I loved the opening of this chapter as Howard relates assessments to a GPS. Effective assessment works much like a GPS, a tracking system to reflect where our students are at any given time and each assessment offers a new entry to help us navigate toward academic success. Unfortunately, assessment is not about microchips or data entry. The teacher is the navigator to the student's success or failure. Teachers must constantly look at the data and make decisions that lead the student on the correct path and to ensure they are led to academic success. The teacher must be the driving force to ensure that assessment and instruction works together.
To understand RTI assessment, schools will need to have a clear understanding of summative and formative assessments. Summative can be described as an assessment of students, while formative is an assessment for students. Howard reminds us that effective assessment must serve to advance learning rather than to simply document it. (Wormeli, 2006)
I love that we studied Formative Assessment for two years. I found this study to be so helpful when I was in the classroom. I cringed when my children had huge projects to do and never given a rubric. YIKES! I also am reminded of our learning with Jill Johnson, Making Meaning curriculum presenter, as she pointed out a simple parental question, "what do you know about my child as a reader?" Observational notes & checklists during reading conferences and small groups are important and reveal vital information about each learner.
Howard does not recommend specific assessments but mostly cautions schools to prevent assessment from over-running high quality instruction. The two assessments in an RTI plan are universal screenings and progress monitoring. Universal screenings are used to take one snapshot at a specific moment to determine if a student needs intervention. Progress monitoring is a series of snapshots of the child's learning progress as the student receives the intervention. I love this explanation of snapshots. Schools will need to decide what "camera" is to be used and who the photographer will be.
Howard emphasizes the importance of running records, reading conversations with a student and the use of CBMs (curriculum based measurements, one minute oral reading probes). We are right on target with our Fountas & Pinnel Benchmark Assessment Systems and now we need to be taking more informal running records to record necessary reading behaviors and to have comprehension conversations or writing activities to allow students to show us their comprehension skills. I also am glad we began using the Intervention Leveling System by Fountas & Pinnel. Our special education teachers are currently using these systems but I believe any child in tier 3 could benefit from this intervention guided reading system.
Overall, I feel we will need to develop our assessment plan and to find assessments that will truly help change our instruction. The balancing act of instruction and assessment is definitely like a three-ring circus and the teacher is the ringmaster.
As Howard suggest, we will need to establish an instructional assessment cycle. We must continuously ask overarching questions about what the data reveals about our learners. These questions and steps will serve us well in our PLCs.
Identify-Determine Need
Is there a problem?
Target-Focus Attention
If so, what is the problem?
Plan-Instructional Procedures
In what ways might we address the problem?
Assess-Evidence of Success
Is the instructional action resolving the problem?
Modify-Instructional Adaptation
What adjustments might we need to make in the instruction?
Evaluate-Evidence of Success
Did these instructional adjustments resolve the problem?
Although we have much work to do in the area of assessments, I believe we are on the right track and we are becoming stronger with our knowledge of balancing effective assessment with high quality instruction!
Happy Reading-Mrs. Speake
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