By: Elizabeth Rath and Abby Herman

CI 5431

Dr. David O’Brien

Summer 2013

Assessment and

Identification of

Struggling Readers in the

Primary Grades

GOALS

• To share resources that teachers can use to be most

effective when assessing and identifying struggling readers

in our classrooms.

• Inform our audience of the state of assessment and

necessity for purposeful, meaningful assessments that

drive-instruction and classroom interventions.

RATIONALE

Assessment of foundational reading skills is integral for young

readers' success in literacy, before self efficacy suffers

"The rationale for early assessment lie in (a) research on reading development that

indicates the importance of basic skills for future success and (b) classroom evidence

that early diagnosis and remediation of reading difficulties can improve children's

reading achievement"

(Paris S. Hoffman J., 2004)

"A child who is a poor reader in first grade is 88% more likely to remain a poor reader

in 4th grade" (Juel, 1988)

"The early years are the focus for the prevention of reading difficulties" (Clay, 1993)

RATIONALE

Comprehensive, balanced literacy assessments will allow

teachers to identify and target the areas in which our struggling

readers need support.

"Current reading assessment practice reflects a series of imbalances that influence

teaching and learning. As teachers, we are challenged to provide effective instruction

for all students. Effective instruction depends on assessment that helps teachers and

students move toward and attain daily and annual reading goals."

(Afflerbach et. al, 2011)

"A single assessment cannot adequately represent the complexity of a child's reading

development."

(Paris S. Hoffman J., 2004)

Who Are Struggling Readers?

1. Students with biological difference, i.e. dyslexia (Pressley,

2006)

2. Readers of lower than average intelligence or "Garden

Variety" (Stanovich, 2001)

3. Poor readers of average intelligence but victims of poor

instruction (Pressley, 2006)

4. Typically achieving students who feel like poor readers

(O'Brien, 2008)

CRITICAL FINDINGS

We have organized our critical findings into four categories of

assessment. After we present each category and it's findings, we

will supply resources for professional development that you

could use in your schools.

Four Types of Assessments

http://reading.uoregon.edu/cia/assessment/assess_types.php

• Screening - Designed as a first step in identifying children who may be at

high risk for delayed development or academic failure and in need of further

diagnosis of their need for special services or additional reading instruction.

• Diagnostic - Helps teachers plan instruction by providing in-depth

information about students' skills and instructional needs.

• Progress Monitoring - Determines through frequent measurement if

students are making adequate progress or need more intervention to

achieve grade-level reading outcomes.

• Outcome - Provides a bottom-line evaluation of the effectiveness of the

reading program in relation to established performance levels.

Screening

• Given to all students to identify those who may be at risk for

reading struggles.

• Given at least 3 times a year to prevent "false negatives".

• The screening measures will change as students gather new

skills, but should be reflective of the skill set they should

already have.

Screening cont.

• Screening assessments give you a first glimpse of the child as

a reader, so you can determine who may be in need of further

diagnosis and intervention. Screening tools should not be used

in isolation - it's like trying to determine why a basketball team

lost based solely on the score. (Afflerbach et. al. 2011)

Sources:

Hall, S. (n.d.). Helpful assessment for struggling young readers. Retrieved from

http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/LD-ADHD/742-struggling-young-readers.gs

Torgesen, J. K. (2002). The prevention of reading difficulties. Journal of School Psychology,

40(1), 7-26.

Screening Resources

Student Inventory and interviews

(An article by Yetta Goodman about reading interviews)

Get Ready to Read

ELORS

Diagnostic Assessments

• After screening assessments have indicated a student may

be struggling, or after progress monitoring tools show that a

student is not making adequate progress, a diagnostic

assessment should be administered.

• Diagnostics will help target the specific areas in which

students can improve.

• Using the information from a diagnostic assessment, we can

create learner profiles to tailor instruction to specific needs. Source:

Lipson , M., Chomsky-Higgins, P., & Kanfer, J. (2011). Diagnosis: The missing ingredient in

rti assessment. The Reading Teacher, 65(3), 204-208.

Diagnostic Resources

Specific skills focused assessments - alphabetics,

phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, etc.(these may be targeted assessments that you already use in your classroom)

DIBELS

DRA

Diagnostic Resources

Jan Richardson's Observation Guides

Emergent

Early

Transitional

Diagnostic Resources

Assessing Reading Skills

From Reading Rockets'

PBS television series

Launching Young Readers

Progress Monitoring

• Given 3 times per year for all students, at least monthly for

struggling readers.

• If previously identified students are not making progress,

change the intervention. If students not previously identified

as struggling appear to be stagnating, continue with a

diagnostic assessment.

Progress Monitoring cont.

