Assessment Alley

In their book, Windows Into Literacy, Rhodes and Shanklin (1993) make a profound statement that summarizes how I feel about assessment. "Knowledge about how to gather and analyze useful assessment data to make decisions about instruction is crucial to teachers in socio-psycholinguistic, child-centered classrooms. In such classrooms, cues about instruction come largely from learners themselves rather than from the next lesson in a textbook. Through assessment, teachers can discover students' interests, strengths, and areas of developmental need to help them become more literate."

Solving the Assessment Puzzle
A Perspective from Dr. Roger Farr

I was fortunate enough to hear Dr. Roger Farr (Indiana University) speak several years ago at a conference at SDSU. When he was finished speaking, I wanted to cheer! This is a gentleman who helped develop the Metropolitan Achievement Test as well as other standardized assessment tools. He's obviously been converted to using more authentic and performance based assessments!  He has been honored for his outstanding lifetime contributions to the teaching of reading. He's in the IRA Reading Hall of Fame. He is a passionate proponent of more authentic and kid friendly assessment and about his belief in the power of portfolios and performance assessment. He is currently the program author of Steck-Vaughn's Think Alongs™: Comprehending as You Read series and senior author of Harcourt School Publishers Signatures and Collections. Some of my comments below about assessment, portfolios and conferencing were generated from my reading, from experience, and from listening to educators like Roger Farr. Hope you find some insight here.

During his lecture, Dr. Farr enthusiastically demonstrated how easy it is to put the pieces of the "assessment puzzle" together.

The first piece of the assessment puzzle takes a look at purpose. Is assessment for the benefit of the bureaucrats or is it intended to measure student performance and inform instruction? My response to this question is closely aligned with Roger Farr's impassioned plea to throw out the labels and think about children for a change: What is good for children?

The second piece of the puzzle asks the following three questions: What goes into a portfolio? Who puts it there? How is it looked at? The answers are found in "Roger's Basic Rules for Portfolios."

The third piece of Farr's assessment puzzle clearly outlines the basic contents of every student portfolio.

The final piece of the puzzle falls into place with the development of showcase portfolios. Dr. Farr described three types of showcase portfolios, their contents, and intended audience. The first is known as a "pass-on" portfolio, housed in a manila folder, and includes the reading/writing logs, student/teacher notes, and three things that the student selects to tell the next year's teacher about himself/herself as a reader/communicator. It is important to remember that the "pass-on" portfolios is a springboard for the next year's working portfolio.

Product assessment portfolios, also known as administrative portfolios, are created by teachers for the purpose of gathering and showing evidence, particularly in the cases of students whose test scores do not match their performance. These portfolios emphasize the goals of instruction and include a variety of sample items that are selected, dated, and annotated by the teacher.  A teacher summary statement should also be included. Dr. Farr pointed out that this type of assessment is usually limited to 10-20% of a class population, and that it is not necessary for every child.

The third type of showcase portfolio, the remembrance portfolio, involves parents and emphasizes the home/school connection. It highlights what the teacher thinks is important and provides a look at a child's development over time. Dr. Farr suggested that children give these carefully wrapped portfolios to their parents in a ceremony at school and then store them right beside the family photo album.

As a proponent and early pioneer of portfolio assessment and student-led conferences at my school, my initial response to Dr. Farr's presentation was a feeling of confirmation and validation for my personal philosophy about focusing on what works for children. I applaud Dr. Farr's enthusiastic efforts to reform and restructure the way we look at a child's progress and performance in school.

My second reaction was one of admiration for an esteemed educator, one who has moved from the dark ages of designing multiple choice tests to the enlightened age of advocating authentic assessment. This listener looked beyond the theatrics to find the man who truly cares about preserving the dignity of children and illuminating their gifts. I share and embrace his philosophy of assessment:

"Honor them for what they can do
and not destroy them for what they cannot."

