Whole Class Reading Assessment, Grades 3-7: Assessing Informational Text to

Guide Instruction (Designed to support differentiated

assessment and instruction)

Revised by: School Districts

#22 (Vernon), #23 (Central Okanagan), #67 (Okanagan-Skaha) and #73 (Kamloops/Thompson)

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Table of Contents

Copyright Agreement for Rubicon Publishing Inc. 3 Copyright Agreement for Evan-Moor Educational Publishers (SD22 only) 6 Photograph Credits 7 Instructions to Teachers 9 Rationale 9 Preparation of Materials 11 Procedure 12 Coding Conventions 15 Marking Guidelines 16 Planning Instruction Based on Evidence 16 Using the Results for Evaluation and Reporting 17 References 17 Acknowledgements 19

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Copyright Information

AGREEMENT FOR PERMISSION: Selection 4 Texts: Courtesy of Rubicon Publishing Inc., Oakville, ON, Canada

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AGREEMENT FOR PERMISSION: Various Selections 1-3: Copyright Agreement is for SD #22 (Vernon) only. All other districts are required to obtain a similar copyright agreement from Evan-Moor.

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PHOTOGRAPH CREDITS: Selection 3 Silken Laumann: Courageous Canadian

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Selection 4 Texts Exploring Art! Beadwork: (SD22) Birch Bark Transparency: Pat Bruderer. Source: http://www.uniquelymanitoba.ca/resources/pages/files%5Crisingstar/RS%20PatBruderer.pdf Carver: Xwa Lack Tun (Rick Harry). Photo by Gary Fiegehen. Permission: Xwa Lak Tun of the Squamish Nation. Game On! Snowsnake image: Tessa MacIntosh. Source: Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation http://landoftheancestors.ca/gallery.html. Lacrosse Image 1: Team BC 2013 WF U-19 National Invitational Source: Canadian Lacrosse Association Lacrosse Image 2: 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships. Source: Canadian Lacrosse Association House and Home Igloo: (SD22) Pithouse #1: (SD22) Pithouse #2: (SD22) Helping Mother Earth Wind Turbine photo and permission by Gavin Webber. Source: www.greningofgavin.com Solar Panels: (SD22) Revelstoke, B.C. Hydro Electric Dam: Photo: Near Revelstoke dam outflow area Source and Permission: BC Hydro Sheila Watt-Cloutier: Photo & Permission: © Government of Canada. Source: Library and Archives Canada/nlc-14113 Let’s Dance Hoop Dance Image: (SD 22) Roach headdress photograph and permission by Ryan Bajan of R&L Roaches Jingle Dress Dancer. Source and Permission: Randi Robbins Photograph: Joe McNally, of Rulan Tangen; Permission: Rulan Tangen for Dancing Earth

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INSTRUCTIONS TO TEACHERS RATIONALE

History: In the fall of 2012, School District 22 (Vernon) recognized the need for an improved reading assessment tool teachers could use to better support their learners. A small curriculum team traveled to each elementary school in the district to discuss and gather feedback from staff regarding the current district reading assessment. In December, 2012 a local team formed to analyze and consider the feedback received from initial conversations with teachers and administrators in order to improve the Whole Class Reading Assessment. The project took place from February 2013 - September 2014 beginning with a team of teachers in School District #22, but quickly growing to include neighbouring teachers in School Districts #23, #67 & #73. A cycle of draft, feedback, and revisions began and the document was ready for online publication in the fall of 2014. Significant Changes: Teachers and school-based administrators expressed a number of considerations for feedback, which are reflected in this new document. Below is a summary of important changes to the revised document: • This is an Assessment FOR Learning tool, meant to provide teachers with

specific information regarding reading comprehension for each child in their classroom.

• This is a READING assessment. The emphasis is on what students have read and understood (thinking), not their written output.

