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INFORMAL ASSESSMENT

Informal Assessment

Informal assessment means usingnon-standardized methods of diagnosinglearning problems and measuring studentprogress.

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Advantages of Informal Assessment

Informal assessment has the following advantagesover norm-referenced testing: • Can be more closely related to the curriculum• More sensitive to small gains• Less cumbersome to administer and score• Relates directly to planning instruction and teaching• Can identify specific error patterns

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Types of Informal Assessment

• criterion-related assessment--an assessment which involves comparing a student’s performance to a given criteria (rather than to a norm group; mastery testing)

• curriculum-based assessment--tests which use excerpts from the general education curriculum as the subject matter for testing

• direct measurement--measuring progress by using the same instructional materials or tasks that are used in the classroom

• probes--brief tests used for assessment of mastery of specific skill or sub-skill

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Teacher-Made Tests• When designing informal instruments research has shown that

teachersare prone to make errors that may skew the results.

• E.g., matching items, followed by completion, essay and true/false. Teachers may write test items using different levels of learning,although, many teachers use items at the knowledge level becausethey are easier to write.

• Such items require the student merely to recall, recognize, or match

the material.

• Higher order thinking skills are needed to assess a student’s ability to sequence, apply information, analyze, synthesize, infer, or deduct.

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Criterion-Referenced Testing

Criterion-referenced tests (CRTs) compare theperformance of a student to a given criterion for mastery. Criterion-referenced testing can be used to determine theexaminee’s position along the continuum from acquisitionto mastery. To be accurate, criterion-referenced testsmust have “item density,” enough items in each domain to make sure that the topic is covered adequately. Theadvantages of CRTs include:

• Practical• Fair• Assists with measuring educational accountability

Sources for CRTs

• Adapt existing norm-referenced instruments• Use published criterion-referenced tests (like The

Brigance Inventories)• Design teacher-made CRTs– Curriculum-based– Direct measurement

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Establishing CriterionWith published CRTs, the authors provide a criterion formastery on their instrument. When a teacher designs a CRT,the teacher must determine an appropriate mastery criterion. Some tasks require 100% mastery (e.g., math facts) and otherscan tolerate a lower standard like 80 or 90% (e.g., readingcomprehension). Typical criterion for mastery are listedbelow:• More than 95% = mastery of objective

• 90% to 95% = instructional level

• 76% to 89% = difficult level

• Less than 76% = failure level

(See Activity 5.6, p. 165)

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What Does Mastery Mean?

If a student is able to reach a mastery level scorejust once on a particular criterion-referencedinstrument, this does not necessarily mean thatthe student actually has mastered the skills beingtested. To establish mastery with some certainty,the student would need to be tested over multipletrials.

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Beyond Mastery: Other Considerations

• Does passing the test mean that the student is proficient and will maintain the skills?

• Is the student ready to progress to the next level in the curriculum?

• Will the student be able to generalize and apply the skills in other contexts?

• Would the student pass the mastery test if it were given again at a later date?

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Brigance InventoriesThe Brigance is standardized assessment system thatprovides criterion-related assessment of basic academicskills. There are three age levels of Brigance Inventories.

• Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Early Development (birth to age 7)

• Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Basic Skills (elementary-aged students)

• Brigance Diagnostic Inventory of Essential Skills (intermediate and secondary students)

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Brigance Inventory of Essential SkillsThe criterion-referenced individually administered BriganceDiagnostic Inventory of Essential Skills covers academic skillareas and life skills. The former includes reading/languagearts, math, and study skills. Life skill subtests include food andclothing, money and finance, travel and transportation, andcommunication and telephone skills. The Inventory ofEssential Skills also includes rating scales for measuring healthand attitude, responsibility and self-discipline, job interviewpreparation, communication, and auto safety. Inventorymaterials include a student record book that recordscompetency levels and defines instructional objectives and aclass record book that provides a matrix of skills assessed, skillsmastered, and objectives for a group of up to 15 students. Theinventory is widely used to assess secondary level students andadult learners with special needs.

