A Final Thought

Prior to the beginning of class, I was nervous about administering assessments. I had only informal experience with these tests. In September, I received my student’s scores from the end of second grade. My school uses the Stanford Reading Evaluation as an assessment tool. If I had not had the last, I might not have looked twice at the assessments. I was never fully explained what to make of these results and a bit overwhelmed. But this class has truly taught me a lot. I had once viewed literacy assessments as something that was given a few times a year and never utilized by the teachers. But, I quickly changed my attitude as I grew as an assessor.

My favorite assessment was the writing assessment. It was amazing how valuable and useful, the 6-Trait Writing Assessment was. As I was going over my writing sample, I felt confident in dissecting my student’s writing. These traits can be applied directly to a rubric for evaluating writing samples. In my own classroom, my third graders have been writing a lot more and I found this assessment useful in everyday class business. For me, this is the true value of an assessment. I have been collecting samples of my student’s writing and this is a great way to keep track of their growth and needs.

As a result, I am more curious how to create better writing techniques. My students still struggle with the concept of indenting! I am eager to learn how elicit as much information from a student as possible from a student. I plan on using the 6-Trait Writing Tool as a way to explain to parents about how students need to improve their writing skills.After interpreting the results, the next step is to plan for the student’s literacy development. There are so many different types of instruction; it really can be a daunting task for a teacher to determine what will work best with the student. After determining my student’s strengths and weakness, I was successfully able to return to the readings and map out a plan of instruction.

One of the most interesting aspects of the case study was seeing how every assessment relates to one another. In order to truly understand a student’s thinking, you need a collection of assessments. I found it really interesting how if a student struggles with phonics, it can affect one’s entire literacy growth and development. My student’s were similar across the assessments as he struggled with short vowel sounds. As a product of the New York Public School system, I was not as deeply entrenched in phonics as my student’s are today. I am curious if I would have developed differently as a reader and writer if I had a stronger background in phonics.

I truly have every intent to utilize these newfound skills in my classroom. I would love to assess my student’s on all of the different tests. On the day I was administering the Z-Test, a few of my more gifted students saw the Z cards on my test. It was really interesting to see their reactions to the test. Without explaining any directions to them (except to return to their seats, of course!), they assumed they had to fix the mistakes. I was impressed with their automatic decoding skills and their ability to create new words. This got me to wonder about how often children who are on or above grade level are tested for literacy assessments. I think it just as important to ensure that these children are being looked at in the same detailed light as the struggling readers.

Finally, I have one major question on literacy assessments. How can a single classroom teacher successfully and accurately assess every one of her students? In many of the clips we viewed throughout the semester, there was a study being conducted with or without the teacher. If we can assume that all teachers are dedicated to her students, how can they find the time? I understand that these assessments are meant to be done in a rapid fashion. I feel there needs to be a better system in place in order to help the classroom teacher give out and interpret assessments. Furthermore, no child thinks or learns in the same way. After the teacher gages the results, they must form class plans to fit the needs of these diverse learners. We are constantly learned about how to modify the classroom for diverse learners whether they are IEP learners, ESL, Visual Learners, and so on, but where do we find the time to fit in a needs based curriculum. These are the tough questions that need to be answered!

Overall, this has been a positive experience. I have gained a deeper understanding into the work of a child’s mind. I find myself relating back to the different assessments as I examine my students' work. Literacy assessments are a powerful and revealing indicator to mark the process of a young and developing reader. The assessments are a valuable resource and I plan to use them as much as I can in my own career as an educator.

Learning and Growing

It seems like a lifetime since I handed out the student interview. But, I have finally finished all of my assessments. I gave the Reading Comprehension assessment yesterday and need a little more time to analyze it. If time permits, I may give my student another writing sample. His writing sample was quite different from the story he retold back to me. I just want to make sure that he understood the task that was being asked of him. I have seen other writing samples from his classroom teacher and they are remarkably different than the one that I collected. I have a strong hunch that he might have been feeling a tad bit lazy that day. It is interesting to note all of the different patterns across the different assessments. During the course of the semester, I have learned a great deal about my student. TJ has a great love of learning but he loves learning what he wants to know about. I have really learned a lot about his strengths and weaknesses as a reader. Right now, I have noticed that one of his strongest points is blending beginning and end sounds while he struggles with short vowel sounds.