• There was a concern for a more inclusive assessment that encouraged a variety of reading responses. Students may still express their answers in writing, but there are features in the revised WCRA to encourage students to express answers orally, graphically, or pictorially, if preferred.

• The questions are organized hierarchically from lower to higher level thinking about reading skills. The addition of Question #5 (critical thinking) reflects current changes in the 2013 DRAFT English Language Arts curriculum.

• There is an additional passage at each grade level to provide teachers and students with more choice in reading selections.

• Teachers may differentiate the text to support the variety of reading levels in their classroom. For students who are reading below grade level, teachers should select a level of text where students will be successful. Students must be able to read the selection, however teachers can scribe responses.

• The Oral Running Record provides a great deal of information about the strategies students’ use when reading text. They give the teacher a chance to notice students’ accuracy, phrasing, attention to punctuation, and fluency, which can then inform teacher instruction. The oral running record

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has been revised to encourage a conversation between the teacher and the student about reading behaviors.

• Students with highly developed reading process systems should not be penalized for being unable to articulate their subconscious process. Therefore, the decision was made to remove the metacognition rubric from the assessment.

• There were multiple reasons for maintaining the use of nonfiction text in this assessment. Nonfiction text provides a bridge to the more difficult expository texts students will encounter as they move toward secondary school. Nonfiction text is more gender neutral, and research tells us there is a greater transferability of skills from nonfiction to fiction than vice versa.

Marking: Subjectivity when marking the assessment has been improved with a more consistent rubric across all grade levels using the same assessment language as seen in the BC Perfomance Standards. Each rubric is embedded in the student response page for ease of teacher marking, but also to make expectations for students more transparent. The marking key includes authentic student responses for each question at each grade level. District and Classroom Level Uses for the WCRA: The revised WCRA is an assessment tool that can monitor both district trends and individual students over time. At the district level, this can be helpful when making decisions about how and where to distribute resources to support learners. The data from the WCRA can also help measure goals in achievement contracts, inform school-based decisions, and support district-wide planning for professional development. At the classroom level, the WCRA provides teachers with information about their students’ strengths and weaknesses in reading comprehension. The following Prescribed Learning Outcomes support the WCRA:

o B2 read fluently and demonstrate comprehension of grade appropriate information texts

o B5 select and use strategies before reading and viewing to develop understanding of text

o B6 select and use strategies during reading and viewing to construct, monitor and confirm meaning

o B7 select and use strategies after reading and viewing to confirm and extend meaning

o B8 respond to selections they read or view o B9 read and view to improve and extend thinking o B10 reflect on and assess their reading and viewing

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PREPARATION OF MATERIALS Photocopy Student:

• Oral Running Record: One per child, per selection. • Oral Reading Assessment Summary Sheet: One per child, per selection. • Text Selection: One per child, per selection. Suggestion: Use an 11x17 sheet,

with both pages of text on the same side. Fold in half like a booklet. • Student Response Sheet: One per child, per selection. Suggestion: Use an

11x17 sheet, with both pages of questions on the same side. Fold in half like a booklet.

• Grade (Level) Rubric: Reading for Information: One per child, per year. Use colour-coding to differentiate reading selections.

Teacher: (one copy) • Grade (Level) Text Introductions and Procedure • Student Copy for Oral Running Record: One per class. • Answer Key with Sample Student Responses • Grade (Level) Planning Sheet: Use this to plan instruction based on the

results of the assessment. Class Results can be recorded in the WCRA Excel Spreadsheet. For each reading selection, the excel spreadsheet organizes individual student data as follows:

• Oral Accuracy Level (Independent, Instructional, or Frustration) • Question or Reading Skill: (Main Idea and Supporting Details, Word

Skills, Connecting, Inferring, and Critical Literacy) • Summarizes Overall Performance for each selection using the

following assessment indicators (Not Yet Meeting, Minimally Meeting, Moderately Meeting, Fully Meeting, or Exceeding)

For each reading selection, the excel spreadsheet also provides a summary of the whole class data, which is converted into a bar graph. The bar graph shows trends in the Oral Accuracy Level and each Question or Reading Skill for the class throughout the year.

