Standard #: 4.

Artifact #: 4.2

Artifact Name/Title/Description: Administration of the Qualitative Reading Inventory

From completing this artifact, I learned how to conduct a Qualitative Reading

Inventory (QRI) formal assessment on a tenth grade student with a moderate intellectual
disability. When conducting a QRI, the instructor should clearly and slowly state the
instructions; the instructor should also reiterate the instructions if the student does not
understand the first time. This artifact also reflects the experience of identifying a
students strengths and areas of need from providing sets of short stories with
comprehension questions. For example, the student in this assessment scored at the
instructional level in the beginning, and then he started scoring at the frustration level as
the assessment got more difficult. Standard 4.0 indicates that beginning special educators
select and use technically sound formal assessment that minimize bias. The reading
selected for the student was from the third grade level because his special educator stated
that that was his current level of achievement. Throughout the readings, the student
moved up as he read fluently and automatically with no hesitation. Another statement
from this standard regards the use of multiple types of assessment information in making
decisions about individuals with exceptionalities. When conducting the QRI, the student
was instructed to read various stories aloud to determine his strong ability of reading
words out loud; he was also provided questions to answer at the end of the read aloud,
and his responses indicated that he struggles with reading comprehension. In addition, the
special educators responsibility is to engage individuals with exceptionalities to work
toward quality learning and performance and to provide feedback. At the end of the
question, the student was provided the correct answers to the questions that he got
incorrect, and he was provided direct feedback to assure that he was aware on how to
improve for the future.
As a special educator in training, I am continuously growing in the process of
conducting assessments for students. Before conducting the QRI, I never had prior
experience with this, as I had only engaged in basic instruction and activities with
students, but I had not engaged in formal assessments. It was also my first time working
one-on-one with a secondary school student. I had only worked with elementary school
and middle school students, so it provided me exposure to a wide variety of ages. Special
educators are required to have the flexibility and adaptability to work with students of all
ages with a wide range of disabilities. After conducting the QRI, more skills and
knowledge were gained on how to determine whether a student should be given this
assessment based on his or her levels of performance. For example, if a student has
difficulties with fluency, but he performs proficient in responding to the comprehension
questions, this may help the special educator with making the decision of whether to
conduct the QRI to determine the students reading grade level. Furthermore, following
instructions for marking miscues may be complex at times; however, this artifact may be
used as a guide to apply to new experiences. In new experiences and situations, QRIs
may be used as sources in the classroom if accommodations need to be provided for
particular students. Accommodations may include extended time on the readings or
rewording of the comprehension questions to facilitate the material for students with
exceptionalities.