Assessing Reading

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Chapter 15 Assessing Reading Achievement
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Definition of Reading Reading is understanding
the meaning of printed or written
material. Reading readiness encompasses
prerequisite skills Further reading skills
include the following Reading Recognition-
correctly pronouncing a word Reading
Comprehension- understanding and attaching
meaning to written material. Silent
Reading- relies on special skills assessed from
other types of reading.
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Why Do We Assess the Reading Achievement? The
overall goal of reading assessment is to inform
the teaching and learning process. Reading
assessment helps screen students who may have
deficits in reading identify and place students
with reading disabilities, plan reading
instruction and intervention programs, identify
present levels of reading performance, develop
IEP goals and objectives in reading, assess
student progress in reading, and monitor the
effectiveness of reading programs.
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Curriculum-Based Reading Assessment A type of
informal evaluation using regular classroom
materials and instructional materials.   A
strategy that is useful in developing
instructional objectives and activities for
students.
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Strengths of Curriculum-Based Assessment gtAssessm
ents and evaluations are generally lower key then
formal testing and incorporate classroom
assignments, homework and tests. gtCurriculum
Based Assessment links assessments directly to
the classroom curriculum. gtMakes the evaluation
of a students strengths and weaknesses a part of
the teaching and learning environment within the
classroom
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Weaknesses of Curriculum-Based Assessment gtHard
to ensure that the evaluations produce reliable
and valid results due to the lack of accuracy
necessary to measure the complexities in reading.
gtDifferent styles of teaching styles may not
be suited to this type of assessment.
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Informal Assessment Record Keeping Helper Sticky
notes, cassette tape recorders, photocopiers,
scanners, and software programs are just a few
things that can be helpful with informal
assessment record keeping and documentation.
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Types of Informal Curriculum-Based
Assessment Observation Observation - Observation
of students in different reading situations. Oral
Reading - Observation and recording of students
oral reading behaviors. Silent Reading -
Observation and recording of students silent
reading behaviors. Reading Comprehension -
Evaluation of students reading
comprehension. All of these incorporate a
diagnostic checklist that is used to record
students reading behaviors.
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More Informal Assessment Miscue Analysis/Error
Analysis - A technique using oral reading and
recording a students errors when reading.
Running Records - Running records highlights
the meaning, structural and visual cues that
students use when reading. Cloze Procedures -
An informal assessment of word prediction
abilities and for measuring comprehension skills
and the ways students use cues to identify words.
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Three Types of Cloze Procedures Visual cloze
procedure- eliminates a number pattern of words
in a reading passage. Correctly completing
44-57 -- text is at the appropriate reading
level for the student. Less then 44 --
text is too difficult, More than 57
correct text is too easy. Auditory cloze
procedure - Students predict the correct word in
sentences that is read to them. Modified cloze
procedures - These procedures can be easily
modified to provide more help to students with
their word prediction abilities.
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It is important that teachers are able to
accurately use informal curriculum based
assessment in order to plan instruction
activities and goals that will enhance and
encourage students in having correct reading
behaviors and comprehensions.
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Reading Inventories Provide Valuable
Assessment information for planning
inventories with students who have reading
disabilities. Teachers find that it translates
more directly to instruction Graded word
lists graded reading passages for
evaluation of reading.
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• 3 Informal Reading Inventories
• Analytical Reading Inventory
• Easy-to-use, comprehensive, and appropriate
  for all students. Its logically organized,
  convenient format addresses data collection for
  all components of reading assessment, and renders
  a multi-dimensional profile of a pupil's
  strengths and weaknesses.

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• Basic Reading Inventory, 8th ed.
• Included are graded word lists and graded
  passages that can be used to help teachers place
  students in appropriate reading materials, assess
  comprehension, and determine the student's
  strategies for word identification and
  comprehension. It will enable professionals of
  diverse training to enhance reading instruction
  in classrooms, resource rooms, diagnostic
  centers, and clinics.

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• English-Espanol Reading Inventory for the
  Classroom
• This test can assess a student's reading
  competency in Spanish as well as English. The
  authors combine both traditional and holistic
  methods to determine a student's reading level.
  This well-designed inventory can be used in
  undergraduate/graduate courses, in public schools
  with Latino populations, and in ESL teacher
  training programs.

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• 3 Different Reading Levels
• Independent Reading Levels
• This is where desk work and reading library
  books should be!
• Read by themselves and they read for enjoyment
• 98-100 Word Recognition
  90-100 Comprehension

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• Instructional
• Reading Instruction should be here
• Reads with teacher assistance
• 95 Word Recognition
• 75 (at least) Comprehension

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• Frustration
• Too difficult for a student to read
• 90 or below Word Recognition
• 50 or below Comprehension