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PROCEDURE Administering the Assessment:

• This assessment should be given early in the fall, as a diagnostic tool to help you plan your reading instruction. You may wish to repeat the assessment up to three times throughout the year (or follow your district protocol).

• This assessment can be administered over the course of 2-3 days depending on the needs of your students. For example:

o Day 1: Sharing Background Knowledge o Day 2: Questions #1-#2 o Day 3: Questions #3-#5 o The Oral Running Record may be done at the teacher’s leisure

anytime after the reading component has begun. (This may take as long as a week.)

• The Oral Running Record and Oral Reading Assessment Summary Sheet should be given as a diagnostic for all students in the early fall. Teachers do not need to repeat the Oral Running Record and Oral Reading Assessment Summary Sheet for students who are fully meeting or exceeding expectations in oral reading in repeated assessments.

1. Purpose: Say to students: “This reading activity will help me plan my teaching and will help us find out what you need to learn next. It is important to do your very best.” 2. Sharing Background Knowledge: The teacher will group students by reading selection. This can be done on the same day of the assessment or the day prior.

• Read the title and the text prompt, exactly as written. • Students talk in pairs or triads, sharing their background knowledge. This

gives them a chance to recall information or learn from their peers. Teachers do not lead this discussion, but may circulate to encourage sharing. Then follow up with a whole class/group discussion.

• If you are administering multiple selections at once, coordinate with other teachers or support staff to help provide text prompts and monitor discussions.

• Keep the sharing to less than 20 minutes. • After the text prompt discussion, remind students who have significant

background knowledge on a topic to reference the information in THIS text when answering the assessment questions.

3. Read questions aloud. (Give students the Student Response Sheet or project for students to follow along. Do not distribute reading passage at this time.)

• Prior to students reading the selection, the teacher will read aloud the questions being done that day. Teachers need to discuss the purpose of the “I can tell you more than I wrote” clouds beside each question. Teachers will also discuss the accompanying rubric to clarify expectations.

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• Say to students: “Readers read with a purpose in mind. Let’s read the questions over BEFORE you begin reading, so you know what information you are looking for. You may want to underline or highlight key words in the question to help you give your best possible answer.”

o “Question #1 is asking you to give the main idea (in your own words) and supporting details from the specified text section.” Be certain students understand this question is not based on the main idea of the entire text, or their background knowledge. Discuss the rubric.

o “Question #2 is about what you think the underlined word means in this text.” Be certain students understand they are explaining the definition of the word, not just using it in a sentence, or thinking of it as a text feature. (See NYM sample answers). Discuss the rubric.

o “Question #3 is asking you to make one detailed connection to the text.” Emphasize with students the word OR in the question. The relevancy (or reason for this connection) and details are critical. Discuss the rubric.

o “Question #4 is asking you to use the information the author has given you about a topic. You will need to use this information and your own thinking to infer, or figure out, this answer.” Students need to be aware that to answer this question they must explain their thinking using evidence from the text. Discuss the rubric.

o “Question #5 is asking you to think beyond the text to consider why the author wrote this.” Discuss with students that the answer should be more than “because the author wants us to know about this topic…” Discuss the rubric.

4. Inform Students about the Oral Running Record: “Once you have read the entire passage to yourself, I will be asking you to read and discuss a small section of the text with me.” 5. Read and Answer Questions:

• Give students the Reading Selection. • Students read the entire passage and answer questions thoughtfully. • Provide students with highlighters (or tools) to help them process the text. • If the reading selection is at their level, most learners will continue

independently from this point. Please differentiate the text selection appropriately for learners who will not be successful on grade-level text. Please provide any necessary scribing for students who indicate they need it in the cloud beside each question (or any IEP students who require support with writing), or use technology to assist with recording responses orally.

