Developing Formative Assessments for Reading

Purpose: To create an assessment to measure learners ability to make connections with the main
ideas in readings and explain the connections.
Description of teaching context

Goals and objectives of class

Learning outcomes of class

Reading
This assessment was developed as part of an intermediate
level academic English reading class. The students in the
class come from varying ethnolinguistic backgrounds,
including L1 Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Mongolian. The
course spans 16 weeks and is part of an intensive academic
English program geared toward preparing international
students for higher education degree programs taught in
English.
Goal: to improve reading comprehension and fluency to a
lower-advanced level.
Objectives: learners will practice:
1) Reading and comprehending an unedited novel in its
entirety.
2) Reading and comprehending multiple nonfiction
texts related to the novels author, subjects, or
themes.
3) The reading skill of skimming and scanning to
increase reading fluency.
4) Distinguishing between main ideas and details in
course readings.
5) Answering comprehension questions about course
readings.
6) Summarizing sections of course readings.
7) Making personal connections and responding to
sections of course readings.
8) Deducing vocabulary meanings from context of
course readings.
9) Using morphology, especially affixes, to build depth
and breadth of vocabulary knowledge.
10) Making and utilizing individual vocabulary study
tools to acquire shared vocabulary from course
readings and individual, learner-chosen vocabulary
from the K-1, K-2, or Academic Word lists.
11) Discussing and applying external ideas to the main
ideas in the course readings in a group setting.
12) Understanding the concept of academic honesty and
the CSU Honor Code.
(INTO CSU, 2015)
Upon completion of this course, learners will be able to:
Demonstrate increased reading fluency.
Locate and understand main ideas and details within

Operationalization of reading
constructs

various authentic materials.

Infer meaning of unknown vocabulary from context
Identify affixes to aid in the comprehension of
unfamiliar vocabulary.
Write short summaries of readings and explain them.
Make personal connections with readings and
explain them.
Create and present an application of the main ideas
in a novel.
(INTO CSU, 2015)
From the goals and objectives of the course, the targets
which this assessment measures are reading comprehension,
reading for main ideas, details, and inferences, and
activating schema.
Constructs: reading comprehension and activating schematic
knowledge; sub-constructs: interpretation and inference
skills.

Explanation of rubric criteria

Operationalization: Each week students read chapters from

their fiction reading and write journal entries according to a
prompt for that week. The prompts require learners to apply
their reading comprehension to their own life. In this way,
learners must interpret and inference connections between
the main ideas in the reading and their own background
knowledge and apply the connections in a paragraph
summary.
Using Blooms Taxonomy as categorizers, the criteria in the
analytic rubric are scaffolded from lower level critical
thinking and analysis to higher level application, and
synthesizing skills and abilities.

References
Abrams, D.J., & Sharpe, A. (2015) Lesson plans and activities for AEIN8204.
INTO CSU (2015a). Syllabus for AEIN 8204 Intermediate reading and vocabulary building.
(Available from INTO Colorado State University, Spruce Hall, 150 Old Main Drive,
Fort Collins, CO, 80523).
Peirce, W. (2006, January 13). Designing Rubrics for Assessing Higher Order Thinking.
Retrieved from:
http://academic.pgcc.edu/~wpeirce/MCCCTR/Designingrubricsassessingthinking.html

Learning Journals

Instructions: Each week during the semester you will write a learning journal entry. Your
learning journal will be due in class each Friday. A learning log is a place in which you will
consider a question or a statement and write your response. Your responses will help you to
make connections between the main ideas in The Giver and your own experiences.
Each entry:
Must be at least (a minimum) of one double-spaced paragraph.
Must include many details (a lot of examples) and much explanation.
Each entry will be worth up to 12 points (see rubric for evaluative and scoring criterion).
Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Jonas says, I feel sorry for anyone who is

