Childs Name: Chase C.

Administrator: Miss. Beland

Childs Age: 8 years old

Date(s) of Administration: October 2008- November 2008

Childs Grade: 3
Childs academic background:
Chase is currently in the third grade at Jerabek Elementary School. He has attended the
school since kindergarten. Both of his parents, particularly his mother, are active in his
education and in the classroom. Chase tends to perform at the basic to proficient level in
most academic subjects. At this time, Chases parents have shown concern about Chases
reading level and his lack of interest in reading.

I. Interest Inventory, Attitude Assessment, and Self-Anchoring Scale.

A. Interest Inventory:
This inventory assesses a students interests about reading including the types
of books the student prefers to read. The survey contains 14 prompts such as I
like to read about... and I like to read aloud to.
Chase enjoys reading mysteries and playing outside. Chase seems to be
intimidated by a book that is too hard or does not contain any pictures. He tends
to like reading books about adventure and mystery without being scary.
B. Attitudes toward reading:
This assessment provides an indication of a students attitudes toward reading.
The student responds to twenty questions on a scale of one (very unhappy) to four
(very happy). The students score is measured against norms for his/her age and
percentages are provided in three areas: 1.) Attitudes toward academic reading, 2.)
Attitudes toward recreational reading, and 3.) A total attitude score about reading.
Score
Percentage
Recreational:
24
17
Academic:

32

74

Overall:

56

44

Chase has a low interest in reading recreationally. On the other hand, Chase
has a relatively high interest in reading academically. After reviewing some
of Chases responses, it appears that he would rather be pursuing other
activities in his spare time (example-playing outside). While at home, he
prefers to participate in more physical activities. Yet at school, he enjoys
reading. His interest in reading correlates to his environment. Although he
does like to read at school, he has low interest in reading out loud. This
correlates to his confidence in reading at school.

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C. Self-Anchoring Scale:
This assessment indicates a students feelings about their reading ability when
compared to the worst and best readers they know on a scale of one to ten. After
placing the best reader they know as a ten and the worst reader they know as a
zero, they place their own reading ability somewhere in between.
Best Reader:
Dad
Worst Reader:
At first Chase said that he was probably the worst. I asked him to name
someone else beside himself. He did not want to respond because he thought
that was mean to say that someone was a bad reader. When prompted, we
collaborated on a kindergarten student. He was still not fond of this idea.
Student self-placement:
5- In between Dad and a kindergarten student.
Chase automatically picked his Dad as the best reader he knows. We needed to
discuss the worst reader that he knew in depth. At first, he wanted to say that
he was the worst reader because he didnt want to be mean and say anyone
else. In order to avoid names, I helped him by offering some examples such as
a baby, a kid in preschool, kindergarten student, etc. Finally after picking the
worst reader, he put himself in the middle. He told me that he believes that
one day he will be as good as his Dad but not yet.

II. Test Scores: Word Recognition:

A. Phonics:
This assessment measures a students knowledge of all of the basic phonic skills.
For example, students are asked to decode words containing consonants (i.e., b, p,
t, v, s) short vowels (i.e., bit, bat, sat), long vowels, (i.e., bite, board, fewer), and
properly separate syllables (i.e., si/lent, bat/tle, la/dle).
Number of test items: 85
Number of correct responses needed to pass test:
First grade: 60
Second grade and higher: 80
Chases score: 80
BPST Sub-tests and Total
Score

Number
Possible

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Student
Score

Consonant sounds
Short vowel sounds
Blending words with:
Short vowels
Consonant digraphs
Consonant blends
Final e (Long vowel)
Long vowel digraphs
r-controlled
Other vowel digraphs (OVD)
inflections
2 syllables
affixes
3+ syllables
Total Possible Score

21
5

20
4

10
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
85

10
4
5
5
4
5
5
5
4
5
5
81

Chase had a strong understanding of consonant sounds. He missed the sound of q.

In short vowel sounds, he was hesitant and missed the sound that u makes. Instead
of the short u sound, he said the oo sound. When reading words with short
vowels, he did not make this mistake. The words seemed easy for him in the blending
words with short vowels. He continued to excel until he read the word leak and
mistook the word for lick. When he reached the 2 syllable words, he became slower
and more careful. He missed the word ladder and said it was later. He also missed
the word polite and answered pilot but when asked to repeat the word, he selfcorrected himself. In the 3-4 syllable words, he also answered very slowly and had to
go back and reread a couple of words.
Chase could use more instruction in breaking syllables apart. Although he was able to
answer many of these words correctly, it appeared that the words were mostly from
memory. As there were more syllables, he appeared to become more unsure about his
answers

D. High Frequency Words:

This assessment measures a students knowledge of the 100 most frequent words
found in the English language. For example, students are asked to read such
words as: the, of, and, a, to, in, is.
Number of test items: 120
Number of correct responses needed to pass test: 110
Chases score: 118