6. Complete Oral Running Record and Oral Reading Assessment Summary:

• Do Oral Assessment only after students have finished reading the text silently.

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• Give the students time to settle into their silent reading. The teacher calls the student over to a quiet corner of the room.

• Use the Oral Running Record to record miscues and the Oral Reading Assessment Summary Sheet to record accuracy, fluency, and strategy use. (for Miscue Analysis, see the following Coding Conventions page)

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School District #22 Coding Conventions *Remember: A word with an error is only counted once. (i.e. If the student makes an error on the same word several times throughout the passage, it is only counted as one error.) **If you give more than 2 tolds, the passage is too difficult.

Oct. 2014

Behaviour: Coding Convention: Error or SC

Accurate Reading: A check mark can made for every word read accurately.

√ √ √ The cat ran.

-

Substitution: The reader’s attempt is recorded above the accurate word on the line.*

car The cat ran.

E

Self-Correction: The symbol SC is recorded when the child corrects an error.

car SC The cat ran.

SC

Re-run: An R is placed before repeated word or phrase, underlining the repeated part.

R The cat ran.

-

Re-run with self-correction: If a reader repeats and then self-corrects, SC is recorded after the R.

R car SC The cat ran.

SC

Omission: A dash is recorded above the text.

The cat ran.

E

Insertion: An inserted word is recorded above the text with a caret.

fast The л cat ran.

E

Appeal: If the reader appeals verbally or non-verbally to the teacher, it is recorded above the line with an A. If they self-correct after, it is SC

SC The cat ran.

SC

Tolds: Proper names: if easy to pronounce or stated in the book introduction it is an E

Bill ran.

E

Words told: only tell if absolutely necessary and after several attempts. No more than 2 tolds given in a passage.**

naughty

E

Try That Again: If the reader gets very confused with several words in a sentence, bracket the whole sentence and say “Try that again”. Record TTA and one error.

√ look said Bill went with TTA √ √ the the teacher to …

E

Fluency: Draw a scoop under the words the student reads together.

The cat ran.

-

A

T

T

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MARKING GUIDELINES Rubrics can be found directly on the Student Response Sheet and are intended for teacher use. To show growth over time for individual students, teachers may wish to use the Grade (Level) Rubric: Reading for Information, found on page 11 of each reading selection. Sample answers are provided for each level of assessment. This is not an exhaustive list of answers, but is intended to help guide teachers in their marking. These are comprised of authentic student answers that were collected during the pilot year of 2012-2013. Collaborative marking sessions are strongly recommended.

PLANNING INSTRUCTION BASED ON EVIDENCE

Make a copy of the Grade (Level) Planning Sheet for the grade the students are in, even if you have differentiated the texts for some students.

The Grade (Level) Planning Sheet can be used to examine trends across your whole class, small groups, or for individual students.

Keep in mind the questions are hierarchical in terms of the complexity of thinking. If students are struggling with a lower level question, we need to address that skill before addressing the higher level skills.

Instructional Planning may include:

• Individual

• Small Group

• Guided Reading

• Literature or Information Circles

• Whole Class

In all settings, the Gradual Release of Responsibility is recommended, and should include: Modeling, Shared Practice, Collaborative Practice, and Independent Practice.

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USING THE RESULTS FOR EVALUATION AND REPORTING

CAUTION: This is a snapshot only. Use it as part of your evidence of student achievement in combination with other learning that has been done in the classroom.

September/October: This is a diagnostic assessment at this time. The intention of the first assessment is to inform the teacher of students’ strengths and areas of concern. Teachers use the results to help guide instruction and conversations with parents.

Follow-Up Assessments: Assessment for learning: Use the results to plan instruction, based on progress you see in the class and areas that still need work. Plan may be for whole class, small group or individuals.

Assessment of learning: Count the results as part of the evidence you have of student achievement, only if that particular skill has been taught before the follow-up assessment has been given. This is a chance to see what students can accomplish independently, after a lot of guided practice.

