The kind of "low-tech" data Betsy describes is much more useful to the teacher than the standardized test data that is so popular now. In addition the low-tech data is fairer and more comprehensive in it's judgement of the student and by extension the teacher. Arlyne NYC In a message dated 9/11/2010 12:37:25 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
My school using a fairly low-tech but effective means of assessing the students' reading progress. At the start of the year, the Student Support Services team (which consisted of ESOL, Learning Support, and the school counselor) tested the reading abilities of each child in our elementary school using a running record. The tester started where the student tested out at then of last year or for new students, where the classroom teacher believes is the student's reading level. It took two intense weeks for the SSS team and lots of pullouts for the classroom teacher. But at the end we had a comprehensive data on each child's reading levels. This process is repeated at the end of the year to track progress and to reflect on our teaching practice and methods. This is the third year my school is doing this. The first year it was a bit of a mess because some testers had different "lens" on when they were testing. Some put more emphasis on fluency while others only tested for comprehension. In the second year, the testing team met every day to discuss the process, streamline and normalize their practice. In the third year, this process is sleek, fast and the end product, the data, is extremely valuable to the classroom teacher. For writing, we have a writing test. With a common prompt, each child writes a story. No names are on the writing test. Then the writing tests are divided among the classroom teachers and are scored using a rubric based on the 6 traits (ideas, sentence fluency, mechanics, voice, organization and word choice). This data is collected and used to drive the classroom instruction for each child. Like the reading, this process is repeated towards the end of the year. On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 11:06 PM, Jeana Wise <[email protected]>wrote: > What types of data does your schools collect for anaylsis? My district is > using Aimsweb, but I am thinking that other forms of data may be helpful > when looking at interventions for our struggling students. My district no > longer gives the DRA, either. > > Jeana Wise > K-4 Literacy Coach > [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> > > _______________________________________________ > 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. > > _______________________________________________ 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. _______________________________________________ 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.
