Five Assessments Assignment

Reading
Type of assessment given Fountas and Pinnell Reading Test
Description of test subject The test subject was a female of the age 6
years and 7 months. She has no diagnosed
disabilities.
Description of testing experience The first assessment was given using a level
G passage that is where first grade students
are expected to be within the second interval
of the year (February to March). The test
could be completed as prescribed by this
system. However, due to the results from this
level G reading assessment, I chose to
reassess the test subject using a level A
passage that kindergarten students should be
able to successfully complete during the first
interval of their schoolyear (November to
December). New results were received, but
the conclusion for intervention was
consistent.
Accommodations for testing The testing occurred at a quiet coffee shop
where I felt the test subject would be the most
focused without the availability of toys, the
television, or other sources of distraction. The
testing occurred after school hours.
Results of the level G assessment This passage was a fictional story. It took 12
minutes and 20 seconds to complete. There
was a total of 52 errors that coincides with an
accuracy rate below 90%. There were no
instances of self-correction. Based on the
rubric for fluency, the subject received a score
of 1 that is defined as Reads primarily two-
word phrases with some three- and four-word
and some word-by-word reading; almost no
smooth, expressive interpretation or pausing
guided by authors meaning and punctuation;
almost no stress or inappropriate stress, with
slow rate most of the time. From the results,
the conclusion could be made that this level G
passage is at the hard level such that the
subject should be assessed with lower level
reading passages and intervention would be
beneficial.
Results of the level A assessment This passage was a fictional story. It took 3
minutes and 49 seconds to complete. There
was a total of 12 errors that coincides with an
accuracy rate of 96%. There were no
instances of self-correction. Based on the
rubric for fluency the subject received a score
of 2 that is defined as Reads primarily in
three- or four-word phrase groups; some
smooth, expressive interpretation and pausing
guided by authors meaning and punctuation;
mostly appropriate stress and rate with some
slowdowns. From the results, the conclusion
could be made that this level A passage is at
the instructional level such that with guidance
to further develop reading skills,
improvements can be made to be able to
successfully complete the reading of the
passage.
Accommodations that would benefit the This test subject shows a significant need for
subject based on the result of the assistance in developing her reading skills
assessment based on the results from both the level G and
level A assessments. She would benefit from
tiered interventions. In tier 1, the educator
could make an effort to focus on the areas of
struggle that include sight words, broadening
the childs vocabulary, reviewing digraphs,
and mastering the skill of sounding out words
rather than guessing. If this more personalized
intervention does not result in adequate
progression, seeking help from a reading
specialist for tier 2 intervention may be
necessary. Within the school that I am
observing in, given the results of the
assessment, this test subject would be sent to
a reading specialist on a daily basis until she
is capable of reading at the level expected of a
child at her grade level. It is critical that the
test subject receives help to develop her
reading skills because reading is the basis of
all subjects. If she has trouble with this and it
is not addressed, difficulties in other subjects
may arise in the future.
Reflection on the experience I was interested in using the Fountas and
Pinnell benchmark assessment system
because that is what the school I am
observing in uses. I like that I was able to give
the subject as much time as she needed to
complete the reading that I believe prevented
her from feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and
disappointed. I did not feel challenged by any
portion of the assessment. This system is
simple to implement and provides clear
explanations of how to analyze the results. I
would like to use Fountas and Pinnell in my
classroom because through my experience of
conducting the assessment and observing it
within my field experience, students enjoy the
organization of this system. Not only this, but
also the results can guide me as an educator to
the areas that each child is succeeding and
having difficulties in. I can make appropriate
judgements of what I must work on with the
child and when additional interventions
would be beneficial. I will be able to track
each students progress in their reading
throughout the year.

Spelling
Type of assessment given Spelling test
Description of test subject The test subject was a female of the age 6
years and 7 months. She has no diagnosed
disabilities.
Description of testing experience Although only 8 words were given, the
protocol of saying a new word every 10
seconds could be followed. The assessment
could be completed as prescribed. The terms
used within the spelling test were ones
researched to be at the 1st grade level. During
the testing time, the subject remained focused
on her work while sitting at a personal-sized
table. There were no signs of frustration or
fidgeting. She fully participated in the
assessment with consistent devotion to her
success.
Accommodations for testing The testing occurred at a quiet coffee shop
where I felt the test subject would be the most
focused without the availability of toys, the
television, or other sources of distraction. The
testing occurred after school hours.
Results of the assessment As a whole, 5 of the 8 words correct, with 4
of the 5 vowels listed in the final question
being correct. When grading based off of the
correct letter sequence technique, the total
score was 35/42. The mistakes made were in
the lack of a letter and the incorrect inclusion
of letters. Due to the fact that I know this
child well through caring for her for four
years, I can conclude that some of these
mistakes were made due to her inability to
pronounce certain sounds correctly.
Additionally, the subjects school does not
teach the difference between vowels and
consonants, which I have been working on
with her. Her effort made in writing the
vowels was more successful than I expected.

