Standard 6: Assessment

The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to

engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress,
and to guide the teachers and learners decision making.
While completing my coursework for EDU 4220,
Reading in the Content Areas, I participated in an
after school tutoring program through which I was
able to tutor two students who were struggling with
reading. During our time together, I administered
two Oral Reading Assessments and an interest
inventory on each student. The Oral Reading
Assessment measures literacy behaviors such as
fluency, use of context clues, self-correction and
comprehension, while the interest inventory
measures student interests and perceptions of
reading and writing. The results of both the
assessment and interest inventory I administered
during the first session, along with my continuous
and ongoing observation assisted me in determining
the appropriate levels and types of instructional text
that I used with my students during our tutorial
sessions.
After administering the initial assessment, I was able
to gather information regarding the strengths and
weaknesses of both students in the area of literacy.
The results I obtained from both the assessment and
the interest inventory (along with continuous and
ongoing observation) were used set goals and to
create lessons and activities that assisted my students
in making progress in their weaker areas (making
predictions, answering explicit and implicit
questions, summarizing, and segmenting words) and
making their strong areas (making connections,
using context clues, and overall comprehension)
even stronger.
As time went on, the data I gathered through
observational assessment and evidence of learning
and progress from my lessons continued to assist me
in forming individually appropriate instruction and
activities for my students. In some cases, my
students were more successful with a particular
strategy than I had anticipated as they moved
quickly through a strategy that I planned on taking
multiple tutoring sessions to address. By employing
observational assessment and analyzing student
evidence of learning, I was able to take note of my
students success and adapt my instructional plans to
better fit the needs of my students. These changes

helped me continue to provide my students with

challenging (not frustrating) lessons, texts, and
activities that assisted them in accomplishing their
individual literacy goals.
Reflection:
Through this experience, I not only gained
experience in administering the Oral Reading
Assessment, I also gained experience in using both
formal and informal assessment to guide instruction.
In my future classroom, I will utilize both formal
and informal assessments to formulate and guide
instruction and also to measure the progress made by
my students. Through continuous observation and
the use of assessment tools such as the Oral Reading
Assessment and interest inventory, I will be able to
gather information that will assist me gaining a
better understanding of the current strengths,
weaknesses, and needs of my students. I will use the
information I gather from assessments and through
observation to create and provide instruction that is
individually appropriate for each of my students in
all content areas.