1. Ontario Comprehension Assessment (OCA)
HWDSB OCA TRAINING
Welcome to the HWDSB - Ontario Comprehension Assessment Tool - Breeze Training Session.
This session is approximately ___________ minutes in length and may be revisited or stopped at any time by ______________
Once you have viewed the session, additional support can be requested from your Administrator, Literacy Improvement Project Teacher or Program Consultant.
(any other instructions re: how to proceed? Click etc?)
Ontario Comprehension Assessment (OCA)

2. Objectives Participants will:
understand the design and purpose of the OCA
understand how the OCA supports the development of student literacy by connecting to the research on proficient readers.
learn how to conduct the assessment and moderate student responses to questions in the OCA
connect the OCA to instruction
consider strategies for using the assessment with struggling readers.
The objectives of this breeze presentation are to assist teachers to:
Understand the design and purpose of OCA
understand how OCA supports the development of student literacy by connecting to the research on proficient readers.
moderate student responses to questions in OCA
connect OCA to instruction, and
consider strategies for using the assessment with struggling readers.

3. What the Research Says …
Assessment explicitly designed to promote learning is the single most powerful tool we have for raising achievement.
~ Black and Wiliam, 1998
Formative assessment is the single most powerful tool we have for raising achievement. The Ontario Comprehension Assessment is a formative assessment for reading which helps teachers to provide more strategic instruction to their students by identifying areas of strength, weakness and next steps for reading instruction.

4. Purpose of the OCA The primary purpose of OCA is to:
help teachers plan for systematic comprehension instruction
help students learn more about themselves as readers
In addition to helping teachers to understand their students’ instructional needs in reading, the assessment also helps students to better understand themselves as readers by connecting the reading expectations to research on what good readers do, through the inclusion of questions related to meta-cognition.

5. OCA: How? Initial Assessment Beginning of year or semester
Assessment FOR Learning
Where do I go with instruction?
Later Assessment
End of term or mid-point in semester, end of year
Assessment FOR or OF Learning
Has my teaching made a difference?
The Ontario Comprehension Assessment is designed to be delivered twice per year or term. The initial assessment should be conducted at the beginning of the year in the elementary panel, or the beginning of the semester in the secondary panel, and is intended as assessment for learning in order to inform instruction.
The later assessment could be used as assessment for or of learning depending on when it is conducted within the teaching-learning cycle. It could be used as a mid-point check in or at the end of a term or semester as a summative assessment.

6. OCA: General Information
Grades 7-10
Informational Text
2 Assessments per Grade
Initial Assessment
Later Assessment
Descriptive Feedback
The Ontario Comprehension Assessment is a grades 7 to 10 reading assessment.
It uses exclusively informational texts, and includes two assessments per grade level.
The assessment is designed to provide descriptive feedback used to improve students’ reading achievement.

7. OCA: Key Components Reading Passages Teacher Guide 35 copies each
“Front Matter”
Student Response Sheets (Early and Later Grades)
Answer Keys (Early and Later Grades)
Assessment Summary Sheet (Early and Later Grades)
Appendices (Curriculum Links, Implementation Models, Data Collection Options)
There are two main components to the assessment which you will find in each grade level kit.
The first component is the Reading Passage for the grade level. There are 35 copies of each reading passage provided in each kit.
The second component is the Teacher Guide, which includes information about: reading research, student response sheets, answer keys, assessment summary sheets and appendices which include curriculum links, implementation models, and data collection options.
You may wish to stop this presentation at this point to scan through the components of the Ontario Comprehension Assessment Kit.

8. Aspects of Reading
The OCA is designed to provide students and teachers with descriptive feedback in three aspects of reading:
use of comprehension strategies
demonstrating understanding
analysis
There are three aspects of reading that the Ontario Comprehension Assessment is designed to assess: use of comprehension strategies, demonstration of understanding, and the ability to perform analysis.

9. Proficient Readers … Set a Purpose for Reading
Access or Build Background Knowledge
Ask Questions
Determine What’s Important
Synthesize
Make Inferences
Make Connections
Visualize
Monitor Comprehension
The assessment is also connected to the research on what proficient readers do by measuring a students’ ability to:
set a purpose for reading
access or build on background knowledge
ask questions
determine what is important in what they have read
synthesize
make inferences
make connections
visualize and
monitor comprehension.
By assessing students’ levels of expertise in these sub-aspects of reading, the assessment helps the teacher to determine what skills need to be a focus for instruction, what students need support in what skills, and provides information to inform grouping and conferencing.

