Assessment – Page 2 – The Literacy Brain

In my last post I defined universal screening as: a series of short, easy-to-administer probes of 1-3 minutes used determine student learning level. The data from universal screening is used to determine those students who are at-risk for reading acquisition and for student placement in the response to intervention model. Universal screening is usually given three times a year. This screening should identify 90% of the students who may be at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is often used to monitor student progress and as a diagnostic assessment to determine students’ individual learning needs.

Universal screening is a vital component of the response to intervention (RTI) model. Screening students with the right assessment probes at the right time is essential to an effective RTI model. Students should be assessed for proficiency of their current grade level. Students not showing grade level proficiency should be placed in tiers or groups of focused instruction to improve their literacy skills. The groups may look different in each classroom or school depending on the current learning needs of present students. Students should be monitored to ensure that current placement is effective for them.

The following is a timeline for the types of universal screeners that should be used to determine students who are at-risk for literacy acquisition. This table was developed while I was conducting research for chapter 2 of my dissertation.

Table 1

Universal Screening Grade Level Timeline

Reading Skill	Column A Gersten et al., 2009	Column B Kashima et al., 2009	Column C Lam & McMaster, 2014	Column D NJCLD, 2011
Letter naming & fluency	Grade K-1	Grade K-1	Grade K-1
Phoneme segmentation	Grade K-1	Grade K-1
Phonemic awareness Nonsense fluency	Grade 1		Grade K-3
Word identification	Grade 1-2		Grade K-3
Oral reading fluency	Grade 1-2	Grade 1	Grade K-3	Grade K-3
Sound repetition		Grade K-1
Vocabulary		Grade 1
Reading comprehension		Grade 2-3		Grade K-3
Listening comprehension		Grade 2-3		Grade K-3
Written expression				Grade K-3
Basic reading skills				Grade K-3
Oral expression				Grade K-3

Note: Column A was adapted from “Assisting Students Struggling with Reading: Response to Intervention (RTI) and Multi-Tier Intervention in the Primary Grades” by R. Gersten et al., 2008, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2009-4045, p. 13. Column B was adapted from “The Core Components of RTI: A Closer Look at Evidence-Based Core Curriculum, Assessment and Progress Monitoring, and Data-Based Decision Making by Y. Kashima, B. Schleich, and T. Spradlin, 2009, Center for Evaluation & Education Policy, p. 6. Column C was adapted from “A 10-Year Update of Predictors of Responsiveness to Early Literacy Intervention” by E. A. Lam and K. L. McMaster, 2014, Learning Disabilities Quarterly, 37(3), p. 143. Column D was adapted from “Comprehensive Assessment and Evaluation of Students with Learning Disabilities” by The National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities, 2011, Learning Disability Quarterly, 34(1), 3-16.

Other references

Gilbert, J., Compton, D., Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L. S. (2012). Early screening for risk of reading disabilities: Recommendations for a four-step screening system. NIH Public Access, Author Manuscript. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3903290 doi:10.1177/1534508412451491

Kilgus, S. P., Methe, S. A., Maggin, D. M., & Tomasula, J. L.(2014). Curriculum-based measurement of oral reading (r-cbm): A diagnostic test accuracy meta-analysis of evidence supporting use in universal screening. Journal of School Psychology, 52, 377-405. doi:10.1016/j.jsp.2014.03.002.

Ray, J.S. (2017). Tier 2 interventions for students in grades 1-3 identified as at-risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/

There are many types of assessments that can be used to inform student achievement and instructional needs. Some assessments can be used for multiple purposes. Determining why your assessing students should drive the types of assessments to use and the timeframes to give them. The more common assessments are:

Formative assessments: Any set of measurements used “to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to improve their teaching and by students to improve their learning” (Eberly Center, 2010).
Summative assessments: Any set of measurements that “evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or benchmark” (Eberly Center, 2010).
Observation assessment: Educators note particular traits; such as behaviors, skills, or attitudes of a student that occur during an instructional task. Educators usually chose particular times of instruction to record observational or anecdotal notes. Anecdotal notes should be kept confidential. Anecdotal notes should be used to strengthen other assessment outcomes and to inform student placement and instruction.
Progress monitoring: A process that involves assessing students’ academic performance, quantifying student rates of improvement or responsiveness to instruction, and evaluating the effectiveness of instruction (National Center for Learning Disabilities, 2015). Progress monitoring is used monitor student progress over a set timeframe, usually related to an intervention instruction. Progress monitoring can also be used for student placement.
Diagnostic assessments: Used to evaluate individual student abilities in order to identify strengths and deficits of a specific academic domain (Mellard, McKnight, & Woods, 2009). These assessments can be used to reduce the false positives of universal screening—students assessing higher or lower than their learning level. Diagnostic assessment data is used to inform student placement and instruction.

Universal Screening: A series of short, easy-to-administer probes of 1-3 minutes used to determine those students who are at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is usually administered school or district-wide three times a year. The screening should identify 90% of the students who may be at-risk for reading acquisition. Universal screening is often used to monitor student progress and as a diagnostic assessment to determine students’ individual learning needs.

In my next post, I will further describe universal screenings and what types of assessment probes should be used to determine those students who may be at-risk for reading acquisition in Grades K-3.

References:

Eberly Center, Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation (2017). Formative vs Summative Assessment. Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved from www.cmu.edu/assessment/basics/formative-summative.html

Mellard, D. F., McKnight, M., & Woods, K. (2009). Response to intervention screening and progress-monitoring practices in 41 local schools. Learning Disabilities Research &Practice, 24(4), 186-195. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5826.2009.00292.x

National Center for Learning Disabilities (2015). RTI Action Network. Retrieved from http://rtinetwork.org.

Category: Assessment

Universal Screening

Assessments—Commonly Used in the Classroom

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