Overview of Elementary Reading Assessments

Overview of Elementary Reading Assessments 2009 – 2010 School Year

FLKRSFlorida Kindergarten Readiness Screener Consists of: • ECHOS (Early Childhood Observation Survey) • FAIR (Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading)

FLKRS • only administered once to all first-year K students • 30-day window for administration • no PMRN reporting for non-Correct II schools • students results sent to district’s Department of Assessment • student name labels will be sent to schools (per Department of • Assessment)

FLKRS Coaches should: • remind teachers to maintain the validity of FAIR (follow the script and decision rules for administration) • remind teachers to take time to observe all ECHOS domains (especially the domains of Writing, Algebraic Thinking, Data Analysis, Scientific Inquiry, Production, Distribution and • Consumption, and Visual Arts)

FLKRS Link for ordering additional materials: http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/DREA/documents/order_forms/flkrs_fy10.html

FLKRS Contacts: Materials Distribution and Collection • Email Cherie Boone or Tom Cornman Assessment Administration • Email Olive Horne or Brenda Rhymes

K-4 Literacy Assessment System Consists of: • Oral Language Assessment (OLA) • Phonics and Word Analysis Assessments • Running Reading Records with Comprehension Conversation and Writing About Reading

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • required for all students in grades K-4 • optional for grade 5 students • redistribute grade 3 kits to grade 4 reading teachers as needed • administered by the reading teacher during the 90-minute reading block

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • required data entry into EDW (must be updated at the end of each trimester) for grades K-4 • optional data entry into EDW for grade 5 when teachers decide to use the assessment • students’ instructional reading levels recorded in EDW

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • teachers must find students’ instructional and independent reading levels • instructional levels are used for guided reading • independent reading levels are used to identify students with reading deficiencies and to make end-of-year promotion/retention decisions

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • ongoing, formative assessment to drive student instruction, especially differentiated small group instruction • data can be reviewed at Learning Team meetings and teachers can discuss instructional strategies they can use to support students

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • ongoing, formative assessment to drive student instruction, especially differentiated small group instruction • data should be reviewed occasionally at Learning Team meetings

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • coaches should not be administering the assessment to students • coaches should help teachers to become comfortable with using the assessment, which may include modeling the assessment with a few students

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • coaches should help teachers analyze data, group students for instruction, and plan instruction • district-required and optional components from the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System can be used for iii and RtI/I diagnosis and progress monitoring

K-4 Literacy Assessment System • coaches should help teachers use the Continuum of Literacy Learning book to plan for small group instruction based on students’ instructional guided reading levels – it is more important to go deeper than wider when assessing and instructing students in reading

K-4 Literacy Assessment System Contacts: Materials Ordering (Textbook Inventory) • Email Vicki Cornman EDW Issues • Email Dr. Sandra Raymond-Roberts Assessment Administration • Email Dr. Dianne Memmer-Novak or Kim Stansell

Embedded Assessments (EA) Consist of: Grades K-1 • continued administration of K-4 Literacy Assessment System Grade 2 • continued administration of K-4 Literacy Assessment System (EA#1) • other benchmark specific assessments based on benchmarks taught in the past eleven days (focus on those that parallel FCAT-tested benchmarks from grade 3 (future EAs)

Embedded Assessments (EA) Consist of: Grades 3-5 • passages and multiple choice questions from the district’s Core K-12 Item Bank (formerly The Princeton Review)

Embedded Assessments (EA) Grades 3-5 • aligned to the tested benchmarks listed in the scope and taught in the lessons in the Elementary Reading Curriculum Framework • primary purpose is to serve as a formative assessment and a guide for future instruction (reteach, review, enrich)

Embedded Assessments (EA) Grades 3-5 • may be used as one indicator of student progress – this should be a school-based decision • three days are set aside for administration, but it is recommended that schools try to administer on day one – the following days may be used for reteaching, reviewing, and enriching, as needed

Embedded Assessments (EA) Grades 3-5 • data can be reviewed at Learning Team meetings and teachers can discuss instructional strategies they can use to support students • data can be used by grade level groups to identify secondary benchmarks for focused instruction lessons a minimum of one day a week for 10-15 minutes during the whole group period of the • reading block

Elementary ReadingEmbedded Assessments Contacts: Core K-12 and Technical Issues • Email Dr. Carla Kendall Assessment Content • Email Maureen Grosvenor or Kim Stansell

Other Assessments Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) • grades 2-5 in Non-Correct II schools District Diagnostic Assessments • grades 3-5 • fall and winter FAIR • Only as part of FLKRS for Kindergarten and in Correct II schools FCAT

Other Assessments School and Classroom-Based Assessments • coaches should work with administration and LTFs to monitor the quality and use of these assessments, paying close attention to the alignment of the assessment to the benchmarks/content being tested

Final Thoughts on Assessments • What information are you getting from it? • How will you use the information? • Are you getting the same information from another assessment? • Assessments don’t always have to be paper and pencil versions.

Final Thoughts on Assessments Paper and pencil assessments are NOT the only way to measure student progress. • graphic organizers • checklists/observations • products/rubrics • oral discussion • anecdotal observations • reading notebooks • student portfolio that includes a variety of all the above items

QUESTIONS?

Overview of Elementary Reading Assessments