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Chase has a strong understanding of high frequency words and sight words. Chase
missed the word were and answered where. He also missed the word through and
answered with thought. Chase seems to have a strong foundation in high frequency
words and sight words. His identification of words appears to be from memorization
rather than decoding.
F. Spelling
The Developmental Spelling Inventory consists of thirty-five words that assess
students knowledge of English spelling rules. Students in grade 1 are given words
1-15, grade 2 students are given words 1-24, and students in grades 3-6 are given
words 1-35. The words follow the developmental order in which students normally
learn to spell English words. The test determines the number of spelling rules
students know.
Grade Level Norms:
First grade
7 words
Second grade
13 words
Third grade
16 words
Fourth grade
22 words
Fifth grade
24 words
Sixth grade
26 words
Students score: 26 Grade level: 6
Chase knows how to spell words with cvc and short vowels, blends, digraphs,
rcontrols, final e, vowel digraphs, and dipthongs. Chase exceeds grade level
expectancy. Chase could use more assistance in spelling words with inflected
endings, sound families, and multi-syllable words.
After analyzing the words that Chase missed, I think most of his spelling errors came
from a lack of understanding in how to break multi-syllable words. For example,
Chase wrote stoped for stopped. With more instruction in double consonants,
Chase would understand the double consonants would make the o in stopped a
short vowel sound rather that the hard vowel sound in stoped. He also misspelled
nature by spelling the word naturur. He seems to understand the first syllable but
cannot indentify the second syllable. His understanding of sound families could use
some more reteaching. Again, Chase misspelled the word vision with Vishon.
Here, Chase is able to indentify both syllable sounds but does not know the sound
family (-sion) for vision. Lastly, Chase missed the word invitation. Here he spells
the word, ivitaion. Chase is clearly overwhelmed by the syllables and amount of
letters. He also appears to understand the sound family (-ion) but is not able to apply
his knowledge due to the amount of syllables in this word.

III. Comprehension Tests:

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A.

Vocabulary test
This assessment measures a students knowledge of the meanings of words. For
example, the students are given the word carpet. Then, they are given 3 more
words: sky, rug, chair. The student must choose the word that has the closest
meaning to the word carpet. They should underline the word rug.
Number of test items: 20
Number of correct responses needed to pass test: 18
Highest grade level tested: Fall 3rd grade
Chases score: 19
Chase meets the expectations of a 3rd grade student in vocabulary. He answered the
questions quickly and confidently. When asked to define tales, he responded with
poems rather than stories. All in all, Chase at least meets the grade level
expectations in vocabulary for a third grader.

B.

Basic Reading Inventory

This assessment consists of 4 different measures of a students ability to comprehend
text.
1. Word Recognition-Isolation: This test consists of lists of 20 words that are
arranged by grade level. A student continues to read the lists until s/he reaches
his/her frustration level.
Chasess:
Independent Grade Level: 3rd grade
Instructional Grade Level: 4th grade
Frustration Grade Level: 7th Grade
2. Grades Passages-Reading Accuracy: This test consists of passages of text
arranged by grade level. Students are scored according to the number of words
they decoded accurately. A student continues to read passages until they miss
more than 10% of the words.
Chasess
Independent Grade Level: 3rd Grade
Instructional Grade Level: 4th Grade

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Frustration Grade Level: 6th Grade

3. Passage Comprehension: This test consists of passages of text arranged by grade
level. A student is asked to read a passage then answer comprehension questions
about it. Students continue to read passages of increased difficulty until they
reach their frustration level.
Students:
Independent Grade Level: 3rd grade
Instructional Grade Level: 3rd/4th Grade
Frustration Grade Level: 5th grade

4. Overall Summary of Students Reading Performance:

Students:
Independent Grade Level: 2nd/3rd grade
Instructional Grade Level: 4th grade
Frustration Grade Level: 5th/6th grade

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Summary of Students Reading Performance

Grade Word Recognition
Comprehension
Context: Passages
Isolation
Form A
(Accuracy)
(Word Lists)

PP
P
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Sight

Analysis

Total

Level

Miscues

19
20
14
16
17
12
-

0
0
2
2
3
4
-

19
20
16
16
17
12
-

Ind.
Ind.
Inst.
Inst.
Inst.
Frus
-

2
3
9
1
13
-

Level

Questions
Level
Missed
Ind.
0
Ind.
Ind.
3
Inst.
Ins/Frus 2
Inst.
Ind.
4
Frus.
Frus.
Estimate Reading Grade Levels

