Dana L. Houseman

Literacy Skills Quizzes:

A Different Way to Look at Comprehension

Literacy Skills quizzes help teachers monitor their students’ development in 24 specific, higher order, reading, and critical-thinking skills from state standardized tests. This assessment provides diagnostic information within the context of reading real literature.

Literacy Skills Quizzes:

• Initial Understanding• Literary Analysis• Inferential Comprehension• Constructing Meaning

Literacy Skills QuizzesMeasure Four Domains

• Describing actions or events• Identifying reasons• Recognizing details• Recognizing feelings• Understanding dialogue• Understanding sequence

Initial Understanding

• Initial Understanding• Literary Analysis• Inferential Comprehension• Constructing Meaning

Literacy Skills QuizzesMeasure Four Domains

• Recognizing plot• Recognizing setting• Understanding literary features• Understanding characterization• Understanding historical/cultural factors• Understanding the author’s craft

Literary Analysis

• Initial Understanding• Literary Analysis• Inferential Comprehension• Constructing Meaning

Literacy Skills QuizzesMeasure Four Domains

• Comparing and contrasting• Drawing conclusions• Extending meaning• Making inferences• Making predictions• Recognizing cause and effect

Inferential Comprehension

• Initial Understanding• Literary Analysis• Inferential Comprehension• Constructing Meaning

Literacy Skills QuizzesMeasure Four Domains

• Deriving word or phrase meaning• Differentiating fact and opinion• Identifying reading strategies• Identifying persuasive language• Responding to literature• Understanding the main idea

Constructing Meaning

“It is strange that we expect students to learn, yet seldom do we teach them anything about learning”

Donald Norman, 1980,

Cognitive Engineering Education

Purpose and Rationale ofTeaching Critical Thinking

1.The subject matter or discipline content of the course

2.The correct way to understand andevaluate subject matter

All Education Consists of Transmitting to Students Two Different Things

• Large class sizes and student expectationare the two primary reasons to rely onmultiple choice questions• Multiple choice questions must ask thestudent to perform some reasoning alongwith memorization

Steven D. Schafersman, 1991

How Do Literacy Skills QuizzesAddress Critical Thinking?

Literacy Skills Quizzes

Quizzes are available for ATOS book levels above 2.0 and up to 13.5

We currently have 806 quizzes in Ren Place.

To get a list login to RenPlace and Navigate to AR then choose REPORTS. Next select SCHOOL MANAGEMENT and then QUIZ MANAGEMENT REPORTS

Choose the Literacy Skills Quiz List, you can sort by Book Level, Author, Title, or Quiz number.

Literacy Skills Questions

• Students take after passing ReadingComprehension quizzes• Can quiz on same book three times with different questions• No points• Quizzes help teachers plan instruction and prepare students for high-stakes tests

What Best Practices Are Associated with Literacy Skills Questions?

What Does a LiteracySkills Quiz Look Like?

• Literacy Skills TOPS• Literacy Skills Class Summary Report• Literacy Skills Chart• Student Progress Report

Valid ReportingCapabilities ProvideDiagnostic Information

Literacy Skills Summary Report

Student Record Report

In your group share one wayyou can use Literacy Skills quizzes toprovide diagnostic information to assess reading and critical-thinking skills