English Language Arts 2014 Assessment of Comprehension

Teacher and Administrator Assessment Information

October 2014

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Contents • Introduction • Purpose and Rationale • General Instructions, Dates and Timelines • Students Not Included in the Assessment • Data Collection, Interpretation, and Recording • What to Return to the Area ELA Consultant • Recommended Teacher Supports • Appendices

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Introduction

The Frontier School Division English Language Arts 2014 Assessment of Comprehension is administered to students in Grades 2 to 8 across the Division. The Manitoba English Language Arts (ELA) Curriculum divides the meaning-making process into comprehension and communication. This assessment is the comprehension portion and focuses on the reading and responding transaction including oral reading, use of strategies and cues, responding to texts, understanding forms and techniques, and self-reflection. The comprehending assessment focuses largely on specific outcomes from General Outcome 2 and to a lesser extent on General Outcomes 1 and 5 of the ELA Curriculum. Many of the strategies in the assessments can be found in the ELA Foundation for Implementation documents. The assessment incorporates strategies which allow students to engage in “before”, “during”, and “after” reading activities. Frontier School Division Comprehending Assessment Committee members are:

Bonnie Albert James McNamara Marlene Anderson Sherri Apetagon

Conway Murdock Corrine Park

Angela Burdett Louisa Petznick Aynsley DeRoo Jennifer Herdman

Wendy Squires Hilary Walker

Vicki Gilhen Rebecca Ward Darlene Michalot-Dumas

The Area ELA Consultant is a resource who can: • Assist with administering the assessment. • Assist with marking. • Coordinate marking. • Assist with completion of planning template. • Assist with school planning. • Provide training in the use of specific strategies and best practices in reading and writing

instruction.

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Purpose and Rationale

Purpose In order for the assessment to be effective, it must positively affect teaching practices and student achievement. All assessments should have a purpose and an audience (page 23 of Foundation for Implementation Overview). The purpose of this assessment is to: • Allow students to demonstrate their ability to read and respond to oral, literary and media text. • Enhance classroom instruction in oral reading, use of strategies and cues, responding to text,

understanding of forms and techniques, and reflecting. • Provide school leaders and teachers with information regarding areas of strengths and challenges

in reading. • Provide area staff with data to assist in developing professional learning opportunities for schools. Rationale English Language Arts involves the acquisition and use of knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary to communicate effectively in a variety of situations and contexts. Each of the six language arts and the general outcomes are related and interdependent and should be integrated and used in authentic contexts. Students are required to comprehend and respond personally and critically to auditory, visual, and printed text. The information derived from this assessment, in conjunction with daily instruction and classroom based assessment strategies, will assist in making the connection between instruction, assessment, and student learning and achievement.

“To be effective life-long learners, students need to acquire skills and strategies that facilitate the process of knowledge and apply them flexibly.”

English Language Arts Manitoba Curriculum Framework of Outcomes, 1997.

General Instructions, Dates and Timelines

The Assessment of Comprehension is designed to be part of regular classroom instruction during the months of September and October. Many teachers have found the assessment to be easily adapted to their regular classroom planning. It is not a timed assessment per se as there are no time limits on individual activities, however, the assessment must be completed and the results compiled by the dates indicated. Assessments should be completed by the end of October or as close to that date as possible. Marking should take place in November and Class Summary Sheets and Planning Templates must be sent to the area office by the end of November. The Assessment of Comprehension will be posted on the Frontier School Division Website in mid-August. Grades two to eight teachers should access the appropriate documents as early as possible at the beginning of the fall term. Assessment Materials include: • Teacher and Administrator Assessment Information • Student Booklet • Teacher Instructions booklet • Individual Student Profile • Any other grade specific materials or resources listed in the Teacher Instructions booklet

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A Reading Record/Miscue Analysis is to be done on each student prior to assigning the independent reading portion of the assessment. For this reason, it is suggested that teachers begin the inventories as early as possible in the school year. Because of the important information that Reading Record/Miscue Analysis provides about how each reader makes meaning from print, it is very important that they be carried out by the classroom teacher. Teachers not familiar with Reading Record/Miscue Analysis may need more time to become comfortable with the procedure and may initially need to enlist the assistance of another teacher, a resource teacher, reading specialist, or the ELA consultant.

Students Not Included in the Assessment Exemptions Exemptions should only be made for students on IEPs that are profoundly delayed and are not able to be adapted for, or modified. Teachers are to consult with their resource teacher or Student Services Consultant to make a decision regarding the student’s ability to participate in all or part of the comprehending assessment. The number of students exempted from the assessment and the reasons for exemption are to be noted on the Class Summary Sheet. All other students write the assessments. Students who are level 1 on IEP’s or on other growth plans, academic plans, etc. for whom you regularly adapt instruction (i.e., scribing, oral instruction, etc.) are to complete the assessment with the same adaptations. Record any adaptations used during the assessment in the comments/adaptations section at the bottom of the Individual Student Profile. Incomplete Assessments In some cases some students may have completed only part of the assessment due to non-attendance. In these cases the information gathered should be used by the classroom teacher to guide instruction, however, when summarizing classroom data the results from these students should not be included.

Data Collection, Interpretation, and Recording Collaborative Evaluation Collaborative evaluation is based on the premise that we learn best through collaboration and interaction with others. Teachers need to have someone with whom they can share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings in relation to student work. Literacy is a whole school responsibility and transcends all curricula. Collaborative evaluation is the expectation of all schools and all teaching staff and administration are expected to be involved in the process. Here are some examples of how collaboration can be organized in a school: Large Schools Example A • Early closure or half or full day dismissal of entire school - time is dependent on the number of

assessments. Each assessment requires 20 to 30 minutes to mark. • Staff assigned to teams (classroom teacher who administered the assessment must be part of the

team marking their students’ work; administrators and resource teachers will fit in where needed). • Marking occurs with dialogue and conversation about student work and the reading process.

