When researching an article on informal assessments, I read an article by a fifth grade teacher. This teacher wrote specifically about a type of informal assessment he did on a struggling reading in his class. Through informal observations, as well as placement tests at the beginning of the year, the teacher determined the need for extra reading tutoring for one of his students. This student had very few comprehension abilities and often just got the basics of what he was reading. The reader needed both reading instruction as well as comprehension instruction. I enjoyed reading about the informal reading survey the teacher gave to the struggling student. The informal survey the teacher gave is very similar to the informal student interviews Opitz, Rubin, and Erekson discuss (Opitz, 2011).
Pages 79 through 88 in the Opitz text discuss how to use informal student interviews and what can be gained from them. The teacher in the article chose this type of assessment based on many of the benefits Opitz discusses. The first reason to use informal student interviews is because they are the easiest way to determine what students like and dislike. Teachers can do this throughout the school day or during specific times set up to meet with individual students. The second reason this is a great informal assessment is because it lets the teacher know how the student perceives reading. Do they enjoy reading? Do they dislike reading? Does reading give them anxiety? The way a student perceives reading typically determines what type of reader they are. If a student dislikes reading, he or she likely reads very little and is not as fluent of a reader as they should be. A third purpose for this assessment is to help students understand themselves. This informal interview gives the student the opportunity to reflect on his or her own perceptions and views on reading. The teacher in the article found it interesting to hear how the student perceives his abilities and enjoyment versus how the teacher views his abilities.
The teacher in the article only performed this student interview/survey once. However, Opitz gives a rubric for doing a student interview at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. This will allow the teacher to track how the students perspective has changed and whether or not their reading abilities have changed because of it. The text is a great resource for different types of interest inventories, rubrics, and interview forms to use when doing an informal assessment like the student interviews.
Weih, T. G. (2013). The Melding of Literacy Strategies to Enhance Reading Fluency, Comprehension, and Enjoyment. Online Submission,
No comments:
Post a Comment