I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher and an assessor. As I started going through the assessments, I realized that I need to be patient with myself. There are so many different vocabulary words and literacy concepts; I am worried about not using the proper terminology in my paper. There is not one precise way to interpret an assessment. This was an important learning experience for me. I have gathered an entire semester worth of material and feel comfortable interpreting all of the information from phonological awareness right down to the running record. I have also learned a great deal about literary assessments. They truly offer a great insight into the thinking of an individual child. It is a valuable and much more personal tool for a teacher to use. Literary assessments are a great stepping stone to planning reading and writing lessons. As I was going through my assessments, I kept thinking about what I would do to correct his errors and how I would develop an effective lesson plan to build his skills.

Overall, my experience with giving out assessments has been very positive. I feel that I have received accurate test results because my student was very cooperative. Some of my biggest challenges have been taking notes during the whole process. He works a lot faster than I could copy. I was improving over the course of the semester with taking notes without disrupting the flow of the assessment. Over the course of the semester, I learned that it was best to write down as much as possible while everything was still fresh in my mind.

Working and consulting with your colleagues is a great way to fully dissect and interpret all of your assessments. It is always refreshing to have other people realize the same trends as you. It also gives you a fresh perspective on assessments that you administered months ago. This is a great way for future teachers to learn about working together. It is important for teachers to develop a good working relationship with each other. This is a great system of support for both the teachers and the students!

A Sigh of Relief

My knowledge of assessments has grown immensely over the course of the semester. I had gone from never having administering a literacy assessment to administering a whole array of them. My confidence level has grown immensely. I was very overwhelmed at the start of the semester. I was not sure how my student would respond to these tasks. But, my student has made these tests an easy and enjoyable experience. I believe that this experience has prepared me for future assessments. In addition, I have learned a great deal about reading and language. It is fascinating about learning about what makes it click for individual students. I have become better prepared to work with students on all different parts of the spectrum. Literary assessments are extremely important tool for teachers and I feel relieved to have gained so much information them.

While, I have been keeping administering assessments within a one week period of when they are discussed in class, I have not fully dissected my findings. I have made some initial observations about my student and noticed some telling patterns. He struggles with the short vowel sounds as seen in the Phonological Assessment, Spelling Assessment, and the Alphabetic Principle Assessment. In particular, it appears that he has trouble differentiating between the /e/ and /i/ sound/. When prompted during the Letter-Sound Knowledge Assessment, he could not come up with the long vowel sounds. I feel comfortable with interpreting the results. The examples in class have been extremely helpful. It is amazing how much you can learn about one student from an assessment. The only aspect that I am worried about is missing something crucial or having a different interpretation than another assessor.

Some of the challenges I have faced during the assessments was taking off the teacher hat and putting on the assessor hat. I did not feel entirely comfortable not explaining the correct answer when TJ asked if his answer was right or wrong. It took every ounce of my being not to explain that the long vowels say their names! I also kept thinking of the video we watched on the Reading Rockets website. I found myself saying “Good Job” over and over again. I tried to stop this habit immediately because I did not want TJ to notice if I did not say this. He is a child who needs constant positive reinforcement to begin with. It seems a lot harder to assess a student that you know quite well than it would be to assess a student that you do not know.

Overall, I feel I have had more successes than challenges. I have learned a lot about a future student as well as his strengths and weaknesses. The assessments have gone well and he has never seemed disinterested or become frustrated with the tasks. For example, during the Bryant Pseudoword Test, he thought it was a game and enjoyed doing it. I also feel like my personal growth in knowledge of Phonological and Phonemic Awareness has been a great success. I did not have a strong background in this area of reading. The wide variety of articles has shown me different approaches to teaching Phonics in a both fun and effective way for the students.

A question that I still have regarding literary assessments is how to apply them in a classroom. I understand that teachers are required to follow local and state standards for Reading and Language Arts. But, it seems like a difficult task to use these assessment tools for each individual learner. My school has a Title I Program for at risk children in Math and Reading. These teachers are paid by the government for at risk children. They give the students similar assessments to the ones that we are learning about. I was fortunate enough to receive copies of TJ’s scores from last year. To my knowledge, the classroom teachers do not administer these assessments in the K-2 classrooms. I would love to use similar assessments with my third graders but time would not willingly permit me to.

