How good are you at reading?
When reading a book do you often think about the complexity of the text? I know I go through phases where I want to read really easy feel good type of book and other times I want to read something that makes me think. As a teacher I feel like I make kids think about their reading every time I assess them and don't leave enough time for the feel good reading moments.
Assessment is a big deal in literacy because you want to be able to help your students with their reading strategies so engaging in reading does get them to that "feel good" moment. While reading an article about patterns in reading literacy I thought about my lower level first grade students and their running record I administered with them last week. After reading the story I asked the students to retell the story and some students chose to look back in the story and others didn't, I wasn't sure what would yield the best results with comprehension. Caldwell & Leslie (2009) say if the student cannot answer a question, is it because he or she did not understand while reading or because he or she understood but forgot? If the student can locate that answer during the look-back procedure, you can assume that understanding is in place and forgetting is the culprit. (p. 21) This makes sense because students do often forget what they ate for breakfast, let along something they only read once. Another factor I had to consider in my running records were my non-readers who struggled on the easiest words. "Estimating a student's listening level allows us to determine if the student is challenged by word recognition, basic comprehension, or both." (Caldwell & Leslie, 2009, p. 18) If a child can't read you can asses them on listening in order to get an accurate read on what the next step is.
Are these assessments I do with my students reliable because I want them to be reading at the next level? Are they valid because I am only one person giving my opinion? I have found that I need to pull various pieces of data and may even need another teacher to administer a DRA to hold me accountable for my opinion of a student's reading level. As far as other tests that my students take, what is the best way to accurately tell if a student is where they need to be? I think it's a combination of many types of test, the larger standardized tests may trigger student achievement or they may not, and portfolios can show evidence of student centered learning but take a lot of time and are more subjective. When all of the data is compiled together there is a clearer picture of where the student has been, is now, and going towards.
All in all, students are the ones showing you what they can do, so if you strive for them to become lifelong in the moment type of readers, you need to take all of their abilities into consideration and use all types of assessment to inform your instruction.
Caldwell, J., & Leslie, L. (2009). Intervention
Strategies to Follow Informal Reading Inventory Assessment: So What Do I Do
Now? New Jersey: Pearson.