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Strengths of the BriganceThe Brigance is considered one of the most comprehensivecriterion-referenced instruments. It is also viewed as being wellsuited to determining mastery of very specific learning objectives. The test manual states that results of the Brigance should beconsidered in conjunction with the student’s classroomperformance, classroom observations, and scrutiny of actualcurriculum goals. The specific strengths of the Brigance include:• Helps to determine what a student has or has not learned• Contains suggestions for specific instructional objectives• Requires no testing expertise• Can help with referral decisions

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Curriculum-Based Assessment

Curriculum-based assessment (CBA) means using materialsand tasks from the general curriculum to diagnose learningproblems or to measure student progress. Curriculum-basedassessments are usually given at the end of an instructionalperiod (summative). CBA assesses mastery of specific contentor skill taught during an academic period. Students results arecompared against a standard of mastery (e.g., student mustpass with 80% of items correct).

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What Is Curriculum-Based Measurement?

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) is themethod of monitoring student progress throughdirect, continuous assessment of basic skills. CBM is used to assess skills such as readingfluency, comprehension, spelling, mathematics,and written expression. Early literacy skills(phonics and phonological awareness) are similarmeasures and are downward extensions of CBM.

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CBM Is Formative AssessmentWith curriculum-based assessment, the student is measured fromthe beginning of instruction against the ultimate goal for thestudent’s learningThroughout the school year,the student would be measured against the year-end goal to see if thestudent is making reasonable progress. Measuring progress during instruction is called formative assessment.Formative assessmentallows the teacher to make changes in instruction based upon thestudent’s academic performance. Thus, the teacher is able to makequick adjustments so the student does not “get stuck” and continuesto make progress toward the ultimate learning goal.

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How Valid Is CBM?

CBM assessment practices are based on 25 yearsof scientific research at the University of Minnesota andelsewhere (Deno, 1985; Deno, Marston, & Mirkin, 1982;Deno, Marston, Shinn, & Tindal, 1983). These informaltests are time efficient and inexpensive, yet produce

accurate charts of student growth over time.

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What Is a CBM Probe Like?

CBM probes last from 1 to 5 minutes dependingon the skill being measured and studentperformance is scored for speed and accuracy todetermine proficiency. Because CBM probes arequick to administer and simple to score, they canbe given frequently to provide continuousprogress data. The results are charted andprovide for timely evaluation based on hard data.

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What Is the Content of CBM?

As the name implies, CBM materials havehistorically been derived from individual schoolcurricula. Currently, the CBM field is movingtowards standard general curriculum probes toincrease standardization and make more accuratecomparisons. This is especially helpful whencurriculum changes over time.

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Rule of ThumbTeachers can design their own curriculum-based assessments usingclassroom materials. There are some basic guidelines for developingcurriculum-based assessments. Below are some “rules” forassessment design in various academic areas:• In reading, students should read aloud from reading

materials for 1 minute. The number of words readcorrectly per minute (WCPM) constitutes the basic decision-making unit.

• In spelling, students write words that are dictated at specific intervals (either 5, 7, or 10 seconds) for 2 minutes. The number of correct letter sequences and words spelled correctly are counted.

• In written expression, students write a story for 3 minutes after viewing a story starter. The number of words written, spelled correctly, and/or correct word sequences are counted.

• In mathematics, students write answers to computational problems via two minute probes. The numbers of correctly written digits in correct position are counted.

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Baseline and Goal

In order to set up a measurement process, the teacher first determinesbaseline in the skills to be taught. For example, the teacher would dothree probes of a skill or set of skills. The scores for the three probesare averaged or the median score can be selected as the baselinescore. Once the baseline number has been determined, the teachercan estimate the goal (e.g., number of words read correctly, numberof problems solved correctly, number of words spelled correctly) to bereached by the end of the year. The research literature providesguidance for reasonable yearly gains by grade level. For example, asecond grader with a baseline of 55 correctly read words per minutecan be expected to increase oral reading proficiency by approximately38 words by the end of the year. The goal then is 93 correctly readwords per minute.