Independent: 2nd/3rd Instructional: 4th Frustration: 5th/6th

In terms of Word Recognition in an isolated list of words, Chase scored very high. In terms
of isolated words, he scored at the 5th/6th grade instructional level. His trouble areas appeared
to be in multi-syllable words. He was usually able to answer the first syllable and then guess
on the rest of the syllables. There was no strategy in trying to decode the word. If he did not
know the word, he just said he did not know and did not try to decode.
In terms of Word Recognition in a passage, he also scored above grade level. His overall
independent level was 3rd grade. His Instructional level was 4th grade and his frustration level
was 5th/ 6th grade. The word recognition in a passage was lower than the word recognition in
a word list. After reviewing the passages, it appears that most of Chases errors come from
substitutions. The word that he reads aloud tends to be very similar to the word in the
passage. Occasionally he will omit the word or reverse 2 words.
After reading the passages, we tested on comprehension. This is where I saw the most
struggle. While reading, Chase is able to identify more words that he is able to comprehend.
For example, Chase scored at and Instructional level in fifth grade word recognition in the
same passage yet in terms of comprehension, the passage was at a frustration level. Chase
was not able to answer many questions that called for inference. He was also not able to
recall details. His interest level was very low about the topics that we read about and he never

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seemed excited about any of the stories. His summary of the story was always very minimal
and rarely included important details. At the 5th grade level, it became too frustrating and he
did not understand the solution of the story.
Overall, Chase appears to have a much higher level in terms of word recognition than he
does with comprehension.
IV. Writing
A. Description of writing prompt:
The writing prompt was Describe a trip or a family activity that relates to you.
B. Students response to the prompt.
(See attached writing) Student was excited to write about a trip that he took with his
family. He loves to play outdoors and hike so this trip was very fun for him. He has
talked about this trip a couple of times in class. In terms of his writing, it is obvious that
he was very excited to go on this trip with his best friends. It was eventful to him because
of the unique experience that he had with a wasp. Other than that, he does not describe
why this is a very important or meaningful trip to him. I know that this trip is meaningful
because of my prior knowledge about activities that he likes to do.
C. Coherence and cohesion (logical, organized)
In terms of coherence, Chase stays on topic. It is clear in his writing that the story is
about a trip to Yosemite. He gets right to the point and writes about it. The story is very
logical in terms of order. He tells the setting and some characters on the trip. The he tells
what the problem is. There is no clear solution or ending in his story. It ends very
suddenly.
In terms of cohesion, his story is not organized in terms of sentences or paragraphs. The
story is one big long sentence. He does not stop to brainstorm or create an outline of any
sort. In terms of the story elements, his story is cohesive but not in terms of writing.
D. Grammar, punctuation, vocabulary and spelling.
His sentences tend to be one long run on sentence. He rarely separates his sentences with
a period. If his sentences were separated into periods, there would be a clear subject and
predicate in each sentence. Often times, he forgets to include certain words that are
necessary to understand the sentence.
In terms of elaborated sentences, he uses the sentence, not one not 2 not 3 not 4 not 5
not 6 but 7 ours. He is trying to describe that this was a long trip that they had to take.
He also uses the phrase, hit the road. Other than those sentences, there are very
minimal adjectives, adverbs, phrases, and clauses.
Chase does not use a variety of sentence types such as declarative, interrogative,
exclamatory, or imperative. For the most part, Chase uses declarative sentences
throughout his story.

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In terms of vocabulary choice, he uses a minimal amount of advanced vocabulary. Some

descriptive words that he uses are banging, swarm, and stung. For the most part he tells
the story and does not describe the story.
Lastly, Chase misspells several words. He misspells: hours, finally, unpacked, settled,
small, across, other, sticks, started, swarm, packed, and road. After asking Chase to
review over his spelling, he only corrects a few words.
V. Overall assessment of childs reading and writing skills.
Overall, Chase seems to be performing at an appropriate grade level in terms of reading,
vocabulary, and comprehension. He is able to read high frequency words and identify
letter sounds.
Areas that could be improved would be comprehension and writing. In terms of spelling,
Chase is performing well on spelling tests but when it comes down to applying spelling
in a writing piece, his spelling is very weak. He also lacks organizational skills in his
writing. He does not apply sentence structure or paragraph structure to his writing. He
also lacks description in his writing. In terms of comprehension, Chase is not able to
remember details within the story or retell the story in detail. His inability to retell a story
in detail is most likely affecting his writing as well.
Instructional suggestions for reading and writing improvement
The first topic to address is Chases comprehension. In order for Chase to understand
more details within the stories that he reads, I would recommend that he use a small
flashcard that ask questions such as Who, What, Where, When, Why, How and other
flashcards such as Setting, Characters, Problem, Resolution, Summary. These would be
cards that Chase should look at after each paragraph or page that he reads. As he reads, he
should answer these questions in order to comprehend some of the details. I think it is
also important for Chase to make visual images of what he is reading. He told me that he
feels intimidated by books that do not have pictures in them. I would allow Chase to
continue to read those books that have images on every couple of pages at an independent
level. At an instructional level (either with a teacher or parent), I would recommend that
he not read books with pictures. Instead, I would ask the instructor to co-create mental
images about the story in order to encourage Chase to create his own pictures. After
reading the story, I would encourage Chase to use a graphic organizer to reflect on certain
parts of the story such as setting, characters, problem, resolution, summary, and theme.
The next topic to address is Chases writing and spelling. Before writing, I would
recommend Chase use a graphic organizer for writing. I would vary the graphic
organizers into bubbles, outlines, etc. After picking a topic to write about, I would
encourage Chase to write about some ideas about the topic and then some details for
those ideas on the graphic organizer. Next, I would encourage Chase to write in a
paragraph frame. The paragraph frame would provide a structure for him to follow in the
beginning of his writing. In order to allow Chase to write, I would not focus on spelling

