Dramatic ACademic growth
Valid and frequent assessment are integral parts of being an effective and responsive teacher. As a teacher, I use a combination of standardized and teacher created assessments to ensure I have a complete picture of my students’ progress and growth. Tracking this growth is helpful to not only recognize students that may need additional support, but also allows me to consider what aspects of my instruction are effective, and what I may need to adjust to best serve my students. I use quantitative assessments to track student reading and math growth. The quantitative assessment I use to track reading growth is the standardized Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) that is mandated by my county. The quantitative data helps me track class averages as well as individual student growth. I also use qualitative data to watch student progress in writing. I use routine writing as an opportunity to track students’ progress mastering foundational writing skills.
Academic gains are the ultimate door opener – they are the foundation of a truly transformational teacher. Students make dramatic levels of academic growth (that is measurable and rigorous). Families know the level of rigor necessary for college and career readiness in the 21st century.
The assessment my school uses to measure student reading growth is called the Developmental Reading Assessment, or DRA. The assessment is composed of five sections: text level, letter identification, sight word identification, dictation sentence, and emergent behaviors. The assessment is used three times a year to assess students levels at the beginning of the year, October, middle of the year, January, and end of the year, May. Students are designated as reading below grade level, on grade level, or above grade level based on their text level score. When administering the assessment, for levels one through six, the assesser reads from a script provided in the DRA box. It introduces the text and asks students to look at the pictures and describe what they see. An example of a text introduction may sound like this: “This book is called ‘After School.’ In this story, Pam and Luke are playing together after school. Look at the pictures and tell me what Pam and Luke do together after school.” After students are introduced to the text, they read the book independently to the best of their ability. The assessor takes a running record, making note of the number of errors and self-corrections. If a student is able to read the book with an accuracy rate of 90% or above, they pass the accuracy component. For text levels four and above, students must also retell the story. The assessor makes notes of which components of the text the student includes and gives the students a score out of twenty-four. If a student scores a sixteen or above, they pass the comprehension component of the test. In order to move on to a higher level text, students must pass both the accuracy and comprehension components. If a student fails one of the components, they are determined to be reading at the level below the one failed. For example, if a student passed a level six, but failed the level eight, they are considered to be a level six. The link below is to the official website for the DRA created by Pearson.
Quantitative - Standardized
The document shown here is an overview of the DRA that answers some frequently asked questions. It also outlines what the different text levels indicate about a readers' developmental level. This document also outlines grade level expectations. Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) has worked to increase rigor by extending the expectations of grade level performance. According to PGCPS, students should start first grade at a level six, test at a level ten in the middle of the year, and test at a level sixteen at the end of first grade.
This document is offered by Pearson, the company that created the DRA, to show how the test is aligned to Common Core State Standards. It explains which standards are being tested with the DRA, and which standards are not. According to this document, the standards that are not addressed should be addressed during small group instruction. In this document, Pearson explains that the purpose of the DRA is to give teachers a tool to analyze students' abilities to put the phonics skills they have learned into practice.
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Scoring
The running record shown here is an example of what the running record looks like when administering the DRA. Students receive a check for each word read correctly. If a mistake is made, the teacher marks what the student actually said and counts it as one error. Teachers also indicate if students self-correct their error. At the end, the teacher counts the total number of errors. The accuracy rate is determined by calculating what percentage of the words in the text the student read correctly. The chart below shows what the accuracy rate of students' assessment indicates about their reading level. If their accuracy rate was 89% or below, the text is too difficult. If their accuracy rate was between 90% and 97%, the text is at an instructional level. If their accuracy rate is between 98% and 100%, the text is at an independent level.
The chart here shows the text levels that are considered below grade level, on grade level, and above grade level at different points of the year. A student is considered to be reading at a text level if they read the text with 90% or greater accuracy. If students are reading a text level three or above they also need to pass with a comprehension score of sixteen or above.
This is the DRA comprehension rubric used to determine if a student understood the text that they read. The teacher may only offer general prompts such as "what happened next" and "what else can you tell me." The teacher gives the appropriate points for each category based on student response. The total number of points the student receives must be sixteen or above in order for the student to pass the text level.
