One important factor of assessment is determining a student's reading level. This is done by having a student read passages at different grade levels and checking their accuracy and comprehension. This level is important for many reasons:
- It serves as a benchmark to show progress over the year
- Lets teachers know how much assistance a student will need
- Allows teachers to suggest books that won't be too easy or too hard
Beyond reading level, assessment is used in reading to identify good literacy behaviors and document student progress. The book says this can be done by assessing emergent literacy, word strategies, comprehension strategies, writing, attitudes, and interest.
I think that this is an important part of assessment because it gives a more individual and informative representation of how each child is doing. Instead of just knowing Joe reads at a 2.5 level, a teacher is able to see his specifics strengths and weaknesses. Reading levels seem more like a broad map, while the individual behaviors are more pin-pointed. These behaviors are also able to be assessed daily, while reading level is assessed a few times a year. This regular check of skills helps the teacher get a more accurate look at how the student's are performing.
1. Did you ever know your reading level in school?
2. Do you remember a particular student who was above/below the average class reading level?
I knew my Accelerated Reader reading level, but I did not know the reading level my teacher kept of the students. My fifth grade teacher always emphasized that our AR reading levels were not the same reading level she gave us. I like that she did not tell us her reading level for us, though it was probably similar to the AR one, because it did not make anyone feel worse about where they were as a reader.
ReplyDeleteI was never aware of my reading level in school. I was however, aware of several of the kids who got pulled out of class each day to work with Mrs. Kinney. I was always so jealous of them because she was such a fun teacher and I did not understand why certain students got to go and not others. I think that was the point though-that we did not realize exactly why they left the room everyday and Mrs. Kinney was so nice, that we were jealous. It was not until I was older that I realized why those kids were leaving class each day. My school did a great job of handling the kids that needed extra assistance.
ReplyDeleteI was aware of my reading level in the 2nd grade because I knew that I was reading at an 8th grade level. However, I do not remember being told what it was after that. I was pulled out for Excel to read with a group. I also don't remember knowing who was below the average, but I do remember hating when people would get called on when they didn't want to read because they would get embarrassed and I always felt bad for them. When I am reading with children I try not to make them read, but let them volunteer instead if in a group setting so they aren't embarrassed.
ReplyDeleteI was always above the reading level of everyone in my class growing up. We used the AR scale at my school and so I always knew what reading level I was currently reading at and I loved being able to read harder and more interesting books than other people in my class.
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