10. Aligned Assessment Design
Aspects of Reading
Sub-aspects/Skills of Proficient Readers
Reading
Tasks
OCA
Use of
Comprehension Strategies
Setting a Purpose
Building or Accessing Background
Knowledge
Asking Questions
Monitoring Comprehension
Asking Questions (7-9)
Monitoring/Meta-cognition
Question 1
Question 5
Demonstrate Understanding
Determining What’s Important
Making Inferences
Visualizing
Retrieving Information
Synthesizing, Summarizing
Making Inferences/ Interpreting Text
Question 2
Question 3
Analyze Texts
Synthesizing and Extending Understanding
Analyzing Text and
Extending Understanding
Question 4
The OCA is designed to assess these three aspects of reading, use of comprehension strategies, demonstrating understanding, and analyzing texts as well as the sub-aspects reflecting the research on proficient readers.
The use of comprehension strategies includes reading tasks such as asking questions (in grades seven through 9) and monitoring. These are assessed in each OCA assessment in questions 1 and 5.
Demonstrating understanding includes reading tasks such as retrieving information, synthesizing, summarizing, making inferences and interpreting texts. These tasks are assessed in each OCA assessment in questions 2 and 3.
Finally, analyzing texts includes reading tasks such as analyzing text and extending understanding which is assessed in each OCA assessment in question 4.
This consistency, assessing the same aspects of reading and reading tasks in the same question across the grades will allow the tracking an monitoring of progress in each area across the grades from grade 7 through 10.

11. Reading Expectations/OSSLT
Retrieve Information (OSSLT skill, 1.4)
The reader locates information explicitly stated in the text.
Demonstrate Understanding (1.4)
The reader uses information provided in the text and reformulates it in her/his words – summarizing and citing details.
Make Inferences/Interpret Texts (1.5, OSSLT)
The reader integrates stated and implied ideas and information to explain an interpretation.
Analyze Texts (1.7, 2.1, 2.2)
The reader takes a stance, evaluating, connecting and explaining how the different elements in a text contribute to meaning and influence the reader’s reaction.
(Numbers refer to the Ontario Curriculum Reading expectations.)
Analyze Texts
Demonstrate Understanding
Retrieve
Information
Interpret Texts
The reading tasks also align with the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test and the Ontario Curriculum.
This slide outlines the OSSLT skills and curriculum expectations addressed in the Ontario Comprehension Assessment.
The OSSLT and Language Curriculum expectation 1.4 requires students to retrieve information. In the OCA assessment the reader locates information explicitly stated in the text.
Language Curriculum expectation 1.4 requires students to demonstrate understanding. In the OCA the reader uses information provided in the text and reformulates it in his/her own words- summarizing and citing details.
Both the OSSLT and Language Curriculum expectation 1.5 require students to make inferences and interpret texts. The OCA requires the reader to integrate the stated and implied information to explain an interpretation.
Finally, Language Curriculum expectations 1.7, 2.1 and 2.2 require students to analyze texts. The OCA requires the reader to take a stance, evaluate, connect and explain how the different elements in a text contribute to meaning and influence the readers reaction.

12. Question #5 and Meta-cognition
New sub-strand in the revised Language and English curriculum.
“By the end of Grade 7/8, students will: reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading.”
Reading Overall Expectation #4
Meta-cognition has become an increasingly recognized as an important element of reading. Improving a students’ meta-cognition allows them to call upon a repertoire of strategies, as needed, to comprehend the ever increasing range of texts emerging in the 21st century. The importance of this learning is supported by the Ontario Curriculum as meta-cognition is represented as overall expectation #4.

13. Connections Across the Curriculum
Literacy instruction must be embedded across the curriculum. All teachers of all subjects, K-12, are teachers of literacy.
All teachers must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to model effective literacy skills in their subject area.
Guiding Principles from Think Literacy Success (2003)
Additional information on Making Connections Across the Curriculum are located in the Teachers Guide p. 13 and p. 41.
When literacy skills are embedded in content areas subjects and taught by content area teachers, students’ ability to independently apply those skills across the curriculum and beyond school is strengthened. Involving all teachers with the OCA data, either through a shared conducting and moderation of the assessment, or by sharing data results with all teachers, provides the greatest advantage for student success in reading. The results of the assessment will support all teachers in making connections to the instructional strategies in their Think Literacy Documents for all subject areas.
Various implementation alternatives are offered in the teachers guide.

