I have a question about elementary school reading assessments.
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I'm not a specialist but I work in education...what's the Q?
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Not a specialist but I teach 1st grade and have experience with different reading assessments.
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I'm a K-2 literacy coach , but in Canada and I know our assessment systems are quite different than the US. I can see if I can help though, what's your question ?
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@Mrs Green Grass: @Boopers: @Charm54: Sorry, apparently this is long! My daughter is in K. She's been reading for awhile, and over the summer she was reading longer novels to herself, like Charlotte's Web. I always ask her comprehension questions to make sure she understands what she's reading. I let the principal know about her reading ability before school started in hopes that she could match her with a teacher who'd be a good fit. I also let her teacher know right away that she's a voracious and fluent reader. Anyway, to make a long story short we had to push to get her put in a reading group where she wasn't reading simple beginning readers, which meant that she's been by herself (not ideal). And her teacher told us in November that we'd never really be able to find out her true reading level because at her school they test with DRA and only test kindergarteners to the end of first grade level. I thought about that for awhile, and wondered why they couldn't really find out what her reading level is, and how they can give her appropriate instruction if they don't know. So I met with her teacher again last week, and she agreed to give her the 3rd grade assessment, which involves reading part of the passage aloud to assess fluency and then has written comprehension questions as the student finishes the passage on their own. As I expected, it was a challenge for her to complete the written portion of the assessment. Her writing skills are not as advanced as her reading skills, and she has never done any kind of assessment like that before.
I guess I'm wondering why she should have to write answers to comprehension questions to show that she's reading at a 3rd grade level (or whatever level she's actually reading at). What is reasonable for me to expect of her teacher in terms of meeting my daughter's needs? My feeling is that if she's in school all day and they spend 3 hours on literacy instruction, I want her to be challenged. I don't want to be *that* parent, but I do want to advocate for my kid, you know?
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@Pancakes: Hmm...I was like your daughter at that age, and while the other kids were doing beginner readers and flashcards, I got to go to the library by myself and read in the reading area. It was awesome, and I went every day. That continued through K-1. In 2nd grade, they split classes into leveled classes (they don't do that anymore) and I was put in the advanced class and then we were all more on the same page and I didn't get the solo library time any more.
I think reading for pleasure is the single most important thing for good reading skills (I'm a school librarian). What kinds of things would you want her teacher to be giving her--worksheet type stuff or independent reading?
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So the DRA2 is intended not to be assessed more than one full grade level above the child's age. That is for several reasons- the primary reason is that even though a child may be able to read and basically comprehend a story more than a grade above their age, the content of those books are intended for older children with more and different life experiences. I always tell the story of how my sister-in-law read the book Watership Down when she was seven years old. she could retell the story and had no problem reading the words. However, the story is not intended for children and really is a commentary on communism. Clearly she didn't get that.
So your question about writing- after a level 28, the DRA2 requires children to answer more complicated comprehension questions, and they need to be able to do so independently in writing. I administer this test regularly, and I am a reading interventionist. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about this test administration, but of course I didn't design the test so I don't know why it was designed the way it was.
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Oh so to answer your question about instruction. Likely your child's teacher will teach her reading comprehension strategies that she can work on in a book at an end of first grade level but can apply to any book. I realize that for an exceptionally gifted child this may not be the best scenario since she is so far ahead of everyone else. Does your district test for exceptional giftedness? Can you ask about maybe having her in a reading group with a second grade class? Some schools will flexibly group like that but not all.
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Ideally, you would have flexible reading grouping in a another grade that is suited for her or enrolled in some type of gifted program. However in other cases (many schools) the best you can hope for is an individualized computer program that differentiates to instructional level. Please keep us updated. I have a strong reader but I am letting that go and focusing on helping her expand her writing skillls and expose her to other topics of interest right now.
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In our province we use running records to assess a student's reading level. They are a wealth of information and help us to determine individual strengths and next steps. They can be done on any text so aren't limited to the bank of a specific assessment program. Our comprehension questions are asked orally , as the main goal of the assessment is to determine whether they understand what they've read, not to assess their writing skills, particularly at the K-2 level.
As others have said, a flexible reading group with older students would be ideal. A focus on non-fiction skills might be another way to challenge her, as strong young readers sometimes need more support with non fiction features than fiction.