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AimlineThe aimline is the goal line against whichprogress is measured in curriculum-basedmeasurement. In order to plot the aimline,the teacher would begin at the baselinescore and draw a line to the goal. Tomonitor the instruction, the data are plottedtwice per week. When a student falls belowthe aimline for three consecutive measures,the instruction should be adjusted. Whenthe student excels above the aimline forthree consecutive measures, the instructionshould be made more challenging.

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Content for CBAWhen a teacher is designing a curriculum-basedassessment, a good source of information for what toinclude in the assessment is a scope and sequence. Ascope and sequence is a formal listing of the range of skillsand the sequence in which those skills must be learned ina particular academic domain (e.g., reading, writtenexpression, mathematics). To see an example of a Scopeand Sequence, go to the Document Sharing Section of thecourse.

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SCOPE

SEQUENCE

Task Analysis

Sometimes when developing CBA, the testdesigner will look at a specific skill or sub-skilland try to address it with items that constitute thesteps toward completing a task or skill. Thename for this process is task analysis. Taskanalysis simply means analyzing a task bybreaking it down into the smallest steps or sub-skills.

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Task Analysis ExampleLet’s assume, for example, that the teacher wants to assess thefollowing skill:

Recognizes initial consonant sounds and their association with the consonants in the alphabet

A task analysis for recognizing initial consonant sounds might includesteps like these:

Test single letters (uppercase) for identification in this order– M, T, S, F, D, G, L, H, C, B, N, K, V, W, J, P

Test single letters (lowercase) for identification in this order-- m, t, s, f, d, r, g, l, h, c, b, n , k ,v, w, j, pTest matching of upper- and lowercase consonantsTest matching most common sounds with consonantsTest initial consonant sound identification in CVC words

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Error Analysis

Error analysis is one of the best ways todetermine what types of academic problems astudent may be having. What the teacher does islook for patterns of errors. Once the errorpatterns are discovered, the teacher can thendevelop instructional lessons to correct the errors.

(See Activity 5.9,p. 167)

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CBA/CBM Summary

Curriculum-based assessment is a relatively simpleprocess, involving a thorough analysis of therequirements of the curriculum in a particulardomain, the development of items to cover thedomain, and arrangement of those items in orderfrom the simplest (or easiest) to the most complex (ormost difficult). Using CBM allows the teacher tokeep track of a student’s progress in the curriculumand to compare one student’s scores to those of otherclassmates learning the same curriculum.

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• What Curriculum Based Assessments are available to you?

• Which ones do you use?

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Value of Curriculum-Based Assessment

• Provides more direct feedback to students• Supports increases in student achievement• Provides accurate screening information for eligibility• Provides useful data to determine when students are

ready to return to the general education program• Is appropriate for assessing medication effects• Is useful in designing instructional programs

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Cautions in Using CBM

• Limited to measuring discrete skills; can’t measure global skills like creativity

• More sensitive to changes in rote learning than in higher level thinking skills

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Issues in Informal Testing• Are standards appropriate for student in terms of race,

culture and gender?• Are test items free from cultural bias?• Is the language appropriate for the student?• Does the measure bypass the limitations imposed by the

disability?• Are CBA measures of sufficient technical quality?• Does the CBA measure thoroughly cover the skill range?• Is the test long enough to provide enough information on

the student’s performance?

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Informal Assessment of ReadingDecoding, word recognition, fluency, and comprehensionare the broad areas of reading that teachers typicallyassess using informal methods.