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The data shown below outlines student growth throughout the 2018-2019 academic school year. At the start of the year, 61% of my students were reading below grade-level, meaning they were reading at a DRA level below six. 39% of my students were reading on or above grade level, meaning they were reading a level six or above. Between the October and January testing date, students are expected to move from a level six to a level ten. This is equivalent to moving two DRA levels. On average, my students moved 4.8 DRA levels. This is over twice as much growth as is expected by the standardized test. At the January testing date, 39% of my students were reading below grade level, meaning they were reading below a DRA level ten. 61% of my students were reading on or above grade level, meaning they were reading a level ten or above. Between the January and May testing dates, students are expected to move from a level ten to a level sixteen. This is equivalent to moving three DRA levels. On average, my students moved 4.4 DRA levels. At the May testing date, 11% of my students were reading below grade-level, meaning they were reading at a DRA level below sixteen. 89% of my students were reading on or above grade-level, meaning they were reading a level sixteen or above. Over the course of first grade, students are expected to make a total growth of five DRA levels. On average, my students grew 8.4 DRA levels. This is over 1.6 times the expected growth.
At the end of the year, only two of my students were reading below grade level. Student A grew from a level zero to a level three. This is three levels of reading growth. According to the DRA summary shown above, students are expected to enter Kindergarten at a level zero and end the year at a level three. When considering his entering point, this student made a years worth of growth during first grade. This student has an individualized education plan (IEP) for speech and potential developmental delays. Student B grew from a level zero to a level ten. He grew seven DRA levels, which is a year and half worth of reading growth. He entered my classroom as a ‘Newcomer,’ meaning he had recently moved to the United States and had little to no English language skills. Seven of the students who entered my classroom below grade-level left my class reading on grade-level. One of the students who entered my classroom reading below grade-level left my class reading above grade-level. The four students who entered my classroom reading on grade-level left reading above grade-level.
The qualitative data I use to assess student growth is the independent writing they complete during whole group instruction. Our literacy learning cycles are 7 days in length. On days three and four, students are assigned one routine writing prompt to answer. They are expected to complete this task independently. At the beginning of the year, I supported students by providing sentence starters. As the year progresses, we discuss possible sentence starters but I do not provide them on the board. Days five through seven are designated for writing fundamentals. During this time students are introduced to a type of writing, then spend the three days writing a paragraph to practice that type of writing.
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At the start of the year, my students struggled with completing one sentence even with a sentence starter. Throughout this year students have progressed to not only not need a sentence starter, but writing three to five sentences independently. This change is reflected in the aspects of the Wow! Writers Checklist I use as a rubric. Students are able to earn a score out of 5 on the fundamental skills of writing. This indicates if they are using the writing strategies I explicitly teach in first grade that help students become coherent and effective writers.
Qualitative
I use the following rubrics to assess student growth and work. Students can receive a total score of five. A star indicates one point. A smiley face indicates half of a point. A check and check minus indicate no points.
The three students I selected were all below grade level at the start of the year and struggled with different components of writing. Student A started the year reading at a level one. She was able to attempt spelling but struggled to write sentences that made logical sense. By end of February, she was able to write a complete paragraph about a single topic. Student B started the year reading at a level zero. He was able to write the sentence starter provided but could not complete a sentence independently. By the end of the February, he was able to write a complete paragraph independently. Student C started the year reading at a level two. She was able to write a complete sentence using a sentence starter at the beginning of the year, however she was unable to write more than one sentence or explain her reasoning. By the end of February, she was able to write a complete paragraph and explain her thinking behind her responses.
Student A
The student samples below show the progress a student has made from the beginning of the year to February. The rubrics below each artifact show how they performed on each of the five foundational skills I was assessing. At the start of the year, this student was consistently starting with a capital letter and finger spaces, but only wrote one sentence using a sentence starter. As the year progressed she was started using punctuation at the end of her sentence. However, she only wrote two sentences and they were both the same. In February, she was able to write a full paragraph including unfamiliar words she stretched out on her own. She was able to complete this task without sentence starters.
When did you feel afraid?
September 2019
This prompt was in response to reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Total Score: 2/5
Why do you like school?
October 2019
This prompt was in response to a writing fundamentals lesson about opinion writing.
Total Score: 3/5
Write about a habitat we have learned about.
February 2020
This prompt was in response to a learning cycle in which we read about bayous, ponds, and the desert.
