Classroom Assessment Made Easy

Classroom Assessment Made Easy: Identify, Record, and Monitor Student Progress Kit Giddings Utah Personnel Development Center

Today ’ s Objectives Importance of assessment Types of assessment Using assessment tools in the classroom

Let ’ s Assess Ourselves Find an “ elbow ” partner Designate one of you to be the examiner and the other to be the student Administer a 1 minute oral timed reading test Switch places and repeat

Importance of Assessment Children who struggle with academics must be identified early and provided interventions (Torgesen, 2002) Assessments monitor progress by helping determine instruction, identify specific strengths and weaknesses, and evaluate academic abilities (Deno, Mirkin, & Chiang, 1982; Salvia & Ysseldyke, 2004)

Importance of Assessment, cont. Frequent, or on-going assessments rather than periodic tests result in greater identification of word reading progress (Fuchs, Deno, & Mirkin, 1984) Assessments must be founded on scientifically based research and be valid and reliable

What is Validity and Reliability? Validity means that a test measures what it says it is measuring Reliability determines whether or not a test score is accurate (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, 1999)

Not all Assessments Serve the Same Purpose Assessments fit into four categories: Screening (Which students may need extra help?) Diagnostic (What are the student ’ s strengths and weaknesses?) Outcome (Did the student make progress towards the core standards?) Progress Monitoring (Is learning happening during instruction?) It is important to understand these types of assessments so you know what you are measuring and why you are measuring it

Screening Assessments Designed to be a first step in the identification of children at-risk for academic failure (Torgesen, 2005) Alerts teachers to children who need to be closely monitored or who may need additional instruction (Grek, Howard, & Hook, 2003; Torgesen, 2005) For all students at the beginning of the year 1:1 or whole group

Examples of Screening Assessments Graded Word Lists Examines student word recognition skills Helps determine the level at which a student reads sight words Identifies instruction level

Graded Word List Example spike vehicle eighty alarm trunk cry home ladle hike oxen ill reach turtle little prevail wrestle level grin instead hold did spice ignore protest planet hide next show burglar error coward tremble part ready man gorge grief rodeo burst field told come rival loaf meek patient fourth met know dwindle terrify player reason ago our good annoy terrific worm thankful mile rocket book Sixth Fifth Fourth Third Second First Primer

Practice Taking a Graded Word List Turn to your elbow partner Designate one of you to be the examiner and the other to be the student Administer a 1 minute oral Graded Word List Switch places and repeat

Informal Reading Inventories Informal Reading Inventories (IRI ’ s) Unfamiliar passages of increasing difficulty Help determine a student ’ s approximate reading level so he or she can be taught at the correct instructional level (reading passages that begin at an easy level and increase in difficulty until it becomes too difficult for the student to read)

IRI ’ s, cont. Independent Level 98-100% words read correctly 90-100% accuracy in comprehension Instructional Level 95% words read correctly 75% accuracy in comprehension Frustration Level >90% words read correctly >70% accuracy in comprehension

IRI Example Level 2 (118 words) Passage: Whiz! The baseball went right by me, and I struck at the air! “ Strike one, ” called the man. I could feel my legs begin to shake! Whiz! The ball went by me again, and I began to feel bad. “ Strike two, ” screamed the man. I held the bat back because this time I would smack the ball! I would hit it right out of the park! I was so scared that I bit down on my lip. My knees shook and my hands grew wet. Swish! The ball came right over the plate. Crack! I hit it a good one! Then I ran like the wind. Everyone was yelling for me because I was now a baseball star. Comprehension Questions: Who is the main character in this story? (the batter) After strike one, how do you think the batter felt? (nervous) After strike two, what did the batter plan to do? (smack the ball) What did it mean when the batter said, “I’ll smack the ball”? (hit it hard) Why was the last pitch good? (it went right over the plate) Why do you think it may be a good or bad to hit the ball right out of the park? How do you think the batter felt after hitting the ball? (good, confident) Error Count: Omissions _____ Aided words _____ Substitutions _____ Insertions _____ Repetitions _____ Reversals _____

Let ’ s Practice! Turn to your elbow partner Designate one of you to be the examiner and the other to be the student Administer a 1 minute oral Informal Reading Inventory Switch places and repeat

Diagnostic Assessments Identify specific areas of strengths and weaknesses The Woodcock Johnson III is a diagnostic assessment Diagnostic assessments are mainly used when determining placement for special education services Usually given by teachers and school psychiatrists

Outcome Measurements Given to all students after the material has been taught End of level testing and CRT ’ s are outcome measures Usually given by teachers and/or administrators Answers question: “ Did student make progress toward core standards? ”

Progress Monitoring Answers question: “ Is learning happening? ” Changes can be made in instruction on a daily basis as needed Used in classroom regularly

Examples of Progress Monitoring Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) Cloze and Maze Tests Observations Written Work Samples Quizzes Charts Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) (Good, Simmons, Kame ’enui, Kaminski, & Wallin, 2002) Informal Reading Inventories (IRI)

Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) CBM is any approach that uses direct observation and recording of a student ’ s performance to obtain information for instructional purposes (Mercer & Mercer, 2005) Quick and easy to administer Inexpensive to produce Provides another view of student progress Provides strong validity and reliability Similar to IRI ’ s but CBM ’s do not increase in difficulty