Teachers can be partnered and simultaneously discuss and score one paper at a time or teachers

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can score a few papers individually and then trade with another teacher to do a second marking. Each child’s paper is marked twice and discrepancies are discussed.

Example B • Early or full day dismissal of sections of the school (i.e., early years, middle years). • Follow same procedure as above. Small Schools Example A (more than 1 teacher) • Early dismissal or school closure. • Mark together or with another school. Example B (one teacher only) • Join another school. • Invite a consultant or other support person to mark with you. • Mark your papers and trade with another small school via mail. Discuss discrepancies via phone,

email, or fax. Regardless of collaborative marking method: • Classroom teachers who administer the assessment should mark their own students’ work in

collaboration with others. This will ensure a connection between this assessment and the ongoing classroom assessment.

• Only qualified teachers or PENT students are allowed to mark divisional assessments. • The completion of the Individual Student Profile, Class Summary Sheet, and Planning Template is

the responsibility of the classroom teacher. Collaborative marking discussion should facilitate the completion of these forms.

Note: Assessments are based on end of year outcomes from the grade pervious to that being

assessed (i.e., grade 5 assessment is based on grade 4 year end outcomes). Individual Student Profiles Individual Student Profiles are used to record assessment data for each student on General Outcome 1; Explores thoughts, ideas, feelings, and experiences, General Outcome 2; Comprehend and respond personally and critically to literary and media texts, and General Outcome 5; Celebrate and build community. The Individual Student Profile consists of three columns based on the Manitoba report card categories. Each student is assessed based on the following specific outcomes: 1.1 Discover & Explore 2.1 Use Strategies and Cues 2.2 Respond to Texts 2.3 Understand Forms and Techniques 5.1 Develop and Celebrate Community Students’ reading behaviours and responses are assessed using the same grade scale as the Manitoba Provincial report card. Carefully review the specific outcome statements before administering the assessment so you are aware of what is expected for each outcome. Note that the outcomes which pertain to observing student behaviours during reading will already be assessed prior to collaborative evaluation as they are based on teachers’ observations at the time of the activity. Record any adaptations used during the assessment in the comments section at the bottom of the Individual Student Profile.

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Note to Grades 3 & 8 teachers: The information from this assessment, along with your daily, on-

going classroom-based assessment, will provide evidence to complete the provincial report required for each grade level.

Class Summary Sheets • Help teachers plan for instruction • Inform administrators for school planning and professional development • Inform Area ELA Consultants for teacher and student support and professional development Compile the information from the Individual Student Profiles on the Class Summary Sheet found on the website under Fillable PDF Forms. Names are only required for students who are exempt or have incomplete assessments. Reasons for exemptions could be English as a second language, on IEP for English Language Arts, transferred in after assessment began, traumatic event, or impossible to assess because of non-attendance. Teachers should make every reasonable effort to have all students complete all parts of the assessment. Planning Template This planning template is intended to help teachers: • Reflect on class strengths and concerns. • Develop outcomes based instructional goals to address concerns. • Identify effective strategies to meet the outcomes. • Inform administrators for school planning purposes. • Create a plan for collaboration with consultant to help meet the needs of students. Use the results of the Individual Student Profiles and the Class Summary Sheet to complete the planning template; Using Divisional Assessments to Plan for My Class found on the website under Fillable PDF Forms. Use your framework and foundation curriculum documents to identify specific outcomes and the strategies you will use to achieve these outcomes.

What to Return to the Area ELA Consultant Administrators should collect the following and return in one package to the area consultant. Grade 2, 3, & 4 • 1 copy of Class Summary Sheet • Completed Teacher Feedback Forms (Found on website under Fillable PDF Forms) • Using Divisional Assessments to Plan for My Class • Books supplied for the assessment Grade 5, 6, 7, & 8 • 1 copy of Class Summary sheet • Completed Teacher Feedback Forms (Found on website under Fillable PDF Forms • Using Divisional Assessments to Plan for My Class

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Recommended Teacher Supports

The following suggestions and resources may be useful to teachers: • Refer to the outcomes of your grade level and look at them in terms of reading strategies. • General Outcome 2 in the Foundation for Implementation has many useful suggestions for

instruction and assessment in the four column section that specifically relate to reading and the meaning-making strategies.

• The K to 8 Strategy Section of the Foundation for Implementation has valuable strategies that are directly related to comprehending and responding. Some of these are: − Reading Strategies p. 120 − Fluency Strategies p. 130 − Comprehension Strategies p. 142 − Word Identification Strategies p. 183 − Vocabulary p. 214 − Section III Assessment

• Blackline Masters K - 8 − BLMs 1-17, 58-83, 90, 91, 97

• Portfolios are an excellent means for keeping samples, self-assessments, teacher-assessments, conference notes, etc., to be used for showing student growth in reading and in self-assessment and reflection.

• Regular completion of the Reading Continuum will show student progress over time. • Frontier School Division website:

- Reading Strategies at a Glance - What is a Response Journal? - FSD Handbook for Teachers (support document for Continua) - Reading and Writing Continua PowerPoint

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Appendices

A. Sample 1 of Planning Template B. Sample 2 of Planning Template

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Appendix A

Sample 1 of Planning Template

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Appendix B

Sample 2 of Planning Template