14. Implementing OCA Before the assessment:
Plan to administer the first OCA early in the year
Plan for a 60 minute block of time
Administer the assessment to the whole class
Distribute the reading passage and the student response sheet
Ask students to answer Question 1 before reading
Give students 45 minutes to complete the assessment (students may receive additional time but should complete the assessment in a single sitting)
When implementing the Ontario Comprehension Assessment, plan to administer the first OCA early in the year or semester to provide baseline data and gain information to inform instruction.
Plan for a 60 minute block of time, all students may be provided with additional time, although only some students may require it. If additional time is required, the assessment should still be completed, for most students, in a single sitting.
The OCA may be administered to the entire class. After distributing the reading passage and student response sheet, students should be asked to answer question #1 before reading the selection. It is important that students have access to the visual information in the reading passage to support them in completing question #1.
Strategies for struggling readers will be discussed later in this presentation.

15. During the Assessment: Students answer questions independently
Allow extra time for students who need it
Students may complete the assessment on the black line masters, however, space limitations may make it preferable to have student given the option to complete on an attached page or computer print out of written work.
Students who normally receive accommodations or modifications in assessment should continue to do so on the OCA
During the assessment, students work independently. Those who receive accommodations or modifications in assessment should continue to do so on the OCA as documented in the students’ IEP.

16. Plan next steps using information in the teachers guide.
After the assessment:
If possible, work in pairs or teams to moderate assessments and share instructional strategies to respond to results
Use a highlighter to mark criteria in rubrics or on the individual profile sheet
Plan next steps using information in the teachers guide.
Following the assessment, it is advisable to work in pairs or teams to moderate assessments and share instructional strategies that respond to results. Rubrics and individual profile sheets are provided in the assessment package. The teachers guide provides a list of next steps for instruction.
HWDSB has also provided an electronic spreadsheet which includes a variety of features such as grouping options. A link to this spreadsheet is included at the end of this presentation. For additional information or support regarding the spreadsheet, contact your program consultant.

17. Teacher Moderation Print off the sample student response.
Click on the link below to access student exemplars
Link to OCA exemplars
With a partner, use the rubric and exemplars to assess the student response and use page 20 of the teacher’s guide to determine instructional next steps.
The following slides will walk you through the moderation process for each question.
At this time you may wish to practice assessing an OCA assessment using the sample provided. To access the publisher exemplars, click on the link on your screen.
With a partner
use the rubric and exemplars to assess the student response
then use page 20 of the teacher’s guide to determine instructional next steps.
The following slides will walk you through the moderation process for each question.

18. Question 1: Purpose and Connections
Are students previewing text to either build or access background knowledge before reading?
Are students asking themselves quality questions that set a purpose for reading?
Question 1 assesses a students ability to set a purpose for reading and make connections.
Questions are designed to assess if students are;
previewing the text to either build or access background knowledge before reading, and
asking themselves quality questions that set a purpose for reading.

19. Question 1: Set a purpose Ask questions Predict
The student sample provided is from the grade 8 assessment.
Grade 8 Commentary:
Note: Grade 8 –
Let’s remind ourselves of the purpose behind Question 1 (this is the same in ALL grade level passages): We are seeing if students know how to use text features common in informational text to help them set a purpose for their reading. They are doing this by GENERATING QUESTIONS in grades 8 and 9. These skills also require that students access their background knowledge in preparation for reading and gaining new information.
The response “Exceeds Expectations” – questions are “insightful” as they start to link to students’ own interests and experiences – accessing their background knowledge and moving into the realm of Inference. (e.g. Questions such as “Do teenagers with stress will turn to drugs?” and “Does stress later on lead to death?” show how they’re linking text features to their own background knowledge and interests.) This thinking and questioning will drive them to look for answers, discovering new information along the way.

20. Question 2: Purpose and Connections
Are students sorting and conceptualizing main ideas and supporting details?
Are students creating an accurate synthesis representative of important information in the text?
Question 2 assesses the students ability to establish a purpose for reading and make connections. It assesses if students are sorting and conceptualizing the main ideas and supporting details and if they create an accurate synthesis which represents the important information in the text.

