The Case of the High Reading Level and Low Test Score

Now that we have assessed over 80% of the school, some interesting information is coming to light: patterns, outliers, divergences, that require further inquiry. In the next few posts, I'll look at some of these cases and offer some thoughts. First, the case of the high reading level and low test score:

Generally, we see a correlation between reading level and test score. However, we see some instances of divergence between reading level and test score in several students across all grade levels. Students sometimes demonstrate proficiency up to a level Z while scoring in the low to mid 2 range on the ELA test. What might account for this difference?

One theory is simply test anxiety. Some of these students reported to me that they get very anxious on test days. I should note that their anxiety was also present to some extent during the TC assessments, but these anxieties may be allayed by the low-stakes nature of these assessments as well as the human connection and personal reassurances that accompany them.

Another theory might reflect the fact that TC assessments are not all-encompassing and that background knowledge and interest (as we know) play a huge role in reading ability, especially when decoding is no longer (or less of) a factor. So, we see cases in which students might be proficiently and happily reading Z-level teen romance books but stumble with X-level historical fiction. We also know that the Common Core tests often seem to go out of their way to ensure that the texts are as uninteresting and non-relatable as possible.

Does this mean we force our hands a little heavier into independent reading selections? Probably not, lest we commit readicide. We know from research that student choice is essential for independent reading to work and for students to build reading lives. However, a little nudge here or there, some reading goals, or "reading ladders" might be helpful.

Where I think we definitely can narrow this gap is in the content areas.

Reading in social studies, science, and art serve to bolster background knowledge, word and concept recognition, and familiarity with different text structures and genres. In ELA, too, we may introduce some "genre texts" such as historical fiction and memoir into the fold of the curriculum.

We must do more than just assign these texts, however. We need to cultivate interest and curiosity in them, knowledge of their structures and intent, understanding of their purpose.

What do you think? What other theories come to mind?

Introduction

Welcome to what I hope to be a fruitful and ongoing conversation about literacy at our school. For now, the main purpose of this blog will be to update the community on what I am learning about our students' literate lives as well as what I'm learning about patterns across the school and research and ideas for supporting and nurturing our students' growth.

Today, just the basics.

Where can I find information?
The quickest (and most general) information is on the "Rosters" tab of our 2014-2015 UNMS Program doc. You'll notice that each student has a number in the column "RGL", which stands for Reading Grade Level. This is an estimate of each child's reading level in number-format. (TC levels are A through Z and correlation to grade-level is not always exact.)

For more detailed information, check out the Literacy Data '14-'15 doc which contains different views of grade-level information as well as narrative descriptions of each student's reading as ascertained through the Teachers College (TC) Reading and Writing Project running records assessment.

What does this information mean?
Data culled from the TC running records provides just one way we learn about our readers. As you may notice, in some instances, divergences exist between a student's TC reading level and ELA test score, for example. In addition to this data, humanities teachers have routine reading conferences throughout the year with students to learn valuable information about their reading lives, strengths, and weaknesses.

In short, this information is a starting place. A quick snapshot for our community to get a sense of how and how well our students are reading. This is not an objective science so we use all the information we can get to draw conclusions.

What can I do with this information?
Each of us can use this information to support our students with literacy. For starters, our work in professional development with Building Academic Language should have a direct impact on our students' reading. In each content area, we can use strategies to help students choose the right books, make sense of a math word problem, read a section in a history or science textbook, and build academic vocabulary, among other skills.

How I plan to use this blog
I would like to update everyone about once a week on individual students, patterns as a whole, and ideas I come across in various journals and books that are pertinent to this work. Please leave feedback, questions, or follow-up thoughts if you would like.

I will not auto-email the staff with posts. However, you may subscribe to posts either using a feed reader, such as Feedly, or by email.