and world experiences), cues from the text, and cognitive strategies (Dole, Duffy, Roehler, & Pearson, 1991). This complex interplay of processes and skills relies on accurate word recognition (Adams, 1990). Key Benefit: Allows students to move from learning to read, to reading to learn.

Skill Base: Reading Comprehension Word Decoding/Recognition Possessing adequate decoding or word identification skills to read words within connected text. (Gough, 1984) VOCABULARY/WORD KNOWLEDGE Knowing words under multiple contexts and with multiple meanings, as well as knowing how words are interrelated to impact meaning. (Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002; Nagy & Scott, 2000) COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES Using cognitive strategies to support reading (e.g., making inferences, predicting, associating ideas, monitoring understandability). (Pressley & Afflerback, 1995) WORLD KNOWLEDGE Possessing prior knowledge about the reading topic in order to construct meaning from the text. (Anderson & Pearson, 1984)

Text Reading Efficiency Combines both fluency and low level comprehension Fluency Defined: “The ability to read text accurately and quickly…effortlessly and with expression.” (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001) Key Benefit: Serves to bridge word reading skills and comprehension. (Osborn, Lehr, & Hiebert, 2003)

Skill Base: Text Reading Efficiency ACCURACY Accurate decoding of words in text. (Gough, 1984) READING AUTOMATICITY Effortless word recognition that allows for attention to be allocated to other aspects of comprehension. (Foorman & Mehta, 2002; La Berge & Samuels, 1974) COMPREHENSION Understanding meaning prepares students to read other words related to that meaning. (Jenkins, Fuchs, van den Broek, Espin, & Deno, 2003 )

Word Analysis Defined: This term is often used interchangeably with –Advanced phonics –Spelling –Structural analysis Key Benefit: Analyzing the spellings of individuals can provide necessary information regarding the understanding and mastery of orthography, phonology, and morphology all in one assessment (Moats, 1995; Treiman, 1998).

Skill Base: Word Analysis ORTHOGRAPHIC KNOWLEDGE Knowledge of the way specific words are represented in print. (Adams, 2001) PHONOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE Awareness of the sound system of language. (National Reading Panel, 2000; Treiman & Bourassa, 2000) MORPHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE Awareness of the units of meaning in language. –base words, roots, affixes (Moats, 1995)

Broad Screen/Progress Monitoring Tool Reading Comprehension ( 3 Times a Year ) Targeted Diagnostic Inventory Maze & Word Analysis Diagnostic Toolkit ( As Needed ) Ongoing Progress Monitoring ( As Needed ) 32 Summary and Review Required by all students in the LCSD Reading Comprehension