Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Katherine Hallford
Culminating Experience
Clark County School District is vast, operating 360 schools and serving approximately
320,000 students as of the 2018-2019 school year. (CCSD 2018) Due to the sheer size of the
school district, the socioeconomic status of my current school, and other factors, transience is
high in my assigned school. It is not unheard of to see several students come and go each year,
with some of those students potentially returning and leaving again several times. In my teaching
career, I have served at Cahlan Elementary in North Las Vegas, teaching English Language Arts
and Social Studies to the fifth grade population. Our school is high-performing, with 100% free
and reduced lunch, qualifying us as a Title One institution. My current homeroom and class of
identifying as female. Within that population, seven of those students are identified as English
Language Learners, who are all of Spanish speaking families. In my classroom, I have a variety
of students with unique needs, including vision services. They read a range of first grade through
eighth grade, and all require unique instruction to achieve academic success.
On an otherwise typical Monday morning, the principal enters my classroom with a new
student, Allison. Allison is a fifth grader who is 12 years old and has just moved to Las Vegas
from California. Typically, with a new student my first reaction would be to check Infinite
Campus for her academic history in order to gauge where she is at, but due to the transfer to a
new state, I have no information on Allison or her academic history beyond what she is able to
tell me. Unfortunately, that also means that I won’t have those records for weeks, if at all. I know
that in order to be successful in getting to know Allison as a person and scholar, I will have to act
quickly to assess her throughout the course of her first week at our school.
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To perform a complete assessment on Allison in this crucial first week, I have to tap into
my education and determine which assessments will be the most relevant to my grade level and
academic specialties. This will provide me with more information about Allison’s strengths and
areas of growth. In order to do this, I will provide her with several assessments. These
assessments include a reading interest inventory, AIMSweb fluency assessment, Words Their
Way spelling inventory, comprehension assessment, and an informal writing assessment. These
assessments will allow me to create a more complete picture of who Allison is as a scholar. Once
completed, I will be able to use these assessments as a guide for differentiation and scaffolding
Assessments
Assessments are, or should be, the root of all classroom instruction. Without assessments,
there is no true way to understand what our students have learned from what we’ve taught. These
assessments don’t have to be the typical summative assessments the general public may think of,
but instead can be made up of many summative assessments as we teach and observe. In the
instance of assessing my student, Allison, she will be completing many formative assessments in
Pellegrino, Chudowsky, and Glaser (2001) believe that assessment is most effective when
three components of reading assessment are followed: first to assist in learning, second to
measure achievement of each student, and third to analyze and evaluate data to improve
curriculum. In this, I agree: without utilizing all three of these components, the purpose of
assessment loses meaning and becomes aimless. Often times, students that are behind their peers
in reading by the time they reach me find it impossible to catch up. To avoid this, I have made
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strategic decisions in the assessments I have chosen to give to my new student. My goal in doing
so is to identify areas of strength and needs in order to understand where I can help.
Interest Inventory
My first step in assessing Allison would be to assign her a reading interest inventory.
Flynt and Cooter describe the affective domain as “one of the most important and often ignored
aspects of reading assessment” (Flynt & Cooter, 2014, p.2) The affective domain are the
elements of reading that tap into the students interests and attitudes on reading. In utilizing this
survey, you get a baseline of several areas of importance. First is the general attitude a student
has about reading. Knowing whether or not they like reading will let you know how much they
are reading outside of the classroom. Additionally, the reading interest survey provides you with
knowledge of that student’s interests. This will allow you to begin the process of suggesting
books to that reader that are tailored to who they are as a person. Knowing whether or not they
are familiar with a certain genre or have an immense dislike of another, and selecting books
based off of their opinion is important to ensuring they feel like a welcome member of the
classroom reading community with a powerful voice. In providing this assessment to Allison, I
am able to quickly determine where her interests lie and can begin thinking of how I can
differentiate reading and writing assignments to allow her choice in what she is reading and
My next step in assessing Allison’s reading and writing knowledge is to assess her using
the AIMSweb Reading Curriculum Based Measurement (RCBM) passages. It is safe to assume
that by the fifth grade, Allison has been exposed to reading instruction of some sort, having been
enrolled in school prior to arriving in our classroom. These passages are required testing three
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times per year at our school site. In using the RCBM to assess Allison, not only will I be able to
get a grasp on her reading abilities, I will be able to hear her read aloud and determine her
reading fluency, including any areas of strength or areas that may need additional support.
