Dunne 1

One of the biggest issues education is facing today is overcrowding, which is

being caused both by an increase in population and a decrease in educational funding.
These two factors are causing class sizes to continue to rise, with some exceeding thirty
students. With schools and districts having such large numbers, it can be difficult to have
a students test score transferred in an appropriate time frame. Without the scores being
transferred, the teacher is faced with not knowing their students ability prior to entrance.
This scenario is not only one I have heard about, it is one I am experiencing in the state of
Nevada. With such a high transiency rate, I have already experienced many students who
have come and gone from my room. As Ive started to experience this problem, I have
learned the importance of performing various assessments in order to gage where a
student stands academically and what steps should be taken next to adequately teach the
student.
Assessment, according to The Glossary of Education Reform, Refers to the wide
variety of methods or tools that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the
academic readiness, learning progress, skill acquisition, or educational needs of
students. This educational tool, which is viewed both positively and negatively by many
educators, will always be relevant and crucial in education. What we choose to do with
assessment and how we plan on administering it is what determines whether or not the
effects will be positive for students in our classroom. Assessment, a tool which helps
guide instruction, can be administered either formatively or summatively in a variety of
ways, which will be described below.
Formative assessment, an in-process evaluation, is administered in the middle of
learning. This type of assessment serves as a form of practice and typically isnt graded.

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A summative assessment, on the other hand, is a final evaluation and is done at the end of
a lesson or unit. This serves as an indication of a students overall knowledge in a subject.
Its also a great indicator as to whether or not the student is ready to move on to the next
level.
These two different forms of assessment will help guide me in assessing my
newest arrival in the classroom, Sandra (pseudonym). Sandra is a nine-year-old third
grader who has recently moved to my classroom from Texas. Unfortunately, the only
information I have been given, is she is an English Language Learner and was held back
her first grade year. In order to better understand how I can instruct her throughout the
year, I will be performing formative and summative assessments to help guide my
instruction.
Before I administer these two types of assessments, I first need to perform a series
of benchmark tests in order to understand what skills my new student needs to be
working on, and which ones she has already mastered. According to research stated on
Reading Rockets, The first step in implementing good reading instruction is to
determined student baseline performanceDue to these various student levels, it is
necessary to design literacy instruction to meet the individual needs of each student.
This cant be done without administering assessment, which is an essential component of
education and is what it used to help guide instruction.
As stated previously, Sandra has been labeled as an English Language Learner
and is said to be low and not progressing. Due to this label, I have decided to test her
English proficiency before I assess her knowledge in each core subject. Since I have an
undergraduate endorsement in English as a Second Language and have familiarity and

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knowledge with the Spanish language, I have decided to sit with her one on one to
informally assess her conversational level. Doing so, will help me decipher whether or
not she is Fluent English Proficient (FEP), Limited English Proficient (LEP), or NonEnglish Proficient (NEP).
While assessing her conversational level I will also be informally assessing her
ability to participate in conversation, her pronunciation of English words, and her
vocabulary knowledge. By conducting an informal assessment and by participating in a
normal conversation, I will alleviate the stress that is involved with testing, especially
when a student is new to the classroom and might not be comfortable speaking in
English. During this conversation, I will be paying attention to her pronunciation of sp-,
th-, and sh- words, as well as words that contain /e/, /i/, or /j/ sounds, as these are
common difficulties for English Language Learners (ELLs) whose first language is
Spanish.
I have decided to perform an informal assessment due to the research that heavily
supports working with ELLs one on one and conducting assessments in which the
instructor can learn more about the student. Administering ongoing assessments and
authentic assessments are crucial when working with ELLs, as it provides an authentic
and trusting relationship. Its also important, because as stated in Colorn Colorado!,
Standardized tests in English do not usually reflect ELLs' true content knowledge or
abilities. Yet informal assessments can provide a more well-rounded picture of their
skills, abilities, and ongoing progress (Colorn Colorado 2015).
There are many pros to administering this form of assessment. First and foremost,
I will learn about my new student and I will be able to learn what motivates and is