If the Whole Class Reading Assessment is used as a Summative Assessment, the focus should be on growth over the year. This would be valuable information to be passed on to the next-year’s teacher.

REFERENCES Allington, R. (2006). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs. Boston, MA: Pearson Applebee, A.N., Langer, J.L., Nystrand, M. & Gamoran, A. (2003). Discussion-based

approaches to developing understanding: Classroom instruction and student performance in middle and high school English. American Educational Research Journal 40, 685-730.

Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & William, D., (2006). Assessment for learning:

Putting it into practice. New York, NY: Open University Press. British Columbia, Ministry of Education, (2009). BC performance standards: Reading.

Victoria, BC. Retrieved: https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/reading_intro.pdf British Columbia, Ministry of Education, (2013). Curriculum files: English language art

learning standards. Victoria, BC. Retrieved: https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum

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British Columbia, Ministry of Education, (2013). Defining cross-curricular competencies: Transforming curriculum and assessment. Victoria, BC.

British Columbia, Ministry of Education, (2006). English language arts: Integrated resource

package. Victoria, BC. Brownlie, F., Feniak, C., & Schnellert, L., (2006). Student diversity : Classroom strategies to

meet the learning needs of all students. Markham, ON: Pembroke Publishers. Brownlie, F., & Schnellert, L. (2009). It’s all about thinking: Collaborating to support all

learners in humanities. Winnipeg, MB: Portage and Main Press. Brownlie, F., Fullerton, C., & Schnellert, L. (2011). It’s all about thinking: Collaborating to

support all learners in mathematics and science. Winnipeg, MB: Portage and Main Press.

Fall, R., Webb, N.M., & Chudowsky, N. (2000). Group discussion and large-scale language

arts assessment: Effects on students’ comprehension. American Educational Research Journal, 37, (4), 911-941.

Gear, A., (2008). Nonfiction Reading Powers: Teaching students to think while they read all kinds of information. Markham, ON: Pembroke Publishers.

Harvey, S. (1998). Nonfiction matters: Reading, writing and research in Grades 3 8. Markham, ON: Pembroke Publishers.

Johnson, P. & Keier, K., (2010). Catching readers before they fall: supporting readers who struggle, K-4. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Nystrand, M. (2006). Research on the role of classroom discourse as it affects reading

comprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 40, 392-412. Sibberson, F., & Szymusiak, K., (2003). Still learning to read: Teaching students in grades 3-6.

Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers. Tovani, C., (2011). So what do they really know?: Assessment that informs teaching and

learning. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

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WCRA Acknowledgements Regional Design Team SD#22, Vernon: Lynda Henney and Erin Louis SD#23, Central Okanagan: Jasmeet Virk SD #67, Okanagan Skaha: Kirsten Odian SD#73, Kamloops/Thompson: Patricia Persad and Deanna Steptoe School District #22: 2013-2014 Design Team: Myrna Cleaveley, Tricia Cox, Lynda Henney, Ryan Leibel, Erin Louis, Devon Tyssen 2013-2014 Pilot Project: Shelley Budgen, Robin Coogan-Penner, Jennie Currie, Susan Gouchée, Colleen Harvie, Nicole Heffner, Joanne Heron, Cynthia Hutton, Colline Johnson, Megan Lee, Rachael Leibel, Barry Mulvaney, Charlene O’Brien, Kim Ondrik, Dan Osborne, Patrick Peebles, Karen Rogers, Jenna Shore, Lisa Vranesic 2012-2013 Design Team: Myrna Cleaveley, Tricia Cox, Colleen Harvie, Joanne Heron, Lynda Henney, Ryan Leibel, Erin Louis, Joe Rogers, Val Poppleton, Jacqueline Taylor, Devon Tyssen Technology Team: Corinne McWhinney, Brendan Robertson, Joshua Vance

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