Professional Development Course on Catering for Diversity in English Language Teaching ENG5316 Assessing Diversity in En

1. Professional Development Course on Catering for Diversity in English Language TeachingENG5316Assessing Diversity in English Language Learning Session 3 Assessing reading Prepared by YANG, Chi Cheung Ruby, Department of English, HKIEd

2. Nature of Reading: Different Models/Views of Reading • Developmental models of reading • Chall’s Stage Model of Reading • Spear-Swearing and Sternberg Model of Reading • Frith’s Developmental Phases Model • Adams’ Cognitive Model of Reading • Information processing model of reading • Transactional view of reading

3. Jigsaw Reading Form into groups of 3-4. Each group will study a model/view of reading and then present to the whole class what this model/view is about. 3

4. Inclusive View of Reading Inclusive Model of Reading 4

5. Brainstorming Why do we need to assess students’ reading achievement? 5

6. Formal vs. Informal Reading Assessment • Formal tests • Standardized • Norm-referenced Compare student performance among age or grade-level peers but fail to provide needed information about how students actually function in class. • Objective • Test items generally do not closely related to the concepts and skills taught through the classroom curriculum (Spinelli, 2006)

7. Formal vs. Informal Reading Assessment • Informal reading assessments • Directly measure how students perform in relation to their own abilities (Spinelli, 2006)

8. Curriculum-Based Assessment • Teachers use student work, e.g. in-class reading assignments and class tests to evaluate reading skills and development. • It allows teachers to conduct evaluation as part of the ongoing learning activities in the classroom, thus linking assessment with the curriculum directly. • To evaluate student performance in direct relation to the curriculum (Venn, 2007)

9. Curriculum-Based Assessment Techniques • Observations • Teachers record their observations by simply writing down their observations on a sheet of paper or in a notebook, or constructing a checklist of reading behaviors.

10. Diagnostic Checklists Diagnostic Checklist of Oral Reading

11. Diagnostic Checklists Diagnostic Checklist of Silent Reading

12. Knowledge of the Alphabet Understand that words are composed of individual letters In numerous research studies, knowledge of the alphabet and identification of individual letters have been found to be very predictive of early reading achievement (Richek et al., 2002). Letter Identification Checklist

13. Phonemic Awareness Understand that the sounds of spoken language work together to make words (National Reading Panel, 2000) Understand phonemic segregation Being able to identify the number of phonemes in a word (Spinelli, 2006)

14. Phonics Assessment To have students read phonetically correct nonsense words. Purpose: To eliminate the chance that the student is relying on the recall of sight vocabulary (Richek et al., 2002). Sight words (words that can be recognized automatically as a result of how frequently they appear in texts): http://www.quiz-tree.com/Sight-Words_main.html http://www.starfall.com/n/matching/sight-words/load.htm

15. Phonics Assessment Checklist for Assessing Phonics Generalizations Using Nonsense Words

16. Vocabulary Assessment • Word Recognition (or Word Identification) • To be within a student’s sight vocabulary, the word must be pronounced without hesitation (in about one second) and without the use of word analysis. • Fry Word List http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~kcofer/fry_words_pg.htm

17. Vocabulary Assessment Silent/Oral Reading Observation Checklist

18. Vocabulary Assessment • Oral Reading • Students read aloud from the textbook or other reading material. • The passage chosen should not have been read previously by the student (King-Sears, 1998). • Suggested no. of words: From 50 (primary level) to 400 (secondary level) • * Readability level of the text: 95% accurate

19. Reading Error Pattern Analysis • Miscue Analysis (or Error Analysis) • Systematically measures and evaluates student mistakes • Reveals whether a student makes the mistakes persistently or in a random fashion

20. Miscue Analysis

21. Reading Error Pattern Analysis • Typical oral reading errors: • Mispronunciations (“gran” instead of “grain”) • Omissions (“Reading is process” instead of “Reading is a process”) • Insertions (“on a the table” instead of “on the table”) • Repetitions (“What, what’s the matter?” instead of “What’s the matter?”)

22. Reading Error Pattern Analysis Instructional level At least 95% accuracy Frustration level Error rate of 10% or higher

23. Reading Error Pattern Analysis • Running Records • Teacher keeps a “running record” of a student’s oral reading by closely monitoring and recording his/her errors while he/she reads (Spinelli, 2006). Running Record Recording Chart

24. Administering Running Records Student reads a passage from a book. As the student reads, use a record form or a blank sheet of paper to mark the reading behavior and record miscues. If the student stops during reading, allow the student enough time to read the word/phrase before supplying it. Record words read correctly, substitutions, omissions, and insertion. Take note of self-corrections. Note hesitations and repetitions (Venn, 2007).