I would also do lots at home to foster her enjoyment of reading(which I'm sure you already do). Let her read for pleasure and read whatever she wants (graphic novels, picture books, magazines). Even if they seem too "easy", there are lots of skills kids develop when they read easy texts and read the same books over and over. I would look for books that match her maturity level but also challenge her (Ivy & Bean, Junie B Jones, Lulu & the Brontosaurus, Magic Tree House are some series that come to mind). Sadly, I've found that strong readers can get disengaged and discouraged pretty quickly if their reading in school involves sitting in front of a computer and answering comprehension questions all day
Good luck, it sounds like you are doing a lot of great things to raise a reader!
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@Anagram: No worksheets, I don't think. I'd be happy with more independent reading, but it will have to be teacher-directed. My daughter seems to be a strict rule-follower at school, and she won't ask for permission to get a book from home out of her backpack, for example. So I want the teacher to provide her opportunities to read a wider variety of books (she really enjoys biographies, for example). Since she was reading a chapter book alone with the teacher during reading groups, I found out that she didn't even have any books in her book basket to read after morning work (each student has their own basket with appropriately leveled readers) until last week.
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@travellingbee: So, if the DRA2 is an inappropriate assessment for a child her age (her teacher gave her a level 38 assessment), is there another one that would be better? Is it important for me or her teacher to know what her actual level of comprehension is? I understand that with standardized assessments, the results are invalid if you don't follow the testing protocol, but in this situation, I'm wondering why the teacher can't just have her give verbal answers instead of written ones.
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@Charm54: Thanks for your reply. I don't understand why they would give her a test with a written component in order to determine whether she understands what she has read. As of this week, she has been put in a reading group with 2 students from another K class, but I don't know what their level is (since I guess they're not really assessing students past an end of 1st grade reading level).
And thanks for your suggestions on continuing to foster a love of reading. We do those things at home anyway (which is why I bite my tongue when she checks out a Barbie book from the library!), but I am concerned that she's not offered those same opportunities at school. She would love to be reading biographies, books about space, and other chapter books, but those aren't being made regularly available to her, and that bothers me.
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@Pancakes: The DRA two is a test that measures reading fluency and comprehension from early reading through fluent reading. First the child reads the book and a teacher records the accuracy and fluency of your child's reading and is given a score on a rubric. Then the child has a comprehension portion. In the lower level books they read the entire book aloud to the teacher because it is short. In the upper level books each child reads a portion to the teacher, then read the rest silently to themselves and does a written comprehension response. A level 38 corresponds to the end of third grade. Comprehension matters, because we do not consider it reading if they can just word call. They have to be able to understand what they are reading in order for us to say that the child truly is reading at that level. If your district allows you to have them dictate the questions and answers so they can see if she really comprehend that even if she can't write at that level, then go for it! But that isn't the design of the test, so districts typically don't. It is extremely, extremely rare that a child in kindergarten would be reading at an almost 4th grade level, so I highly recommend getting your child tested for highly gifted program. I work in an affluent school with many gifted kids and I haven't ever seen a child like yours!
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@Pancakes: Could you have her privately assessed?
eta: is there not a second grade level assessment? what about using a different methodology, like DIBELS?
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@Pancakes: I'm curious what the goal of having her assessed is? So if you determine that she can comprehend at the 3rd grade level, then what? I get having a desire to know, but what happens with that information?
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@MamaG: So the teacher can choose appropriate reading material for her. In the first quarter, she had LO in a reading group reading emerging reader books. Not appropriate for her, IMO.
@travellingbee: I understand that comprehension is important. I know she can read fluently at that level, but I'm not sure if she actually comprehends everything at that level, which is why I wanted her assessed. They only used the DRA-2 since that's what the school uses. I just wondered if there was a different assessment that might be more appropriate at this point, since the DRA-2 at that level does have the written questions. And I still question whether I'm right to push to have her assessed. The gifted teacher is supposed to come into the kindergarten class this month for an informal assessment, but they really don't do much for them at this age at her school; it sounds like she'd just do logic puzzles or something similar. -
@looch: I don't know about a private assessment. I mentioned DIBELS to her teacher back in November and she had never heard of it. Maybe I'll just email the reading specialist since I didn't get to meet with her last week (I didn't even know her name until then!).
ETA: I started this thread just to get a read on whether what I'm asking for is reasonable, since I'm surprised that it's halfway through the school year and her teacher hasn't seemed concerned with or interested in challenging her.
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@Pancakes: I prefer the Fountas and Pinnell assessments, but I doubt that the school has them if they use DRA. Or the teachers college reading writing project assessments. I think those are available online, but you would have to have the texts that go along with them.
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@Pancakes: Good luck in talking to the reading specialist. I had a good long talk with the one at my son's school.
I think you're doing the right thing.
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