"A valid test measures what it was designed to measure," and "a reliable test is consistent... yields similar results over time with similar students under similar situations" (Caldwell, 2008). Validity and reliability are two distinctly different concepts when it comes to studying assessments, yet they seem to be concepts that are often used interchangeably or plainly just misunderstood.
The first step of the assessment process is to pinpoint the "good reader behaviors you are teaching and assessing" and tie those in with the standards. Secondly, you must collect evidence that is appropriate to what you are assessing. Next, you analyze the evidence. Lastly, you must decide the performance of each student and the effectiveness of your instruction.
Should incompletes be factored into a student's grade? Should effort or attendance be factored into a student's grade? The grade would certainly be more valid with all assignments completed so that the grade can be a true reflection of one's ability (Caldwell, 2008). How is this something that can be enforced though? How can students' effort be given credit if only one grade may be given?
Few items with "finer-grained levels of detail" lead to lower levels of reliability in tests, yet those few items have a very good potential for being more instructionally useful. (Boudett, City, Murnane, 2014).
The logographic stage of reading words is when "children identify words much as they identify pictures." Instead of matching letters and sounds, they use visual cues (Caldwell & Leslie, 2009).
Students then move into the alphabetic stage of word learning. They start to associate some of the letters with the sound they hear but in an incomplete way. Next they move into a controlled word recognition stage. During this stage, students begin sounding out words but this ends up being a very "labor-intensive process." The next stage is automatic word recognition. Word recognition becomes effortless and the reading rate begins to increase. Oral reading becomes more expressive. Eventually, they are able to read more difficult words and sound out longer, unfamiliar words. Strategic reading is the stage where students have "efficient word identification in place... turn their attention to strategies for more advance comprehension" (Caldwell & Leslie, 2009).
References
Boudett, K. P., City, E. A., Murnane, R. J. (2014). Data Wise. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard
Education Press.
Caldwell, J. S. & Leslie, L. (2009). Patterns of reading difficulty Intervention Strategies to Follow
Informal Reading Inventory Assessment: So What Do I Do Now? USA: Pearson Higher Ed.
Invernizzi, M. A., Landrum, T. J., Howell, J. L., & Warley, H. P. (2005). Toward the peaceful
coexistence of test developers, policymakers, and teachers in an era of accountability. The
Reading Teacher, 58(7), 610-618.
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