Ms. Canzone uses both formal and informal assessments to
measure her children's understanding of the materials presented in
class.
Informal assessment
Throughout the prereading activities, the reading of the selection, and the post-reading discussion, Ms. Canzone continually monitors her children's comprehension, paying close attention to their general comfort levels and their responses to the text. As they read, she notes their ability to apply comprehension strategies and skills and to decode words and read fluently; in discussion, she notes the kinds of questions they ask and the responses they give.
As the children work on their daily written responses, Ms. Canzone circulates around the room. She pays attention to what her children are writing, asks them questions, and gauges their answers. This daily informal assessment allows Ms. Canzone to keep close track of who is progressing well and who is struggling; among those who are struggling, she can differentiate between those children who are struggling with reading in general and those whose struggles are more specific.
She will follow up with children who need reteaching and
reinforcement during Workshop. At that time, she has several
options. She can:
- Reteach individuals or small groups using the Reteach component of the program.
- Have children reread the selection, after which she can step in and clarify any misunderstandings that persist.
- Have the children work on related activities in their workbooks.
- Preteach children who need extra help preparing for the next day's lessons.
- Give children who are doing well an extra challenge using the program's Challenge component.
In addition to her daily informal assessment, Ms. Canzone also implements regular formal assessments, which cover skills taught in each lesson. The formal assessments are administered in various standardized test formats in order to give the children practice taking such tests.
Together, these two types of assessments inform and direct Ms. Canzone's instruction, enabling her to individualize her curriculum and her instruction process to meet the needs of each of her students.
