Rebecca Shaw EPS513 Assessing Student Learning My co-resident and I chose to take a look at whole group guided reading

levels. Our schools focus for the year has been raising the reading levels school-wide so I thought it would be ideal to be able to monitor, assess and inform instruction in this area. The graph below shows the current independent and instructional levels of our students:
STUDENT
MARQUISE ABRAMS DARION ALLMAN DARSHAE ASHTON TERRANCE DAVIS KAHLEVE DORSEY JUSTIN FAULKNER CASANOVA HARRIS JAWAUN HAWKINS EMMANUEL HILL JAYLA JACKSON SINCERE MCCRAW ABRIANA ROWE NADIA SALAHUDDIN FAITH SALLIS MAKAYLA SMITH DAVID THOMAS JOHNATHAN THOMAS MIA THOMAS LONIA THOMPKINS REDA MARIE WALKERBRITTON DARMARREE WATSON
IND IND INST IND INST INST IND IND INST IND INST IND INST IND INST IN ST IND INST IND IND INST INST IND IN ST IND INST IND INST IND INST IND INST IND INST IND IND INST INST IND INST

PREREADING

L
IND

M
INST

U V

W X

*Name Color Key: The colors used to highlight student names are the color names of the guided reading groups we have in our classroom. Each color represents a different group. *The Letters represent the literacy leveling system of Fontas and Pinnell. The pink highlighted boxes are levels below my student's grade level, green represents grade two reading levels, and the purple represents above grade level literacy ratings. *IND= Student's independent reading level *INST= Student's instructional level

In order to maximize student growth and utilize the three teachers that these students have the benefit of having this year, the students have been split into three groups. Each teacher takes 2 groups and sees their groups daily for 15 minutes apiece each day. The hope is that the extra time and individual attention will allow the students to make invaluable gains and individually get what they need. Out of 21 students, only 10 are reading at or above grade level. 6 of the remaining 10 students are right on the cusp of being able to step into grade level reading. 2 of the final four have already made substantial growth since the beginning of the year and the last two have some work to do. Although they are currently being reassessed for the third quarter STEP assessments, there is still some work that needs to be done in order to, not only, continue but maintain progress. Common patterns or areas of needs are addressed in student groups which are represented on the graph by which color they are. Students in the purple group are independently reading where they need to by the end of second grade and are able to read third grade text with instruction. At this time, these students are working to pass a STEP 10. Students in the green and blue groups are reading both independently and instructionally at grade level. The green group is working on passing a STEP 8 and the blue group is working on passing a STEP 9. Students in the orange and yellow groups are currently reading both instructionally and individually at a first grade reading level and are working at a variety of STEP levels (from STEPs 4-7) in these groups. Our single student in red has an excessive amount of absences (mainly due to suspension) and tardies is far behind the rest of the class at an end of kindergarten/early first grade reading level. When he is in class he is typically quite late for

school and missing a substantial amount of reading and word work instruction so the class mentor decided that more intensive, individualized instruction would be best for him. The Common Core standards state that students should demonstrate a range of reading and level of text complexity that correspond to the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards. Two of the standards that meet the purpose of my data are that students should be able to read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently and, by the end of the year (in 2nd grade), read and comprehend literature, including stories and poetry, in the grades 23 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range. In the language of the Fountas and Pinnell STEP assessment, this means that by the end of 2nd grade, students will be reading at a STEP level M. The chart below gives a great breakdown of the intended progression of STEP levels:

Armed with the knowledge of Common Core standards and Fountas and Pinnell STEP data, we are able to, first, break down the student population based on their strengths and weaknesses and, second, inform guided reading and word work groups that will advise and guide differentiated instruction in each of these groups. If I had any critique of these systems it would be that the spelling portions of the STEP tests focus on spelling patterns but not particularly correct spelling and, additionally, meeting those goals with typically minimal errors. My concern with this is that students who are struggling with spelling patterns and phonetics will continue to struggle as they move throughout the STEPs until they hit a ceiling and cant move any further. Im finding that is true of the lowest three guided reading groups, especially those who are just under grade level. Earlier STEPs allow points for an attempt of a phonetic pattern. Then, somewhere around STEP 5 or 6, they are expected to spell those patterns correctly with no errors. Word work becomes critical for these students so that those spelling and phonetic patterns get practiced often and, in return, help students make gains in their reading. Another bit of information that was accessed through this data is that while emphasizing and working more with those students who were below reading levels, those who were at or above in reading levels were not making any gains from one testing benchmark to the next. Knowing this helped to inform an even distribution of time among the groups and planning so that we were not only teaching and reinforcing the students strengths but guided and providing opportunities for them to practice in areas that needed improvement. It also brings me back to an aforementioned student who is desperately below reading level and not appearing to make any real gains. While we, as teachers, can plan and instruct to the best of

our ability, we also understand that his attendance affects his being able to progress and make gains. This student is suspended often and tardy almost daily when he is in school, neither of which we have much control over. We continue to plan for his needs and even went the extra step of providing him with one on one instruction in hopes that our intervention, on any level, will allow this students to progress. With all that we know, we will continue using this information and assessing quarterly in hopes that we can continue moving our students along. We are currently in the process of doing third quarter STEP assessments so the data collected will once again change, hopefully for the better. We have also discussed sending some word work home with our lowest student that will help to reinforce what were doing with him individually. We are already using the STEP above where the students are currently to help inform instruction and give them opportunities for extended practice with new skills but also helping to reinforce old ones.