The Parent Academy

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1931170,00.html

Last Thursday, Time.com posted an interested article about the role of parents in a child’s education development. But, the role described here is no ordinary one. In many cities including Miami and Philadelphia, parents receive a welcome kit upon the arrival of their child. It included a baby book in three different languages along with a note from the “Parent Academy.” These “Parent Academies” are geared to parents who would normally not play a large role in their child’s development. These parents include low-income, single parents, and immigrants. The push of the “Parent Academies” emphasizes just how pivotal a role the home plays in a child’s literal development. Parents who might normally be uncomfortable with homework, reading lessons, and other perils are given an opportunity to learn how to help them.

This article is worth taking a look at. These programs are designed to make parents feel much more comfortable with literacy (and many other areas!) development. More often than not, we tend to focus on literacy development primarily in the classroom. There are some minor flaws for the “Parent Academy.” First of all, these organizations tend not to receive the necessary funding. In addition, those parents who may need it the most may not have access to these programs. Furthermore, these programs last about ten weeks. Ten weeks is not long enough to truly make one feel comfortable in teaching their babies on the way to read. The idea of a “Parent Academy” has a lot of potential if parents are given adequate preparation to hone their skills and give them an enhanced sense of confidence.

Dennis the Menace: 2009?

As soon as I received the syllabus, I knew exactly who my case study would be. TJ is a second grade student at the school where I work. I have known him for a few years as I had occasionally substituted in his first grade classroom as an undergraduate. I also know him outside of the school. Prior to teaching, I used to be a private tutor. My tutee’s mother babysat TJ while I tutored her son. TJ is a sweet and kind boy but he has a reputation around school as being a bit of a pain. His teacher has him in the front of her room as he is constantly talking and getting out of his seat. His grades are also not up to par. But, when I asked him to work with me a once a week, he was thrilled. He now asks me each day if we are going to do some extra work together. He even follows me around the lunchroom to find out when our next session is. I believe he might be doing this because he is familiar with me as a private tutor. It has been easy working with him thus far as it is a true treat for him!

It has been quite easy to formulate an educational background on TJ. The school has a Title I program which is implemented to help schools that have poor children meet all of their academic needs. The program is designed to meet the state’s standards and provide extra review for what is being taught in the classroom. He receives extra help four times a week for 45 minutes in both reading and math. I met with his reading teacher and she provided me all of his information from the end of last year. While I did not receive a copy of his reading assessment, he scored in the 20% percentile. At the end of first grade, he was reading at 1.4, meaning he was reading at the fourth month of first grade. I also learned that he received below average marks on his report cards. I also have spoken to his current year and she plans on having a sit-down with me in order to discuss his progress in the next few weeks.

I have done three assessments with TJ: the student interview, a writing sample, and a COW. In his student interview, he described himself as a great reader. (He always shows him the new book that he is reading!) He believes that chapter books are hard to read and when he has trouble with a word, he will ask his mom. TJ genuinely seems to enjoy reading and does it as home with his family. From what I have learned, he has a huge support system at home. I am told that his homework is always excellent but this does not translate on his tests.

I think working with TJ will be both fun and challenging for me. I only did the COW assessment yesterday, but he seems to have a solid concept of word. On the other hand, his writing sample and student interview leave a lot to be desired. His writing sample was quite interesting to read. He included a title without my directions. But, his sample did have any focus or sequence. He described an instance where he was scared when he was in the forest with his dog. He did not provide any information about why he was scared or what had happened. I am contemplating redoing the writing assessment with him. He did not seem tired or unwilling to be doing this assignment with me. In fact, he was excited but could still not even verbally communicate the story to me. This led me to wonder if he was making the story up and was simply following my example about a time when I was scared.

My goal for this case study is twofold. This is a great opportunity to learn how to assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses. I would also like to figure out if his grades are more due to not paying attention or if something else is actually going on. I am going to learn valuable skills to become an effective teacher. In addition, I have a vested interest in TJ as I will probably have in my classroom next year. I hope to learn more about his struggles and what actions can be taken to stop them. I want him to be a great reader and writer all while I can learn how to give out assessments. TJ is very confident and I want to make sure that he can perform at his expected grade level.