25. Scoring Running Records Score substitutions, insertions, omissions, and teacher-told responses as errors. Avoid penalizing attempts that result in a correct response. Score multiple unsuccessful attempts at a word as one error only.

26. Scoring Running Records Accuracy score (%) (indicates the level of difficulty of the selected text for the reader): (No. of correctly read words / Total no. of words) 100 Independent reading level Over 95% Instructional reading level 90-95% Frustration level Below 90%

27. Reading Fluency Assessment • Reading Fluency • The ability to read a text accurately and quickly (Spinelli, 2006) • Reading rate is a good indication of fluency. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly, with expression and sound natural. • Students who have low fluency tend to have poor comprehension (Spinelli, 2006).

28. Reading Fluency Assessment • Using informal procedures: • Listening to students read passages orally • Determining reading rate

29. Administering a Reading Fluency Assessment Student reads either orally or silently a copy of an unpracticed selection (at his/her instructional grade level). Teacher follows along as the student reads, recording information about: 1) word recognition errors 2) rate of reading 3) use of expression

30. Scoring a Reading Fluency Assessment • Count errors, including: • substitutions • mispronunciations • omissions • reversals • Count hesitations (more than 3 seconds) • Fluency score: No. of correct words per minute

31. Scoring a Reading Fluency Assessment Oral Reading Errors

32. Scoring a Reading Fluency Assessment Reading Rates Based on Instructional Grade Levels

33. Reading Fluency Assessment Also consider the following: Is reading choppy? Does the student stumble over or repeat words? Does the student pause excessively? Is the student reading word by word rather than in phrases? Is reading monotonous? Does the student rush through text, ignoring punctuation and sentence breaks?

34. Reading Fluency Assessment • Informal Reading Inventory • It provides a wealth of information concerning the student’s reading skills, reading levels, types of errors, and techniques of attacking unknown words (Johnson, Kress, & Pikulski, 1987).

35. Administering an Informal Reading Inventory Teacher chooses selections of texts (approximately one hundred words in length) from a series of graded reading levels. Student reads aloud from several graded levels while the teacher systematically records the errors. If the student makes more than five errors per hundred words, he/she is given progressively easier selections until a level is found at which there are no more than two errors per hundred words (Lerner, 2003).

36. Administering an Informal Reading Inventory To check comprehension, teacher can ask the student four to ten questions about each selection.

37. Administering an Informal Reading Inventory • Independent reading level • Recognize about 95% of the words • Answer about 90% of the comprehension questions correctly • Instructional reading level • Recognize about 90% of the words • A comprehension score of about 70% • Frustration reading level • Recognize fewer than 90% of the words • A comprehension score of less than 70% (Lerner, 2003)

38. How do we know whether a student has a reading disability? “When a student is not making progress in reading despite exposure to sound instruction, a motivating classroom environment, good school attendance, and a stable home environment, classroom teachers may consider some within-the-child characteristics” (Bell & McCallum, 2008, p. 57). 38

39. Factors related to reading problems Intellectual factors Physical factors Language factors Special learning problems 39

40. References Bell, S. M. & McCallum, R. S. (2008). Handbook of reading assessment. Boston, Mass.: Allyn and Bacon Publishers. Johnson, M. S., Kress, R. A., & Pikulski, J. J. (1987). Informal reading inventories (2nd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. King-Sears, M. E., Burgess, M., & Lawson, T. L. (1999). Applying curriculum-based assessment in inclusive settings. Teaching Exceptional Children, 30-38. Lerner, J. W. (2003). Learning disabilities: Theories, diagnosis, and teaching strategies (9th ed.). Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Richek, M., Caldwell, J., Jennings, J., & Lerner, J. (2002). Reading problems: Assessment and teaching strategies. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Spinelli, C. G. (2006). Classroom assessment for students in special and general education (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall. Venn, J. J. (2007). Assessing students with special needs (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

41. Activity Browse through the following websites: Child Development Institute http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/learning/reading_test1.htm Oral Fluency Assessment Calculator for Grades 3-5 http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4446 Reading a-z.com http://www.readinga-z.com/assessment/reading-assessment.php TEAMS Educational Resources http://teams.lacoe.edu/reading/assessments/assessments.html Try to explore some interesting things or resources for assessing reading in the websites and then share with other participants.