Chapter 7: Make Assessment Instruction's Working Partner

When teachers hear the word "assessment," heavy sighs and groans will often follow.  It has become a burden and dreaded task that seem to control too much of our education system.  But assessment will not and should not go away.  Teachers need to see assessment for what it is.  As they learn to use the data to move children forward and determine next steps in their learning, teachers' attitudes toward assessment will change.

Most assessment is conducted daily through ongoing observations and conferencing.  As you evaluate the type of assessment you are using ask yourself:

• Is this a valid and useful assessment?
• How am I using this assessment?
• What goals am I setting?
• Who else do I need to inform?

During daily ongoing assessment a teacher is evaluating, noticing, becoming aware of a student's progress.  The teacher is constantly reflecting.  Based on this assessment, the teacher may adjust a lesson, reteach, allow more time, or modify an assignment.  It is important that the teacher keep anecdotal records of these observations.  There are many systems of record keeping and you should find one that works for you.

One example of record keeping is through the use of running records.  With practice, running records can be a quick method of checking student reading progress and showing growth.  Another example of record keeping can be in the form of informal reading conferences.  These conferences should be conducted regularly--with struggling readers on a weekly basis and with other readers they should be monthly at the minimum.  Conferencing with students is also a great method of continuing the bonding process.
Routman provides a framework for an informal reading conference on pages 104-105 and a list of "child friendly" reading goals on pages 106-107.  He suggests keeping a list of the goals with you during the conference to refer to and group students with like needs.  As we are conferencing, we need to be intentional.  Ask, "what's most important to teach at this moment for this child to move him forward?"
Always have high expectations for your students including to do their best work, to reread when necessary, to do lots of reading of books they like and understand, and to comprehend on a deep level.

As we move our assessment thinking from ongoing daily informal assessment to more formal high-stakes assessment, we need to make efforts to make testing instruction part of our daily teaching.  We do this by teaching well and deep, using challenging material, make connections across the curriculum and to children's lives, teach explicitly, and make what is on the test visible to students.  The test are not going away so we need to learn to use them as best we can to help our students show what they know.

As we think about assessments we need to learn to make the assessment data helpful in improving reading achievement.  We have to learn to analyze it and use it to guide our instruction.  This is done through explicit teaching, ongoing accountability, teacher collaboration, vertical reading expectations, and more time spent reading.

So the next time we do reading assessment,  SMILE and learn to use the assessment for its intended purpose and to move your students forward in reading.