Accommodations that would benefit the Based on the spelling test results, the test
subject based on the result of the subject would benefit from additional practice
assessment in understanding digraphs and sounding out
words. The mistakes exhibited a lack of
understanding of these matters. The child
would also benefit from further teaching of
the differences and importance of vowels and
consonants. She must learn the patterns in
spelling based on these categories of letters
that will contribute to her ability of properly
sounding out words. I do not believe that any
higher tiered interventions are needed at this
time.
Reflection on the experience I like the simplicity of this assessment. It can
be approached in two ways. The terms the
students are to be tested on could be those that
they are expected to know by each particular
grade level, or by studying certain words with
the students and assessing them the following
week. I think the most challenging part of this
assessment is the 10 second intervals that are
prescribed. I feel that a second repetition of
the word after 10 seconds would be helpful to
the students, with a new word being
mentioned every 20 seconds. If I were to use
spelling tests within my classroom, I would
want students to also recognize the use and
meaning of the terms. Therefore, I would first
ask for the word to be spelled correctly, and
then I would ask for it to be included in a
simple sentence expressing that he or she has
a complete understanding. I would strongly
encourage each students development of
spelling skills because this will help them to
strengthen their abilities in writing and
reading as well.

Mathematics
Type of assessment given SuperKids Math Worksheet with Addition
and Subtraction
Description of test subject The test subject was a female of the age 6
years and 7 months. She has no diagnosed
disabilities.
Description of testing experience The assessment consisted of 15 computation
problems. The protocol was followed as
prescribe with one exception. While I
attempted to adhere to the 2-minute time
limit, the subject insisted upon completing all
problems. Therefore, asterisks were placed
next to the problems that were completed
after this time. During the testing time, the
subject remained focused on her work while
sitting at a personal-sized table. There were
no signs of frustration or fidgeting. She fully
participated in the assessment with consistent
devotion to her success. The subject used her
fingers to help solve the problems.
Accommodations for testing The testing occurred at a quiet coffee shop
where I felt the test subject would be the most
focused without the availability of toys, the
television, or other sources of distraction. The
testing occurred after school hours.
Results of the assessment All 15 problems were completed in 3 minutes
and 28 seconds. The subject answered 5 of the
15 problems correctly. With scoring based on
digits correct, the subject received 14/30. It is
evident that the subject failed to acknowledge
the operation symbols on the problems, and
used addition for all. The subject verbally
claimed during the assessment that she did
not know how to carry values in addition in
subtraction, so she failed to do so on the
assessment. This is a skill that a first grade
students at this point in the year should be
capable of.
Accommodations that would benefit the I am aware that this test subject is capable of
subject based on the result of the solving subtraction problems. Therefore, the
assessment main focus of additional educational support
would be educating her in the concept of
carrying values in these types of mathematical
questions. Based on the areas in which this
child typically excels, I believe that only a tier
1 intervention would be required where the
teacher provides individualized assistance to
the test subject with a focus on this topic.
Through examples, guidance, and practice,
she will be able to easily master these skills,
and then continue to progress to more
challenging math material.
Reflection on the experience I have a bachelors degree in math, so I was
quite enthusiastic to begin this assessment.
This is one of the many options to assess a
students mathematical skills. I like the form
of testing I used because unlike word
problems where one must be able to read and
comprehend the question, the assessment
implemented purely requires the childs
ability to use numbers. I did not feel that any
part of this assessment was difficult in my
role. I liked being able to use the system of
grading by the number of digits correct
because it gives the child more credit for their
efforts. I would use this type of test within my
classroom to evaluate each students
understanding and retention on a bi-weekly
basis. However, while I would use the digit-
score system, I would also assess the
problems as a whole to formulate a better
understanding of the areas of struggle. This is
important for me to be able to address the
individual needs of students, as well as
analyzing my teaching methods and make any
necessary modifications.

