[MOSAIC] data collection for analysis

Tue Sep 14 13:04:11 EDT 2010

I know that many teachers have abandoned the DRA because it can be time 
consuming especially in the upper grades. There is a written component 
for grades 4 and up (grade 3 has an optional one I believe). Even 
though it may take some students about an hour to complete, I feel that 
the information I get about the students is crucial to drive my 
instruction. I don't really like that the engagement piece is worth so 
many points but I take that into consideration when looking at it. Our 
district uses the WIDDA for ELL assessment.
Sue

-----Original Message-----
From: Hoffmann Dale Marie <dmhoffmann at cox.net>
To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group 
<mosaic at literacyworkshop.org>
Sent: Tue, Sep 14, 2010 6:41 am
Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] data collection for analysis

What ELL assessment do you give your ELL's. 
Dale Marie 
On Sep 13, 2010, at 8:26 PM, Valerie Vitalo wrote: 

> Just curious as to why districts have abandoned DRA's. We give the > 
DRA-2 3 times per year in grades k-5 We give phonological > awareness 
tests and sightword inventories to all of our kidin > 1,2,and 3 and in 
K later on in the year. We have periodic writing > assessments with 
district-wide prompts that match a writing calendar > for units for the 
district. Teacher give running records to > students when they are 
considering moving to the next guided reading > level. There is an ELL 
evaluation at the beginning and end of year > also. They continually 
add asessments. Classroom teachers do some > of it and the lit team for 
the building does the rest. We get a > really comprehensive picture of 
these little guys before we group > and continually regroup as 
necessary. 
> --- On Sun, 9/12/10, Jan Sanders <jangousan at gmail.com> wrote: 
> 
> 
> From: Jan Sanders <jangousan at gmail.com> 
> Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] data collection for analysis 
> To: "Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Email Group" 
<mosaic at literacyworkshop.org> > 
> Date: Sunday, September 12, 2010, 6:46 PM 
> 
> 
> In our district the teacher gives a running record to each student 
and 
> submits the data to the principal. 
> Plusses and minuses for teacher or team to assess. Teacher knows the 
> student as a reader instantly after the assessment, but not all > 
teachers 
> administer it the same, although there was a major training 6 years > 
ago. 
> Each year they are given the criteria, a reminder of how to assess, > 
and can 
> watch a video of a lit coach giving the assessment. 
> 
> Jan 
> You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to > 
your 
> grandmother. 
> -Albert Einstein 
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Sep 11, 2010 at 12:00 AM, Betsy Lafontant 
> <betsylafontant at gmail.com>wrote: 
> 
>> My school using a fairly low-tech but effective means of assessing 
>> the 
>> students' reading progress. At the start of the year, the Student >> 
Support 
>> Services team (which consisted of ESOL, Learning Support, and the >> 
school 
>> counselor) tested the reading abilities of each child in our >> 
elementary 
>> school using a running record. The tester started where the >> 
student tested 
>> out at then of last year or for new students, where the classroom >> 
teacher 
>> believes is the student's reading level. It took two intense weeks 
>> for the 
>> SSS team and lots of pullouts for the classroom teacher. But at the 
>> end we 
>> had a comprehensive data on each child's reading levels. This >> 
process is 
>> repeated at the end of the year to track progress and to reflect on 
>> our 
>> teaching practice and methods. 
>> 
>> This is the third year my school is doing this. The first year it >> 
was a 
>> bit 
>> of a mess because some testers had different "lens" on when they 
were 
>> testing. Some put more emphasis on fluency while others only >> 
tested for 
>> comprehension. In the second year, the testing team met every day to 
>> discuss the process, streamline and normalize their practice. In >> 
the third 
>> year, this process is sleek, fast and the end product, the data, is 
>> extremely valuable to the classroom teacher. 
>> 
>> For writing, we have a writing test. With a common prompt, each >> 
child 
>> writes a story. No names are on the writing test. Then the >> 
writing tests 
>> are divided among the classroom teachers and are scored using a >> 
rubric 
>> based 
>> on the 6 traits (ideas, sentence fluency, mechanics, voice, >> 
organization 
>> and 
>> word choice). This data is collected and used to drive the classroom 
>> instruction for each child. Like the reading, this process is >> 
repeated 
>> towards the end of the year. 
>> 
>> On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 11:06 PM, Jeana Wise >> 
<jwise at marshallschools.com 
>>> wrote: 
>> 
>>> What types of data does your schools collect for anaylsis? My >>> 
district is 
>>> using Aimsweb, but I am thinking that other forms of data may be 
>>> helpful 
>>> when looking at interventions for our struggling students. My >>> 
district no 
>>> longer gives the DRA, either. 
>>> 
>>> Jeana Wise 
>>> K-4 Literacy Coach 
>>> jwise at marshallschools.com<mailto:jwise at marshallschools.com> 
>>> 
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