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at this point. Once Chase is finished writing, I would recommend that he take a
highlighter and highlight every word that he was unsure about in the spelling. He could
then take those words to an instructor, classmate, or a dictionary to check the spelling.
I would also recommend using quick writes with Chase. Chase needs more meaningful
experiences with writing. By using a variety of topics in a quick write, Chase will get
over his fear of writing. He should do the quick writes at home and at school.
In terms of Chases lack of interest in reading outside of school, I would recommend
creating a designated time during the day in which Chase would read at home. This
would create continuity and structure in which Chase could get adjusted to. I would
recommend this be at night, sometime before bed, in order for Chase to not feel as though
he is missing out on a physical activity at outside. I would also allow Chase to pick a
book based on his interest. In addition to setting a designated time, I would recommend
that a parent or sibling read with him. While Chase reads aloud, make sure that Chase is
reading every word. Depending on the difficulty of the book, stop at either paragraphs,
pages, or chapters to allow Chase to summarize what is happening. If Chase does not
include any details, remind Chase of those details and show him the details in the book as
a reminder. Continue to do this until you and Chase feel that he can read the book
independently.

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VI. Reflections on Case Study:

A. Reflect on what you now know about the student that you didnt know at
the beginning.
In comparison to the class, Chase tends to perform at the lower level. Because of this,
I often thought that Chases reading level was much lower than in actually is. I was
very impressed by the Chases reading, spelling, phonemic awareness, phonics, and
high frequency words. I am impressed by his knowledge in these aspects of reading
but I do not feel that he is at a high level of acquisition. When using Blooms
Taxonomy as a reference, I am able to infer that Chase meets the lower level
objectives of knowledge and comprehension yet he does not meet application,
analysis, synthesizing, or evaluation. This became most apparent when analyzing his
spelling on a spelling test and then in a writing piece. Chase does have knowledge
and strategies in order to spell yet when applied in a writing piece, he does not use
those strategies.
I knew that Chases writing level was low from examples in class, but I did not
realize that it went so far as his organizational skills. Chase has shown that he
understands proper sentence structure in class, yet when writing a story, he struggles
to use periods or paragraphs. He clearly has knowledge of writing strategies from his
reading level, yet his has not reached the objective level of application and beyond.
In class, I have also seen Chases high interest in reading. Yet at home, I did not
realize how low is interest in reading was. His mother has addressed her concern
about his interest in reading outside of the home.

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B. Reflect on additional information you would like to know about child or

questions you have about instructing the student.
I understand the Chase does not like to read at home and I would like inquire why he
does not like to read at home. He has voiced that his mother puts a lot of pressure on him
to read. He also does not feel very confident about his reading level. I would like to
learn why he does not feel so confident and how I could build his self-efficacy level in
reading.
I would also like to learn how I could help Chase apply his knowledge in spelling to the
spelling in his writing. Sometimes it seems as though his interest level reflects how well
he applies his knowledge. I would like to learn how to help children apply their
knowledge about topics that they might not be fully interested in. I think this is
important because there are going to be many times in their future that they have to write
about things that do not interest them, yet they need to apply their knowledge of writing
to those topics.
I would also like to learn how well Chase is able to communicate orally. For example, I
would like Chase to tell me a story orally and then see how well he is able to apply that
story in a writing piece. I believe that his organizational skills might encompass more
than writing and might include listening and speaking skills.
C. Other reflections, questions, or comments you would like to make about the
Case Study experience.
I have learned a significant amount about how a child might be very strong in one
aspect of reading and very weak in another aspect of reading. For example, Chase is
able to read a story with great accuracy but comprehend little about the story. It is
important to test all aspects of reading in a child because many times these struggles
can be connected. I also had a question about the extent of this reading test. I was
wondering whether or not it would be beneficial to test the students listening and
oral skills as well. If this test were being administered on an English Language
Learner, I would also want to learn more about how they communicate through oral
language in the classroom verses outside of school. I think that relationship could
effect their reading and writing abilities if their oral and listening skills were low.

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