Preface
Since 1993, in addition to my work as a full-time classroom teacher, I’ve
worked part-time as a staff developer for The Learning Network® (TLN),
a school change model (Herzog 1997; Research and Data Supporting the
Content and Structure of The Learning Network 2002a; Understanding
the Learning Network 2002b). Some years ago, twenty TLN staff members
gathered in Fort Worth, Texas for a week of work. In response to the
national call for third graders to be fluent readers, we each brought a
variety of published text in a range of genre we thought suitable for fluent
third-grade readers. Together, we examined these various genres and
discussed which ones might be useful as a part of a new assessment system
for fluent readers. Already knowledgeable about running records (Clay 1991;
2000) as a tool for capturing a student’s reading behavior, we were intent
on exploring how we could add a systematic component to these oral reading
records that would help us access what meaning these fluent readers took
away after reading in a particular genre. Referring to a section from
Reading for Life: The Reader as a Learner (New Zealand Department of
Education 1997, 96-141) on responding to genres and using our knowledge of
children’s and adolescent literature to guide us, we began to construct
questions we thought would assess a fluent reader’s understandings of a
particular form or genre of writing. Developing questions to ask the
students seemed easy at the start, but we quickly realized that we weren’t
quite sure which ones would work. One afternoon in a nearby elementary
school, we piloted our questions with students.
Two teachers worked
together with a third-grade student, one adult observing and taking notes on
what happened during the teacher and student interaction and the other
asking the questions. Our trios peppered the halls. The student in each trio
read aloud. The tester recorded the oral reading. Because the accuracy and
fluency of their oral reading was high, we thought of the students as “good”
readers. Each student then read the text again, but this time silently. The
next step was to ask our questions. When one of our prepared questions
didn’t elicit an answer, we composed and tried others on the spot. The time
sped by, and we left ready to analyze the students’ responses.
Our findings were
consistent. We realized that although these students were adept at reading
the words, many didn’t understand what they read, nor did they appear to
understand how to use and apply the features of various genres. We
discovered that what we knew of the features of different genre was not so
clear, either. Some of the questions that we brainstormed addressed the
features of a particular genre; others didn’t. If we were to design an
assessment tool for teachers to find out what readers understand beyond
decoding and oral fluency, it would a challenging job. How could we expect
students to understand and use the features of these genres when we had
fuzzy understandings ourselves?
The Proficient Reader
Record (PRR) series is the result of the effort begun that day in
Texas. Since that time, while continuing to teach full-time in my own third-
and fourth-grade classrooms, my students have guided me in the development
of this assessment tool. First, I studied state standards to determine which
genres are required for third and fourth grade readers. Then I explored
those specific text forms. I developed questions to determine how students
used explicit and implied information from the text. Analysis of students’
responses to those questions led to many revisions. Each question in the
assessments, carefully designed to find out what students know about a
particular text form, was trialed and reworded as needed and then trialed
again. Other teachers across the country trialed these same selections and
student questions in their classrooms to discover if the questions elicited
appropriate answers from their students. As a result of this broad exposure,
the PRR provides powerful information about the skills and needs of children
from many walks of life and geographic locations.
The inspiration for the development of the PRR
came from the national call for third graders to be independent readers.
Fluent readers in every grade, however, have varying levels or degrees of
understandings about reading, and text features and forms. Use of the PRR
guides the teacher in how to assess and evaluate students individually
by examining their understandings about reading in eight selected genres.
This series is composed of this foundation book and three accompanying genre
assessment modules. The Proficient Reader
Record: Theory and Use of Genre Assessment provides an important
theoretical background for the novice and experienced teacher. It explores
the constructs of the reading process and the teaching and learning cycle
(assessment, evaluation, planning, and teaching) as they relate to fluent
readers. Data collection forms, detailed directions for administering and
evaluating the tool, and a sample assessment of a fable are included in this
book. Teachers will also find tips on classroom management that build time
for assessing students individually and a special chapter on how to design a
similar assessment using the PRR model.
The eight genres are
divided into three modules: The Proficient Reader Record: Genre
Assessment of Fables, Fairy Tales, and Fantasy (Muldaur 2004); The
Proficient Reader Record: Genre Assessment for Informational Text,
Biographies, and Procedural Text (Muldaur 2004); and The Proficient
Reader Record: Genre Assessment for Poetry and Drama (Muldaur 2004).
Each assessment module includes background on each genre, two assessments
per genre, brief directions for administering and evaluating the
assessments, and reading passages to use with students.
Unique features of the
PRR assessments are that they use literature from children’s trade books or
magazines for the reading passages; they are designed to be administered
one-on-one by the teacher; with practice, administration and evaluation each
take about ten minutes; and they provide detailed information on how
children process text in specific genre. The goal of this series is to guide
the classroom teacher in developing an instructional program that meets the
identified needs of students.
In order to “leave no
child behind” as a reader, teachers must be skillful at determining the
needs of each learner. Results from high stakes testing provide information
for teachers about what students can and can’t read and understand on a
test. Teachers understand that high stakes tests are comprised of passages
reflecting many different genres and that students will encounter an even
greater variety of genres in a lifetime. However, there are few assessments
for classroom use that attempt to measure what fluent readers know about a
variety of genres. Fewer still are classroom assessments that inform the
teacher about next learning steps for students who must comprehend a variety
of genres. The Proficient Reader Record series offers teachers
both summative and formative ways to know what their third- and fourth-grade
(and other grade levels) fluent readers know about eight different genres.
To teach students to be
proficient readers, teachers need to evaluate what students know and
understand about text in many required genres. The PRR is a classroom
assessment tool that informs teachers about the skills each student controls
when reading in a particular genre and what the student needs to learn next
to become increasingly proficient. Use of this assessment tool is not
teaching to the test. The skills the PRR measures are lifelong literacy
skills and understandings to be worked toward.
The PRR floats on
my developing theory of reading assessment, which continues to grow as the
children I work with teach me more about reading and learning every day. In
constructing and writing the PRR series, my goal is to provide:
·
Support for teachers to develop
their understandings about different text forms
·
A tool for teachers to use to
assess readers that informs practice
·
Ways to show growth of
individual students or classes over time
·
Hints for finding time to do the
assessment
·
Information to guide classroom
instruction
·
A framework for teachers to
choose a genre and design a similar assessment.
The examples in all four
books are collected from my students and those of my colleagues. Other
teachers will see their students there too. It is my hope that teachers will
find this book useful in coming to understand the features of the genre they
are expected to teach and in assessing and evaluating the fluent readers in
their classroom as students who are learning to become more proficient
across genres. The data collected from the PRR informs the teacher
about what the student understands, what the student is beginning to know,
and what the student is ready to learn next. Ongoing use of this tool helps
the teacher design an instructional program in reading and writing to meet
the needs of all students and provides a format to show evidence of student
growth.
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