CLOZE TESTASSESSMENT TRAINING

Angie Kluever & Clint HeitzRDG 570

Assessments Kluever (Elementary)

Informal comprehension and skills tests that accompany textbook series Formative and summative assessment to

monitor understanding

Informal running records Progress monitoring in the classroom

AIMSWEB Assesses reading fluency and comprehension Three assessments per year with progress

monitoring and an on-line database

Phonics Screener Inventory (PSI) Provided by the 95% Group (DIBELS) Provides nonsense and real-sentence work to

focus on phonics skills

STAR Computer Reading Tests Students test at reading level with diagnostic,

quarterly, and summative tests. Provides an independent reading level, as well

as Accelerated Reading levels

A to Z Leveled Reading System Assesses the approximate reading level of

individual students May be used throughout the year to assess

student growth Provides on-line materials

Illinois State Assessment Test (ISAT)

Heitz (Junior High) Informal comprehension and skills tests that

accompany textbook series Diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments to

monitor understanding Mid-Term and quarterly assessments of Independent

Reading logs (maintained by students) Optional vocabulary work Check students ability to select age/level appropriate texts Promote wide reading

Anecdotal data collected through observation Informal comprehension checks done during class to

monitor student understanding Vocabulary Assessments

Administered at beginning and end of the year Dev. by depts. to asses understanding of academic vocab

Course Organizer Assessments Administered at beginning and end of year Assesses understanding of essential questions developed

by each department Essential questions monitored throughout the year

Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) Developed by NWEA and coordinated with Compass Learning’s

Odyssey computer-based, reading program Assesses four reading categories: Interpretive/Inferential

Comprehension, Evaluative Comprehension, Literal Comprehension, and Word Meaning

Un-timed, computer-based, and tailored to fit each student Provides grade-referenced instructional level(s) and Lexile

Iowa Test of basic Skills (ITBS) Used to determine student placement in two levels of

classes

Survey

The following link would be sent to teachers via e-mail with a request to be completed by a particular deadline

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=WhpqX0iwa5Mnnia_2bP76kUA_3d_3d

Justification for Training

The following training has been selected and created based on teacher responses to our survey. To better meet the individual needs

of the students, in regard to the instructional level of classroom text

Provide a content area inventory that can be administered to an entire group, as well as valuable information about content area reading comprehension

1. Purpose of the assessment2. Who to assess3. How to construct an assessment using content area curriculum4. Components of the assessment5. Interpreting the results6. Using those results for ongoing student monitoring

Training Session Information

Purpose of the Cloze Test

The Cloze Assessment will help teachers understand the appropriateness of text level that is being used within the classroom.

Provides information on each of the following: Helps teachers to better understand how students are comprehending

content area text. Helps teachers to better understand how their students use metacognitive

skills as they work through text. Determines the readability of the written work. Determines an individual student’s reading level on content area work. Determines an individual student’s vocabulary level with content work. Determines an estimated comprehension level for each student. Assesses the language skills of individual students.

Can be administered to a single student, group, or whole class. Provides a profile for individual students, groups, or a whole class

Allows teacher to use text material from the classroom to create the assessment.

Who to Assess

The Cloze test provides a quick way for teachers to assess: Individual Students Small Groups of students Whole classrooms of students

Consider administering a cloze assessment if you believe a student, or a particular group of students, is struggling with required classroom text(s).

This assessment can also be used at the beginning of the year to gauge an incoming class's vocabulary, language skills, and reading levels.

Components of the Assessment

Constructing a Cloze Test: Materials come from the students‘ content textbooks or other

required classroom reading material. The length of the Cloze passage should be between 250-300 words. Leave the first sentence intact Begin with the second sentence and delete every 5th word for fourth

grade and up Do not delete proper nouns (names of specific people and places –

Tom, Boston, St. Louis Cardinals, etc.) Continue deletions until you reach 50 deleted words. Replace deleted words with 15 typed line spaces Leave the final sentence intact Considerations for younger students:

Younger students should complete two shorter passages with 25 deletions each.

Delete every 7th or 10th word for third grade and below

Components of the Assessment (cont.)

Administering a Cloze Test: Before beginning the test, practice with the

students and explain the following guidelines: No time limit for the test Write in the word they feel best completes the sentence Only one word per blank Read over the entire passage before beginning May skip answers and return to them later.

The cloze test may be given to individual students, small groups, or whole classes.

Components of the Assessment (cont.) How to score a Cloze Test:

Although many words could replace the deleted word, only the exact missing word may be counted as a correct response when determining a student’s reading level or the appropriateness of materials Misspelled words are okay if you believe they intended was correct

Synonyms or other replacements that make sense could be used if you are assessing for instructional purposes (practicing context, vocabulary, etc.)

To determine the score of the Cloze Test, divide the number of correct responses by the number of total blanks.

Scoring a Cloze Test: 50% is an acceptable rate for a cloze test Percent of correct responses:

≥ 60% Independent 40%-59% Instructional < 40% Frustration

May further analyze by breaking the errors down into categories: synonyms, semantically appropriate, omissions, etc Number of errors in category divided by the total number of errors

Interpretation of the Results

Teachers can look at the errors that the student(s) made and categorize them. Errors can be categorized as synonyms, or words that mean the same

as the deleted word Words can be checked for their semantic appropriateness.

In this case, words may sound okay in the sentence, but they do not follow the context of the passage.

Errors may be semantic/not syntactic. These words may work for meaning, but may not work for the part of speech.

Errors may be syntactically appropriate. These words would fit as parts of speech, but may not be semantically correct.

Nonsense Errors. These words do not make sense in any fashion (a.k.a. gibberish).

Omissions. No response given

By taking the time to distinguish the differences in the mistakes made on a cloze test, we can determine if students are using the clues from the text to better comprehend, even if the text is too difficult.

Management of the Assessment Data

School/District Level Teachers will record the beginning and end-of-year scores on Infinite

Campus or a district server so that other teachers/administrators may access the data

The district will keep a performance record for all students to monitor growth

Classroom Level Individual teachers are encouraged to create charts that categorize their

students’ scores to assist in guiding instructional decisions, creating groups, and selecting materials.

Individual teachers are encouraged to administer this test throughout the year and keep a record of students’ scores to monitor growth or areas of concern

We encourage teachers to collaborate with each other and the reading specialists to analyze the data and make informed decisions in regard to instructional goals Another teacher’s assessment may reveal a genre that the student performs

better with (if the student struggles with the social studies textbook, but works very well with narrative in language arts, then you may be able to collaborate on a lesson that incorporates a non-fiction narrative for the next social studies unit).

Questions/Discussions

Take a moment to think about the following questions and talk with a colleague near you. We’ll come together in ten minutes to discuss and answer questions.

Can you think of any students who may benefit from you administering this assessment?

What text might you use to perform this assessment?

How might you use the information gained from this assessment to inform your instruction?

Post-Training Evaluation Tool

Within the next couple of days, all teachers will be sent the following link to complete a follow-up survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2djNThNt0U9A3eS_2bLUOFzg_3d_3d