Phonics: Part 5: Assessment Strategies

Letter Cards
A quick way to check to see if children know their consonants is to put them on flashcards and ask them to name the sound that each letter makes. Blends and diagraphs can be put on cards too. For vowels, include the spelling patterns. You can also include a picture that represents each sound.

Phoneme Writing and Manipulation
Informal assessment of phonemes can occur when you ask a child to write the letter that represents the sound you are making, the beginning sound of a word you say, the ending sound of a word you say, the vowel sound of a word you say, or the median sound of a word you say. An extension is to ask the child to write the new word that is made when you change a letter in a word. This type of assessment is done orally when checking for phonemic awareness. The difference here is that you ask the child to write the sound or new word.

Spelling Tests
Should teachers who use word walls have separate spelling tests? The following web site explains how word walls can be used to create spelling tests that allow for individual differences. Since the word wall is a classroom tool, it is left uncovered. Some children will need to use the word wall to help them spell the words, while others will not.
http://www.k111.k12.il.us/lafayette/fourblocks/spelling_test.htm .

Writing
Children’s invented spelling tells a lot about how they are functioning with phonics. Spelling is developmental. In the beginning, babies will scribble to represent writing. Then they begin to represent whole words with one letter. This is letter-name spelling. This is the most difficult to read, especially because children at this stage do not have a clear sense of words and the convention of putting space between them. As they become more sophisticated in their understanding of the letter-sound relationship, their writing approximates correct spelling more closely. Sometimes children’s writing reveals over-generalization of the rules. As examples, they may write “writed” instead of “wrote” or “lookted” instead of “looked.” Other times their writing shows exactly what they heard, instead of conventional spelling: “lookt” or “nashun.” These are teachable moments. Model for children the thinking that a person uses to determine how to correctly spell such words. Show them spelling patterns and exceptions.

Observing Children Reading Aloud—Running Records
A running record allows you to record a child’s reading behavior as he/she reads from a book. Knowing the level of the book helps you determine the child’s independent, instructional, and frustration levels. Start by doing a running record using a book that you believe is close to the child’s developmental level. Readinga-z.com provides benchmark books for this purpose, but you can do running records on any book as long as you can determine its reading level.

You may wonder whether to do a running record on a book that the reader has never seen or one that has been read once or twice. It depends upon whether you want to know how well a child works with unknown text or how well he/she recalls familiar text. At Reading a-z, they recommend using a book that has not been previously read. For this reason, they provide a benchmark book at each level. Complete instructions for how to construct and score a running record using the Reading a-z web site are at http://www.readinga-z.com/assess/runrec.html. The Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) is another resource of leveled books for running records. See: http://plgcatalog.pearson.com/program_multiple.cfm?site_id=2&program_id=200&searchType=Title&searchTerm=dra. The Johns Basic Reading Inventory is an option that incorporates running records and allows you to determine a child’s reading level. See: http://www.kendallhunt.com/index.cfm?PID=219&CID=219&CEL=992&PRD=7492. Each of these has slightly different forms and processes. You can use the process outlined below on any children’s book, basal story, or online story. Use the Fry readability formula FryReadabilityGraph.gif or Word’s readability feature to determine the grade level of the book.

Once you analyze the results of your running record assessments, you can use them to assign children to an appropriate reading level for guided reading sessions. The results will also help you determine areas of weakness in phonics that you can address with skills instruction.

Taking running records gets easier with experience. Don’t be too hard on yourself during the first few attempts. The insights you acquire into your children’s reading behaviors are worth the effort.

The Running Record Form
There are two distinct parts to the assessment: the running record and a comprehension check. When you perform a running record, simply use the symbols and marking conventions explained in MarkingConventions Running Records.doc to record a child’s reading behavior as he or she reads from the book. There are two ways to do this. If you have a script, mark above the text. If you don’t have a script, use the form: Running Records Scoring Sheet.doc and fill in the page number and then make checks or ticks for each correct word. Write in the errors: substitutions, insertions, omissions, repetitions, etc. and mark them as described on the conventions sheet.

Remember: Errors (E) are tallied during the reading whenever a child does any of the following:
1. Substitutes another word for a word in the text

2. Omits a word

3. Inserts a word

4. Has to be told a word by the person administering the running record.

Self-correction (SC) occurs when a child realizes his/her error and corrects it. This is not counted as an error.

