Managing Assessment

In my observations in the 5th grade double dosing class that I have been observing I have been able to help the teacher with assessments in reading and math. One of the activities that we do is Fry Phrases. These are 3 word phrases that are common in literature. A child, with practice, can improve their fluency as they practice these phrases. One of the ways that I have been able to help with assessing their fluency is to time the students as they read the Fry Phrases. As they read, we not only time them, but we also help them to achieve a standard time that is acceptable in passing one level to move on to the next. With practice they should not only increase their fluency, but should also be able to achieve the standard time without mistakes.

In the subject of math I have seen the teacher assess learning and knowledge by testing the students in areas that they are struggling in. After lots of practice the teacher will give the students some problems to see if they have mastered the concept. When they had mastered it,  I was able to check them off so that the teacher could see what areas the students still needed more reinforcement. The teacher also drew from the tests given during the normal school hours to see the weaknesses of the double dosing students, so that those concepts could be strengthened.

In the Kindergarten classroom I have been able to observe constant assessments. Since I work at a Title I school, this classroom has 2 aides, and even some parental volunteers each day. Besides the RazKids program that I talked about in my last blog that the teacher can look up each students progress, each child goes out with an aide and has a one on one learning opportunity. The things that I have observed being assessed are; one on one reading, small group guided reading, small group testing of math skills after math units, and DRA testing by the teacher. There is no way the teacher could do all that is done by herself, that is why I am a big advocate of Title I for helping the teacher in assessing her students and following up with small group/one on one learning activities to strengthen the minds and learning habits of these young students.

In all of these situations I noticed that there is a LOT of documenting and accountability to be able to measure progress with each student. We even assess the students I work with directly in my Special Class Kindergarten by filling out forms and measuring progress with their IEP goals.