• Decoding--the ability to associate sounds and symbols• Word Recognition—the ability to read words instantly on

sight• Fluency--rate and ease with which a student reads orally• Comprehension--ability to derive meaning from written

language

Bader Informal Reading and Language Inventory

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Decoding Word Recognition

Fluency Comprehension Attitudes Toward Reading

Match letters and sounds

Read grade level word lists

Timed oral reading of letters

Answering questions Interview

Read isolated letters, blends, syllables and real words

Read Dolch Words Timed oral reading of word lists

Paraphrasing Questionnaire

Sound out nonsense words

Timed oral reading of phrases

Story retelling Student history

Sound out combinations of vowel sounds and patterns, consonant blends, and digraphs

Timed oral reading of sentences

Cloze

Read sentences that contain new words

Timed oral reading of paragraphs

Maze

Sentence Verification

Vocabulary identification

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Informal Techniques for Assessing Reading

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Basic Sight Words/High Frequency Words/Dolch List

See the wiki for The High Frequency Word List

FRYE READABILITY FORMULA

http://teacher.depaul.edu/Reading_Passages_FICTION.html

MEASURES WORD (IN ISOLATON) RECOGNITION

MEASURES WORD RECOGNTION AND PASSAGE COMPREHESION

Sample Informal Reading Inventory

Motivation Statement: Imagine how you would feel if youwere up to bat and this was your team’s last chance to winthe game! Please read this story.Passage:Whiz! The baseball went right by me, and I struck at the air! “Strikeone!” called the man. I could feel my legs begin to shake! Whiz! Theball went by me again, and I began to feel bad. “Strike two,”screamed the man. I held the bat back because this time I would killthe ball! I would hit it right out of the park! I was so scared that Ibit down on my lip. My knees shook and my hands grew wet. Swish! The ball came right over the plate. Crack! I hit it a good one! Then Iran like the wind. Everyone was yelling for me because I was now abaseball star!

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Comprehension Questions and Possible Answers

1. What is this story about?(Main idea--a baseball game, someone who gets two strikes and finally gets a hit

2. After the second strike, what did the batter plan to do?(Factual--Hit the ball right out of the park)

3. Who is the “man” in this story who called strikes?(Inferential--the umpire)

4. In this story, what was meant when the batter said, “I would kill the ball”?(Terminology--Hit it very hard)

5. Why was the last pitch a good one?(Cause and effect--Because it went right over the plate)

6. What did the batter do after the last pitch?(Case and effect--The batter hit it a good one and ran like the wind.)

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Scoring an IRI

Error Count:Omissions _____ Aided words _____Insertions _____ Repetitions _____ Substitutions _____ Reversals _____

Scoring GuideWord Recognition Errors Comprehension Errors

Independent 1 0Instructional 6 1-2Frustration 12+ 3+

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IRI Reading LevelsThe results obtained from IRIs are grade level scores. Typically, informal inventories provide three readinglevels: Independent Level, Instructional Level, and Frustration Level. A student’s Independent Levelis the level of graded reading materials that can be readeasily with a high degree of comprehension and few errorsin decoding. At this level, the student readsindependently, without instruction or assistance from theteacher. Reading materials at the student’s InstructionalLevel are somewhat more difficult; this is the levelappropriate for reading instruction. Materials at theFrustration Level are too difficult for the student;decoding errors are too frequent and comprehension toopoor for instruction to occur.

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Criteria for Reading LevelsAccording to Kirk, Kliebhan, and Lerner (1978), the usual criteria for determining independent, instructional and frustration levels are as shown in the chart below:

Independent Reading LevelWord Recognition: 98% to 100%Comprehension: 90% to 100%

Instructional Reading LevelWord Recognition: 95%Comprehension: 75%

Frustration Reading LevelWord Recognition: less than 90%Comprehension: less than 50%

These levels have beencriticized for being toostringent. For example,Spache (1972) warned that“if the teacher employs anInformal Reading Inventory(IRI) for his estimate ofinstructional level, he maybe expecting children toread with a very unrealisticdegree of oral accuracy.”

