AssessmenL Case SLudy

unlverslLy of new Lngland

Luu 741 LlLeracy AssessmenL

kelly SmlLh

CcLober 21 2011














8ackground Informat|on
kayla ls a 13 year old glrl ln 8
Lh
grade kayla was chosen for Lhls case sLudy because she ls
currenLly LesLlng below grade level ln Lhe ConnecLlcuL MasLery 1esL buL she has noL been chosen Lo be
ln a readlng and wrlLlng lnLervenLlon class Per reporL cards show average Lo sllghLly above average
grades as a resulL of her work eLhlc kayla always Lurns ln her asslgnmenLs 100 compleLe buL noL
always 100 accuraLe When she ls sLruggllng wlLh a sklll she does noL advocaLe for herself and ask for
help l am concerned LhaL she should be ln lnLervenLlon class and also LhaL she ls currenLly sLruggllng and
behlnd oLher peers ln her language arLs class
kayla llves aL home wlLh her mom She has been ln our dlsLrlcL and Lhere ls assessmenL daLa on
her sLarLlng ln fourLh grade She has been below grade level for Lhe ma[orlLy of Lhose years especlally ln
readlng Cn Lhe 2011 CM1 kayla scored a 2 (of 3) and passed only 1 of Lhe 6 readlng sLrands ln wrlLlng
kayla was proflclenL wlLh a 3 (of 3) buL has only been proflclenL ln wrlLlng Lhe lasL Lwo years AL Lhe end
of slxLh grade kayla LesLed aL Level C ln lounLas and lnnell and sLayed a C unLll Lhe end of sevenLh
grade when she moved Lo an S 1yplcally sLudenLs wlll lncrease a level ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe grade and
agaln aL Lhe end of a grade kayla ls well behaved albelL quleL ln language arLs class and alLhough
consclenLlous ln compleLlng work she does noL ask for help when she cannoL undersLand someLhlng
and someLlmes compleLes work lncorrecLly
1he assessmenLs Look place durlng Lhe A8 8lock flrsL Lhlng ln Lhe mornlng beLween 813 and
943 1he Lwo class assessmenLs were Laken ln Lhe classroom slmulLaneously wlLh oLher sLudenLs and
Lhe Lhlrd assessmenL was done one on one ln a separaLe classroom

1ests Adm|n|stered
ueqtees of keoJloq lowet (ukl) 1he u8 ls a cloze sLyle LesL wlLh 70 fllllnLheblanks ln usually
slx Lo seven readlng passages 1he readlng passages geL progresslvely more dlfflculL wlLh each new
readlng passage 1he resulLs provlde lnformaLlon abouL Lhe sLudenL's ablllLy Lo comprehend LexL aL
grade level and above grade level ln splLe of language LhaL may be Loo dlfflculL for Lhem AddlLlonally lL
also shows background knowledge and vocabulary accordlng Lo each readlng passage's sub[ecL maLLer
boLh of whlch dlrecLly affecL comprehenslon 1hls assessmenL ls glven ln SepLember and !anuary aL Lhe
dlsLrlcL level and ln March as parL of Lhe CM1 LesL 1hls assessmenL was chosen because lL glves
lmporLanL lnformaLlon regardlng kayla's readlng and vocabulary level and lnformaLlon on lf and how she
ls able Lo geL Lhrough more dlfflculL readlng passages
kayla's 8aw Score kayla's ConverLed Score Coal (8
Lh
grade)
32 49 64
ultect Assessmeot of wtltloq (uAw) 1he uAW ls a persuaslve wrlLlng prompL 1he sLudenL musL
persuade Lhe reader Lo geL on hls/her slde on a speclflc Loplc (recenL Loplcs lnclude changlng Lhe school
dress code lowerlng Lhe legal drlvlng age llcenses for blke rlders eLc) 1he resulLs provlde lnformaLlon
abouL Lhe sLudenL's ablllLy Lo wrlLe persuaslvely ln an alloLLed 43 mlnuLe perlod 1he essay ls graded
hollsLlcally only on persuaslve wrlLlng and accordlng Lo Lhe sLaLe rubrlc 1hls assessmenL ls glven ln
SepLember and !anuary aL Lhe dlsLrlcL level and ln March as parL of Lhe CM1 LesL 1hls assessmenL was
chosen because lL glves a pleLhora of lnformaLlon abouL kayla's wrlLlng lncludlng spelllng and grammar
organlzaLlon elaboraLlon and persuaslve sLraLegles
kayla's PollsLlc Score Coal (8