• Progress monitoring should be a balance of qualitative and

quantitative: observation and data-driven

• "A robust classroom assessment program continually

provides detailed information about students' current

competencies and next steps." (Afflerbach, 2011)

Source:

Safer, N., Bootel, J., & Halland Coviello, R. (2006, 09 28). Improving student outcomes

through progress monitoring. Retrieved from http://www.studentprogress.org/doc/VASEA9-

28-06.pdf

Progress Monitoring Resources

Guided reading observations(A source to defend the importance and usefulness of guided reading in the classroom)

Iaquinta, A. (2006). Guided reading: A research based response to the challenges of

early reading instruction. Early Childhood Educational Journal, 33(6).

Curriculum-Based Measures (CBM)(A powerpoint presentation about progress monitoring and the effectiveness of CBM)

National Center on Student Progress Monitoring(Site provides many resources for classroom use, and professional development)

Progress Monitoring Resources

Jan Richardson's Reading Progress Log

This works well for tracking student progress and is useful as a tool to see

where further diagnosis is needed to ensure all students are progressing.

.

Outcome Assessment

• Given to determine how students are performing in relation to

each other.

• Can help teachers realize the efficacy of

instruction/intervention.

• Are not high quality tools for driving instruction. (Afflerbach,

2011)

• Can be used as a screening tool in some instances (ex:

looking at last year's test data to see who may be in need of

further diagnosis)

Outcome Assessment Resources

Organizing comprehensive data and using multiple assessments

to identify areas of difficulty for studentsRubin, J. (2011). Organizing and evaluating results from multiple reading assessments.

The Reading Teacher, 64(8), 606-611.

End of unit assessments

Standardized assessments

*Many outcome assessment tools are mandated by district, state or federal government

or are related to classroom curricula.

Other Helpful Resources for Assessment

University of Oregon Center on Teaching and

Learning - Big Ideas in Beginning ReadingFurther explains the four categories of assessment, and their uses.

Reading RocketsAbout - about the reading rockets site

Advisors - who are those on the advisory panel?

Struggling Readers - why to readers struggle?

Assessment Process - compilation of assessment related articles

Target the Problem - web-based tool to help teachers and families provide support to

their struggling readers

Guided Reading with Dr. Jan RichardsonA large collection of assessment and observation tools that can be implemented as part

of a guided reading program in the classroom

"Best Practices"

Assessment practice in the classroom should be reflective of our

understanding of the four assessment types and their purposes.

Each type is meaningful on its own, but in order to identify and

best serve our struggling readers, we must use

a balanced approach.

This comprehensive method of assessment will allow teachers to

target specific reading needs so that effective, data-driven

interventions can be provided for our to help our struggling

readers succeed.

Works Cited

Afflerbach, P., Kim, J., Elliker Crassas, M., & Cho, B. (2011). Best practices in literacy assessment. In L.

Morrow & L. B. Gambrell (Eds.), Best Practices in Literacy. Instruction (4th ed., pp. 319-340). New

York, New York: The Guilford Press.

Clay, M. M. (1993). An observation survey of early literacy achievement. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann

Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of fifty-four children from first through fourth

grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 437-447.

O'Brien, D. G., & Dillon, D. R. (2008). The role of motivation in engaged reading of adolescents. In K.

Hinchman & H. Sheridan-Thomas (Eds.), Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction New York, New

York: Guilford Press.

Paris, S., & Hoffman, J. (2004). Reading assessments in kindergarten through third grade: Findings from

the center for the improvement of early reading achievement. The Elementary School Journal ,

105(2), 199-217.

Pressley, M. (2006). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching. (3rd ed., pp. 66-95).

New York: The Guilford Press.

Stanovich, K. E. (1988). Explaining the differences between the dyslexic and the garden-variety poor

reader: The phonological-core variable-difference model.Journal of Learning Disabilities,

21(10), 590-604.

Bibliography

Allington, R. (2011). Best practices with Struggling Readers. In L. Morrow & L. B. Gambrell (Eds.), Best

Practices in Literacy Instruction (4th ed., pp. 96-116). New York, New York: The Guilford Press.

Linklater, D., O'Connor, R., & Palardy, G. (2009). Kindergarten literacy assessment of English Only and

English language learner students: An examination of the predictive validity of three phonemic

awareness measures. Journal of School Psychology, 47, 369-394.

Pomplum, M. (2004). The differential predictive validity of the initial skills analysis: Reading screening tests

for K-3. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 64(813)

Rupley, W. H., Blair, T. R., & Nichols, W. D. (2009). Effective reading instruction for struggling readers: The

role of direct/explicit teaching. Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming LEarning

Difficulties,

24(2), 125-138.

Rynolds, M., Wheldall, K., & Madelain, A. (2011). Early identification of young struggling readers:

Preliminary benchmarks for intervention for students in years one and two in schools in

South Wales. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties, 16(2), 127-143.

Valencia , S., & Buly, M. (2004). Behind the test scores: What struggling readers really need. The Reading

Teacher, 6(6), 520-531