Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Professional Development > Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop > 8. Assessment and Accountability

Assessment and Accountability

This session explores assessment, standards, and outcomes. Literacy expert Kathy Au discusses the strategies teachers can use to assess students' understanding in reading and writing. Classroom examples illustrate how students can participate in their own assessment.

How can assessment improve students’ reading and writing? How do teachers assess student performance as they teach? In this session, literacy expert Kathryn Au discusses the importance of integrating assessment practices with classroom instruction on a daily basis. You will learn how to use assessment results to plan instruction, improve students’ reading and writing, and prepare students for high-stakes testing.

Learning Goals

At the end of this session, you will better understand how to:

use daily instructional time to assess students’ reading and writing
use grade-level benchmarks to develop appropriate assessments
collect assessment information using anecdotal records, rubrics, and literacy portfolios
effectively prepare students for high-stakes testing within daily instructional routines
use assessment results to plan and improve instruction for your students

“The most useful information for teachers is assessment information gathered in the course of daily classroom routines. The purpose of this assessment is to improve instruction and help students become better readers and writers”

Kathryn Au
Professor of Education
University of Hawaii

Meet the Expert

Kathryn Au is professor of education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently directing a teacher education program aimed at increasing the number of Native Hawaiian teachers in schools in their own communities. Her research interest is the school literacy development of students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Professor Au has published more than 70 articles on the topic in addition to a textbook, Literacy Instruction in Multicultural Settings. She has served on the editorial advisory boards of Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, and Journal of Literacy Research, among others. Professor Au served on the board of directors for the International Reading Association, and she has been elected to the Reading Hall of Fame.

Assignments

If you are taking this workshop for credit or professional development, submit the following assignments for Session 8: Assessment and Accountability.

1. Examine the Literature

In this assignment, you will read two articles on assessment strategies and complete the Examine the Literature Response Chart.

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2. Develop a Rubric

In this activity, you will develop a rubric for one of the grade-level benchmarks in your literacy program.

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3. Anecdotal Records Assessment

In this activity, you will begin to develop a technique for collecting evidence to demonstrate achievement of grade-level benchmarks.

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4. What Did You Learn?

In this activity, you will write a summary of the ideas and strategies you explored in this session.

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5. Create a Literacy Practices Portfolio

In this activity, you will continue to build your portfolio of instructional practices.

Related Resources

Print Resources

Caldwell, J., and L. Leslie. Intervention Strategies to Follow Informal Reading Inventory Assessment: So What Do I Do Now? Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2004.

Fountas, I. C., and G. S. Pinnell. “Understanding the ‘Testing Genre’: Preparing Students for High-Quality Performance.” In Guiding Readers and Writers (Grades 3-6), 461-482. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2001.

International Reading Association. “High-Stakes Assessments in Reading: A Position Statement of the International Reading Association.” Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1999.

Johnston, P. “Literacy Assessment and the Future.” The Reading Teacher 58, no. 7 (2004): 684-686.

Lipson, M., and K. Wixson. Assessment and Instruction of Reading Disability. New York: Harper Collins, 1991.

Valencia, S. W., and M. R. Buly. “Behind Test Scores: What Struggling Readers Really Need.” The Reading Teacher 57, no. 6 (2004): 520-531.

Web Resources

Creating Rubrics
This site is a tool for teachers to create rubrics. Rubrics are available online and teachers are able to customize them.

Running Records
This site provides instruction on taking, scoring, and interpreting a running record.

Series Directory

Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Credits

Produced by WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006.

Closed Captioning
ISBN: 1-57680-815-7

Related Materials

Sections

8.1 Before You Watch | Assessment and Accountability

8.2 Analyze the Video | Assessment and Accountability

Watch the video, "Assessment and Accountability," taking notes as you watch. After you watch, jot down your answers to the questions below. If you prefer to watch the video in segments, pause the video when you see the next chapter heading.

8.3 Extend Your Knowledge | Assessment and Accountability

8.4 Put It Into Practice | Assessment and Accountability

8.5 Reflect on Your Learning | Assessment and Accountability

Supplementary: Assessment Chart

Handout

Supplementary: Examine the Literature Response Chart

Handouts

Supplementary: Focused Anecdotal Records Assessment: A Tool for Standards-Based, Authentic Assessment

Handout

Supplementary: Literacy Assessment and the Future

Handout

Supplementary: Assessment Conversations

Handout

Supplementary: Retelling Guide

Handout

Supplementary: Sample Rubric

Handout

Workshops

Workshop 1 Creating Contexts for Learning

This session examines how classroom organization, routines, and grouping practices can enhance literacy skills in the middle grades. Literacy expert Jeanne Paratore discusses teaching strategies that foster reading and writing skills. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 2 Fluency and Word Study

This session focuses on how students in the middle grades develop vocabulary and reading fluency. Literacy expert Richard Allington discusses specific teaching strategies that help build fluency and vocabulary, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 3 Building Comprehension

Comprehending text is one of the main goals of reading. In this session, literacy expert Nell Duke discusses what good readers do and strategies teachers can use to help students build comprehension skills. Classroom footage provides examples of comprehension strategies.

Workshop 4 Writing

This workshop examines the relationship between reading and writing in the middle grades. Literacy expert Nadeen Ruiz discusses the connections, conventions, and inventions that provide a framework for teaching writing, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 5 New Literacies of the Internet

This workshop focuses on the evolving use of networked technology in education. Literacy expert Donald Leu discusses strategies that help students effectively read, write, and communicate on the Internet. Classroom examples illustrate strategies for using Internet resources in the classroom.

Workshop 6 Teaching English Language Learners

Changing classroom demographics call for a range or teaching strategies. In this session, literacy expert Robert Jim�nez discusses strategies teachers can use to create a successful learning environment for all students, while supporting English language learners. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 7 Teaching Diverse Learners

In this session, literacy expert Dorothy Strickland discusses how teachers can meet the diverse needs of readers and writers in their classrooms. Classroom examples and teaching strategies address different aspects of diversity, including culture, language, background, ability, and learning approaches.

Workshop 8 Assessment and Accountability

This session explores assessment, standards, and outcomes. Literacy expert Kathy Au discusses the strategies teachers can use to assess students' understanding in reading and writing. Classroom examples illustrate how students can participate in their own assessment.