* Benchmark assessments, such as school district outcomes
* Free choice items, such as reading and writing drafts, notes and finished work.
* Reading/writing response logs
* Student reflections
* Student organization plan: "How did you organize your stuff?"
* Student and teacher notes
* Book lists
* Photographs
* Reading contracts
* Audiotapes of student reading
* Awards
* Science experiment data
* Floppy disk with Power Point Presentation (my suggestion for the technology age!)

Note: I've seen some incredible portfolios in middle and high school classes. Each student is given a list of required writing styles to include in their portfolios and this becomes an inherent part of their table of contents.

Most of the staff at my school prefers to have student-led conferences. Report cards were a very small but necessary part of the conference. Here is a sample of a summary sheet that students may use to guide their conference. There are others that are just as good, if not better. When I was still in the classroom, I used a different format. One of the things I had my students tell their parents was how they could help them achieve their improvement goals. After parent conferences, each parent wrote a letter to their child and mailed it to the school. When all of the letters had arrived, they opened them and responded in writing to their parents. I have to say that some of the letters were real tear starters! The parents were often very moved to hear their children describe their progress at school.

Jigsaw vs. Assessment
A Comparison

What About the Parents?!
(adapted from an article by Collinson, 1995)

It is critically important that we inform parents about the process and that we encourage them to be enthusiastic supporters. Here are a few suggestions from the experts:

Adapted from: Collinson, Vivienne. (1995, August).
Making the Most of Portfolios. Learning. 43-46.

An Informed Teacher Makes Better Decisions
(My Personal Perspective)

   It is critically important for teachers to know their students prior to planning the details of a quality program. Granted, we all have access to cum folders, report cards and standardized test scores, and some of us are fortunate enough to see samples and examples of authentic performance assessment and student portfolios. If we're really lucky, the child's former teacher is a readily accessible colleague at the same school. There are, however, more enlightening and practice strategies that enable teachers to become better acquainted with their students as readers.
    Some teachers and/or entire school staffs have elected to involve parents in their efforts. At the beginning of the year, parents and children are invited to participate in "intake" conferences where they share relevant information about the child's interests, hobbies, talents, and reading habits outside of school This establishes a positive partnership, develops a sense of collaboration, and recognizes the role of each participant in the learning process. A mutual sharing of information, goals and concerns can make the difference in planning an effective program for all students.
    Another useful strategy is evaluation through observation. Unfortunately, anything closely related to summer reading is foreign to many of our students, unless, of course, it happens to be the instructions for a new video game, the television/movie schedule, or the freeway signs to the beach. Therefore, it is necessary to allow time for children to readjust to interacting with the printed word before you make any kind of informal or formal assessment to inform your instruction. Collect and display a wide variety of reading materials for independent reading, browsing, and exploration. Your selection should allow for a wide range of expected reading levels, interests and comfort zones. You may want to include big books, little books, graded basal readers, poetry, picture books, chapter books, library books, magazines, and newspapers.
    Begin your informal assessment by asking each child to read a selection from a book of his/her choice as well as one from a grade level reading book. This is an excellent time to initiate anecdotal records or kid watching notes. During and following the oral reading and subsequent discussion and retelling, make notes to yourself on what the child chooses to read, how well  he reads, and how he reads. This screening procedure can easily determine a student's general reading ability and overall attitude toward the reading process. It will also inform your curriculum planning and instruction and guide you in your selection of appropriate, leveled reading materials for you program.
    There are other benefits of being a detached observer in your classroom. Roger Farr (1989) believes that " . . . your observations can provide you with estimates of how the student feels about school; how the student interacts with peers and adults; how the student approaches problem situations; to what extent the student exhibits qualities of self-confidence, curiosity, enthusiasm, self-directedness, leadership, resourcefulness, and creativity." What else can you expect to learn about your students as readers through informal observation and assessment? You should be able to determine an approximate reading level for each student, the feasibility of implementing paired reading strategies, and the possibilities for cooperative groups. Can they retell a story with supporting details? Do they recognize basic sight vocabulary? Are they using any or all of the cueing systems? Do they self-correct? Do they read with expression? All of these questions and more can be answered when you allow your students to inform you of their strengths, their interests, and their needs.

Testing Sign