Rationale for Reading Assessment Assignment: RE 3030

Context:

I completed the Reading Assessment Assignment for RE 3030-351 under the advisement of Kathy Oliver in the spring of 2008 as a Block I requirement. The assessment included an analysis of students’ orthographic word knowledge using the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge (Schlagal, 2003). The assessment was administered to nine students in a 2nd grade classroom. I scored the assessment, interpreted instructional spelling levels for the students based on the scores, and projected instructional implications based on the data.

Impact:

This assessment is a helpful clinical tool that provides teachers with accurate and useful information about students’ reading abilities. The Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge provides teachers with a window into students’ conceptual understandings of English orthography. Not only does the assessment provide data that can be used to target instruction in word study (spelling), but the data also provide information about reading ability. Studies have shown a high correlation between students’ knowledge of English orthography (as revealed in the assessment) and their ability to read texts in English. Students who perform well on the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge usually perform well on other reading assessments, and students who do not perform well on one will tend not to perform well on the other. Essentially the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge data indicate instructional levels for both word study and reading. Teachers can use the data to help them select appropriate texts for their students to read.

I hope to use this assessment in my student teaching and future classroom in order to determine students’ knowledge of the reading process to better match materials and instruction to individual student needs.

Alignment:

NCDPI Standard 1: Elementary teachers have a broad knowledge and understanding of the major concepts in English Language Arts and Literacy.

Indicator 1: Teachers know the developmental stages of language acquisition.

Indicator 4: Teachers understand the elementary school child’s social, cultural, linguistic, cognitive, and affective backgrounds as they relate to the ability to develop effective communication processes (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

Indicator 8: Teachers know and understand written and oral composition processes. They understand:

Detail : The written language as a symbolic system.

Detail : The phonemic, morphemic, semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic systems of language and their relation to the reading and writing process.

This assignment aligns with the NCDPI s1 i1 because data from the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge indicate developmental stages of language acquisition. This also aligns with s1 i4 by providing data about elementary school children’s linguistic and cognitive knowledge that will influence their ability to learn new information. S1 i8 also is addressed by this assignment through teachers using their knowledge of the symbolic system of children’s invented spelling (Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge) to interpret assessment data. They interpret how the data from the assessment reveal students’ awareness of the phonemic, morphemic, and morphophonemic systems of language and how these impact reading and writing.

NCDPI Standard 7: Elementary teachers use developmentally appropriate strategies to design and deliver instruction in all areas of the elementary curriculum.

Indicator 3: Teachers promote new learning by using students’ prior knowledge, misconceptions, and interests when designing lessons.

Indicator 6: Teachers modify instruction and assessments to meet the needs of individual students.

Indicator 7: Teachers develop and use a variety of formal and alternative assessment strategies as an integral part of instruction and learning appropriate for assessing individual, peer, team, and collaborative skills

The Reading Assessment Assignment also aligns with the NCDPI s7 i3 because the assessment data is used to target and promote student learning. S7 i6 is accomplished when teachers select appropriate materials and instruction to match students’ developmental levels in reading ability. Standard 7, indicator 7 is met by teachers using this assessment tool as an integral part of teaching, to gather information about what students know before designing and delivering instruction with an eye toward providing instruction that matches a student’s zone of proximal development.

NCDPI Standard 8: Teachers design instructional programs and strategies that build on students’ experiences and existing language skills to help students become competent, effective users of language.

Indicator 1: Teachers teach children to read with a balanced instructional program that includes an emphasis on the use of letter/sound relationships (phonics), context (semantic and syntactic), and text that has meaning for students.

Indicator 6: Teachers model Standard English.

This assessment aligns with standard 8, indicator 1 because the assessment instrument measures aspects of the reading process (letter/sound relationships as well as meaning related elements, such as vocabulary) that represent a balanced perspective on reading assessment and reading instruction. The assessment is a valuable tool used in a balanced program. In the written summary of the reading assessments, teachers model standard English (standard 8, indicator 6).