Lh
grade)
6 8
oootos ooJ llooell 1he lounLas and lnnell benchmark sysLem ls a readlng LesL done one on
one wlLh Lhe sLudenL 1he sLudenL beglns Lo read a LexL aloud whlle Lhe Leacher Llmes Lakes a runnlng
record and llsLens Lo fluency AbouL 1/3 of Lhe way Lhrough Lhe LexL Lhe sLudenL sLops readlng aloud
and flnlshed Lhe LexL on hls or her own When he or she ls flnlshed Lhe Leacher and sLudenL have a
conversaLlon abouL Lhe LexL 1he Leacher Lakes noLes and [udges Lhe sLudenLs comprehenslon 1hls
assessmenL ls glven ln SepLember !anuary and May aL Lhe dlsLrlcL level unLll a sLudenL achleves Level Z
Level Z ls where a sLudenL should be aL Lhe beglnnlng of 8
Lh
grade and Lhe benchmark sysLem ends aL
Lhls level 1hls assessmenL was chosen because Lhe readlng raLe and fluency pleces are easlly measured
ln Lhls Lype of assessmenL and Lhe comprehenslon ls measured boLh wlLhln and beyond Lhe LexL
kayla's Level Coal (8
Lh
grade)
1 Z
servat|ons Dur|ng 1est|ng
keoJloq loeocy
1he beglnnlng porLlon of Lhe lounLas and lnnell benchmark assessmenL sysLem assesses a
sLudenL's fluency kayla was assessed aL Level 1 because she was aL level S ln Lhe sprlng of 7
Lh
grade She
was glven a shorL LexL Why uo Wolves Powl" and read Lhe flrsL secLlon aloud kayla read 206 words ln
Lwo mlnuLes and Lwo seconds for a readlng raLe of 101 words per mlnuLe 1hls ls below average for a
sLudenL ln 8
Lh
grade and below Lhe ma[orlLy of kayla's classmaLes Per fluency score was a 2 of 3
meanlng LhaL she reads prlmarlly ln Lhree or fourword phrases wlLh some expresslve lnLerpreLaLlon
and pauslng for puncLuaLlon 8y 8
Lh
grade sLudenLs should be readlng fluenLly ln large meanlngful
phrases wlLh pauslng for auLhor's meanlng and puncLuaLlon and approprlaLe prosody ln addlLlon kayla
had seven errors ln Lhe 206 words read aloud and Lherefore read wlLh only 97 accuracy 1hls
percenLage and her comprehenslon level of 7 ouL of 10 made Level 1 her lnsLrucLlonal level Level 1 ls
Lhe approprlaLe level for a sLudenL ln Lhe 3
Lh
grade
keoJloq comptebeosloo
AfLer readlng Why uo Wolves Powl" kayla showed parLlal comprehenslon of whaL she read
She had excellenL undersLand of Lhe lnformaLlon wlLhln Lhe LexL and showed good llLeral comprehenslon
abouL Lhe sLory Powever she only showed parLlal lnferenLlal undersLandlng of beyond Lhe LexL and of
Lhe auLhor's crafL and sLyle of wrlLlng 8ecause her fluency ls lacklng kayla seems Lo be focuslng on
readlng Lhe words on Lhe page and Lherefore only comprehends Lhose words She ls noL Lhlnklng abouL
whaL she ls readlng and maklng lnferences uslng LexL clues because she ls spendlng her Llme Lrylng Lo
read Lhe words on Lhe page Level 1 was lnsLrucLlon for kayla wlLh comprehenslon of 7 ouL of 10 1hls ls
below grade level and below Lhe ma[orlLy of Lhe oLher 8
Lh
grade sLudenLs because grade level sLudenLs
read lndependenLly on level Z and Lhose sLudenLs who are noL aL LhaL level are mosLly ln Lhe W? range
kayla ls Lhree levels below many of Lhe sLudenLs who are below grade level placlng her slgnlflcanLly
below grade level
1he u8 resulLs show mosLly lnformaLlon abouL kayla's comprehenslon of readlng passages Cf
my 43 sLudenLs who Look Lhls assessmenL kayla scored ln Lhe boLLom 1 wlLh only Lwo speclal
educaLlon sLudenLs scorlng lower 1he mean raw score of a 4984 was slgnlflcanLly hlgher Lhan kayla's
raw score of a 32 1hrough analyzlng kayla's answers l was able Lo see LhaL Lhe flrsL Lwo readlng
passages and approxlmaLely Lhe flrsL 18 quesLlons were for Lhe mosL parL correcL 1hls shows LhaL she
had good comprehenslon on Lhe easler readlng passages AfLer Lhe flrsL Lwo as Lhe readlngs became
