[MOSAIC] data collection for analysis

Tue Sep 14 17:51:09 EDT 2010

wHAT IS IT THAT SHE INSTITUTED - WOULD LOVE TO SEE A COPY SO i CAN SHOW 
THE TEACHERS THAT i WORK WITH.
MARY V. RICCIARDI

On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 2:39 PM, Betsy Lafontant wrote:

> We decided as a school not to use the DRAs because they were so time
> consuming.  While the running record part was valuable, the 
> comprehension
> and writing section was far too long and arduous. Classroom teachers
> administered it and it took away valuable instruction time.  Our 
> curriculum
> coordinator (she's fabulous) created our own streamlined running
> records/reading inventory and comprehension check (and she still is 
> making
> new ones as the kids rise up through the grades) and the classroom 
> teachers
> found that it gives just as reliable information.  Plus the process is 
> taken
> out of the classroom teacher's hands so it doesn't impact instruction 
> and is
> a bit more objective.
>
> As a classroom teacher, my colleagues and I found this process (end of 
> the
> year running record, along with a highly structured writing assessment 
> -
> also designed by our talented curriculum coordinator - and the 
> classroom
> teacher's observations) gives us a clear, snapshot of the student at 
> the
> beginning and the end of the year.
>
> On Tue, Sep 14, 2010 at 3:26 AM, Valerie Vitalo <valvitalo at yahoo.com> 
> 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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>>>>
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>>
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