Tim I agree with this wholeheartedly. I know we need a few assessments that look at every child but in fact not every child needs something even as good as the DRA. Some children are sailing along quite well and need our ongoingt observations, conferences, and the work samples that are authentic interactions with regard to reading and writing that are part of our teaching/learning/assessment classroom curriculum anyway. But they don't need in depth looks apart from that. Instead they could use more valuable in depth critical conversations. I can remember Brian for example, a 6th grader from whom I learned a lot discussing the differences between fantasy and science fiction and why he preferred Bradbury over Tolkien and so on. Better to spend my time with him on this conversation than on a DRA!
Of course I needed to spend more in depth time using a wide range of asssessment strategies to meet the learning needs of my struggling readers. I had the inclusion classroom at my grade levels (a multiage school). So maybe this is also a point that needs to be made strongly. Not every child needs the same assessments! YES!!!! So again, it makes good practical sense to provide a short but still good assessment for those "required" looks at every child. Then be more flexible and individualize other assessments. Sally On 7/1/07 8:00 AM, "RASINSKI, TIMOTHY" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The approach that my colleague Nancy Padak and I take is that a > quick assessment such as our Three Minute one or any other that may be > devised can be given to all children 2-4 times a year very quickly. > Those children who perform poorly or for whom we need more information > are good candidates for the more indepth assessment like the DRA. We > feel that not every child needs a full blown DRA or IRI - such > assessments take time that might otherwise be used for teaching. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