Behavior/Interests
Type of assessment given Student Interest Survey
Description of test subject The test subject was a female of the age 6
years and 7 months. She has no diagnosed
disabilities.
Description of testing experience The assessment consisted of 17 questions. I
sat beside the test subject encouraging her to
read the questions on her own. Most of the
questions were fully understood, with a few
requiring an additional explanation. During
the testing time, the subject remained focused
on her work while sitting at a personal-sized
table. There were no signs of frustration or
fidgeting. She fully participated in the
assessment with consistent devotion to her
success.
Accommodations for testing The testing occurred at a quiet coffee shop
where I felt the test subject would be the most
focused without the availability of toys, the
television, or other sources of distraction. The
testing occurred after school hours.
Results of the assessment The test subject exhibited good skills of
interpreting her reading. Single word answers
were used as opposed to writing full
sentences. There were several spelling errors,
including the evident lack of understanding of
capitalizing letters in words when necessary.
The subjects interests are at a healthy level
for a first grade student such that her
responses exhibit an understanding of herself.
She was able to portray her interests fully and
accurately. This shows that she has the ability
to verbally communicate her thoughts and
emotions.
Accommodations that would benefit the Given that the responses to the interest survey
subject based on the result of the were adequate for a first grade student, I do
assessment not believe any interventions are needed. All
of the answers to the questions were
appropriate and showed no areas to be
concerned of.
Reflection on the experience I like that this survey was more personal and
can enable the teacher to better understand
each student. This assessment allowed the test
subject to use her deep-thinking skills to
create answers to the open-ended questions.
The only challenge for me was determining
what level of interaction with the child was
appropriate as she completed the assessment.
Given that this was not a knowledge-based
test, I felt that I could help her to read and
understand the questions when necessary, but
caution had to be taken in not using words
that could sway her towards any particular
response. I would use this assessment in the
beginning of each schoolyear to get to know
my students. This would provide me a
background of who they are beyond what I
see during class time.

Observation
Type of assessment given Observation of Social Interaction
Description of test subject The test subject was a female of the age 6
years and 7 months. She has no diagnosed
disabilities.
Description of testing experience I did not make the test subject aware of my
observations to prevent any unusual
behaviors. I conducted myself as normal, but
refrained from interaction to the best of my
ability. During the testing time, the subject
participated in several activities within the 10-
minute observation period. There were
various emotions exhibited within each
interval. The test subjects full participation in
the assessment was assumed.
Accommodations for testing The testing occurred at home where the test
subjects interaction with her sister could
most easily be observed. The testing occurred
during the morning prior to leaving for school
because limited interactions occur after school
when the children are tired.
Results of the assessment The ten minutes of observing the test subject
consisted of varying periods of individual
activity and interactions with others. In the
first interval, she exhibited solitary behaviors
in her actions of a frantic search for a
hairbrush. Negative, unconstructive behaviors
were displayed in this instance within a
situation that could have calmly played out.
Upon a solution arising, the test subject
transitioned to a situation in which she
interacted with her sibling. Within this
interval, the two children communicated with
each other, which is a requirement of the
game, Go Fish. The tone in which the test
subject spoke was calm, positive, and
productive. Solitary and parallel behaviors
took place within the third interval of
observation as the test subject chose to
reorganize the items posted on a bulletin
board. Her sister chose to copy the same
activity and both participated in parallel
dialogue that was directed towards saying
where one would be placing the particular
items on the board. The fourth interval
included the unoccupied test subject
functioning as an onlooker as her sibling
participated in an activity with me. This non-
intrusive behavior continued until the last
moment when she transitioned her focus to a
jar of push-pins. The test subject interacted
with her sibling within the final 2-minute
interval by categorizing the push-pins by
color. The two children communicated with
each other to be on the same page about
categorizing the items. The test subject
constructively guided her sibling to be careful
when handling the push-pins due to the
danger of such pointy items. The test subject
interacted with the other child in a positive
manner with no signs of frustration or
discontent.
Accommodations that would benefit the I do not believe that the test subject requires
subject based on the result of the any specialized interventions. If I were to
assessment have fully functioned as the caregiver in this
10-minute period as opposed to being an
observer, I would have intervened within the
first interval when the childs behavior was
not productive in solving the dilemma. I
would have educated the test subject and
guided her to handle the situation more
appropriately. Upon resolving the issue, I
would help the child to verbally recollect how
similar situations should be carried out in the
future. I can do this as circumstances arise.
Reflection on the experience I feel that the anecdotal nature of this social
interaction observation was helpful in
assessing the natural behaviors of the test
subject. This provides a context for the
behavioral choices of the child. Thus, better
analyses and conclusions can be formed. I did
not feel challenged by this assessment
because within my role as the observer, I
could take a step back to view the situations
as a whole as opposed to instantaneously
analyzing each moment and making
judgements about necessary interventions.
The use of this type of assessment would be
helpful in my classroom if there was a student
who had behaviors that myself, the parents, or
other educators were concerned about.
However, I would likely use longer intervals
and specifically focus on taking note of all
behaviors that are related to the area of
concern. I would do this because I would need
to be able to make accurate judgements of the
context when certain behaviors occur so that
necessary and appropriate interventions can
follow.