Fluency is a major component of literacy and I think it can be assessed easily as well. As for the Tompkins reading, I think the running record scoring sheet is effective because it assess's accuracy as well as reading speed if the assesser records the speed. While it seems like a lot of work for the teacher or assesser I think it is very effective in assessing fluency. I also really like the "Words I Know" test on page 73. I've never seen an assessment like this before but I like its simplicity. While it might be the most effective way of assessing fluency, I think it will give the assesser a better idea of what words the student already knows well (sight words) and what the students might need to work on more. I also think that reading books with students is also an effective informal assessment. It is a good way to assess students prosody.
As for my placement, since I am in a kindergarten classroom and it is getting closer to the end of the year, fluency is something they are focusing on right now. My mentor teacher focuses on literacy with the students so I get the opportunity to see how she assess students as well as get a chance to see the students grow and improve. The students have really grown as far as sight words. At the beginning of the year they would need my help to read or write just about every word but now I am so impressed at how much they can do on their own. Also, not only do they have more sight words but they have also learned how to sound words out which has helped them a lot as far as fluency is concerned.
Chelsey, I agree with the assessments you provided in your posting. I also feel as if the running record is a great assessment because it assesses many aspects of literacy rather than simple recognition of high frequency words. As a teacher, running records are very helpful in identifying a student's reading level. As for the "Words I know" test, I find it could potentially be helpful in assessing one aspect of fluency: accuracy. But in just using this assessment, we would miss assessing student reading speed or prosody. Keeping this in mind, it is crucial as teachers to recognize there is rarely "one" assessment that can identify all areas needing to be assessed. It is important to compile various assessments in order to meet all areas of testing.
ReplyDeleteAs for my kindergarten placement as well. I have witnessed many "high frequency word" assessments in which students read the words they know from a high frequency list. However, my teacher has begun running records with other students who are reading small books. Specifically, last week she spent a lot of time doing running records with every student in the class as to find each student a book they could read by themselves for parent teacher conferences.
I agree with both of you- I think it's hard to find a better assessment of fluency than the running record. It's a quick and accurate way for the teacher to get a sense of a student's progress over long periods of time, and can be easily provided and understood by any other educators who are helping that student with their reading. I think more informal reading and writing assessments such as going through a writing journal or focusing in on one student during small reading groups are helpful methods too.
ReplyDeleteIn my first grade placement, I have been able to see my MT do a variety of assessments over the course of the year. Just last week she was working on running records to evaluate whether reading group levels needed to be adjusted. She also went through and tested each student's knowledge of high-frequency words. It was the first time all year that she had done so and was really happy with the results- no student missed more than 6 out of the 80 word wall words.