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important to her. Speaking with her will also allow me to assess whether or not she feels
comfortable communicating in the English language and itll allow me to see if she
utilizes correct grammar and syntax and whether or not she is familiar with how to form
an English sentence in the correct order (i.e. the Spanish language says The car red
instead of The red car). Like any assessment, cons are also included. Assessing her
formatively through an informal conversation will be difficult to do in the already high
demanding career of teaching. There are few moments in the day to sit down and be able
to converse with a student one on one. Administering this assessment requires time as
well as an area where the student feels comfortable and as if others arent listening to
them or judging them.
Since the pros outweigh the cons, I will be administering this assessment in the
first week of her school year. After I have tested Sandras conversational level in English,
I will move on to the core subjects so I may get to know my students academic
proficiency level better. I will first perform the testing we do school wide, such as STAR
for reading and TENMARKS for math. These assessments are taken on the computer and
are a series of multiple-choice questions that may include a single answer or a multiple
answer question.
Benchmark assessments are an important tool to use when determining what level
of academics your student is at. The research clearly states that these forms of assessment
hold a diagnostic value. As stated in the article Making Benchmark Testing Work, A test
has diagnostic value to the extent that it provides useful feedback for instructional
planning for individuals and groups. A test with high diagnostic value will tell us not only
whether the students are performing well but also why students are performing at certain

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levels and what to do about it (Baker & Herman 2005). The research also states that in
order for these forms of assessment to be valuable, the teacher needs to analyze the data
and form instruction based on the data. It isnt enough to simply administer the test, it
needs to also be used to drive instruction in order to better the students and push them to
improve their prior knowledge.
Benchmark assessments are valuable because they provide a baseline score as
well as a comparison to see how she is doing compared to the other third graders in the
school, district, state, and nation. A problem with this form of assessment is it isnt
always accurate. Since it is administered online, students can simply guess an option
without actually knowing the work. Another problem is she might not be familiar with
this type of computer test, which will also skew the results.
Conducting benchmark assessments is an important component in education and
in beneficial to plan for future instruction, but I do not believe it is the only form that
should be performed. A lot of factors play into these forms of assessment, such as test
anxiety, confusion with how questions are phrased, and difficulty utilizing a computer. is
at. For that reason, I understand how crucial it is to implement more personalized
assessments to better indicate the level Sandra is at.
For that reason, after I administer the benchmark assessments, I will move on to
administering literacy assessments. A component of literacy assessment involves
assessing the childs interests and how they view reading. By discovering what they are
motivated by and what turns them away from reading, we can begin to discover ways to
introduce reading that will be of interest to them. For this reason, I plan on conducting the
Garfield Elementary Reading Attitude Assessment with Sandra. This assessment asks a

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series of questions about their feelings towards reading, how often they read, and what
they are most interested in reading. The student answers the questions by circling how
they feel based on a picture of Garfield that shows the following emotions: excited,
happy, not very happy, and miserable.
I have chosen to conduct this assessment because the article Measuring Attitude
Toward Reading: A New Tool for Teachers states that, becoming a skilled reader
requireslearning that written material can be interesting(McKenna & Kear 1990). It
also states that the students attitude toward reading is a central factor affecting reading
performance; attitude and achievement have been consistently linked. Due to these
factors, I believe it is important to understand what interests and motivates a child, so
they may continue to grow academically.
There are many advantages to conducting this assessment. First, I can learn how
my new student feels about reading in a school setting, at home, and during summer
vacation. I can also learn how she feels about answering comprehension questions,
completing worksheets, or utilizing different modes of these types of texts. Another
reason why its beneficial is Sandra can use the illustrations to help her respond to the
questions. The illustrations allow there to be less of a language barrier so she can relate
the illustrations to emotions shes familiar with in her own life.
Although there are many advantages, there are also some problems to this type of
assessment. This form of assessment has many questions that are written similarly, which
might seem tedious to Sandra. Another problem is that the questions are written without
visuals (only the answers are), so this can make the assessment difficult for a new
student, which requires the teacher to administer the assessment one on one, which again