1 Minute Timed CBM Reading Assessment (Harcourt Brace, 1999) 107 to search through the woods, under the snow, or in the water. 95 locate lost people. She and her owner, Susie Foley, know how 84 unique scent. Panda is a Newfoundland dog trained to 74 by following their scents because each person has his or her own, 63 Dogs have a very fine sense of smell. They can find people lost 50 forest floor. What to do? Call in the search and rescue dogs. 38 But he didn ’ t follow a trail and footprints don ’ t show on the 26 could turn bad. It is important to find him as fast as possible. 13 Someone is lost in the woods. He might be hurt, or the weather

Practice Giving a CBM Turn to your elbow partner Designate one of you to be the examiner and the other to be the student Administer a 1 minute oral reading timed test Switch places and repeat

Cloze Passages Captain James Cook Captain James Cook made _______ voyages of discovery into the Pacific Ocean. His first voyage led to the _______ of the East Coast of Australia. After visiting Tahiti, Captain Cook _______ west until he reached New Zealand. After circumnavigating New Zealand, he continued _______ until he reached Australia. Captain Cook sailed up the east coast, mapping the _______ as he went. He stopped at _______ Bay. His ship, the Endeavour, was almost _______ on the Great _______ Reef. He had to throw many heavy _______, like cannon, overboard so they could free themselves from the _______. Captain Cook was determined to keep his _______ healthy. He insisted his men eat onions and pickled cabbage every day and made sure that the ship kept fresh fruit and _______ on board. On his second _______, he explored the southern Ocean. On his _______ voyage, he was killed by the natives in Hawaii. vegetables west coral Botany discovery Barrier third voyage three wrecked objects crew sailed coast

Practice Taking a CLOZE Passage Both partners read the story Together, fill in the correct answers Easy or difficult?

Maze Passages Summer Camp Stuart had nice parents. They did not embarrass him in __________________ of his (glad/ front/ yellow) friends. His father did _____________ yell at him during his baseball _____________________ and (not/ ant/ soft) (center/ games/ lines) his mother never kissed him ___________ front of his friends. He generally _________________ (in/ tot/ put) (liked/ flow/ jeep) his parents, except for the fact _________________ they were sending him to summer (shoe/ went/ that) __________________ this year. (bus/ dump/ camp) Stuart did not want ____________ go to summer camp. The thought ____________ it made him (to/ wit/ cow) (and/ be/ of) picture himself hot _______________ thirsty, hiking up a dusty trail. ____________ knew that summer (coat/ rest/ and) (Bit/ He/ Go)

Practice Taking a MAZE Passage Both partners read the story Together, fill in the correct answers Easier or harder than a CLOZE passage?

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) (Good, Simmons, Kame ’ enui, Kaminski, & Wallin, 2002) “ DIBELS ” measures a child ’ s ability to orally segment words into their individual phonemes with a one minute timed test Once a child ’ s phonological awareness skills are identified, he or she can use these skills to decode letters and words

DIBEL ’ S Example (2002 Dynamic Measurement Group, inc.) Nonsense Word Fluency Ib az pov wef ic dak zub kat yil deb wij ol seg peb dif yal juj kip sil yin naj poz rij kul kan lif dun kuk rit moj mod hal kug sel zod jiv nij vol hoc joz tig puc eg ziv fes ad luj zik ruv diz

Let ’ s Practice “ DIBELing ” Each partner takes turns administering the Nonsense Word Fluency portion of the “ DIBELS ” Easy or difficult?

What Does CBM Data Tell Us? CBM Data Identifies: The low performers Who needs special instruction How to organize instructional groups When and how to plan instructional programs Which long-range goals to set

Using CBM How Often Should We Use CBM? Daily when student progress is rapid Daily when student behavior fluctuates and frequent adjustments are needed Weekly or bi-weekly when student progress is slow Weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly when the student has mastered the skill and all you are doing is monitoring progress

Using CBM with Behavior Event Recording Focuses on frequency of behavior Increases or decreases in frequency of behavior Provides an exact count of # of occurrences Anecdotal Recording Determines which behaviors create the biggest impact in class Helps to design interventions

Event Recording Example: Count the # of times a student completes assignments for 4 school days 11 21 Total = // 7 4 //// 6 3 /// 5 2 // 4 1 Completed Due Day

Anecdotal Recording The purpose of anecdotal recording (includes interval recording and time sampling) is to gain a complete description of a student ’ s behavior Determine which behaviors create the biggest impact in class Helps to design interventions

Anecdotal Recording, cont. Example: Record all behaviors of the student during a specified time period Katie stares out the window. She talks to students around her Behavior Teacher passes out lab materials and explains experiment Antecedent 1:06 Time

Let ’ s Observe Ourselves! For 1 minute, identify one person in this session (without their knowledge) Pick a behavior (doodling, slouching, touching one ’ s face, is distracted, legs crossed, etc.) In the Interval Recording Table , place a “ + ” for every ten seconds that person performs your chosen behavior and a “ - ” for every ten seconds that person does not perform the behavior

What Did You See? Share with your elbow partner: What behaviors you saw that might warrant data collection How are these behaviors observable AND measurable? Would you use interval recording or another method of data collection?

A Last Word on Data Collection Regard ALL data as confidential Choose target behaviors that are easily observable, countable, have a beginning and an end, and are repeatable This means to be able to “ pinpoint ” when and under what conditions the behavior occurs There a variety of ways and topics on which to collect data: Academic Classroom Work-related Social

Questions or Comments? Data collection helps us “ get our ducks in a row ” so we can help all students succeed

Thank You! [email_address] 801.272.3431

Classroom Assessment Made Easy

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Classroom Assessment Made Easy