harder lL became clear LhaL kayla dld noL undersLand whaL she was readlng as her answers were
predomlnanLly lncorrecL ln addlLlon many of Lhe answers LhaL kayla goL lncorrecL had lnformaLlon
necessary Lo flll ln Lhe blank LhaL was afLer Lhe blank lL appears LhaL kayla dld noL read beyond Lhe
blank Lo lncrease comprehenslon of Lhe paragraph or passage as a whole
Iocoboloty
When kayla read aloud ln Lhe lounLas and lnnell assessmenL lL became clear LhaL she sLruggles
wlLh more dlfflculL vocabulary MulLlsyllablc words were Lhe ma[orlLy of her errors and when she came
across Lhese words she would pause and sound ouL Lhe word syllable by syllable Per errors lncluded
words llke feroclous" sLlfllng" and repuLaLlon" and she had Lo sLop and sound ouL words such as
mlsconcepLlons" folklore" and varleLy" AlLhough Lhese words are mulLlsyllablc Lhey are noL words
LhaL would be unknown Lo mosL 8
Lh
grade readers and Lhus causes concern over kayla's lack of upper
level vocabulary
ln addlLlon Lo showlng comprehenslon dlfflculLles Lhe u8 shows LhaL kayla sLruggles wlLh
upper level vocabulary As Lhe readlng passages lncreased ln dlfflculLy and vocabulary she had fewer
correcL answers Many sLudenLs ln 8
Lh
grade are able Lo use conLexL clues Lo lnfer meanlng of unknown
vocabulary words and Lhls does noL seem Lo be a readlng sLraLegy LhaL kayla ls uslng 8ecause kayla
reads slowly she reads less and encounLers fewer vocabulary words Lhan Lyplcally 8
Lh
grade sLudenLs
wtltloq Otqoolzotloo ooJ lobototloo
1he uAW prompL glven Lo Lhe 8
Lh
grade Lhls fall was Lo wrlLe Lo a frlend maklng poor declslons
Lo persuade hlm or her Lo change Lhelr behavlors Cn Lhe hollsLlc scale of 1 Lo 12 (12 belng Lhe hlghesL)
for Lhe uAW kayla recelved a 6 She showed llLLle evldence of organlzaLlon and no use of LranslLlons
She dld noL use any paragraphs and lnsLead wroLe Lwo pages all ln one paragraph She dld bralnsLorm
four Lhlngs ln a web prlor Lo wrlLlng her essay buL Lhe bralnsLormlng dld noL LranslaLe lnLo organlzaLlon
ln Lhe essay 8y 8
Lh
grade mosL sLudenLs are wrlLlng flve paragraph essays for persuaslve wrlLlng and
many are uslng LranslLlon words boLh wlLhln Lhe essay and wlLhln paragraphs 1hese are also Lhlngs
kayla learned ln Lhe 7
Lh
grade currlculum kayla's score of a 6 was ln Lhe boLLom 39 of my sLudenLs
ln addlLlon Lo be able Lo wrlLe flve paragraph essays mosL 8
Lh
graders are uslng a varleLy of
elaboraLlon skllls ln Lhelr wrlLlng such as descrlpLlons examples sLaLlsLlcs dlalogue eLc Many are uslng
anecdoLes slmlles meLaphors personlflcaLlon eLc kayla ls noL currenLly uslng any of Lhese sLraLegles
tommot ooJ Mecboolcs
8eadlng kayla's uAW gave lnformaLlon regardlng her grammar and mechanlcs ln her wrlLlng
kayla's spelllng was good alLhough she dld puL know" for now" and makelng" for maklng" Per
vocabulary ls noL dlfflculL and Lhere are few mulLlsyllablc words ln her essay buL for Lhe mosL parL whaL
she wrlLes ls spelled correcLly kayla has mosLly compleLe senLences and very few fragmenLs buL does
have a falr amounL of runon senLences ConLracLlons and aposLrophes are used correcLly and her
wrlLlng ls falrly clear AlLhough her organlzaLlon and elaboraLlon ls lacklng ln her wrlLlng kayla has a
decenL wrlLlng base as shown Lhrough her grammar and mechanlcs Many 8
Lh
graders are sLlll sLruggllng
wlLh runon senLences and confuslng close words such as know" and now" and mlsspelllng some
words AlLhough her grammar and mechanlcs are noL aL grade level kayla ls closer Lo grade level here
Lhan she ls ln readlng
ummary
tteoqtbs wotk etblc spellloq ooJ seoteoce sttoctote ooJ lltetol comptebeosloo
weokoesses otqoolzotloo ooJ elobototloo flx op sttoteqles ooJ floeocy
