Informal Reading Inventory IRI Carol Nichols, Metropolitan State College of Denver, nicholscmscd'edu

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Informal Reading Inventory (IRI)Carol Nichols,
Metropolitan State College of Denver,
nicholsc_at_mscd.edu

• Purpose Identify the individual students seven
  functional reading levels

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IRI

• A structured observation of a students reading
• Administered one-to-one
• Informal, not standardized
• Gives six estimates of the students reading
  performance levels
• Gives one estimate of the students potential
  (capacity) reading level

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Identification of Functional Reading Levels -
Overview

• The administration of an Informal Reading
  Inventory (IRI) will enable the teacher to
  identify a students seven functional reading
  levels.
• The teacher will be able to provide appropriate
  reading materials for the student to read
  independently and to read with help (guidance)
  from the teacher. The IRI results also indicate
  the level which will be frustrating. Finally, a
  potential level can be identified which roughly
  estimates the level at which the student should
  be reading.

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Six of the seven functional reading levels

• Oral independent reading level
• Silent independent reading level
• Oral instructional reading level
• Silent instructional reading level
• Oral frustration reading level
• Silent frustration reading level

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Oral and Silent Independent Reading Levels

• The level of print the student can read with ease
  without guidance/help from the teacher
• The level which can be read independently without
  anxiety or tension
• The level of free-time reading books
• Word identification and comprehension are very
  high, even without help.

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Oral and Silent Instructional Reading Levels

• The level of print the student can read
  successfully IF the teacher is providing
  instructional assistance/guidance.
• Can read at this level without anxiety or tension
  IF the teacher is providing assistance.
• The level of all printed materials where the
  teacher is providing guidance.
• The level where reading skills expand and
  develop.
• With guidance, word identification and
  comprehension are very high.

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Oral and Silent Frustration Reading Levels

• The level of print which is too difficult for the
  student to be reading, even if the teacher is
  providing instructional assistance/guidance.
• Even with teacher guidance, word identification
  and comprehension are poor.
• Attempting to read at the frustration level
  frequently results in reluctance to read,
  discipline problems, the development of poor
  attitudes, and the development of low self
  esteem.

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The 6 functional reading levels described above
show what IS.

• The student IS able to read independently at the
  particular levels (oral silent) identified as
  independent.
• The student IS able to read, with instructional
  guidance from the teacher, at the particular
  levels (oral and silent) identified as
  instructional.
• The student IS frustrated and should not be asked
  to read at the particular levels (oral silent)
  identified as frustration levels, even if the
  teacher provides instructional assistance.

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Evaluation and Instructional Decisions
Independent Level

• All students should have access to library books
  and free-time reading books at their independent
  levels. These free-time books would be used when
  the teacher gives students time to read on their
  own.

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Evaluation and Instructional Decisions
Instructional Level

• The printed materials the teacher uses for
  reading instruction should be at the students
  instructional levels. Content area texts should
  also be at the students instructional levels.
• The teacher provides instructional steps to
  support the students before they start to read
  the assignment.
• Instructional steps are provided for support
  during the reading.
• Instructional steps are provided after the
  reading to enhance comprehension. Providing these
  instructional steps is called guided reading.

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Guided reading will be covered later in the
course.
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Evaluation and Instructional Decisions
Frustration Level

• Even with instructional guidance from the
  teacher, text written at the students
  frustration levels is too difficult.
• Students should not be asked to read material
  which is at their frustration reading levels.
• However, material at their frustration levels
  could be read aloud to the students by the
  teacher if the content of the material is
  important for them to experience.

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The 7th functional level is the Potential Level.

• Potential level is sometimes called the capacity
  level or the listening level.
• Potential level is the estimate of the level the
  student should be reading if he/she had all of
  the literacy skills he/she should have at that
  point of development.

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Use of the potential reading level

• The teacher can compare the level where the
  student IS reading to the level the student
  SHOULD BE reading. Compare the students
  instructional level (either oral or silent) with
  the potential level. If the potential level is
  higher than the instructional level, there is an
  indication that the student is not reading up to
  his/her mental potential.

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Comparison of instructional level with the
potential level

• If the potential level is higher than the
  instructional level, you have a gap or
  discrepancy between the two levels. This
  discrepancy suggests that something is causing
  the student to be reading at a lower level than
  he/she is mentally capable of reading. One cause
  of a discrepancy may be weak use of cueing
  systems or strategies.

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Discrepancy between instructional level and
potential level

• If you suspect the discrepancy is caused by the
  students inability to use word identification
  skills, then you must do further assessment and
  evaluation to identify which word identification
  skills are weak (sight words, use of syntactic
  and/or semantic context clues, use of
  graphophonics, etc.) For this, you will need to
  do MISCUE ANALYSIS which we will cover later in
  the course.

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Administration of an IRI Oral Levels

• ORAL independent, instructional, and frustration
  levels are determined when the student orally
  reads increasingly more difficult graded
  passages.
• As the student reads orally, you use a
  shorthand system to record any errors (miscues)
  made during the oral reading.
• After the reading of each of the passages, the
  teacher asks comprehension questions.
• Go into the scale at the bottom of the page to
  determine the level of the passage.
• Continue until the student reaches his/her
  frustration level and then stop the oral reading.

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Administration of an IRI Silent Levels

• SILENT independent, instructional, and
  frustration levels are determined by having the
  student silently read increasingly more difficult
  passages graded passages.
• The teacher will NOT be marking miscues because
  the student is reading silently.
• After the silent reading of each of the passages,
  the teacher asks comprehension questions.
• Go into the scale at the bottom of the page to
  determine the level of the passage.
• Continue until the student reaches his/her
  frustration level and then stop the silent
  reading.

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Administration of an IRI Listening Level

• After the student reaches his/her oral and silent
  frustration levels, begin the listening level
  part of the assessment.
• Listening level is determined by reading TO the
  student increasingly more difficult passages
  graded passages STARTING just after a frustration
  level passage (either oral or silent frustration
  level).

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Determining Listening Level - Continued

• After you read a passage TO the student, ask the
  comprehension questions.
• If the student gets 70 comprehension or higher,
  go on to the next higher passage.
• Read the next high passage TO the student, ask
  the questions, and determine the percent correct.
  
• Keep going until comprehension drops below 70.
• The highest level with 70 comprehension or
  higher is the students listening level.

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Learning to administer an IRI

• First, practice the shorthand system you will
  use to record the errors (miscues) the student
  makes when he/she is reading the passages orally.
• Use the handout in the packet which shows and
  explains the shorthand marking system.
• Have someone orally read and make errors so you
  can practice the shorthand system. The only
  way to develop the skill needed to rapidly mark
  errors (miscues) is to practice.
• A practice tape is available in the reserve
  section of the library. Use of the tape is
  optional.

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Questions on Assessment and on IRI Background

• You have the background information related to
  Assessment from the Assessment Power Point
  and from the article.
• Now you have the background related to functional
  reading levels and the IRI.