Rasinski (2004) states “This initial fluency assessment gives teachers baseline information
against which to measure subsequent progress” (p. 20) In utilizing these passages to assess
Allison, not only will I be able to establish her personal baseline, I will be able to compare it to
Fluency is described as “the ability to read quickly, accurately, and with proper
expression” and is a vital skill in reading achievement. (NRP, 2000, p.3-5) This means that the
fluent reader will be able to read a passage aloud in a way that is akin to having a conversation
with another individual. Additionally, Rasinski states that it is important that reading fluency
also represents a “solid understanding of the passage” being read aloud (2004 p. 23). The RCBM
assessment analyzes student fluency by taking note of the words read correctly, along with any
miscues. These passages were curated by the AIMSweb staff and written by teachers with
experience in those grade level areas; these teachers wrote passages based on length (350 words
in 5th grade) and the Fry readability model for grade level appropriateness. (AIMSweb Technical
Manual, 2012, p. 3) In the curation of these passages, they chose three passages per grade level
based on the WRC in piloting reaching grade level means and standard deviations. (AIMSweb
With these research-based passages, I will be able to assess Allison on the same criteria
used in our school community and nationally. This is a benefit to both Allison and I, as just
handing her a passage and assessing fluency based on that will not likely yield results that are
backed by research and data. Additionally, many schools utilize this assessment, or something
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similar, creating a more comfortable environment for Allison to assess in. This assessment is also
a benefit to Allison and me as it is the schoolwide screener for response to intervention (RTI)
placements. Depending on the score Allison received on this assessment, it will allow us to
However, the AIMSweb assessments are not without negative attributes. First and
foremost, by assessing Allison using these passages, I will only be assessing her words read
correctly and incorrectly. It does not allow me to assess her reading skills in a true running
record fashion, instead only focusing on Allison’s automaticity and accuracy. Additionally, in
my personal experience, the R-CBM assessments don’t take into account accuracy if the reader
in question has a slower rate of reading. Slow, yet accurate readers can be flagged for at-risk
scores, when they are typically a high achieving student. As with any assessment, it is not
without flaws.
By utilizing the AIMSweb assessment, I will be able to see how Allison might begin to
fit into the classroom ecosystem. While fluency is not a complete picture, it allows me to
reassess any pre-determined assessments to see if there may be other, more pertinent assessments
that may be of further benefit to Allison and myself. If flagged for RTI services, Allison can then
quickly be placed into the necessary group and intervention services can be strategically targeted
After assessing Allison’s reading fluency, I will move on to using the San Diego Quick
frustration reading levels. The San Diego Quick Assessment is different than that of the RCBM
or other reading assessments in that in assesses student knowledge of words out of context. This,
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according to the San Diego Quick Assessment of Reading Ability, is beneficial because “weak
readers overrely on context and recognize words in context more easily than out of context”.
(San Diego Quick Assessment Protocol p. 68) This assessment was first discussed in a 1969
article in Journal of Reading, where Margaret La Pray and Ramon Ross state: “The graded word
list has two uses: 1) to determine a reading level; 2) to detect errors in word analysis. One can
use the test information to group students for corrective practice or to select appropriate reading
materials for those students. The list is remarkably accurate when used for these purposes.” (La
Pray and Ross, 1969, p.305) With this assessment, I will be able to further understand Allison’s
The benefits of utilizing this assessment are simple: it adds another layer of
understanding to who and where Allison is as a reader. It is a great as a first tool when assessing
students’ reading levels in the classroom setting. While the SDQ touts itself as being a more
reliable predictor of student ability than reading words in context, there is conflicting data that is
unsupportive of their claim. A study by Ardoin et. Al found that “participants' oral reading rate
of words in context was significantly greater than their rate of reading words out of context”.
(Aldoin et. Al 2013 p.255) With this assessment, I would utilize the data it produced, along with
the data from the AIMSweb fluency benchmark passages to guide me on a starting place for my
After assessing Allison using the SDQ, I will use it to determine a good starting place for
AIMSweb fluency assessment, utilizes silent reading to assess student reading comprehension.