Total Score: 4/5
This student made significant academic growth in their writing. She is now able to write complete paragraphs about a single topic using complete sentences. She needs minimal guidance and are able to work independently. Additionally, her writing stamina has improved drastically. While this student struggled to complete a single sentence at the beginning of the year during the allotted writing time, she is now able to write a complete paragraph in that time. This students' writing growth is mirrored in her reading growth. She started the year reading at a level one, four levels below grade level. By the end of February, she was reading level eight books. This is only one level below grade-level.
Student B
The student samples below show the progress a student has made from the beginning of the year to the end of February. The rubrics below each artifact show how they performed on each of the five foundational skills I was assessing. At the start of the year this student was able to copy down the sentence starter, but was unable to complete the sentence starter. They did not attempt to stretch out words or use known words to complete the prompt. In the second artifact, the student used the provided sentence starter and was able to use a word bank to complete the sentence. However, that sentence did not make grammatical sense. This student was able to use capital letters, finger spaces, and some punctuation. In March, this student is now able to write a complete paragraph with only the introductory sentence starter. He stretched out unknown words to create coherent sentences. This student still struggles with punctuation but has shown vast improvements in all other areas.
When did you feel afraid?
September 2019
This prompt was in response to reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Total Score: 2/5
Why do you like school?
October 2019
This prompt was in response to a writing fundamentals lesson about opinion writing.
Total Score: 2.5/5
Write about a special experience.
February 2020
This prompt was in response to a writing fundamentals lesson about special experiences.
Total Score: 4/5
This student made significant academic growth in their writing. They started the year unable to complete a single sentence when given a sentence starter. By the end of February they were able to fill a page with a paragraph about a special experience. This student is able to translate their thoughts into written word using the conventions of the English language. This will help him be a more effective communicator throughout his life. This students' significant writing growth is also matched by his reading growth. Reading and writing are intimately connected. At the time of his most recent writing at the end of February, this student was reading text level six. Having started at one, this means this student had made a full year of academic growth in six months. The illustration component of writing is not on my rubric. This student spent the entire time writing his sentences and did not have time to add illustrations.
Student C
The student samples below show the progress a student has made from the beginning of the year to the beginning of January. The rubrics below each artifact show how they performed on each of the five foundational skills I was assessing. At the start of the year the student was able to use a sentence starter and attempt to stretch out the one unknown word. She consistently used a capital letter and punctuation. In the second artifact, the student was able to use the same skills she had shown mastery of at the start of the year. She wrote two sentences, however she wrote the same sentence twice. In February, this student was able to write a complete paragraph and successfully stretched out unfamiliar words using first grade phonics skills. Most sentences made sense except for her reference to the text. The progression shows she has made significant writing progress throughout the year.
What do you like to do?
September 2019
This text was in response to reading "I like to be Little"
Total Score: 4/5
Why do you like school?
October 2019
This prompt was in response to a writing fundamentals lesson about opinion writing.
Total Score: 4/5
Write about a community job.
February 2020
This prompt was in response a learning cycle in which we read about community jobs.
Total Score: 4.5/5
This student made significant academic growth in their writing. While she started the year able to write a complete sentence with the support of a sentence starter, she struggled to write more than one with new ideas. By the end of February, they were able to write a complete paragraph on a topic and explain their thinking. This student was able to write about the importance of a construction worker, and share her reasoning about why she wants to be a construction worker. While the rubric does not show significant numeric growth, the samples clearly show significant growth in quality of writing and stamina. While she was able to implement some of the core components of writing at the beginning of the year, the rubric does not currently capture the significant growth the quality of her writing has made. This students' writing growth is mirrored in her reading growth. She started the year reading a level two, which is below grade-level. As of February, she was reading level fourteen books, which is on grade-level. This student went from reading below grade-level at the beginning of the year, to reading on grade-level by the middle of the year.
The data shown on this page outlines how I track student growth and determine progress. As most of my students come to my classroom below grade-level, I focus heavily on growth and striving towards mastery. Student mastery, as shown by the quantitative and qualitative data, exemplifies the growth my students make in my classroom. Students are developing foundational skills they will continue to build upon for the duration of their academic career. It is vital that this foundation is as strong as possible. The mastery they show in my classroom, as is described on this page, will help them continue to succeed for years to come and become 21st century thinkers and leaders.