Chapter 4

Informal Assessment: Informing Instruction

Introduction• Observation and Interview Strategies• Teacher-Made and Teacher-Selected Curriculum-Based Assessment• Specific Skills Assessments• Error Analysis• Informal Reading Inventories• Running Records• Curriculum-Based Assessment• Portfolio Assessment• Readability• Leveled Texts• Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Young Children• Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Adults• Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of English Language Learners

Observation and Interview Strategies

• Kidwatching (Goodman, 1985)• Teachers engage in observation-based assessment every day• Note bits of behavior and make inferences about the behavior• Anecdotal information is available to teachers for analyses of

specific errors or error patterns

Observation and Interview

• Concepts About Print: Emergent Literacy (Clay, Klesius & Searls)

• Figure 4.1, Text Box 4.1• Oral reading• Letter identification• Word naming• Writing• Dictation

Teacher-Made and Teacher-Selected Curriculum-Based Assessment

Basal Series Assessments

• Figures 4.2 and 4.3

Word Study (e.g., High Frequency Words and

Phonics)

Comprehension

Writing

Summative Assessment of Skills

Specific Skills Assessments

• Definition:• Designed to give information about specific skills (e.g., for young

readers, aspects of phonological awareness, phonics, or concepts of print). May be used prior to instruction and throughout school year.

Specific Skills Assessment Examples

• San Diego Quick Assessment (McKenna & Stahl, 2009)• Consortium on Reading Excellence’s Assessing Reading: Multiple

Measures for Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade, 2nd edition (Diamond & Thorsnes, 2008)

• The Reading Teacher’s Survival Kit (Miller, 2001) • Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing (Miller, 1995) • Three-minute reading assessments (Rasinski and Padak, 2005a; 2005b)

provide user-friendly, teacher-based evaluation of word recognition, fluency, and comprehension.

Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation

• Figure 4.4• Student segments words presented orally by the examiner

• dog• /d/ /o/ /g/

• wave• /w/ /a/ /v/

• that• /th/ /a/ /t/

Error Analysis

• A technique all teachers use, whether they know the terminology or not

• A technique for determining patterns or reasons for student errors or difficulties

• E.g., Ms. Crockett listens to Misha read connected text and notices she does not attend to punctuation (pause her reading at period noting end of sentence).

Error Analysis Relies on Task Analysis

• To effectively perform error analysis, teachers must also be proficient at task analysis.

• Task analysis “involves breaking down a task into the smallest steps necessary to complete the task” (Overton, 2012, p. 186).

• In other words, teachers must have working knowledge of various reading processes and the tasks and subtasks that are necessary for effective reading.

Informal Reading Inventories• Individually administered assessments• Three Main Components

• Graded word lists• Reading passages• Comprehension questions

• Explicit • Implicit

• IRIs provide teachers with…• Reading level – Independent, Instructional, Frustration• Reading rate• Instructional Information

• Types of reading errors made• Types of comprehension errors made• And more

Betts Criteria For Determining Reading Level

Level Word RecognitionComprehension

Independent 99% 1/100 90%

Instructional 95% 5/100 75%

Frustration 90% 10/100 50%

IRI- Informal Reading Inventories• Examples:

• Analytical Reading Inventory, 7th Ed.• Basic Reading Inventory: Pre-Primer Through Grade Twelve And Early

Literacy Assessments, 9th Ed.• Burns/Roe Informal Reading Inventory: Preprimer to Twelfth Grade,

6th Ed. • Classroom Reading Inventory, 10th Ed. • Developmental Reading Assessment K–3/4–8 • Ekwall/Shanker Reading Inventory, 4th Ed. • Reading & Reader Passages & Reading & Language Inventory Pkg.,

5th Ed. • Reading Inventory for the Classroom & Tutorial Audiotape Package,

5th Ed. • Stieglitz Reading Inventory, 3rd Ed.

Example: Qualitative Reading Inventory, 5th ed. (QRI-5)

• Individually administered assessment for pre-primer–high school• Reading Level• Progress Monitoring• Planning Instruction/Intervention

• Several Assessment Options• Word Lists• Passages• Measures of Comprehension

QRI-5

Area of Reading• Sight-Word Recognition• Fluency

• Comprehension

QRI-5 Assessment• Word Lists

• Oral Reading Passages

• Retell• Questions

QRI-5: Jesse, a 1st grader

• Figures 4.5 through 4.10

Number of words (correct)WCPM = __________________ X 60 = _________ 

Number of seconds read  Formula 4.1 Determining Words Read Correctly Per Minute (WCPM)

 

QRI-5 at-a-Glance• Publisher: Leslie & Caldwell, 2011

• Ages/Grades: Pre-primer – High School

• Administration Time: Varies

• Administration Format: Individual

• Reliability:• Alt. Forms - .80 and up• Inter-rater- .98 and up• Diagnostic- .87

• Validity: Not reported

How to Do an IRI

• Figure 4.11• Select six to eight passages from a reader or other target material• Develop six to eight comprehension questions per passage (include

factual, interpretive, etc.)• Mark the number of words per passage• As child reads, note miscues, observe interest level• Administer until comprehension drops to 75% or 15 miscues per 100

words

Miscue Analysis (Goodman)

• Definition• A systematic system of analyzing student reading errors to determine

skill strengths and weaknesses

• A miscue is a reader’s variation from print• Based on two important concepts:

• Everyone miscues• Miscues do not equal errors

Overview of Miscue Analysis• Two ways to count miscues:

• Total Accuracy – count all miscues• Total Acceptability – count only miscues that change or distort passage

meaning• Define miscues according to the directions found in the

assessment instrument being used if possible (McKenna & Stahl, 2003)

• If no directions are given, or the analysis comes from informal assessment taken from the curriculum, score the six following miscues:

• (a) omissions, (b) insertions, (c) substitutions, (d) reversals, (e) helper supplied words, and (f) repetitions.

