Opitz Ch. 7, 8, 12 and an article on standardized assessment

Overview of Optiz Chapters 7, 8, and 12

Assessing and Teaching Early Literacy
I found Figure 7.1 Cambourne's Conditions of Learning very interesting. I think engagement should be incorporated into all areas of reading but especially as it is put there for immersion and demonstration. I think common core is really putting a focus on immersion because they are wanting our students to be reading all types of text and being exposed in many ways to different types of text. This year I am putting a lot of time and effort into reading aloud in order to work on listening comprehension and modeling for my students what reading should look like. I want to expose them to higher vocabulary than they are able to read themselves. As Opitz says, "Reading aloud increases children's listening vocabularies" and this in turn can increase students speaking vocabulary (pg. 118). There are many concepts that are to be taught and assessed in reading instruction but the most basic of them all that builds the foundation is phonemic awareness. Without phonemic awareness students aren't able to process their phonics and decode when reading. Later comes the reading comprehension and story sense. My students are decent decoders and readers but their writing is where we are spending a lot of time working on. Writing and reading go hand in hand.

Listening in on Students' Oral Reading
Informal reading inventories are beneficial because teachers are able to get valuable information as to what amount of information a student can convey. This is how we as teachers can find the level at which our students can read. It's important to find the instructional level of students in order to not overwhelm and discourage students but build up their confidence in reading. When students are constantly in the frustration level their reading abilities tend to fall because they aren't motivated anymore. When assessing a student in reading, it's important to take note of what types of mistakes the student is making so that instruction can reflect the areas of greatest need. When making analysis of miscues you want to make sure you note whether the miscue makes sense, does it sound right,or does the miscue resemble the printed word? The main difference between and IRI and a RR is that IRI's aren't done with any text. There are a set of leveled passages to choose from whereas a running record can be done for any text. Fulton County as a whole has gone to the BAS from Fountas and Pinnell so I have been administering many running records this year for our literacy test data.

Helping Children Apply Phonics
This chapter discusses different phonics areas that we work on with our students, whether its consonant blends, vowel sounds, vowel digraphs, dipthongs, vowel controlled r, phonograms, and syllables. It discusses what each of these are and gives examples. Then it goes into how to assess these phonics. We should assess phonics through observations, names test, Early names test, tile test, and running records. At my grade level of teaching my students have completed their phonics testings so I am administering the running records tests. When teaching phonics you should teach word identification strategies, teach from whole to part using nursery rhymes and children's literature, word sorts, decode by analogy, writing, how to make words, and using prompts. Phonics instruction should be incorporated throughout whole and small group reading instruction as well as writing instruction.

Opitz, M., Rubin, D., & Erekson, J. (2011). Reading diagnosis and improvement: Assessment and instruction . (sixth ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson.


Article: http://standardizedtests.procon.org/#background

To compare and contrast the text of Opitz and this article I noticed many differences. When we are testing our students in reading we are wanting to test phonics accuracy and comprehension but how can we test accuracy on a whole-group given standardized test. We are solely testing our students on comprehension and grammatical aspects through standardized tests. This doesn't give instructors a good judge on how well our students can read, but rather how well our students are at finding answers within a text and how well they might be able to decipher some of the stories. Many times the stories chosen for standardized tests are hard for students to understand because they do not have the background knowledge needed to understand the context. When we read stories in our classroom, we get the most success from our students when we are able to find books that interest them or that they have some understanding of the topic before reading. Also time is very limited on standardized tests, that some students feel rushed and aren't able to truly read to the best of their ability. I was never very good at standardized assessments because I wasn't good in high stress situations where I needed to speed through an assignment. I am better at being able to retell the main ideas from a text but when asked nit-picky questions I seem to miss over these many times. I am good at retelling or restating important information from a text or article but specific details seem to be over sighted more often than not. I think this happens with many young readers. They are so concerned at making sure they read each word correctly that they miss the overall meaning of the text. The more important part than getting every word right is understanding what you are reading. I don't know what would be a better solution for testing reading in order to be able to compare nationwide but the system we have now is not the best way to get the best results from our students. I hope that someday constructive response questions come for the passages read by our students, so that they are able to express their understanding of reading and writing. I think it's much easier to figure out where the gaps are in reading by assessing the overall understanding of a topic. I hope that in younger grades they find a way to assess phonics rather than the nit picky things as well. I think constructive response answers will be more eye-opening to the standardized assessment people.

Is the use of standardized tests improving education in america?. (2012, August 10). Retrieved from http://standardizedtests.procon.org/

Power Points for Module 3

Literacy Strategies Project PowerPoint
The main concept I took away from the Powerpoint this week was the difference between phonics and phonemic awareness.

Phonemic Awareness: The sounds of language Phonics: The integration of sounds and symbols
Phonics is being able to read and decode the words on the page. Phonics is what is being applied when reading a book.