The last column asks the scorer to determine whether the child used meaning (M), structural (S), or visual (V) information in his/her attempt. Mark an error M (Meaning or semantics) if the child’s error actually makes sense in the sentence. Mark the error S (Structure) if the error is appropriate to the structure (syntax) of the language. “The deer jumped over the fence” would be marked as both M and S because it makes sense and is appropriate to the structure of the sentence. However, if the actual word was horse, you would not mark the error with V. Visual (V) information is related to looking at the letter/sound relationships in a word. A reader uses visual information when s/he studies the beginning sound, medial or vowel sound, ending sound, word length, or familiar word chunks. The point of the M, S, and V marking is to indicate the source(s) of information used when a child makes an error in a line of text. If the child self-corrects s/he has used all three cuing systems. If the child misses Visual cues, s/he may need phonics instruction. If the child misses Meaning and Structure cues, s/he may need comprehension monitoring instruction. M, S, and V help you determine the mini-lessons that you need to teach your children in guided reading groups, in individual instruction, or even in whole class instruction.

Count the errors, self-corrections, and accuracy rates and record them on the chart.

Analyzing and Scoring a Running Record

Qualitative Analysis: Qualitative analysis of the running record involves observing how the child uses the meaning (M), structural (S), and visual (V) cues to help him or her read. It also involves paying attention to fluency, intonation, and phrasing. If you offered prompts, think about how the child responded to them. All of these things help you to form a picture of the child’s reading development.

Quantitative Scoring: Quantitative scoring includes error, accuracy, and self-correction rates. The calculated rates, along with qualitative information and the child’s comprehension of the text, are used to determine a child’s reading level.

Error Rate: Divide the total number of words read by the total number of errors made.

Total words (TW) / total errors (E) = Error rate (ER)

Example: 120 / 6 = 20

The ratio is expressed as 1:20. This means that for each error made, the child read 20 words correctly.

Accuracy Rate: Accuracy rate is expressed as a percentage.

Total words read – total errors (TW - E) / total words read (TW) x 100 = Accuracy rate. (AR)

Example: (120 – 6) / 120 x 100 = Accuracy rate of 95%

The accuracy rate determines whether the text read is at the child’s independent, instructional, or frustration level.

Independent = 95% – 100%

Instructional = 90% – 94%

Frustration = 89%

Target instructional level books for guided reading groups, where there is teacher support. Find independent level books for sustained silent reading (SSR), which is done independently. Avoid books that are at frustration level. The child is not yet ready for them.

Self-correction Rate: Self-correction is expressed as a ratio.

Errors + self-correction (E + SC) / self-correction (SC) = Self-correction rate (SC rate)

Example: (10 + 5) / 5 = 3

The SC is expressed as 1:3. This means that the child corrects 1 out of every 3 errors. If a child is self-correcting at a rate of 1:3 or less, this indicates that she or he is self-monitoring her or his reading.

After the Reading: Check comprehension through asking the child to retell the story. This is the last step in conducting a running record. It is described in more detail in the Comprehension Module.

Student Talk: After the retelling, talk to the child about some of the things s/he did during the reading. Reinforce and praise strategic reading behaviors, like sounding out a word or self-correcting when the child realizes s/he was not comprehending. As an example, focus on a self-correction by asking, "How did you know it was people and not persons?"

Assessing children’s reading progress is key to moving them along at the proper developmental rate. The combination of information gained from the analysis of a running record, qualitative analysis, and analysis of a child’s retelling will help you select the appropriate books for your children’s reading levels. Remember, it does the reader little good to be placed at a reading level that is too difficult for him or her. Running records will help you match children with the appropriate level of reading materials.

A Word about Workbook Pages
Workbook pages have been used for many years to teach phonics. I once overheard one of my first graders saying to her neighbor, “I can do this page without even reading it.” That was a wake-up call for me. How meaningful is a workbook page that can be done with no thought? Phonics instruction should be meaningful and require children to think and make connections. Some teachers maintain that they need workbook pages for classroom management. This is an easy trap to fall into and, before you know it, your class is doing 15 or more pages a day!
We want our children to be meaningfully employed while we work with individuals or guided reading groups. However, there is nothing more deadly than having to do multiple worksheets for seatwork. Some children breeze through them with little thought, while others are so overwhelmed by them that they take all day. Limit these and always ask yourself if there might be a more effective way to meet the goals of the curriculum. For example, looking through a catalog for pictures that begin with the sound of the day, cutting them out, pasting them on a paper, and labeling them with the proper sound requires fine motor manipulation and thought about the letter-sound connection. That activity will take longer than a worksheet and can easily be part of a center.

Self-Evaluation of Module

Reflect on the following questions:
1. Why is phonics instruction important?
2. Why does it help to know how phonemes are produced?
3. Do you feel comfortable using a word wall in your classroom?
4. Do you know which sound to teach and when?
5. Do you feel comfortable using running records to monitor children’s reading progress?
6. Do you know some quick ways to assess phonics?
7. Do you know some alternatives to phonics workbook pages?

If you felt uncomfortable with any of the previous questions, you will want to go back through the module for ideas. Also, some of these concepts take practice, so give them a try. It is OK to make mistakes. That is how we learn. These ideas are research-based and fundamental to effective teaching, so it is important to master them.