Module 6

Literacy Learning Assessments

Article Talk

One article focuses on how data from early literacy assessments can help teachers to better instruct English-language learning students. Data from 52 high-risk schools are used to compare the progress of English learners and English-only students on a variety of literacy assessments. Results reveal that a much higher percentage of Spanish-speaking students remain at the beginning reading level throughout the primary grades. A close-up look at the responses of two of these Spanish-speaking beginning readers provides teachers with insights into what is difficult for English learners, what they grasp more easily, and how they may use background knowledge in Spanish to tackle literacy tasks in English. While similarities in the students' results show they will profit from some of the same developmental activities, the samples also point out how their instructional needs vary. This analysis models the way in which literacy assessments can support a deeper understanding of the strategies and needs of English learners. Educators are encouraged to use literacy assessments to identify individuals and groups of students that require additional support, and provide enriched learning opportunities at their developmental level that build on students' background understandings.

The other article talks about an instrument for assessing young students' understanding of the English orthographic system. The Tile Test measures understanding of phoneme awareness, letter-sound correspondences, decoding and spelling of words, sight-word reading, and the application of decoding and spelling in sentences. Metalinguistic questions embedded within hands-on interactive activities reveal the nature of children's problem-solving strategies for decoding and spelling words. The instrument is efficient and flexible, and offers feedback to guide instruction. The authors describe the instrument, its administration, and scoring, as well as offer evidence of its validity and reliability. Examples of students' responses are provided to illustrate how analysis and interpretation of results are used to make instructional decisions. The authors discuss ways for teachers to adapt the individually administered test to match their curriculum and to accommodate small-group settings.

Early Literacy Assessment

The early literacy assessment can provide a critical service to teachers as they attempt to prevent early reading difficulty or failure. There is now a substantial body of research that documents the early literacy behaviors that are critical to the development of beginning reading and writing (Adams, 1990; Chall, 1996; Juel, 1988; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Ongoing assessment of early literacy progress is essential for giving teachers the information they need to measure student progress, identify students who may require additional or individualized assistance, and guide instructional practice (Invernizzi & Meier, 2001; Snow et al.; Vellutino & Scanlon, 2001).

Ways to asses students

The Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) is the standardized assessment featured in this article. The PALS assessment has been used in K–3 classrooms across the country to measure reading progress and identify students in need of extra support (Invernizzi & Meier, 2001). The results of this measure with more than 18,000 students in Nevada show teachers the valuable information to be gleaned from early literacy assessments, and guide them to use what they learn to provide targeted instruction for primary-age ELLs.

The Tile Test is an individually administered diagnostic assessment designed to quickly evaluate early readers’ and writers’ understanding of letters, sounds, words, and sentences. include several of those generally accepted as necessary for successful beginning reading and spelling: phoneme awareness, letter and sound correspondences, decoding and spelling of words, sight-word reading, and the application of decoding and spelling in sentences. Additional activities have students respond to metalinguistic questions to assess the level of problem-solving strategies known and applied when using English orthography. The Tile Test has been shown to be a reliable measure of basic decoding and spelling skills. Reliability addresses the trustworthiness of all facets of the test. Cronbach’s (1951) alpha, a statistic used to measure the internal consistency of an instrument, was calculated at kindergarten and first grade.

The benefits of assessments

Early literacy assessments can provide a critical service to teachers as they attempt to prevent early reading difficulty or failure. There is now a substantial body of research that documents the early literacy behaviors that are critical to the development of beginning reading and writing(Adams, 1990; Chall, 1996; Juel, 1988; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Ongoing assessment of early literacy progress is essential for giving teachers the information they need to measure student progress, identify students who may require additional or individualized assistance, and guide instructional practice (Invernizzi & Meier, 2001; Snow et al.; Vellutino & Scanlon, 2001).

The results of the Tile Test can be used to help teachers identify the level of understanding students have about letters, sounds, words, and sentences, as well as the strategies they employ and their awareness of strategy use. Students’ responses provide valuable qualitative information that immediately informs instruction. The Tile Test can be used to collect information before, during, and after instruction to check students’ prior knowledge and progress and to plan for future instruction. We suggest that the teacher begin by administering it to a few students. The Tile Test also serves as a shell for incorporating a broad range of orthographic patterns so that you can adapt the test to your curriculum content  (Felton & Wood, 1992).

The PALS literacy assessment helps the teacher to identify students who need extra support in their development in early literacy. Teachers can use the data collected from the PALS assessment to create and form instructional groups focusing on the teaching goals and meeting the individual needs of the students. The teacher can also use the oral reading in context assessment to provide important to estimate instructional reading levels and analyze students' reading behaviors. (Helman, 2005) Finding students' instructional reading level helps teachers create guided reading groups.

References

Helman, L.A. (2005). Using literacy assessment results to improve teaching for English-language  learners. The Reading Teacher, 58(7), 668-677.

Norman, K.A., & Calfee, R.C. (2004). Tile Test: A hands-on approach for assessing phonics in the  early grades. The Reading Teacher, 58(1), 42-52.