Making The Most Of Reading Assessment:

Making the Most of Reading Assessment:

Reporting, Supporting, and Teaching

Peter Afflerbach

University of Maryland

Pearson Literacy Leadership Conference

Chicago, IL
November 2, 2012

Typical Audiences and Purposes of Reading Assessment

Audience Purpose

Students To report on learning and communicate progress

To motivate and encourage

To teach children about assessment

and how to assess their own work

To build student independence

Teachers To determine nature of student learning

To inform instruction

To evaluate students and construct grades

To diagnose student strengths and weaknesses

Parents To inform of their children’s achievement

To help connect home and school efforts to

support students

School To determine instructional program

administrators effectiveness

To prove school and teacher accountability

Politicians To establish accountability of schools

To inform the public of school progress

Taxpayers To demonstrate that tax dollars are well spent

(From Afflerbach, 2012)

Re-thinking Initiate-Respond-Evaluate Questions: A Checklist

_____ I ask questions that are appropriately phrased and understood by students.

_____ I ask questions that are at an appropriate level for the materials being covered.

_____ I ask questions that require students to think at various intellectual levels.

_____ My questions follow a logical sequence.

_____ Student responses help me choose my next questions.

_____ My questions are consistent with the intended goals or objectives of the lesson.

_____ I ask processing questions if a student’s answer is incomplete or superficial.

_____ I encourage students to answer difficult questions by providing cues or rephrasing.

_____ I avoid closed-ended questions that restrict students’ demonstration of learning.

The “Sweet Spot” of Teaching and Formative Assessment

How does assessment figure in determining students’ zones of proximal development? What kind of detail, and what kind of assessment is needed?

How does assessment figure in teaching that helps students move through zones of proximal development?

The handy paragraph for helping people understand

the importance of self-assessment in reading

Please read the following, easy paragraph…

It is legitimate to further characterize the broadpoint appearance as a major archeological horizon marker for the eastern seaboard. In the terms of Willey and Phillips, a horizon is “a primarily spatial continuity represented by cultural traits and assemblages whose nature and mode of occurrence permit the assumption of a broad and rapid spread.” That a quick expansion of the broadpoint-using peoples took place is indicated by the narrow range of available radiocarbon dates, along with a correspondingly wide areal distribution of components. Once established, the broadpoint horizon developed as a “whole cultural pattern or tradition” in its own right by persisting and evolving over an expansive region for 500 to 1000 years.

Please keep track of the things you find yourself doing as you read to

understand the above paragraph.

Teacher questioning, checklists, and student self-assessment:

Connections and progressions

Teacher questions that model metacognition for students / Teacher questions transposed to student reading checklist / Resulting student reading behavior
Why are you reading? / ___I remember why I am reading. / Student reads with a sense of purpose
Does this make sense? / ___I read to understand the text. / Student reads, expecting to construct meaning
Is there a problem? / ___When I read, I keep an eye out for problems. / Student is looks out for blockages to meaning
What is the problem? / ___ If I feel there is a problem, I try to identify it. / Student identifies the problem
Can I fix it? / ___ I try to fix the problems I find. / Student tries to fix the problem
Can I get back on track? / ___ I try to maintain my reading, even when I encounter problems. / Student resumes reading

(From Afflerbach, Cho, Kim, Crassas, & Doyle, 2012)

Planning for Teaching Assessment and Classroom Talk

How do students learn to do assessment for themselves?

What types of assessment are good candidates for teaching assessment?

What role does classroom talk play in this teaching?

Develop a preliminary script related to a specific type of assessment (you choose) that helps students learn about the assessment, and how to do the assessment.

Planning for Supporting with Assessment and Classroom Talk

How can our assessment and classroom talk support students and their efforts to become better readers?

What should we attend to, in addition to cognitive strategies and skills?

Give an example of supportive, directive feedback that combines formative assessment and classroom talk.

The Assessment of Cognitive and Affective

Factors Related To Reading

If we assess these critical aspects of students’ reading development, what should be the nature of our assessments?

·  Motivation and engagement

·  Self-efficacy

·  Epistemic beliefs

·  Metacognition