21. Question 2 Find important ideas Summarize Make notes
Grade 8 commentary:
The purpose behind this question links to the cognitive function of DETERMINING WHAT’s IMPORTANT. The three aspects of this skill are finding important ideas, summarizing and making notes.
Each sub-aspect can be considered in assessing this question.
1st sub aspect: Finding important ideas “Minimally Meets” the expectation
Main ideas are generally not identified in the bubbles (they are stated as topics). The student has started to do some synthesis of main ideas in their own words in the details section, (e.g. “Teaching teenagers what causes their stress and the symptoms of it so they can avoid it in the future), but thinking is not completely clear, nor is it thorough.
2nd sub aspect: Summarizing is “Not Yet Within” the range of meeting the expectation
This student “omits important information” as there are no specific details and examples included in the notes. In general, too little information is included.
3rd sub aspect: Making Notes “Minimally Meets” the expectation.
The notes are generally logical, but there is too little information included. If this student were to rely on these notes to study for a test, the main ideas and details included here would not be enough to get her/him through successfully.
It is possible, that the lack of space on the student response sheet limited this student response. Be sure to provide extra paper, access to technology and clear instructions to students to ensure complete answers.

22. Question 3: Purpose and Connections
Are students reading between the lines and inferring and elaborating on ideas not directly stated in the text?
Question three also assesses the students ability to set a purpose and make connections, however it looks specifically at the student’s ability to infer and elaborate on ideas not directly stated in the text.

23. Question 3: Infer Visualize Find important ideas
The sub-aspects included in assessing this question are inferring, visualizing and finding important ideas. Remember that considering each of the tree components will help you to assess the thinking in this question more thoroughly.
Take a moment to stop the presentation and moderate this question with a partner using the rubric and exemplars provided. When you are ready to continue, please press start.

24. Question 4: Purpose and Connections
Are students pushing their thinking beyond the information in the text and making meaningful connections that deepen their comprehension (text to self; text to text; text to world connections)?
Next, question 4 assesses the students ability to set a purpose and make connections by pushing their thinking beyond the information in the text and requiring them to make meaningful connections that deepen their comprehension.

25. Question 4: Make connections Synthesize Evaluate
The sub-aspects of this question include making connections, synthesizing and evaluating. Again, remembering to consider each of the three components will help you to assess the thinking in this question more thoroughly.
Take a moment to stop the presentation and moderate this question with a partner using the rubric and exemplars provided. When you are ready to continue, please press start.

26. Question 5: Purpose and Connections
Are students metacognitive and aware of strategies that could help them “fix” comprehension problems?
Finally, question five assesses if students are meta-cognitively aware of the strategies that could help them to “fix” comprehension problems.

27. Question 5: Reflect on strategies (Metacognition)
This question involves considering a students reflection on their use of strategies to comprehend the text.
Take a moment to stop the presentation and moderate this question with a partner using the rubric and exemplars provided. When you are ready to continue, please press start.

28. Next Steps…Making Sense of the Data
Appendices
Individual Profile (p. 44)
Group Profile (p. 45)
Class Profile (p. 46)
Disaggregating the Data (p. 47)
Synthesizing the Data (p. 48)
Collecting the data is only the first step in the process. The most important step is turning that data into an instructional road map to improve students’ reading abilities. The appendices on your screen provide a variety of templates for organizing the data. Alternatively, the link (ADD LINK) will connect you to the HWDSB electronic spreadsheet which may be used to sort data in a variety of ways.
Because there may be slight variations in the sub-aspects assessed across the grades, and Appendix E Class Profiles are generic for all the assessments, the teacher may need to use professional judgment in determining an overall level for some questions and there may be extra columns on the Class Profile for some grades.

29. Recording the Data
Rubric categories are titled by achievement chart categories from the Ontario Curriculum
Class Profile columns are titled based on the reading strategies/sub-aspects assessed.
This may require that the teacher use their professional judgement to determine an overall level by considering one or more of the achievement chart categories for some questions.
Rubric categories are titled by achievement chart categories from the Ontario Curriculum
Class Profile columns are titled based on the reading strategies/sub-aspects assessed.
This may require that the teacher use their professional judgement to determine an overall level by considering one or more of the achievement chart categories for some questions.

30. Recording the Data
Class Profiles are generic across the grades, not grade specific, so there may be extra columns in some grades.
You may prefer to use the HWDSB electronic spreadsheets or create one that meets your specific needs.
Class Profiles are generic across the grades, not grade specific, so there may be extra columns in some grades.
You may prefer to use the HWDSB electronic spreadsheets or create one that meets your specific needs.