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takes away time from class. This assessment also doesnt allow the child to select their
genre of choice, identify the causes of poor attitudes towards reading, or suggest
instructional techniques to improve them. However, I believe this assessment is the best
way to adequately get a clear picture of Sandras interests.
The next assessment I will administer is a spelling word test. This assessment
involves reading a list of grade level spelling words to a student. This assessment is used
to indicate a childs proficiency with letter sounds, blends, and word recognition. It is
also a great tool to show what the child may be struggling with in phonics and phonemic
awareness. The difference between this practice and what I do in my classroom, is I
differentiate the words based on a childs level. During the school year I can have
anywhere from three to four spelling word lists. These lists are based on the spelling level
and skill students are working on, which helps them learn the skills necessary to be
successful. I do this through a program titled Words Their Way.
Research clearly states that all students are developmentally at different levels.
Therefore, they should be assessed at different levels. Providing students with
differentiated word lists to sort, read, and study throughout the week helps them apply it
into their reading and writing skills. Words Their Way does just that. This program,
according to The Words Their Way Approach to Word Study and the Common Core State
Standards, shows how learners become aware and construct knowledge about the
relationships among printed words, spoken language, and meaning. (Templeton).
The advantages to administering a spelling test is I will learn about Sandras
ability to blend letter sounds, write common digraphs, and observe whether or not she
still does letter reversals. Ill also be able to see whether or not she can tell the difference

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between /e/ vs. /i/ and /h/ vs. /j/. A con to this form of assessment, depending on the
childs academic English level, is that the words may be too difficult. Due to this,
conducting several different spelling word lists may be required, which can be time
consuming.
After I have conducted the spelling word assessment, I will administer the first
300 Fry sight word list. This assessment involves showing a list of sight words to the
student. The student is expected to read each word upon first glance. If they have to
sound out the word or if they stall before saying the word, it is marked as a word they do
not know. This is also known as word recognition. Word recognition, according to the
Literacy Information and Communication System, is the ability of a reader to recognize
written words correctly and virtually effortlessly.
Research shows that being able to recognize words by sight increases a students
ability to read at grade level. As stated in the article, Learning to Read: The Importance
of Assessing Phonological Decoding Skills and Sight Word Knowledge, The more
accurate and automatic readers become with these individual word recognition processes,
the more cognitive space can be freed up for comprehending strings of text (Wagner). It
was also stated in Sources of Individual Differences in Reading Comprehension and
Reading Fluency, Word-level reading has been found to be the major determinant of
reading comprehension (Jenkins 2003). Due to this research, I believe it is crucial I
assess Sandras sight word knowledge, form instruction based on the words she missed,
and practice these words until she achieves proficiency.
The pros to administering this assessment is that it will give me an idea as to what
reading level Sandra is in. Itll also help me create flash cards for her to work on with a

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parent volunteer or with a family member at home. Practicing these words will improve
her fluency as well as her reading ability. A con to this assessment is that it takes awhile
to administer and it might frustrate her if the words are too difficult and she continuously
misses them.
After that, I will test her reading comprehension because of the value it holds.
Reading comprehension measures the readers ability to recall information from a text as
well as understand what the author is trying to convey. It is also a skill students should
have in order to be successful in school. In my assessment I will address her reading
fluency as well as what she comprehended as a result of it.
Research shows that reading a text fluently isnt enough. Students must also be
able to summarize and comprehend a story that they have read. Due to this, assessing
Sandra on her comprehension ability is crucial in order to better understand whether or
not her vocabulary, spelling, and reading level are affecting her comprehension.
The pro to administering this assessment is itll show me whether or not Sandra
knows how to utilize her reading strategies to decipher a word. Itll also allow me to see
if her reading ability affects her comprehension. The cons to this assessment it itll
require multiple fluency passages until I find her just right level, which can be time
consuming and frustrating for Sandra. Another con to this assessment is some words may
be mispronunciated based on her first language, which makes assessing her fluency and
comprehension difficult.
Lastly, I will assess her writing, which will be a great indicator of her third grade
spelling, her knowledge of sentence parts, as well as whether she can use details in her
picture or writing to convey what she wants the reader to know. This assessment is of

