Universal Screener Language Arts Department AIMSweb

1. Universal Screener Language Arts Department AIMSweb.com

2. Review of Benchmarking • 3 times a year Fall (September 1-September 16 Winter (January 4-January 20) Spring (May 1-May 15) • Please have all students tested and scores entered by the last day.

3. R-CBM Review (Benchmarking) • 3 one-minute passages • Browser based scoring • Every student benchmarked 3 x year • Student reads aloud to teacher • Teacher uses computer (browser-based scoring) • The median of words read correct and the median of errors is the score reported by computer.

4. CORRECT Self-corrected words Repeated words Dialect variations Inserted words (IGNORED) ERROR Mispronounced Substituted Omitted words Hesitations (3 secs) Reversals Scoring Reminders

5. A Number of Things Must be Kept in Mind • It’s About Testing, Not Teaching —The standardized directions should always be used. That means keeping the testing a “test.” R-CBM is not to be used as instruction. • Students shouldn’t practice reading the passages, nor should they have their errors corrected by the examiner during the testing. • Best versus Fastest Reading —Everything should be done to prepare the student for their “best,” not their fastest. • Timing should be subtle and not “in the student’s face.” Examiners should always emphasize “best reading.” • Sit Across from, Not Beside —When we read with students, we sit next to them. When we assess students, we sit across from them. • We want the students to be looking at what they read, not how we, the examiners, are scoring or what we are doing.

6. General Considerations: • Emphasizing Words Read Correctly (WRC). Because R-CBM is rich in information, we may want to count or record everything the student does. As will be seen, there are ways of doing much of this. However, don’t lose sight of our goal of obtaining an accurate count of the number of words read correctly. • 3-Second Rule. If a student stops or struggles with a word for 3 seconds, tell the student “the word” and mark it as incorrect. We want enough time to observe if the student is using a strategy for unfamiliar words but not too long so the student gets frustrated or gives up. • No Other Corrections. As noted earlier, R-CBM is about testing. Don’t correct errors. We want “examiner talk” to be minimum and student reading to be maximum. • Discontinue Rule. If the passage that is read is so hard that the student reads less than 10 words correctly in 1 minute, discontinue administration of any other passages from that level and use this WRC score. • Being Polite. It is polite to let the student finish the sentence before saying “stop.” In the interest of time, don’t let them finish the story. • Speed Reading. You may encounter some excellent readers who may view R-CBM as a “speed reading test” (i.e., read the passage very fast and without expression) in their first R-CBM testing when this occurs, interrupt the student, saying “This is not a speed reading test. Begin again, and be sure to do your best reading.” • Interruptions. If something disrupts testing (bells, dropped passages, timing) select the cancel button and re-administer at a later time.

7. Benchmark Probes • Your benchmark probes are behind the last tab in your green binders. • Check the bottom of the page for grade level and probe number.

8. Who tests? • All Language Arts teachers who have a 90 minute block. • Special Ed Resource teachers please assist with your team taught class. • 7th grade ACCL please talk and see who is testing what students.

9. MAZE –what is this • 3 minute timed test • Multiple choice cloze task • Narrative fiction passage • First sentence left intact, then every 7th word is replaced with three words inside parenthesis • Scored = count up to the last circled word # correct / errors

10. NEW to AIMSweb • Instructional and Placement Recommendation Reports • State Correlation Predictor Targets • Parent/Student Accounts to view benchmark reports

11. Future Focus • Both screeners three times a year • Flexible grouping at all grade levels during star to administer interventions • New reports will help guide skills to target for interventions? • Possible NEW skill strand interventions! • GRADES K-8

12. Notes • Please check your mailboxes early next week for materials. • Benchmark Window opens next Thursday, September 1st. • Those of you that have student teachers, its up to you if you would like them to help test your class. They are being trained but will have to use your log-in.

13. THANK YOU