There are many reasons why you will get discrepancies between tests. Here are a
few:
1. Assessments given on different days are but a snapshot. Kids can be sick on
one day, or distracted.
2. Some kids comprehend better when they read aloud...others when they read to
themselves. For example, second graders may not have transitioned to silent
reading yet and fail to comprehend when they read silently. Kids who are afraid
of making mistakes may do better when reading silently since they are avoiding
performance anxiety. Some auditory learners need to hear what they are reading
aloud to understand it.
3. The percentage of nonfiction in each assessment you are comparing. Some
children have different reading levels in fiction and nonfiction...many, for
example, lack experience in nonfiction text structures and therefore fail to
comprehend it.
4.How long was the text in each assessment? Some kids have trouble sustaining
comprehension through longer texts.
5. Did the child have to come up with an answer to a?comprehension question or
could he choose from several multiple choice responses? Multiple choice tests
tend to overestimate reading ability slightly because of the "guessing" factor
6. Did the child have to answer a question or retell? Some kids do better with
one or the other.
7. How interesting or motivating was the text in each assessment? Kids do
better when they are interested in what they are reading?
8. Have the tests been checked for bias? Some kids who lack background
knowledge of traditional middle class experiences are sometimes at a
disadvantage in some assessments....
9. What were the purposes for each assessment? Sometimes we misuse assessments
as a way of determining reading level when they are really meant to assess
isolated skills. An example...reading tests that give word lists and then a
reading level without looking at comprehension....
Jennifer
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group
<[email protected]>
Sent: Wed, Jun 24, 2009 2:12 pm
Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] IRA conversion chart with wpm & writing, Running
Record/Reading Level
We used these also, but there is still discrepancy when teachers use the
different assessments.
Carol
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