Be real.

When it comes to assessing children on their reading skills there is much to think about. We must pay close attention to what children are able to do on their own, and what they need more guided practice with. If we are to help children learn in a day-to-day classroom, as educators, we cannot wait around for the results from a standardized test, nor can we expect those results to tell us anything significant about the individual needs of our unique readers. We are far more capable, ourselves, of learning where a student is on their literacy quest, and providing them with tools to get there.

What we can do is use authentic, ongoing, and informative assessment, as Pat Johnson and Katie Keier suggest in their book Catching Readers Before They Fall. We must utilize the power of observation to understand where our readers are, what they need, and how we can help them get there. Keeping records and notes of these observations in a very organized accessible system is key. This way we will become familiar with what strategies the student is currently trying, and be able to make decisions about further instruction. By keeping consistent records we can find patterns and see progress over time.

It’s also essential to have authentic conversations with students about the text they are working with. By asking questions and having students retell the stories we are giving them real opportunities for comprehension. These personalized ways of working with students are just that—personal. No standardized test, computerized reading program, or phonics work alone is going to help children become better readers. Children will learn to read and write by practicing reading and writing. On top of that, they must enjoy it.

Today I listened to a podcast on the Voice of Literacy with Dr. Caitlin Dooley. In discussing the high stakes testing that we are dealing with today in our nation’s schools, she mentioned our need for more authentic assessment. I think that students should be able to use the real-life reading and writing skills that they learn in school in assessments. They should not have to deal with and understand the complicated test language and test-taking strategies that teachers nowadays discuss with their students. If the point is to become a proficient reader and writer, our students need engaging opportunities to do just that, on a daily basis.

Dr. Dooley points out that while No Child Left Behind was intended to help our most struggling readers improve, it has actually created a gap in the level of instruction. She says that in terms of achievement, we are at the same place that we were in the 1980s. What can we do about it? As P. David Pearson suggests, we can give students text that is interesting, text that focuses on well-known topics for children like friendship, betrayal, and trust, and then have rich conversations about it. I remember the first time I really devoured a novel in high school. I was sixteen, it was The Great Gatsby, and we did it as a class with our teacher as a guide. For the first time I really thought about literature; it actually meant something to me. It transformed books into story worlds, which you can disappear into. I needed that experience to get to that point. As Dick Allington points out, “How are they going to get better if they don’t read?”