in a place where he feels strange and stupid
(p. 6). When have you felt strange and
stupid? Explain your response using many
details. You must write at least one doublespaced paragraph.
Make a list of five rules you must follow.
Then, write about a time you broke a rule
(it doesnt have to be from your list). Why
did you break it? What happened?
Make a list of five times you apologized.
Pick one and write about it: What did you
do? Why did you apologize? How did you
feel after you apologized?
Describe a dream you have had recently.
What do you think this dream means? Why
do you think you had this dream? In The
Giver, it is important to discuss dreams, do
you think it is important to discuss your
dreams with other people?
Make a list of five gifts youve been given.
Then, answer this question: What is the
best gift youve ever gotten. Who gave it
to you? Why did they give it to you?
Make a list of five times you have been
punished.
What did you do to be
punished? Who punished you? What was
your punishment?
Do you think the
punishment was fair or unfair? Explain.
Make a list of five times when you were
worried. Pick one from your list and
explain why you were worried. What did
you do about your worry?

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Make a list of five times you have lied.

Choose one from your list and explain why
you lied. How did you feel when you lied?
To whom did you lie? Did anything
happen after you lied?
Make a list of your three favorite
memories. Describe the feelings that each
memory gives you. Why do you remember
this? Why is it important to have
memories? Are all memories good? What
is the purpose of memories?
On page 97, Jonas says: If everythings
the same, then there arent any choices! I
want to wake up in the morning and decide
things! Why do you think it is important
to have choices? Do we always make the
right choices? Describe a time when you
made a good choice and a time when you
made a bad choice. What did you learn
from the bad choice?
Why wouldnt the Receiver of Memories
give Jonas a relief of pain after the sledding
memory? How can enduring physical or
emotional pain help us? Describe a time in
your life where you learned from getting
hurt.
Jonas is upset that the other children were
playing war. Do you think it is harmful for
children to play war, such as in a video
game or with their friends? Why or why
not?
Why did Rosemary ask for a release?
What happened to her memories? Describe
something in your life or an event in
history that causes a painful memory yet is
important to always remember. Why is
important to remember things that caused
pain?
What happens to the smaller twin? How
do you feel about this? Where does the
baby go when it is released? Do you think
there is actually such a place? Describe
what happens to people in your culture or
religion when they leave this life.
Jonas keeps riding his bicycle away from

the community even though he is

frightened by the unknown at the end of his
journey. Write a paragraph describing a
time in your life when you did something
that was totally new to you. Were you
scared? Is it important for people to do
things that are new, why? Do you think this
story has a good ending? What did you
learn from this story?
(adapted from Abrams & Sharpe, 2015)

Category
Knowledge and
Comprehension

4
Work
demonstrates
clear, accurate,
detailed, and
comprehensive
understanding
of relevant
main ideas,
details, and
themes.
Application and Work
Analysis
demonstrates
clear, accurate,
and detailed
ability to work
with the main
ideas and
themes and
apply or
extend them to
make personal
connections.
Synthesizing
Work
and Evaluation demonstrates
higher level
critical
thinking ability
to find hidden
connections,
meanings,
implications,
and value in
personal
connections to
the reading.

Scoring Rubric:
3
2
Work
Work
demonstrates demonstrates
an average
an uneven or
understanding poor
of relevant
understanding
main ideas,
of relevant
details, and
main ideas,
themes.
details, and
themes.
Work
demonstrates
and average
ability to
work with the
main ideas
and themes
and apply or
extend them
to make
personal
connections.
Work
demonstrates
average
ability to find
hidden
connections,
meanings,
implications,
and value in
personal
connections to
the reading.

1
Work
demonstrates an
inadequate
understanding of
relevant main
ideas, details, and
themes.

Work
demonstrates
and uneven or
poor ability to
work with the
main ideas
and themes
and apply or
extend them
to make
personal
connections.
Work
demonstrates
uneven or
poor ability to
find hidden
connections,
meanings,
implications,
and value in
personal
connections to
the reading.

Score

Work
demonstrates and
inadequate ability
to work with the
main ideas and
themes and apply
or extend them to
make personal
connections.

Work
demonstrates
inadequate ability
to find hidden
connections,
meanings,
implications, and
value in personal
connections to the
reading.

(adapted from Peirce, 2006)