Introduction to Reading Assessment; Assessment of Phonological Skills

6.1 Introduction to Intervention-Oriented Assessment

Learning Intentions

Participants will be able to: 

• Define and describe Intervention-Oriented Assessment
  
• Indicate ways it differs from conventional assessment
  
• Identify the benefits of Intervention-Oriented Assessment for teachers and students
  

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View the module below

*Please see the Transcripts resource folder located in Module 0 for a text copy of the transcript from this video. 

Summary

• Intervention-Oriented Assessment consists of an evaluation designed to determine WHY a student struggles
  
• The goal is to intelligently inform intervention decisions
  
• It differs from conventional assessments in that it
  

1. 1) works backward from research on reading development and difficulties and
   
2. 2) does not focus on determining an SLD
   

• The benefits of Intervention-Oriented Assessment it is
  

1. 1) often less time consuming than traditional assessment and
   
2. 2) it can provide direct guidance on designing interventions

Reflect & Connect

What might you need to consider to adjust your assessment practices to become “intervention oriented”?

6.2 Issues in Assessing Phonological Skills

Learning Intentions

After viewing this module session participants will be able to: 

• identify some of the challenges to assessing phonological skills
  
• Describe the importance of assessing working memory and rapid automatized naming
  
• Indicate why phonemic manipulation tasks are more useful than other phonemic awareness tasks
  
• Identify what constitutes “average” performance

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Watch the session below.

*Please see the Transcripts resource folder located in Module 0 for a text copy of the transcript from this video. 

Summary

• Each phonological core deficit area should be evaluated in word-reading evaluations
• There are several advantages to assessing working memory and rapid automatized naming
  
• Phonemic manipulation tasks are best practice because they correlate more strongly with reading, can assess phonemic proficiency, and were used in the most successful reading intervention studies
  
• Average performances need to be adjusted to refer to the top two thirds of students (based on national norms)
  

Reflect & Connect

How might you design a battery that  includes the assessment of phonological skills?

6.3 Phonological Awareness and Blending Assessment

Learning Intentions

After viewing this module session participants will be able to: 

• Determine what are useful tests of phonological awareness and blending
  
• Interpret results of phonological awareness and blending subtests
  
• Identify some of the problems with existing assessments of these skills

View

watch the session below.

*Please see the Transcripts resource folder located in Module 0 for a text copy of the transcript from this video. 

Summary

• There are several tests available for phonemic blending and phonemic awareness/analysis
• Phonological blending and analysis should not be confused or combined
• Many struggling readers can blend phonemes by late second grade but continue to struggle in phoneme awareness/analysis
• Phoneme manipulation tasks are best at evaluating the phonemic proficiency that underlies skilled reading 

Reflect & Connect

How have you been assessing phonemic blending and analysis? If you haven’t, what might you do differently?