This assessment is done as a two-part process. After reading the passage, the student retells what
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they remember from the passage, while the administrator checks off comprehension questions
addressed in the retelling. Afterwards, the administrator asks the students the comprehension
questions that were not addressed in the student’s retelling of the passage. According to the
Flynt/Cooter manual, “this process greatly reduces the time required for testing and is generally
Allison is as a reader. By moving from oral reading of both fluency passages and word lists to
truly understanding as she is reading. I have found, in my experience, that some students are
fluent readers, but are unable to comprehend what they read for a myriad of reasons. This is
backed by a 2007 study by Cain & Oakhill (2007), as referenced in Farrall’s Reading
that do not have their origins in word recognition, decoding, or reading fluency. These
children often go unnoticed by their teachers. They do not stumble over words, and they
do not read with painstaking efforts. However, their responses to questions based on text
may be superficial and fragmented, and they may also have difficulty formulating a well-
Keeping this in mind, it is important to move beyond fluency assessments and assess all areas of
reading, the “Big Five” areas of reading identified by the National Reading Panel (2000):
passages, along with the SDQ, all allow informal assessments of three of the five areas, but the
The benefits to utilizing a reading comprehension assessment are vast. First and foremost,
it allows us to look at a students’ inferential skills. Farrall states: “Inferential thinking is the heart
are not only looking at Allison’s skills at recalling information, but her ability to make inferences
from texts. As an added layer to her comprehensive understanding, by assessing Allison using
the comprehensive assessment, we are able to begin drawing conclusions about her background
knowledge by looking at both her inferential and retelling abilities. According to Farrall, this is
These events, facts, and concepts are stored in long-term memory, and they become the
tools with which we interpret all new experience. Experience, coupled with rich
opportunities for language input, provides children with words, facts, concepts, and
knowledge of structure that enables them to interact and process the world about them.
(2012 p. 236)
However, these assessments are not without criticism. Morris (2015) gives one area of
Comprehension is a difficult area to assess, especially when the examiner is limited to six
to eight questions on a short 150-250 word passage. Paris and Carpenter (2003) pointed
out that passages in informal reading inventories can vary in difficulty, length, and
difficulty can vary by item or passage, thus affecting comprehension performance and
When assessing our students, it is important to see them as a complete picture whenever possible
but acknowledging deficits in student assessments will allow us to do so with as little bias via the
testing medium as possible. Once this assessment is completed, I will have a fairly accurate and
thorough idea of who Allison is as a reader. I will use this data to guide me in many ways, from
screening her for RTI to identifying student areas of need to place her in small group lessons and
centers during the school day. Without this assessment, and those preceding, her placement in
these areas may not be appropriate and cause her to feel either overwhelmed or bored and will
After wrapping up the basic reading assessments with Allison, my next step will be to
conduct a spelling inventory. Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton and Johnston compare literacy to a
braid of interwoven threads, and state that orthography is a thread that strengthens that bonding.
(2017, p.3) Spelling is often put on the backburner, but is still fundamental in literacy
development, as evidenced in the above reference. Words Their Way is a spelling program that
aims to use the developmental research of spelling development in students to build their
development. This is done through word study, which Bear et. Al states was “determined that
through an informed analysis of students’ spelling attempts, teachers can differentiate and
provide timely instruction in phonics, spelling, and vocabulary that is essential to move students
forward in reading and writing” (2017, p. 5). This word study system aims to have students
make meaning with words, recognizing patterns and using hands on activities to solidify
learning. This differs from the rote memorization and weekly word lists, accompanied by weekly
spelling tests.
The assessment portion of the words their way program is the spelling inventory. This
assessment has three formats: primary, elementary, and upper-level inventories. While these
assessments do require students to spell words called out by the teacher, they are chosen with
research in mind. These assessments will place students in the best developmental level for them,
allowing meaningful word study to take place. In Allison’s case, she will receive the elementary
spelling inventory. This inventory, once completed, will place her in one of the following
categories: emergent, letter name-alphabetic, within word pattern, syllables and affixes, and
derivational relations. By assessing Allison with this inventory, she will be able to integrate into
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classroom word study seamlessly, joining classmates in respective spelling groups during small
group instruction.
While there are many benefits to the Words Their Way assessment, and it is used in
classrooms all over the country, there are vocal critics about the program as well. J. Richard
Gentry is one of the most outspoken, arguing that the spelling stages provided are not
developmentally sound, and that they often present low expectations on spelling achievement.
(Gentry, 200, p.328) While this criticism is valid, I have found in my classroom Words Their
Way can be an effective assessment and classroom program, if a bit time consuming on the
teacher end of things. This program has been especially effective with students that are learning
English as a second or other language, as it bridges any gaps they may have.
The final assessment I will give Allison is the Informal Writing assessment. The informal
writing assessment allows me to build upon Allison’s orthographic knowledge and observe her
writings skills in a low-risk environment. Writing, and writing well, is incredibly important.