I enjoyed throughout this presentation that there were strategies to use if you notice a certain mistake happening consistently with a student. I just finished assessing my tutee using Foutas and Pinnell running records, and the QRI-5 5th grade passages so I am going to analyze what I found and see what strategies I can take away from this powerpoint to work on with my tutee in the coming tutorial sessions. I know he is having a hard time with compound words so I am going to work with him on compound words and breaking them into words he already knows. He also has a hard time with Syllabication so I am going to incorporate the strategy suggested on knowing the six different types to better help my student progress in his reading abilities. He also needs a lot of work with comprehension but he is willing to take the steps to get better.

Assessment Powerpoint

　
1. What is the general purpose of assessments? Assessments are meant to help guide your instruction. It is important to know where your students are performing during lessons but as well as after a unit or lesson to help guide your instruction for them. They are necessary to inform you. 2. What must assessments reflect? Assessments should reflect the standards you are teaching and where you are wanting the students to be. Also you should be assessing on their levels to see where improvements are needing to be made. 3. What is the purpose of norm-referenced tests? The purpose of these tests are for you to see how your students are performing in reference to the performance of other students around the nation on their same grade level. 4. What is the difference in formative and summative assessments? Formative assessments help guide your instruction whereas summative assessments are assessing how much the students learned from your instruction. 5. Are tests a good measurement to determine student performance? It depends on what kinds of tests they are. If tests are used in the right format for what is being taught then yes, but if the concepts are deeper understanding and the students are being assessed on the surface level than no they are not good at determining student performance. 6. What are high-stakes test used for? High-stakes tests are used for gaining perspective on how schools, districts, and states are performing in relation to other areas. This is an overall arching test that can determine who is underperforming and where they are underperforming.

Assessment Video Analysis for Module 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv46H9ykgDA&feature=related
Phonemic awareness is necessary for students to be successful in reading. Reading is a very complicated concept for students to learn but the basis of this is phonics. Many of the ideas mentioned during this video I agree with but the quote that resonated with me most was when the narrator said "Phonemic Awareness is central in learning to read and spell."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQKauTA8V7c&feature=related
I might use this phonemic assessment type during my tutorial sessions with my student on very complex words found in fifth grade texts. By the time students get to fifth grade they have a very strong phonics background but it doesn't hurt to have students go back to these roots and practice how to sound words out based on their phonics awareness. I might give my tutee a four syllable word for an assessment like this.

Module 2: Powerpoint questions

Powerpoint: Emergent Readers

From the emergent readers powerpoint I found it extremely helpful to dictate where students are in the learning process according to their ages. I think this is good to know not only as a teacher but for parents to in order to find signs of whether the child is behind on the growth scale. I teach older students but it's good to see where young readers are supposed to be when especially if I get a student who comes in not speaking English or on a very low reading level. These strategies are very useful in helping the students get from emergent to fluent readers and writers.

Powerpoint on Assessment:

Study skills are something that all learners need to know. You use study skills throughout your whole educational career so it's important to teach these skills to young children for long lasting benefit. Reading is something that can truly be assessed through observation but writing must be presented to you as the teacher. Writing can be assessed by the performance and you can gauge a students reading abilities many times through their writing abilities. Rubrics are the best way to express to the student what is expected and how they can strive to do their best for the best results. It also is a good indicator to a teacher where the gaps are if they are trying their best but aren't able to reach the optimum goal. Writing is such an important skill for all learners because in our daily lives as adults we write emails, letters, papers, and so many more things that include such complex detailing. If we can help students succeed with writing early on we are able to prepare them for life.

Informal Assessment analysis between Opitz and Scholastic article

Weaver, B. (n.d.). Formal versus informal assessments. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/formal-versus-informal-assessments

Opitz, M., Rubin, D., & Erekson, J. (2011). Reading diagnosis and improvement: Assessment and instruction . (sixth ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson


Where do the ideas seem to merge?  What differences can you discern? 

I read this brief article stating the difference between informal and formal observations in order to compare it to Chapter 5 in Opitz's book on informal assessment. As Weaver states, “informal assessments are not data but rather content and performance driven.” Where Opitz states, “informal assessment techniques can provide valid information about student characteristics that cannot be garnered from other sources” (Opitz, p.89). Informal assessments are meant to be used to gather information on a students’ reading abilities in order to better prepare on how to help the student progress. We probably learn much more from informal observations because many times the teacher is taking more individual time with a student. Individual time with a student can allow for the teacher to become very aware of common mistakes made by the child and what issues the child is having with reading. Whether it be a performance task, checklist, anecdotal notes, or others the teacher can learn what is the best approach to help this child succeed. Weaver also states that “The assessment used needs to match the purpose of assessing” which goes right along with the three questions Opitz states throughout chapters 5 and 6 asking “What do I want to know? Why do I want to know? How can I best discover the information?” (Opitz, pg. 89).
Between the article and the text, I can conclude that both are saying how informal assessments should be used and why we use informal assessments. There needs to be a clear purpose for the assessment. We should be assessing, planning, and reassessing based on the information gained in the original assessment. Through informal assessments we should be able to chart progress with the student and if not we need to incorporate RTI strategies to help the student progress further.
I didn’t really notice many differences between the two writings other than the text has supplemental support to give ideas as to which informal assessments can be used. Chapter 5 and 6 are in a larger scale the same comparison as the article. We use both informal and formal assessments in reading but as teachers we need to be sure we are using them in the appropriate settings.
I find that I use more informal assessments during my reading instruction than I do formal. Through my writing block we are constantly producing performance assessments and three times throughout the year I must administer my running record literacy tests. Throughout my guided instruction in class I am adjusting my instruction based on how students performed the day before or minutes before. Reading is a subject area of which students can change drastically in just a second if not exposed to the appropriate text.