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Error Analysis in ReadingError analysis is generally used to investigate decoding mistakes inoral reading. The teacher records deviations from the printed textthat the student makes while reading orally. Several types of errorscan occur when students read connected text. Most systems of erroranalysis include at least four classes of errors:• Additions—the reader adds words or parts of words to the text• Substitutions—the reader mispronounces a word or parts of words; this

type of error is also called a mispronunciation. (e.g., want for what)• Omissions—the reader fails to pronounce words or parts of words. This

error occurs when readers skip words, when they hesitate in responding, or when they say the do not know a word.

• Reversals—The reader changes the order of the words in a phrase or sentence or the order of sounds within a word.

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Miscue AnalysisAn alternate method of error analysis takes into account the qualityof the errors that readers make . This is called miscue analysis. Miscues are analyzed to determine whether they represent a changein meaning from the original test. For example, the substitution ofhold for fight in “fight back the tears” is semantically correct anddoes not alter meaning. However, the substitution of ready for right in“he’ll be all right” does change the sense of the passage.

Miscues that produce changes in meaning can be further analyzed. For example, the student’s miscue and the original text can becompared in these three ways:• Graphic Similarity: How much do the two words look alike?• Sound Similarity: How much do the two words sound alike?• Grammatical Function: Is the grammatical function of the reader’s

word the same as the grammatical function of the text word?

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Informal Assessment of Mathematics

Math is a relatively easy subject to assess using informalmethods. The areas that are usually assessed include:• Math facts• Computation• Math reasoning• Math applications The assessment should be combined with both taskanalysis and error analysis to determine specific problemareas. These problem areas should be further assessed byusing probes to determine the specific difficulty. Interviewing the student is also helpful in determininghow the student is reasoning through a problem.

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Methods of Informal Math Assessment

• Informal Inventories—Informal inventories survey a variety of skills to determine where the student’s strengths and weaknesses lie. Inventories usually have only one or two examples of each type of math problem so further analysis of errors is necessary in more specific probes.

• Criterion-Referenced Tests--CRTs are used to assess mastery of specific mathematics skills (e.g. multiplication by 9).

• Error Analysis—Error analysis is a process of looking at the student’s responses to determine why a mistake was made and to see if there is a pattern of repeated types of errors. Error analysis differentiates between systematic computation errors and errors that are random or careless mistakes.

• Diagnostic Probes—Probes are in-depth assessments of the mastery of a specific skill or sub-skill; typically a probe contains several items focused on the same skill.

• Clinical Math Interviews—Clinical interviews elicit information about the procedures that students use to arrive at their answers. The student is observed going about the mathematics task and then the student is interviewed to find out the cognitive strategies he or she used to accomplish the task.

• Portfolio Assessment—A portfolio should contain several examples of the student’s work, including classroom quizzes or assignments, group or individual projects, written math reports or math logs, or artwork related to mathematics. Portfolios may also contain results of standardized tests and informal assessments, student self-assessments, and student interest surveys and questions. Teachers might include checklists of student progress, graphs of results from CBA measures and records of clinical math interviews.

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Example of an Informal Inventory

Addition 6 3 4 10 8 11 17 33 67+2 + 5 + 0 + 5 + 3 + 4 + 5 +15 +71

Subtraction 6 3 4 17 98 47 10 14 27

-4 -3 -0 -3 -4 -32 -3 -6 -24

Multiplication3 2 2 6 33 22 3 232 204

x 2 x2 x8 x0 x 4 x 4 22 x3 x 4

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Example of Math CRTCriterion for Mastery: 100% (10/10) correct

Directions: Round off each number to the nearesthundred (100).1. 721 __________2. 7,879 __________3. 6,834 __________4. 881 __________5. 8502 __________6. 13,782 __________7. 789,332 __________8. 3,055 __________9. 803 __________10. 419 __________

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Math Error Analysis

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The teacher examines the student’s work and observes how the student goes about solving the problems. The teacher can then analyze what types of errors the student is making. Common types of errors include:

•Incorrect operation•Incorrect number fact•Incorrect algorithm•Errors in place value•Failure to follow sequence of •Placement (working from right to left)•Copying or handwriting errors•Random errors

Error Analysis PracticeFor each of the following problems, analyze and describe the types of errors the student is making. Note that within the same box, all of the problems display the same error.