Graham and Harris describe the importance as such: “Writing is an indispensable tool for
learning and communicating. We use writing as a medium to gather, preserve, and transmit
information. Just as important, writing about what we are learning helps us understand and
remember it better” (Graham & Harris, 2016, p.5). By collecting an informal writing sample, I
will be able to see where Allison’s strengths and weaknesses lie. In particular, I will use two
protocols to assess her writing. First, I will assess using the Writing Continuum for Higher-Order
Concerns by Scott, Nagelhout and Spies (2016). This will allow me to place Allison on a
developmental level of writing by completing an analysis of her written skills. The second
protocol I will use will be the writing rubric provided by the department of education that is
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utilized schoolwide. By using this rubric to score Allison, I will be able to see where she is
scoring in comparison to her peers. This will allow me to place Allison in an appropriate writing
partnership during workshop sessions and pull her in the appropriate small group conferencing
session.
The difficulties in utilizing an informal writing inventory to assess student writing are
limited, but present. First and foremost, it is up to the student to provide a truly accurate writing
sample. If the student is feeling less than motivated, has issues with the writing process, or
simply does not like to write, then gaining insight from a sample will be difficult. As Graham
and Harris state: “For example, even when a teacher assigns a writing task, the student must still
decide to do the task, determine how much effort to commit, formulate intentions and goals, and
decide how to accomplish it” (2016, p. 10). Additionally, the grading or analysis of the writing
sample is subjective; interpretation of the writing sample, continuum, and skills may vary
significantly from teacher to teacher. While the writing assessments are full of valuable
information for teachers to analyze and utilize in classroom instruction, the subjective nature of
the data makes the assessment less than ideal for highly accurate results.
Reflection
After administering all of the assessments to Allison, I will ideally have an assessment
portfolio that paints a near-complete portrait of Allison as a learner. With the variety of
assessments given, I should have enough data to fully integrate her into classroom lessons and
routines with little to no struggles academically. Without these assessments, the classroom
environment may be far more difficult for Allison to adjust to, and for myself to adjust to an
additional child in an overcrowded classroom. Each classroom is its own distinct ecosystem, and
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any changes or disruptions to established routines can prove to be problematic if not handled
appropriately.
also important to note that in today’s classroom, a battery of assessments similar to the ones
suggested above are near impossible to complete for each student in a timely manner.
Classrooms are overcrowded, with teachers and administration reaching for assessments that are
quick, easy, and readily available to assess each student in the classroom. In my fifth grade class,
that means assessing each of my 28+ students three times per year with assessments that can be
given to whole classes at once, with scoring that is simple to complete. The assessments given to
Allison will allow for a student profile that is more complete than simple benchmarks and an
SBAC score could possibly give an instructor regarding a student. However, by implementing
and integrating these assessments into everyday learning, teachers can be better informed to
instruct each student in their classroom in spite of the wide range of abilities and learning needs.
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References
Ardoin, S. P., Eckert, T. L., Christ, T. J., White, M. J., Morena, L. S., January, S.-A. A., & Hine,
Cain, Kate (2009) Making sense of text : skills that support text comprehension and its
Cain, K., & Oakhill, J. (2007). Reading Comprehension Difficulties: Correlates, Causes, and
Cooter, R. B., Flynt, E. S., & Cooter, K. S. (2014). The Flynt/Cooter Comprehensive reading
Inventory-2: Assessment of K-2 reading skills in English and Spanish. Boston: Pearson.
Farrall, M. L. (2012). Reading assessment : Linking language, literacy, and cognition. Retrieved
from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Fast Facts 2018-2019. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2019, from https://newsroom.ccsd.net/wp-
content/uploads/2018/10/Fast-Facts-2018-19-Eng.pdf
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Gentry, J. (2000). A Retrospective on Invented Spelling and a Look Forward. The Reading
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/stable/20204910
Graham, S., & Harris, K. (2016). A Path to Better Writing: Evidence-Based Practices in the
Informational Writing Rubric for Grades 3-5[PDF]. (2018, August). Nevada Department of
Education.
JOHNSTON, F., Bear, D., Invernizzi, M., & Templeton, S. (2017). WORDS THEIR WAY. Place
La Pray, M., & Ross, R. (1969). The Graded Word List: Quick Gauge of Reading
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/stable/40011379
Morris, D. (2015). Morris informal reading inventory: Preprimer through grade 8. New York:
National Research Council (US) Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
R., & ebrary, I. (2001). Knowing what students know : The science and design of
Scott, C., Nagelhout, E., Spies, T. (2016). Writing continuum: Key features for higher-