Opitz Ch. 5 and 6 Analysis

Chapter 5: Using Informal Assessment Techniques Across the Grades

It really is amazing to me how many different ways we can assess our readers but each of these assessments have a specific purpose. Usually when a student is acting out in class there is a reason behind it and it's our jobs to figure out if it's academically induced or if outside factors are playing a role. I have used many of these process but didn't realize I was doing them either. I have used many times checklists or anecdotal records for observations of behavior but not for reading behavior. This would be a great way to figure out if the students is constantly struggling with the same thing or is always wanting to read the same genre. There are many insights you can figure out when observing a students behavior but as Opitz states it takes time and energy from the teacher away from the rest of the students. On page 76, figure 5.8A shows a performance checklist and this resembles what we are using with the Fountas and Pinell BAS running record tests for literacy testing in my school. This is a great tool for analyzing common errors made by the student and to check for comprehension of a short passage. I have found through the literacy tests I have completed that many of my students struggle with comprehension and I like Figure 5.9 to use a checklist for comprehension. You could use this during a guided reading session and use letters or numbers to document when a student answers or cannot answer the probing questions in a group setting. The most profound statement throughout this chapter to me was on page 79 when Opitz states, "Reading helps reading: unfortunately many students are not choosing to read...Understanding students' attitudes and interests enables teachers to motivate students and instill in them a positive attitude toward reading." This reigns true to me for dealing with my tutee for this semester. I conducted both an attitude and an interest survey with my tutee like this chapter describes, and both surveys were very enlightening to how I should approach my tutoring sessions. Overall I think informal assessments you are able to analyze in more detail because the students aren't feeling as though they are in a threatening situation. The students are more relaxed and I think you get more true results.

Chapter 6: Using Standardized Tests across the Grades

Standardized tests have become such a hot topic over the past few years in education. I understand the use of them and even more so now after reading through this chapter, but I don't understand why we have to take so many. My students last year by the time our CRCT came around they were burnt out. They had already taking the ITBS and Fulton's checkpoints three times during the year. This is also a LOT of classroom time teachers are losing for instruction. I think I prefer the norm referenced tests because you can see how your students are doing compared to those in your school, district, state, or nation. Especially with common core starting this year I think norm referenced tests are going to be a good way to assess who is teaching common core the best and how you can analyze what improvements you can make as a teacher. Reading these two chapters I saw the questions "What do I want to know? Why do I want to know it? and Which test will help me discover this information?" and I think these questions we should be asking ourselves not only before each test but before each lesson. This goes along with backwards design too with what do I want them to learn? Why do I want them to learn this? and What strategies would be bester to successfully portray this information?

Opitz, M., Rubin, D., & Erekson, J. (2011). Reading diagnosis and improvement: Assessment and instruction . (sixth ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson.

Analysis of Reading Attitude Survey with my tutee

I gave my fifth grader an elementary reading attitude survey and was interested by his results. His Raw score for recreational reading was a 20 and his raw score for academic reading was 23. Usually you think of students preferring their own reading but this wasn't the case with my tutee. He falls in the 15th percentile for his overral score. He's in the 6th percentile for recreational reading and the 29th percentile for academic reading. I will be honest this didn't really surprise me all that much. The student I have chosen to tutor is more on the social side of most of my students. He much more enjoys the computer, sports, and math more than he enjoys reading. Across the board he put mildly upset for many questions. He never gave me a happiest garfiled toward reading. The ones he scored lowest were when asked how he felt about getting a book as a present, reading during the summer, reading instead of playing, and using a dictionary. This amused me but I can see why a dictionary can be very frustrating for kids. Especially since this child is an English Language Learner they have a hard time with spelling so dictionaries are very difficult for them to use. The other areas he scored a 1 on were areas of where he is in his element and the last thing he would want to be doing is reading a book. My job during this time of tutoring my student is getting his interest level and attitude of reading much higher. He says he enjoys when he gets to read different books and reading them aloud. I can take this and run with it for my tutoring sessions!

Video Analysis #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHAZyRKKbic

This video was a demo for using the word list for assessing a child's level. I like how the teacher didn't start out with the word list but spoke to the student about interest level of reading and what types of stories the student likes to read. I know with my student I want to do a reading interest survey in our first session to get a fell for how the student feels about reading. Along with this I think it's important to dig deeper into the different types of stories the student prefers to read as well. When a student is interested in reading I think they progress at a faster rate.