83 66 476 753+ 67 +29 +851 +6931410 815 148 1113

67 58 627 861 +31 +12 -486 -489 17 16 261 428

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A B

C D

More Error Analysis

175 185 632 523 563 - 54 - 22 -147 -366 -3821111 1513 495 167 181

17 46 1206 divided by 6 = 21 x 4 x 8 128 648

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E F

G H

Teacher-Made Probes

Teacher-made probes can be used to identify specific problem areas. Mixedprobes are used to locate areas that need further assessment or instruction.

In the probe on the following page, each of the following categorieshas nine items: • basic addition facts of sums to 9 (first item and then every fourth item), • two-digit numbers plus two-digit numbers with no regrouping (second

item and then every fourth item), • two-digit number plus one-digit number with no regrouping (third item and

then every fourth item), and • basic addition facts of sums to 18 (fourth item and then every fourth item). When scoring a probe, the student receives one point for every correct digitin the correct place. On this probe, the student can obtain a maximum scoreof 63 correct digits with no errors. After three times, a high score of 40 ormore correct digits per minute with no errors is a reasonable criterion fordiagnostic purposes.

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Example of a Math Probe 4 22 33 9 6 36 41 6 8+3 +41 +6 +7 +2 +62 +3 +5 +0

53 78 5 7 43 82 7 5 61+44 +1 +8 +2 +36 +5 +4 +3 +37

7 5 82 37 6 4 31 57 7+6 +2 +13 +2 + 6 +4 +18 +32 +9

Patterns: 0-9 facts, 2D +2D, 2D + 1D, and 0-18 factsNumber of Correct Digits: ___________

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Error Analysis of Probe Results

If the student fails to reach the criterion on a mixed probe, it is important to analyze the responses and locatethe errors in the items missed. This analysis provides theteacher with information for further assessment withspecific skill probes (such as 0-9 facts). Also, specific skillprobes can be used to monitor the daily progress of thestudent.

For what grade level do you think this probe was designed?

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Analysis of Math Observation and Clinical Interview

• What previous knowledge did the student bring to this problem?

• To what extent are the ideas accurate and complete?• What strategy did the student employ to solve the

problem?• Could the student do the steps of the problem in proper

sequence?• Were the student’s calculations accurate?

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Diagnostic Questions for Analysis of Problem Solving

Agree Disagree______ ______ Decodes words correctly in story problem______ ______ Understands the meaning of the situation described in the story

problem______ ______ Identifies the relevant and irrelevant information in the problem______ ______ Can illustrate the components of the problem______ ______ Selects the appropriate operation (addition, subtraction,

multiplication or division)______ ______ Writes down the computational problem correctly______ ______ Remembers number facts correctly______ ______ Selects the appropriate computational algorithm______ ______ Estimates the correct answer______ ______ Determines is answer “makes sense”

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Informal Assessment of Written Expression

Written expression includes a complex array ofskills which all must be working relatively well inorder for the written product to be legible,understandable, and persuasive. Informal probesof writing skills can be done in each of theimportant areas, including handwriting, writingmechanics, spelling, and composition. On thenext slide is a chart showing common methods ofinformal writing assessment by category.

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Common Informal Methods of Assessing Writing

Handwriting Writing Mechanics Spelling Composition

Analysis of handwriting sample (copy 100 word passage)

CRTs of punctuation, capitalization, and grammar

Paper and pencil dictation test

Rating scales and checklists of skills

Rating handwriting sample according to grade level template (e.g., shape, slant, spacing, size, smoothness)

Informal surveys of punctuation, capitalization, and grammar

Oral spelling Writing sample analysis (write for 15 minutes on a topic or from a story starter)

Inventories and CRTs (e.g., Denver Handwriting Analysis, Brigance)

Rating scales Multiple-choice format

(choose the correct spelling)