kayla ls a 13 year old glrl ln 8
Lh
grade and alLhough she ls currenLly LesLlng below grade level ln
Lhe ConnecLlcuL MasLery 1esL buL she has noL been chosen Lo be ln a readlng and wrlLlng lnLervenLlon
class 1hrough Lhe above assessmenLs l have learned and analyzed kayla's readlng and wrlLlng ablllLles
and lL has become clear Lo me LhaL kayla ls ln facL ln need of lnLervenLlon class
Cne of Lhe blggesL sLrengLhs of kayla ls her consclenLlousness and hard worklng aLLlLude and
Lhls wlll be lmporLanL ln her [ourney Lo lmprove her llLeracy skllls When Laklng her assessmenLs she
kepL a poslLlve aLLlLude and lL was clear she wanLed Lo do well Cver and above her worLh eLhlc kayla
wlll need Lo sLarL advocaLlng for herself She needs Lo beLLer ldenLlfy when she ls sLruggllng and ask for
help She keeps a good rapporL wlLh her Leachers and when she does sLarL advocaLlng for herself her
relaLlonshlp wlLh her Leachers wlll conLlnue Lo grow sLronger
AnoLher sLrengLh shown ln Lhe assessmenLs was kayla's grammar and mechanlcs ln her wrlLlng
Per spelllng and senLence sLrucLures overall were greaL and LhaL parL of her wrlLlng seems Lo be on
grade level wlLh her 8
Lh
grade peers Per organlzaLlon ls lacklng Lhough as her essay was only one blg
paragraph She also used few elaboraLlon sLraLegles and baslc vocabulary whlch someLlmes made her
wrlLlng choppy
1hrough her wrlLlng and also Lhrough her comprehenslon lL's clear LhaL kayla's sLrengLh ls ln
llLeral wrlLlng and comprehenslon She wrlLes clearly buL does noL go deep ln Lo a Loplc She has
excellenL llLeral comprehenslon repeaLlng back lmporLanL lnformaLlon abouL wolves from Lhe lounLas
and lnnell LexL 8uL when asked Lo go beyond Lhe LexL kayla had Lrouble maklng lnferences 8efore
belng able Lo make lnferences she wlll need Lo lmprove her fluency kayla's fluency ls slgnlflcanLly
slower Lhan LhaL of her peers and Lhls affecLs her comprehenslon She also sLruggles wlLh upper level
vocabulary and has Lrouble geLLlng beyond a word or senLence she doesn'L undersLand She needs
expllclL lnsLrucLlon ln flx up sLraLegles for durlng readlng WlLh some work on boLh Lhese skllls her
overall readlng ablllLy wlll lncrease
ecommendat|ons
1he prlorlLy for kayla ls fluency 8ecause she reads slowly and ls focuslng on readlng Lhe words
on Lhe page her comprehenslon ls affecLed She ls noL readlng wlLh expresslon or prosody and Lhls also
affecLs her comprehenslon of Lhe LexL 8eadlng wlLh lnflecLlon and maklng Lhe LexL sound more
conversaLlonal reflecLs Lhe auLhor's lnLended meanlng 1here are several ways LhaL kayla can work on
her fluency and also ways LhaL we work on fluency ln class As parL of our currlculum we do read alouds
of LexLs Lo model fluency and monlLorlng comprehenslon kayla wlll read along wlLh Lhe Leacher who ls
readlng aloud and llsLen Lo Lhe way Lhe Leacher reads ln large meanlngful phrases and makes Lhe LexL
come allve wlLh pauses and lnflecLlons for meanlng Slnce she ls readlng Lhe same LexL ln her head along
wlLh Lhe Leacher she sees Lhe words and puncLuaLlon on Lhe page and Lhe way Lhe Leacher ls readlng lL
Second kayla would beneflL from repeaLed readlng 1hls ls someLhlng she can do on her own durlng
lndependenL readlng Llme 8y readlng a plece mulLlple Llmes she wlll become more famlllar wlLh Lhe
words and be able Lo concenLraLe less on readlng Lhe words on Lhe page and more on meanlng She can
also Lrack her Llme and her lncrease from readlng Lo readlng Lo Lrack her progress LasL kayla could use
whaL she ls learnlng Lhrough Lhe read aloud ln class Lo do echo readlng wlLh Lhe Leacher one on one lor
