Reading Assessment

Assessment Notebook Summary

            During my field placement at Collier Elementary I was place in a fourth grade classroom. In this classroom I was to work with a student who was in need of reading intervention. I spoke with my cooperating teacher (CT) and we discussed which student would benefit the most from this experience. After much discussion she informed me that I would be working with Sean. Sean is a fourth grade student who has previously been held back in the third grade. The CT informed me that he was struggling with comprehension, vocabulary and his reading grade was extremely low. I was ready for the challenge working with this child in need.
            The first thing I did during my intervention time was provide Sean with a reading interest inventory. I wanted to know what book he was interested in reading and, how he perceived reading. During this interview I also told him that I was going to be working with him during my time in his classroom and I was very excited to be reading with him. I wanted to let him know that he was not being graded on anything and that I only wanted this to benefit him and make reading easier for him.
            After the interest interview and the discussion with the CT I wrote a plan for instruction. This was to address his interests in reading. Sean is in the fourth grade; therefore, the reading assessment that best suited his age group was the QRI. I administered the QRI on August 9th, 14th, 16th, 21st 2010. The QRI assessed his reading level based on his score throughout the assessment. The assessment included reading passages that the student read and then answered concept, main idea, detail, implicit, and explicit questions. The passages were either expository or narrative. The assessment also included a word list that included words that would be identified automatically or identified. The student’s word list score was at the Independent level. After completion of the word list Sean began with the level three narrative. The next passage was a level three expository. A level four narrative was the third passage given and a level four expository was the last passage given. After reviewing and scoring all of the passages and assessment the conclusion was that Sean was reading at the end of the third grade level, beginning of fourth.
            After completing the QRI assessment I wrote the plan for instruction for Sean. I found that we did need to work on fluency, comprehension skills, vocabulary, omissions, and speed. I was happy to see that Sean was able to complete the assessment without any struggles. He was very happy to be working with someone outside of the curriculum inside of the classroom. To prepare for the next assessment and help Sean become a better reader we began reading together every day I was in the field. We would go to the library to check out just right books. We would also use the leveled readers to address the plan for instruction concepts. During this time Sean and I worked on comprehension skills and concepts he was struggling on in the classroom. He was really trying so hard during our time together. His favorite thing to do was read aloud to me.
            When it came time to complete my second assessment I decided to use the comprehension assessment found in Locating and Correcting Reading Difficulties beginning on pg. 403. I wanted to see if my time with Sean had paid off for him. Sean read reading passages and then answered questions that assessed his comprehension skills. We were able to move all the way up to the fifth grade comprehension passage but, he struggled at that level. He did however; excel at that fourth grade reading passage. I was very happy to see Sean do so well with this assessment. Again, I wrote my plan for instruction for the remaining time in the classroom. He was struggling so much with identifying almost all of the parts of speech. He was also struggling with context clues. I decided to work on these concepts during the remainder of my time using his books, poems, leveled readers, etc.
            The final assessment I completed with Sean was on context clues. He was doing much better with identifying parts of speech in the classroom and we were still covering context clues. I used the assessment found in Locating and Correcting Reading Difficulties on pg. 89 and 381. I first assessed his ability to identify and define a multiple meaning word using context clues. He was able to do this with little difficulty. I then had Sean read two passages on the third and fourth grade level. He was able to complete both assessments with little difficulty. Sean then filled in the blank verbally when I dinged the bell. He was to use the context clues in the sentence. He not only had fun with this assessment but he was able to complete the assessment fairly easy. My conclusion of the assessment was that Sean was on level. Sean is reading at the fourth grade level and possibly even above. He is exceptionally smart and fully capable and willing to do anything you ask of him.
            I have learned more than I thought I would from this reading assessment intervention time. I knew I would be working with a student and possibly helping them with strategies in reading but I had no idea on the impact we could have. I have learned the importance of using many reading assessments based on the students needs. It is so important to work with each child independently. It will make all of the difference. I have also learned that if you show the interest they will put forth the effort. It is so important to the student that you show you care. Overall, I have gained great experience from this intervention time. I only hope that Sean will have an easier time with reading and have a few more strategies to help him along the way.