• Mark all miscues, even if they are not being scored.

Types of Miscues and How to Code Them Type of Miscue Description Scored Coding Omission Reader skips one or more

words yes

over the hill over hill

Insertion Reader adds one or more words

yes big over theˆ hill over the big hill

Substitution Reader replaces a word (or phrase) with another word (or phrase)

yes a over the hill over a hill

Reversal Reader switches order of words

yes ~ over the hill over hill the

Helper-supplied word

Reader does not attempt the word; teacher gives help

yes H over the hill over the _____

Repetition Reader repeats one word or consecutive words

yes R over the hill over the the hill

Self-correction Reader re-reads within a few seconds to correct an error

no there SC over the hill over there the hill

Hesitation Reader pauses but reads the word correctly

no P over the hill over the (pause) hill

Lack of prosody Reader ignores punctuation

no П . . . over the hill. He ran… over the hill he ran.

Note. Text is printed in nonitalics. What student reads is printed in italics. Coding is printed in bold.

Table 4.3

Total words in passage—miscues

%age WC = Total words in passage = ____

Formula 4.2 Determining Percentage of Words Correct in Passage

ComprehensionTotal number of questions—errorsPercent Correct=Total number of questions = ____% Formula 4.3 Determining Percentage of Comprehension Correct

Frequency of Different Miscues

• McKenna and Stahl (2003)• About half of 1st graders’ miscues are omissions• Insertions only account for about 10% of all miscues• Substitutions become more common, while omissions become less

common as students mature• In 1st grade, letter reversals (no/on) are common, but these typically end

by 2nd grade

Running Records

Administering and Scoring Running Records

• Figure 4.12 Scoring the Running Record• Figure 4.13 Quantifying the Running Record• Figure 4.14 Worksheet for Summarizing the Running Record

Running Records and Curriculum-Generated CBM

Figure 4.15Use passages from curriculumStudent reads orallyBoth can generate oral fluency score (wcpm)

Contrasting Running Records and Curriculum-Generated CBM: Figure 4.15

• CBM• Focuses on accuracy and

speed• Types of errors not

emphasized• Typically used to monitor

progress toward end-of-year goals

• Running Records• Types of errors are noted• Can denote progress in

instructional materials• Inflection and comprehension

can be addressed

Curriculum Based Assessment

• Examples:• Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of Oral Reading Fluency

(Deno & Fuchs)

• Portfolio Assessment

• Running Records (Marie Clay)

• Miscue Analysis (Goodman)

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) of Oral Reading Fluency

(Deno & Fuchs)

• May be derived from content and materials actually used in the classroom

• Yields measures of reading rate (speed), accuracy, or both• Can be used to show progress over time • Allows direct assessment of progress in the curriculum• NRP areas addressed are fluency and comprehension

CBM for Assessing and Scoring Oral Reading

• Words correct per minute: Formula 4.1• Number of words correct/Number of seconds read X 60 = WCPM• Directions for Teacher-Constructed CBM

• Figure 4.16

• Examiner times and records errors• For a reliable measure, use three passages and take median score

Average Reading Fluency Rates

• Table 4.7• Typical 1st grader at mid year

• 47 wpm• Typical 5th grader at mid year

• 139 wpm• Adults: 250 wpm? • Silent versus oral• Type of reading material, purpose of reading

Portfolio Assessment

• Can contain samples of various informal assessments• A student’s work is collected over time and evaluated

according to prescribed criteria• Is considered authentic, ongoing, multidimensional, and

collaborative (between student and teacher)• What to include should be based on curricular and

instructional priorities and related to school and system goals, but also tied to specific student needs

Portfolio AssessmentPros

• Can track progress over time• Realistic examples of

everyday products• Collaborative evaluation• Personal significance• Involve parents

Cons• Difficult to score reliably• May take up considerable

space in the classroom• May be time-consuming and

expensive• May not convey well the

typical work of the student

Readability and Leveled Texts

• Readability Formulas• Fry Readability: Figure 4.19

• Leveled Texts• Fountas & Pinnell Guided Reading Levels

http://www.fountasandpinnellleveledbooks.com/

• Reading A-Z Website

http://www.readinga-z.com/

Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Young Children

• Consider background knowledge and experiences with letter-sound associations

• Phonological awareness• Print concepts• Phoneme segmentation/representation• Word reading & writing• Text reading & writing

• McGill-Franzen, 2006• Schedule for Assessment Figure 4.20• Student Profile Sheet Figure 4.21

Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Adults

• Text Box 4.2• Identify individual strengths & weaknesses• Progress monitor• Troubleshoot• Assess learning over time• Use authentic materials• Build on oral vocabulary

Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of English

Language Learners

• Text Box 4.3• Demonstrate, use samples• Use authentic materials• Link assessment to instruction• Assess progress over time

Assessment at a Glance: Informal (Classroom) Assessment

• Table 4.9• Measures of Informal Assessment that Inform Instruction

Summary• Observation and Interview• Teacher-Made and Teacher-Selected Curriculum-Based Assessment• Specific Skills Assessments• Error Analysis• Informal Reading Inventories• Running Records• Curriculum-Based Assessment• Portfolio Assessment• Readability• Leveled Texts• Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Young Children• Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of Adults• Special Considerations in the Informal Assessment of English Language Learners