Lhls kayla would need Lo be placed ln lnLervenLlon class uslng shorL passages Lhe Leacher can read
modellng fluency and kayla can repeaL modellng Lhe same fluency and especlally Lhe same prosody
AnoLher reason kayla should be ln lnLervenLlon ls for expllclL lnsLrucLlon ln readlng sLraLegles
and monlLorlng comprehenslon More speclflcally kayla needs Lo work on flx up sLraLegles for durlng
readlng As her u8 assessmenL showed she had llLLle Lo no comprehenslon as Lhe readlng passages goL
more dlfflculL kayla needs expllclL lnsLrucLlon ln uslng conLexL clues rereadlng readlng beyond Lhe
word and monlLorlng comprehenslon llrsL she needs Lo work wlLh posL lL noLes Lo wrlLe down whaL
she ls Lhlnklng as she reads 1hls wlll help her make sense of Lhe LexL and Lhe more she undersLands Lhe
more conLexL clues she wlll have Lo work wlLh Lo help her wlLh dlfflculL vocabulary Cnce kayla sLarLs
uslng meLacognlLlon whlle she ls readlng she Lhen needs expllclL lnsLrucLlon on whaL Lo do when she
geLs sLuck on a word phrase or secLlon of readlng 1hls wlll need Lo be done ln small group lnsLrucLlon
or one on one and Lhe small seLLlng of Lhe lnLervenLlon class would be Lhe perfecL place
lor kayla's wrlLlng and Lo work on her organlzaLlon she needs some work on graphlc organlzers
and LranslLlons AlLhough she used a web before her essay Lhe web dld noL LranslaLe ln Lo organlzaLlon
ln Lhe essay Cne way Lo work on Lhls ls Lo Lake a well wrlLLen essay and work backwards Laklng Lhe maln
ldeas and supporLlng deLalls and plugglng Lhem lnLo a graphlc organlzer 1hls would be done besL ln
lnLervenLlon class slnce Lhe ma[orlLy of 8
Lh
graders can organlze Lhelr wrlLlng and many are uslng
LranslLlons lor elaboraLlon kayla should focus on showlng noL Lelllng" uslng sensory deLalls and
slmlles and meLaphors 1hls ls besL worked on wlLh expllclL lnsLrucLlon 1ogeLher wlLh Lhe Leacher kayla
can work Lo add deLalls Lo a senLence such as !asmlne en[oyed her hamburger" She can bralnsLorm
whaL a hamburger smells llke looks llke whaL lL feels llke Lo have Lhe grease ooze ouL onLo her flngers
WlLh Lhe help of Lhe Leacher she can say LhaL Lhe hamburger LasLes llke heaven 1hrough worklng one
on one or ln a small group Lo bralnsLorm sensory deLalls and Lhen use Lhem Lo creaLe an elaboraLe
paragraph kayla wlll begln Lo add elaboraLlon lnLo all her wrlLlng lncludlng her uAW persuaslve essay
ef|ect|on
1hls case sLudy was an exLremely valuable pro[ecL As dlscussed frequenLly ln our class
dlscusslon boards many educaLors feel overwhelmed wlLh a large number of assessmenLs and ln
secondary schools Lhe masslve amounL of daLa from havlng so many sLudenLs l also feel Lhls way Lhe
ma[orlLy of Lhe Llme Whlle worklng on Lhls case sLudy l was flnally able Lo closely analyze assessmenLs
of a parLlcular sLudenL and use Lhe assessmenLs and daLa Lo formulaLe a plan and goals speclflc Lo LhaL
sLudenL ln Lhls case kayla ls a sLudenL LhaL was no placed ln lnLervenLlon for some reason buL who
deflnlLely needs Lhe exLra supporL an lnLervenLlon class offers As Lhe lnLervenLlon Leacher l can
supplemenL Lhe regular language arLs currlculum Lo glve kayla Lhe exLra supporL LhaL she needs as a
sLruggllng reader and wrlLer AfLer analyzlng her assessmenLs and formulaLlng goals and a plan l have
Lhe speclflcs l need Lo approach Lhe admlnlsLraLlon and ask for a schedule change for Lhls sLudenL Cur
school does noL currenLly have a readlng speclallsL who would ofLen analyze a sLudenL ln Lhls way and
wlLhouL Lhls pro[ecL kayla could have poLenLlally sllpped Lhrough Lhe cracks 1hls was a very valuable
experlence and wlll be an lmporLanL sLarL Lo my quesL Lo maybe one day become a readlng speclallsL