Ms. Echeverri uses two types of assessment—informal and
formal—to determine her students' listening comprehension of
the selections that she reads. Continuous informal assessment
allows her to adjust lessons and provide additional practice as
needed.
Informal Assessment
Throughout the prereading, reading, and after-reading activities,
Ms. Echeverri monitors her students' understanding by paying close
attention to their general comfort level and their responses. She
notes the questions they ask as well as the responses they give to
questions. This daily informal assessment allows Ms. Echeverri to
keep close track of which students are progressing well, which are
struggling in general, and which are having difficulties with
specific areas.
During Workshop, she will follow up with students who need
reteaching and reinforcement. At that time she has several options
at her disposal. She can:
- Use the instruction in the Open Court Reading English-Language Development Guide or SRA Imagine It! English-Language Support Guide to help her English learners focus on skills that they are having difficulty with.
- Reteach individuals or small groups using the Reteach component of the program.
- Help students who need it reread the selection and clarify any remaining misunderstandings.
- Have the students work on related activities in their workbooks.
- Preteach students who need it in preparation for the next day's lessons.
- Give students who are doing well an extra challenge using the Challenge component of the program.
In addition to the informal assessment she does daily, Ms. Echeverri has at her disposal the formal assessment pieces provided with the program. These assessments cover the skills taught in each lesson and use various standardized test formats in order to give students practice with such tests.
Together these two types of assessment provide Ms. Echeverri with the information she needs to inform her instruction and individualize it to meet the needs of each of her students.
