Administering and Interpreting an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) Administration Overview

1. Administering and Interpreting anInformal Reading Inventory (IRI)Administration Overview John E. McEneaney Oakland University Rochester, MI

2. IRI Administration Outcomes You should be able to … • describe the usual sequence of steps involved in administering an IRI. • explain WHY each step is used and the logic of the sequence. • recognize when an IRI has been incorrectly administered (from IRI data) and indicate what should have been done differently.

3. Main Steps in IRI Administration Explain the process and establish rapport. Administer word list starting with a level 2 years below grade placement (back up if there are errors). Continue until WR drops to about 50%. Administer first passage starting from the level of the highest 100% word list (back up if there are errors) continuing until a clear Frs level has been reached. Begin administering listening passages at the next highest level in the same form. If Comp < 75% back up (in another form), otherwise continue until Comp drops to about 50%.

4. Explain the process and establish rapport. WHY? We want to learn what the child can do. If the child misunderstands the task, our assessment may be useless (e.g., rate). Individual assessment has side effects (Why am I doing this? Am I a bad student?). Explain the purpose of the assessment (So I can be a better teacher for you.)

5. Administer word list starting with a level 2 years below grade placement (back up if there are errors). Continue until WR drops to about 50%. WHY? The word list has two goals: to help us know where to begin with passages and provide data about decoding skills. We want to begin with an easy reading passage so we start at the highest level where WR was 100%. We continue until WR drops to 50% because we want data about context-free decoding.

6. Administer first reading passage starting from the level of the highest 100% word list (back up if there are errors) and continuing until a clear Fr level has been reached. WHY? The first level we want to find is the IND level so we should start with an easy passage. We MUST establish both IND and FRS levels to assure we have captured the full instructional range of the student. Data from the FRS level can be diagnostically important (e.g., decoding & context use).

7. Begin administering listening passages at the next highest level in the same form. If Comp < 75% back up, otherwise continue until Comp drops to about 50%. WHY? For many readers, the LST level exceeds the FRS reading level (especially young readers). If LST > FRS, we may be able to get both of these levels from a single IRI form, saving other forms for future uses. Continuing until the 50% drop off assures we capture the full span of listening comprehension.

8. Completion Quick-check Have clear IND and FRS levels been identified? Have all miscues been clearly coded (or has the session been taped)? Have all desired passages been administered (e.g., silent or listening)? Have I praised the student for her effort and her strengths as a reader?

9. IRI Administration Outcomes Can you describe the usual sequence of steps involved in administering an IRI? Can you explain WHY each step is used and the logic of the sequence? Can you recognize when an IRI has been incorrectly administered from IRI data?

10. What are 2 mistakes made in administering this IRI? How did these mistakes influence the IRI results?