Peregoy & Boyle Chapter 10 Reading Assessment

Peregoy & Boyle Reading and Assessment Chapter 10

I enjoyed reading this chapter. It seemed especially relevant to me at this time since I’ve been spending a lot of time going over reading assessments with my colleagues at the district office. Currently, our students are inundated with a lot of formal assessments. To progress a reading level they must pass an “end of level” assessment that includes a skills test, and a reading inventory. 4 times a year our students take the STAR reading assessment on the computer which determines a grade equivalent reading level. Certain grades of students have to take the Terranova standardized test for reading, which is a timed assessment that includes reading comprehension skills. All 3-10 grade students also have to take the Standards-Based Assessment in Reading. High School Students have to take another standardized test--the HSGQE--in reading, to determine whether they will graduate or not. That’s a lot of reading assessments! Especially when you consider these are all formal assessments that come from outside the classroom. Unfortunately, these tests don’t always accurately represent what a student can do, especially LEP students who may have trouble with a standardized test. Once a year the students are given the IPT test, which determines English Language proficiency, and tests students on reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Interestingly enough, our students do relatively well on the listening portion of the test compared to all the others. 3 times as many students are proficient or make progress in Listening as compared to the other skills. Which was a big aha to me---seems like we should be tapping into these students auditory skills!

This chapter was a good reminder that a lot of the informal reading assessments teachers do in classrooms are very valuable. It is also important for teachers to have a system set up to keep track of their classroom assessments so they understand their learners and their individual needs. The chapter also talks about good reading instruction practices---I was happy to hear that a lot of the mentioned practices are ones that I use or have used in the classroom. I have always felt strongly about giving students some time to do independent reading with books of their choice. I know that independent reading can and should be done at home, but as a teacher I don’t have any way of ensuring that happens, and especially where I live it often doesn’t happen in the home. Giving students the opportunity to read and choose books can foster a love of reading which can be motivation enough for students to improve their skills. No matter how many times I read about reading instruction and assessment it seems that I pick up something new, or at least am reminded of something I had forgotten.
I also enjoyed reading more about guided reading instruction, and “mini-lessons,” both are methods that I utilize in class.