COCA

The COCA assessment system is an effective tool to measure student informational comprehension to first and second graders who show signs of poor comprehension. Unlike the QRI-5, COCA does not use word list to define comprehension or reading passages in the traditional way. Using an unconventional method of no words on a page, COCA assesses four different dimensions of informational comprehension through the use of vocabulary knowledge (V), the use of comprehension strategy (CS), comprehension of graphics in the context of text (GCT), and knowledge of informational text features (TF). Questions and prompts are used to assess each of the four dimensions. Students are required to answer some questions by providing a missing word in a sentence or provide an answer based on what was heard. Graphics or pictures on a page assist students with a required answer. Scoring for this assessments range from 0 – 2. If a child scores several 0’s on questions assessing informational text features (TF) such as table of contents, index, glossary, labels, or pronunciation guides, the teacher can provide additional instruction for that student. If a student scores lower than a 1 on several questions pertaining to vocabulary words used in informational text, such as examine, observe, and kinds, instruction can be given to improve students comprehension in that area. With each dimension, a teacher can provide instruction to improve a student’s skills or knowledge in that area.

Since many students have a more difficult time with comprehending informational text, COCA addresses these issues by concentrating on assessing the skills and strategies needed to improve comprehension. Although these assessments are not determining student level of reading, it does reveal certain kinds of thought processes needed for good comprehension. If COCA were used in conjunction with the QRI-5, it would be most beneficial to students who read but struggle with comprehension. In the future, I hope there is more documentation revealing the improvement of informational comprehension using COCA. It is a system I would like to learn to help struggling students.

Reflection on Christopher Myers

Before this video clip, I have never heard of children's author, Christopher Myers. What a positive role model he is to students! He has a powerful message to students: Being different is cool! He uses his own oddities to transfer to students that being different is great and that is what makes you special. When students hear this from someone who has accomplished so much, it brings positive feelings about themselves. He also has a great message for students who do not like to read because it is difficult for them. His advice: keep reading! Every time you read you will get better and better. Many students need to hear and understand this when they are struggling with anything, especially reading. So often students reach a level of frustration that causes them to shut down. This can be avoided if students are reminded that it's alright not to know that word or words; keep trying, it will get better. This is something that I will say to the ELL student that I will be working with. Positive reinforcement will encourage him to continue to read and not give up even when he is frustrated with himself.

Observation Update

Great news!!!
As of yesterday, I finally have placement for this class! I will observe an ELL student with a reading teacher at Clayton Huey Elementary School. I will meet the teacher on Tuesday and will ask the interview questions. I will also get the background information I need on the student.

Observation update

It has been a rough journey finding placement for this class. On Friday, I was told I might have placement but the principal has to approve it. This seems to be the problem with every school I've contacted. Although this school did place me for my other class, I am hoping that they can find me a reading teacher that is willing to work with me for this project. I'll keep you all informed.

Relection to podcast

The podcast, Creating a home reading program, the R4 reading program created by educators Michelle J. Kelly and Nicki Clausen-Grace explains how teachers can promote independent reading to make students better readers. R4 stands for read, relax, reflect and respond. At home, students need to find a quiet place to read each night and log the minutes in a reading log. Parents initial the log to confirm that the reading was done. The reflect and respond portion of this program defines it from other programs; it develops students critical thinking skills. Students are given a list of reflection topics called prompts once a week. Students choose a prompt and reflect on what they have read in a journal. The response should be one half to a whole page but can be modified according to student ability and level. The teacher works with students to achieve high quality responses by modeling and reviewing examples. To keep students motivated and interested in reading, the teacher must validate students’ work by commenting in journal entries. Many students look forward to teacher comments and respond positively by reading more. This program requires the cooperation of teachers, parents, and students to successfully achieve reading goals.

I have personally experienced a similar type of reading program with my children. My children were committed to reading and keeping a log that I had to initial every night. On the last night of reading, they were to answer some questions on the reading material and draw a picture that describes the story. I did not know at that time that this was the reflecting and responding portion of the program. The teachers always had a comment or two in the reading journal. They responded to every journal entry to show my children that they were interested in what they wrote. My children were so proud if there was a sticker in the journal and could not wait to show me. This motivated my children to read more and eventually become independent readers.

Many schools use this program or something similar to help students’ literacy and comprehension. It encourages students of all reading levels to develop an interest in reading while validating their efforts. The key to the success of this program is to have parental involvement. The parents need to be aware and supportive of this by establishing a routine time for reading each night. The parents’ initials in the reading log also shows the student that they care and are interested in what they are reading.

Question

What would you do if the parents of your student do not agree with your assessment that their child needs special education services?

Article - The assessment of thoughtful literacy in NAEP: Why the states aren’t measuring up

The article, “The assessment of thoughtful literacy in NAEP: why the states aren’t measuring up,” the authors perform a study to determine the differences between the state achievement tests in reading comprehension and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Framework. It is assumed that these state achievement test are fairly comparable with the NAEP since the educational community agree that reading comprehension involves the reader to use prior knowledge to attain thoughtful and logical answers, thus becoming mature readers. However, this is not the case. Researchers have observed many teachers teaching to the test, which reveals students are memorizing and reciting details instead of thinking and responding to text. In 2005, many states have reported students achieving proficiency at an average rate of 40% higher than NAEP standards. The article states that these exaggerated levels of achievement are possibly due to the states “lowering the bar” due to the stress of the No Child Left Behind Act.

To determine if there are superiority differences between state tests and NAEP, the authors collected fourth grade sample state achievement tests in reading comprehension from California, Florida, Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Each sample test was classified by item type (open-ended or multiple choice format); item objective (assess vocabulary knowledge, familiarity with genre, text organization, characterization, or text detail); and item purpose and cognitive demand (text emphasis or higher order interpretation items.). The authors considered text emphasis items as those with improbable distractors that require very little thought answering the question. Higher order interpretation items require readers to logically answer questions using their understanding of the text or their personal experiences.

The authors found NAEP used 57% open-ended questions while sample state assessments used and average of 7% to assess comprehension. Although Florida used the most open-ended question, their sample test used less than half the amount of open-ended questions in NAEP.

The use of vocabulary items to assess comprehension was used regularly in the state test, while rarely used by NAEP. California and Wisconsin allotted 25% of comprehension items to vocabulary assessment. The average used by other states was 17%.

NAEP used only 2% of genre items to the ability to identify genre elements. Texas and Wisconsin averaged about the same as NAEP. However, California, Illinois, and North Carolina used more than 15.0% of their items to assess knowledge of genre.

The objective of text organization revealed NAEP and state average used 25% of their items, while Florida used 13% and North Carolina used 10%.

NAEP used more items for characterization and detail (46% and 24%) while the state average was at least 11% below the NAEP for characterization and about 6% for detail.

Data collected by the authors suggest that NAEP and state test use more than half their test to access higher order thinking skills. However, when compared to the actual items used for each objective, NAEP rated higher than the state test. 

 

In conclusion, the authors determined that there are significant differences between NAEP tests and the state test. NAEP allocates more open-ended items for reading assessment, higher order thinking responses, and fewer genre and vocabulary items for comprehension. They suggest that teachers who encourage students to reach a mature reading level will better prepare them for state and national accountability assessments.