31. Disaggregating the Data
OCA
Appendix F disaggregates the data by gender.

32. Synthesizing the Data OCA
Appendix G synthesizes class data by areas of strength and need.
OCA

33. HWDSB Spreadsheet Add screen shot
The HWDSB spreadsheet can be manipulated or organize the data in a variety of ways. To access the spreadsheet click the link on your screen.

34. Supporting Struggling Readers
There is not a single template for the struggling reader. We cannot make the struggling reader fit one mould or expect one pattern to suffice for all students.
- Beers (2003)
…most children who struggle to read do not require instruction that is substantially different from their more successful peers; rather, they require a greater intensity of higher quality instruction.
- Snow, Burns, & Griffin (1998)
The last part of this presentation considers how to use the assessment with struggling readers.
By the time students reach the intermediate division, there are a variety of reasons they may be a struggling reader. Determining what strategy to use to support a struggling reader in the intermediate division is complex process which should include consideration of previous data, consulting the students IEP and/or discussion with support staff. This is important to ensure that intervention does not become strictly about text level and students still have an opportunity to demonstrate their thinking.

35. Additional Support: Key Considerations
If a student struggles with reading grade level passages…the teacher may select a lower grade-level passage that is more appropriate. The OCA Student Success Kit contains passages and strategies for the struggling reader as low as grade 4.
Selecting a lower level text may be an appropriate accommodation for some students. The OCA Student Success Kit provides lower level texts as low as grade 4 and follows the same design as the regular OCA kit.

36. If the student struggles with written output…the student may be scribed for as a documented accommodation.
The use of assistive technology such as word processing, “Dragon” (speech to text) or “Premier” (text to speech) software may be an appropriate support for students struggling with reading and written output.
Scribing and the use of assistive technology such as word processing, Dragon or Premier may also be appropriate accommodations for struggling readers when selected in consultation with the students IEP and support staff.

37. If a student struggles with reading lower grade-level passages, the assessment may be administered orally (as a documented accommodation) and the student could independently complete the written responses. Note that by reading the passage and questions orally to the student, the purpose of the OCA changes to a listening comprehension assessment, which is an indicator for potential growth in reading comprehension.
Other students may benefit from having the text read orally as a documented accommodation. While this changes the assessment to a listening comprehension assessment, if it is a documented accommodation, it is allowed and provides an opportunity for the teacher to access the students higher level thinking.

38. If the student struggles with processing information…the teacher may simplify the language or chunk the assessment as a documented accommodation.
Teacher simplification of language or chunking of the assessment may be of support for some struggling readers.

39. When a student struggles with maintaining focus…the student may complete the assessment in an alternate setting and/or complete the assessment in stages.
Alternate settings may be helpful to students who struggle with focus.

40. In short, students on IEP’s are entitled to whatever modification or accommodations have been deemed necessary in the creation of the IEP and are part of the student’s regular instruction.

41. Objectives Participants will: Understand the design and purpose of OCA
understand how OCA supports the development of student literacy by connecting to the research on proficient readers.
Moderate student responses to questions in OCA
Connect OCA to instruction
Consider strategies for using the assessment with struggling readers.
In this presentation participants have had the opportunity to:
understand the design and purpose of OCA
understand how OCA supports the development of student literacy by connecting to the research on proficient readers.
moderate student responses to questions in OCA
connect OCA to instruction, and
consider strategies for using the assessment with struggling readers.

42. Additional supports Your Administrator
Program Consultants (elementary and secondary)
Literacy Improvement Project Teachers
Pearson Publisher Representative
Ministry of Education Guides to Effective Instruction; Volume One, Foundations and Volume Five, Reading.
Ministry of Education Think Literacy Guides
Additional support can be accessed through
Your Program consultant
Your Literacy Improvement Project Teacher
Your Pearson Publisher representative
The Ministry Guides to Effective Instruction
And the Ministry Think Literacy Guides

43. Important Links Link to Bruno’s tool Link to publisher exemplars
Link to ministry guides
Add links to spreadsheet and publisher exemplars

44. Ontario Comprehension Assessment
Thank you for your time and participation. When learning is the goal, teachers and students collaborate and use ongoing assessment and pertinent feedback to move learning forward. The OCA is a valuable tool to help you to reach this goal.
Thank you for your time and participation.
When learning is the goal, teachers and students collaborate
and use ongoing assessment and pertinent feedback to move learning forward.
Earl & Katz (2006)