[LIT] Reading Levels

[Heather Poland]

On 7/2/06, Alice Cortigiano <ac at take5audio.com> wrote:
>
> I'm in total agreement w/ current trends and how data is being used.  My
> principal had me using this reading test (IRI) this year which I didn't
> feel
> was a good diagnostic tool but she insisted that this was what I was too
> use.  It didn't help me guide instruction at all, well maybe just a tad.


Interesting! I'm currently taking a class for the Reading Specialist
Credential and it is all about assessment.  We have been studying different
types of IRIs. What was fascinating is that many district (including mine)
use IRIs for "high stakes tests" when they shouldn't be. High Stakes is when
a placement or grade is used. So in my district, we have the ARI and I had
to do  assess some of my students. However, when it's done in that type of a
situation, it totally changes the test. For IRIs you are supposed to (for
most of them) let them look back ant the text to answer the questions, can
ask leading questions, etc. But in a high stakes situation you cannot. And
then for the high stakes approach you do not get the info you need. Also,
because the IRIs were not meant to be used in that way, who knows how
accurate they are.

I used to hate the ARI because the questions were bad, kids didn't know
anything about many of the passages. Well, if we used it in the way it was
intended, if they didn't know anything about the passage, you can pick
another. But not in High Stakes testing! So I think IRIs are valuable, but
only if used correctly and analyzed correctly. Not used for high stakes
testing.




-- 
- Heather

"The world of books is the most remarkable creation of
man. Nothing else that he builds ever lasts. Monuments
fall; nations perish; civilizations grow old and die out;
new races build others. But in the world of books are
volumes that have seen this happen again and again and yet
live on. Still young, still as fresh as the day they were
written, still telling men's hearts of the hearts of men
centuries dead." --Clarence Day

"While the rhetoric is highly effective, remarkably little
good evidence exists that there's any educational substance
behind the accountability and testing movement."
—Peter Sacks, Standardized Minds

"When our children fail competency tests the schools lose
funding. When our missiles fail tests, we increase
funding. "
—Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Presidential Candidate