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 2^nd 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. 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

The Reading Assessment Assignment aligns with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Standard 1, Indicator 1; data from the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge indicate developmental stages of language acquisition.  This assessment also aligns with Standard 1, Indicator 2 and 4 by providing data about elementary school children’s linguistic and cognitive knowledge that will influence their ability to learn new information. Standard 1, indicator 8 also is addressed by the assessment assignment. This indicator is met 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.

The Reading Assessment Assignment also aligns with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Standard 7, Indicator 3: Assessment data is used to target and promote student learning. Additionally, data from the Qualitative Inventory of Word Knowledge are used to modify instruction to better meet the needs of individual students (Standard 7, Indicator 6). This 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.

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. Teachers also take the time to encourage students to think critically about what they have read/written through a series of class discussions Standard 8, Indicator 3 In the written summary of the reading assessments, teachers model standard English (standard 8, indicator 6).