Teachers at Pocasset use a variety of assessments to get a better understanding of what each student knows about literacy. Along with curriculum assessments from our FUNdations phonics program and Wit and Wisom ELA program, the assessments below are administered to students in Grades K-4 throughout the year. The data from these assessments is used to determine which students would benefit from extra reading support. Classroom teachers, special education teachers, reading and math specialists meet approximately every 8 weeks to specifically discuss the progress of students. Teachers also meet weekly to plan the appropriate instruction to meet each student's needs.
This assessment is administered to students in Grades K-1. STAR Early Literacy tracks development in word facility and skills, comprehension strategies and constructing meaning, and numbers and operations.
This assessment is administered to students in Grades 1-4. STAR Reading represents how students perform on the reading test compared with the performance of a nationally representative sample of students, called the norms group. These scores present a snapshot of achievement at a specific point in time. As with any test, it is important to remember that many factors can affect a student’s test scores. Renaissance Star Reading test scores give only one picture of how a student is doing in school.
A screening tool comprised of subtests that function as indicators of the essential skills that every child must master to become a proficient reader. The DIBELS® measures are brief (most take one minute to administer), and are used to regularly monitor the development of early literacy and early reading skills. Below are descriptions of the various subtests:
Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) – This DIBELs subtest measures a student’s ability to name the letters of the alphabet.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF): This DIBELS subtest measures a student’s ability to segment words into phonemes (the individual sounds in spoken words).
Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) – This DIBELS subtest measures a student’s ability to decode and read three-letter syllables that alone are nonsense words. The teacher gives the student a list of three-letter nonsense words and asks them to read the words. Students may read the entire three-letter word or produce the individual sounds in each word. For example, the student is presented with the nonsense word raj and the student says /r/ /a/ /j/. There are two scores for this subtest – CLS (Correct Letter Sounds) and WRC (Words Read Correctly).
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) – This DIBELS subtest measures a student’s ability to read a grade level passage quickly and accurately. Students are timed for one minute on each of three different passages on the assessment. As the student reads, the teacher records any errors and times the student for one minute. The resulting score is how many words the student reads correctly in one minute (WPM or WCPM). Reading fluency is the ability to read accurately, quickly, effortlessly, and with appropriate expression and meaning (Rasinski, 2003).
A reading test used to determine a student’s instructional level in reading. The DRA is administered individually to students by teachers and/or reading specialists. Students read a selection (or selections) and then retell or write about what they have read. As the levels increase, so does the difficulty level for each selection.
In accordance with Rhode Island state regulations about literacy, Pocasset school must develop a Personal Literacy Plan (PLP) to help students who are performing below expected benchmarks. In Tiverton, elementary students who perform below the expected benchmarks on 2 or more literacy assessments generally receive a PLP.
The Personal Literacy Plan documents your child's current reading level and identifies an area for growth. It also notes specific intervention(s) designed to support your child’s progress.