Work samples

Writing samples Spontaneous writing sample Observation and clinical interview

Work samples Work samples

Inventories of regular words, irregular words and homophones

Criterion-referenced test (usually of grade level words

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Writing Samplethe peopol of englind didn’t the cherch roals. So a group of pepol got to gether and desided to live. So after a lot of comfermising. The king gov them 3 ships and they set sailfor a mew land. They sailed a long ways for a to long tine. Then they saw it land it was North amareca. They landidon plymouth rock. There they started to beld the ferstcoliny. The firs winter wase the hardes a lot peopl didefrom being sick. Afte the winter was over the ingin’sbecom frinds with them and to them how to hunt andgrow food.

What kinds of errors do you see in this composition? What is your error analysis?

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Excerpt from a Writing ChecklistAgree Disagree

Content______ ______Does the writing clearly communicate an idea or ideas to the reader?______ ______Is the content adequately developed?______ ______Is the content interesting to the potential reader?

Vocabulary______ ______Does the writer select appropriate words to communicate his/her ideas?______ ______Does the writer use precise/vivid vocabulary?______ ______Does the writer effectively use verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs?______ ______Does the vocabulary meet acceptable standards for written English (e.g., isn’t vs. ain’t)?

Sentences______ ______Are the sentences complete (subject and predicate)?______ ______Are run-on sentences avoided?______ ______Are exceptionally complex sentences avoided?______ ______Are the sentences grammatically correct (e.g., word order, subject-verb agreement)?

Paragraphs______ ______Do the sentences in the paragraph relate to one topic?______ ______Are the sentences organized to reflect the relationships between ideas within the paragraph?______ ______Does the paragraph include a topical, introductory or transition sentence?

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Sample Writing Interview Questions

• You’ve finished your composition. Tell me about what you’ve written.• When you finished, did you read over what you had written? Did you make any

changes?• What did you change?• Did you have anyone else read your paper? Did you change your paper on the

basis of suggestions that someone else made?• While you were writing, what did you think about? Did you consider the ideas you

were writing about? What should come first, second, and so on? Choosing the exact words to express your meaning? Spelling the words correctly, using correct punctuation, and following all the rules for correct grammar?

• Do you think that you’ve accomplished your purpose in writing? Why or why not? If not, what do you need to change?

• Do you think your writing will be understandable for your audience? Is the vocabulary suitable? The tone? If not, what do you need to change?

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Spelling Assessment

A short informal spelling test can be designed by selectinggrade level words from a frequency-of-use word list. Thestudent is asked to spell on paper words from eachgrade list until three words in a grade list are missed. Thestudent’s spelling level can be estimated as that at whichtwo or fewer words are missed.

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Common Types of Spelling Errors

• Dysphonetic errors. Spelling errors which reflect inaccurate spellings without regard to phonics. Words may have some correct letters, but the letters are placed in bizarre positions, such as ronaeg for orange. Students with this problem read and spell primarily through visualization.

• Dyseidetic errors. Spelling errors reflect phonic-equivalent errors (e.g., pese for peace, det for debt).

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Summary of Methods of Informal Assessment

• Criterion Referenced Tests—tests of one skill with a designated level of accuracy in order for the skill to be considered mastered

• Curriculum-Based Assessments—informal tests using content from the curriculum

• Probes—tests of specific skills or sub-skills with multiple examples of the same skill to determine strengths and weaknesses of the student

• Checklists—lists of academic or behavioral skills

• Questionnaires—questions about a student’s behavior or academic performance that can be answered by the student or by a parent or teacher

• Work Samples—samples of a student’s classroom work

• Permanent Products—products made by the student that can be analyzed for academic or behavioral performance

• Performance assessment--assessment that requires the student to create an answer or product to demonstrate knowledge

• Authentic assessment--assessment that requires the student to apply knowledge in the real world

• Portfolio assessment--evaluating student progress, strengths, and weaknesses using a collection of different measurements and work samples

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