June 28- Assessments

Matching the appropriate level of difficulty to the level the children in your class are at is such an important part of reading development. The “just right” text is a text in which a child can read about nine out of ten of the words easily. Text that is easier is considered to be at the independent reading level, and text that is more difficult is considered to be at their frustration level, which is not appropriate for reading instruction. There are multiple factors that influence the degree of difficulty of a text including: the length of a book, the appearance and placement of print on the page. The degree of support offered by the illustrations. The complexity of concepts and familiarity of the subject matter, the degree of predictability of the text, and the proportion of unique or repeated words to familiar words. However, there is a problem in universal levels of difficulty. Each publisher was using their own leveling system, and the readability of books from one program to another was inconsistent. The solution to this problem came when teachers examined hundreds of trade books and early literacy materials and sorted them into a 10-step leveling system for beginning reading instruction using these five considerations: vocabulary, size and layout of print, predictability, illustration support, and complexity of concepts. At level one there are approximately one to tow words on a page, large clear font, and text is accessible to any child who knows to read from left to right. While level ten contains some unfamiliar words, full pages of text, familiar concepts, poetic language, and more subtle and detailed illustrations. The important thing to remember is that there is no single text that is appropriate for all students, and no single method of teaching reading. It is important to match books to the level readers are at, and it really requires getting to know your students, and continue to stay on top of their development. The goal of leveling reading is to help teachers understand the reading process and how best to teach it. The process must be constantly modified, and you must constantly assess each students and their needs, and move them up and down accordingly.
    The running record is a manual for teachers to use this type of assessment in their classroom. Running record assess’s text reading, is a guide to teaching, an assessment of difficulty, and can show you what progress each student is making. There are standards of recording and recommendations of calculations and comparisons. It takes constant practice on the part of the teacher to get the different conventions down, so you can give the assessment fast and in a relaxing manner. There are conventions for scoring errors and self corrections, and the running record gives you a quantifying way to score the students reading. Running records are only beneficial if teachers remember the following: record error behavior completely, poor observation reduces the accuracy of the scores, reliability drops when accuracy levels fall, and the most reliable records obtained by scoring an observation immediately after scoring. Running record is a great way to gage where students are in their reading development, and applies a scientific approach to exactly how far along students are in their reading. The important thing is the way the assessment is given, and the way the teacher applies it to the students.