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How to Construct an Informal Reading
Inventory 1. With primary children - passages
of about 50 words for each grade level of
difficulty to be assessed. With secondary
students - passage should be 150-200 words in
length. 2. Most teachers limit the selection of
passages to a specific range
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3. To determine a students independent
reading level, assessment should begin below the
students grade level. The teacher needs two
copies of each passage. One for student and one
for him/her. 4. Teachers should record the
percentage of words read accurately in each
passage and the percentage of comprehension
questions answered correctly.
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5. After establishing the students independent
level, the assessment continues with the student
reading increasingly difficult graded passages to
determine an instructional level and a
frustration level. 6. Teachers may modify
these procedures to assess specific skills.
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About Norm-Referenced Reading Tests The
single-skill diagnostic instruments provide the
most in-depth assessment information. Special
educators, diagnosticians, psychologists, reading
specialists, and other professionals often use
single-skill diagnostic tests when they        
need detailed information to identify
specific reading problems         to develop
instructional objectives, and to
create intervention activities.
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Norm Referenced Reading Tests Norm-referenced
reading tests are useful in identifying specific
reading problems, developing instructional
objectives, creating intervention activities,
measuring progress, and making staffing and
placement decisions. Available norm-referenced
instruments include wide-range screening tests as
well as comprehensive diagnostic tools. The
screening tests provide an overview of reading
performance.
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• 5 Norm Referenced Reading Tests
• Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Rev.
• A diagnostic tool for assessing the reading
  skills of students from kindergarten trough
  college and into adulthood
• Designed the tests for educational
  diagnosticians, reading specialists, and special
  education teachers.
• Form H contains 4 reading achievement subtests
• Form G includes the 4 reading achievement
  subtests 3 readiness subtest

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2. Diagnostic Assessment of Reading with Trial
Teaching Strategies Links reading assessment
and reading instruction using a 2-component,
integrated program designed for professionals
charged with helping students read better
Provides individual diagnostic information in
areas of reading and language, word recognition,
word analysis, oral reading, silent reading
comprehension, spelling, and word meaning The
Trial Teaching Strategies (TTS) component
identifies how each student learns best through
microteaching sessions.
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3. Gray Oral Reading Tests, Fourth
Edition Measures oral reading skills of
students from ages 6 through 18 using two
parallel forms Available scores include a
fluency score derived from the readers
performance rate and an oral reading
comprehension score Designed to identify
students who are significantly behind in reading
proficiency and who may benefit from
interventions, the GORT4 also helps to pinpoint
reading strengths and weaknesses and to document
student progress in reading.
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4. Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test, Fourth
Edition A group administered test Provides
teachers with information about students
reading processes and strategies Includes
recreational, textual, and functional reading
material Subtests include phonetic analysis,
vocabulary, comprehension, scanning, a reading
strategies survey, a reading questionnaire, and
a story retelling test.
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5. Test of Word Reading Efficiency Individually
administered measure of word reading accuracy
and fluency for students from ages 6 through
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familiar words as whole units or sight words
and the ability to sound out words quickly
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Test Reviews Test of Early Ability, Third
Edition Title Test of Early Reading Ability,
Third Edition Authors Reid, Hresko, and
Hammill Type of Test Norm-Referenced Major
Content Areas Alphabet, conventions, and
meaning Administration Time 20 to 30
minutes Age/Grade Level 3 years 6 months 8
years 6 months
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Types of Scores Evaluators can report
performance using standard scores, percentiles,
norm curve equivalents, or age and grade
equivalence. Suitable For Students with mild
moderate disabilities, including learning
disabilities, behavior disorders, educable mental
retardation, physical impairments, hearing
impairments Typical Uses Assesses childrens
mastery of early developmental reading skills In
Short TERA3 is screening test for children who
may be at risk for learning to read. TERA has 2
subtest and has 3 alternate forms for testing and
retesting. TERA3 is useful for measuring the
emerging reading ability of young
children. REMEMBER IT IS JUST A SCREENING, NO
DIAGNOSIS
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Test Reviews Continued Woodcock Reading Mastery
Test Title Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests,
Revised Author Woodcock Type Norm-referenced
and individually administered Major Content
Areas Visual-auditory learning, letter
identification, word identification, word attack,
and word and passage comprehension. Administration
Time 10 to 30 minutes per subtest Age/Grade
Levels 5 years to retirement
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Types of Scores Age and grade percentile ranks,
standard scores, normal curve equivalents, and
age and grade equivalents. Cohen and Cohen
indicated that the first time evaluator needs
about an hour to score the WRMT-R/NU Suitable
for Students with mild disabilities, including
learning disabilities, behavior disorders,
sensory impairments, and physical
disabilities. Typical Uses To diagnose reading
achievement. In Short The WRMT-R/NU includes
features usually not available on multiple-skill
tests. The WRMT-R/NU is suitable for use as a
formal diagnostic tool to make placement
decisions and as a guide to create instructional
objectives and remedial intervention activities.
The WRMT-R/NU also measures reading vocabulary in
4 areas
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Test Reviews Continued Test of Reading
Comprehension, Third Edition Title Test of
Reading Comprehension, Third Edition Author
Brown, Hammill, Wiederholt Type
Norm-Referenced and Individual or group
administered Major Content Areas General
vocabulary, syntactic similarities, paragraph
reading, sentence sequencing, and understanding
written directions Administration Time Approx.
30 minutes Age/Grade Levels 7 years through
17years
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Types of Scores Standard scores, percentiles,
age equivalent, grade equivalents, and
composite reading comprehension
quotient Suitable For Students with mild and
moderate disabilities Typical Uses To assess
Reading Comprehension In Short Provides a
method for assessing the silent reading
comprehension ability of students from ages 7 to
17. Consisting of eight subtests, the TORC3 is
suitable for use with individuals or groups. The
TORC3 is a useful tool for reading teachers,
special educators, and diagnosticians to assess
reading comprehension.