Assessment Time

The school year is drawing to a close. We only have three more weeks of our Fairview rotations (two for the 6th graders since they are away at Science Camp for a week).  So that means it's assessment time.

One of the things they stressed at my Fairview Regional Training was assess, assess, assess. We did beginning of the year Guided Reading, Adapted Dolch, ASL and writing assessments. I've been assessing the Adapted Dolch words and Bridge Phrases as often as needed throughout the year. Also, I assessed for Guided Reading levels (using the DRA) as I felt the students were topping out on a level and it was becoming too easy for them.  But now it's time for the end of year assessments.

In the Fairview student progress book there is a simple Progress form to fill out. It has everything you need to compile information for the assessments and then document the results online. But it's missing a spot for Guided Reading and our DRA assessment.  So I created this cute little form to use to document progress. I like that it's all on one sheet and is a quick little snapshot of the student's levels.  It's a nice little quick-reference sheet for current levels.

Click over to Google Docs to download a copy of the progress form if it would be helpful in your classroom.

Reading Assessment

 

For our Reading Assessment I mainly use the Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA).  I like to assess the students at least once every trimester. Sometimes it's more often if the student is suddenly making outstanding progress and their current leveled books are too easy.

 

I've made several copies of each assessment and they are stored in the folders for easy access. This way if I need to go up, or down a level, the copies are already made and ready to go. I like the DRA because it includes a running record as well as a rubric for comprehension. Comprehension is where my students really struggle, so it's nice to have their progress documented by level.

 

Assessment results are recorded on the student's Guided Reading Log, and their DRA Continuum folders in their Student Portfolios. I like using the DRA Continuum folders because it can keep track of the student's progress all in one place. It's sometimes very slow progress and I want to make sure to really celebrate when progress happens!

 

Occasionally, when a student has read the same DRA assessment more than once I will use the Rigby Benchmark Assessment instead. The comprehension part is not as in-depth, that's why I prefer the DRA.