Assessment
All effective teaching programs take advantage of assessment to help further students learning. Assessment itself is the use of informal and formal methods used by teachers to follow students learning in relation to the goals set for them (Ministry of Education, 2010). Teachers have specific goals related to the curriculum that they want their students to reach. In an LD classroom, however students will require modified goals across many subjects. We collaborated with a team of experts to complete the appropriate psychoed assessments and IEP documents for our students. In our classroom, we have a clear purpose for assessment; to support us and our students in reaching their goals in literacy. Using assessment in the following ways will help us fulfill our purpose of assessment:
We have already completed assessments of prior knowledge in our classrooms earlier in the year. These assessments have given us a better understanding of where our students currently are in their literacy skills. Each student completed the DRA at the beginning of the year giving us a reading level for each student. This has helped us determine which reading and comprehension skills our students need to work on. The DRA has also allowed us to select appropriate books for the classroom, such as books that can be read independently and books that are just above the students’ current reading level. We are currently close to the middle of the year and plan to complete more DRA assessments soon. Other informal assessments completed earlier in the year include writing examples. We asked students to write about whatever they would like, about themselves, and to retell books we read earlier on. Students were free to write however much they wanted. We analyzed students writing for content and comprehension. We also monitored strategies students used in their writing such as sounding out words. Combining these formal and informal assessments earlier in the year has given us a strong understanding of where our students currently are in literacy. As a result, we have been able to develop a program in our classroom with clear goals which students are able to reach and surpass.
When we assess our students for learning, we are primarily using informal assessments to ensure that students are progressing towards their learning goal. We will be using a running record throughout the week during silent reading and reading conferences to ensure that students are reading appropriate leveled books. Running records also help teachers find books that are at the instructional level for a student, so that they can continue developing their literacy skills. Running records are a great opportunity to record if students understood what they read as well. Another form of assessing for learning is anecdotal notes. We have a notes page with a list of all our students’ names to use every day. Throughout the day, we will keep notes of whether students are participating, understanding the learning, comprehending what they read, using reading and writing strategies and whether students are paying attention. A new chart is used every day in our classroom. It is ideal for recording how students are progressing throughout the day in many areas. A large notes section allows us to record plenty of information regarding students literacy skills, strategies and challenges. These are great to refer back to when writing report cards, having parent teacher interviews, and determining next steps for students.We will also walk around and read students work. Anecdotal records help ensure that we are teaching at the appropriate level and whether we are doing a good job of explaining instructions and strategies (Ministry of Education, 2010; Cunningham & Allington, 2011).
"Feedback is crucial to the way we see ourselves and how we go about our day-to-day lives"
Assessment of learning includes assessments of students learning after instruction. Typically these assessments include tests, presentations and projects. An important aspect of assessment of learning is feedback while students are working and when they are completing daily activities (Ministry of Education, 2010). Throughout our week, we are emphasizing feedback in two ways – orally and written. We will always be reminding students to use effective strategies in reading and writing. If we notice students are not using effective strategies during reading, we will provide them with feedback to help them read and write. For example, we can remind students to stretch out the sounds in words when they are reading them. When students are completing activities involving writing, we will provide them clear written feedback so that they can remember what to work on. For example, we can give written feedback to students reminding them to think about the purpose of their writing. The community we have developed in the classroom will also provide students an opportunity to support their peers with suggestions and feedback. Anecdotal notes and feedback are at the heart of our program. Anecdotal notes provide us with daily information we need, while feedback (written or oral) is an excellent opportunity for us positively reinforce students and coach them.
This is our running record with a quick description of its components.The boxes represent 100 words which students have read. We can indicate if students make mistakes, corrections, skip words, or read words correctly. We can also calculate their accuracy, explain their pace and fluency, assess their comprehension, and determine which reading strategies they are using. We will record words students may not know the meaning of so that we can add them to our vocabulary lessons in the future.
This is our running record with a quick description of its components.
These are some examples of codes teachers use during running records. Following a consistent set of codes makes it easy for all 3 of us, as well as supply teachers and volunteers to complete running records as well.
This is our running record with a quick description of its components.The boxes represent 100 words which students have read. We can indicate if students make mistakes, corrections, skip words, or read words correctly. We can also calculate their accuracy, explain their pace and fluency, assess their comprehension, and determine which reading strategies they are using. We will record words students may not know the meaning of so that we can add them to our vocabulary lessons in the future.