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great importance because it will let me know whether or not she is sounding out words
correctly when she is putting the words down on paper. It will also allow me to assess
whether or not she can use details not only in a sentence, but also in her picture to convey
a message.
Research shows that reading and writing are interconnected. Thus, being skilled in
both is a necessity to be successful in school across all subject areas. Icy Lee states that,
Writers read and reread their own drafts in order to improve them. Readers, on the other
hand, paraphrase and summarize in writing what they have read. Thus reading and
writing are integrally connected (Lee 2000). The research also states that helping
students to see that the two are connected, helps them become good readers. When
students understand that the two are connected, they begin to understand that they need to
write for an audience and that the text they write needs to be comprehendible. Writing is
also known to help a student understand more about a topic, which is done through
reading research. Conducting writing assessments demonstrates whether a child is aware
that they are writing for an audience. It also demonstrates whether or not the student reread to ensure their text was comprehendible and it also shows whether or not they know
their letter sounds, blending, grade level spelling, parts of a sentence, and conventions.
Reading a childs work demonstrates the sounds they hear in spoken word and it also
demonstrates their ability to create literature.
An advantage to this form of assessment is it will allow me to see whether or not
she has third grade level writing. Through this assessment I will be able to see not only if
she has good handwriting, but it will also be a clear indicator as to whether or not she
understands the basic components of forming a sentence, syntax, and including the proper

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use of conventions. A disadvantage to this form of assessment is that these forms of
assessments are graded subjectively. For that reason, I will need to find a rubric that
aligns with the common core state standards so I may be as objective as possible.
Once I have administered the benchmark assessments I have described above, I
will administer both formative and summative assessments. These assessments will help
me ensure Sandra stays on track.
For formative assessments, I will informally assess my students in the middle of a
lesson through the use of a whiteboard. Doing this, allows students to show what they
know, but without the added pressure of being wrong in front of others. It will also be an
easy, quick, and effective way for me to see who understands the material and who is still
struggling. Based on my assessment, I will be able to pull back small groups for those
who need additional help. It will also help guide future instruction if I noticed several
students missed the same problem.
I will perform summative assessments during each unit. I will begin by giving
students a pretest so they demonstrate what they already know. Then, at the end of a unit,
I will assess the students over the same material. This form of assessment will show me
who has grown throughout the unit. It will also show me what skills I may need to
continue working on with students.
As you can see assessment plays a prominent part in the classroom today. With a
growing population in the district and the constant turn around rate at schools, it is crucial
that teachers understand assessment, how to implement it, and how to analyze it in order
to drive instruction. Based on my time at UNLV, I feel confident in implementing these
assessments when new students, such as Sandra, arrive. I believe these assessments will

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help me understand my student both personally and academically so that I may plan my
instruction to help her succeed to the best of her ability.

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Assessment
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http://edglossary.org/assessment/
Brown, H. Douglas. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. White Plains, NY:
Pearson Longman, 2007. Print.
Dodge, J. (n.d.). What Are Formative Assessments and Why Should We Use Them? |
Haynes, Judie. "Stages of Second Language Acquisition." EverythingESL: The K-12 ESL
Resource from Judie Haynes. Web. 15 Sept. 2010.
<http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/language_stages.php>.
Hasbrouck, J. (2006). Understanding and Assessing Fluency. Retrieved February 08,
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Herman, J. L., & Baker, E. L. (2005, November). Making Benchmark Testing Work.
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http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?
doi=10.1.1.560.145&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Jenkins, J. R., Fuchs, L. S., van den Broek, P., Espin, C., & Deno, S. L. (2003). Sources
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Lee, I. (2000). Exploring Reading-Writing Connections through a Pedagogical Focus on
"Coherence.". Canadian Modern Language Review, 57(2), 352-56.
Lightbown, Patsy M., and Nina Spada. How Languages Are Learned. Oxford [u.a.:
Oxford Univ., 2008. Print.

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McKenna, M.C., & Kear, D.J. (1990, May). Measuring attitude toward reading: A new
tool for teachers.
The Reading Teacher, 43(8), 626-639. http://dx.doi.org/10.1598/RT.43.8.3
Copyright International Reading Association. All rights reserved.
Oral Fluency Assessment | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 08, 2016, from
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River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2011. Print.
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Strickland, D. S. (2010). Essential readings on early literacy. Newark, DE: International
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Vaughn, Sharon, Candace S. Bos, and Jeanne Shay Schumm. Teaching Students Who Are
Exceptional, Diverse, and at Risk in the General Education Classroom. Upper
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Wagner, R. K. (n.d.). Learning to Read: The Importance of Assessing Phonological
Decoding Skills and Sight Word Knowledge. Retrieved from
www.hmhco.com/.../assessment.../Learning_to_Read.pdf