3 Minute Reading Assessment
In order to match readers to books - and determine the reading strategies which need teaching - teachers need to assess the reading abilities of their students. There are many large-scale and group assessments that can be purchased, but some teachers have asked us for a "quick and easy" assessment instrument. The HIP Three-Minute Reading Checkup has some real advantages for many teachers:
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it's free (simply download and print for classroom use)
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it's quick (the test is individually administered, and requires only two to five minutes, depending on the student)
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it's student-tested (we've run this test on dozens of students, matching results against standardized tests and teacher experience)
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it gives teachers a grade-level approximation (accurate within half a grade from grade 2 to 7), a sense of decoding strategies and a quick indication of reading problems (guessing words, skipping words, failing to read for meaning)
You'll need two 30 K downloads to administer the assessment. These are Word files, each 2 pages:
Some technical notes on the assessment:
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At HIP, we do not accept the validity of "words in isolation" assessments. Reading is about making meaning, so decoding should have the same purpose. The first section of this instrument is a warm-up for students and a rough placement indicator for teachers. By listening to student read these six sentences aloud, a teacher can hear how students attack difficult words and get a sense of a student's frustration level. By placing the words in context - both in the sentences and as part of a themed group - we feel students have a more realistic assessment activity.
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The second section involves passage reading. The passages begin at a grade-2 level and rise in difficulty by half grade increments to a grade-7 level. These levels are marked on the teacher version.
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For good readers, there is no sense in beginning with the first passage. Use the information from section one to determine an appropriate starting point.
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For very weak readers, who struggle with the first reading passage, we suggest a running record done with picture books.
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In our experience, reluctant readers have difficulty reading aloud and simultaneously comprehending the text they have just read. (This is true, to a lesser extent, for competent adult readers, as well.) While you may be tempted to ask a comprehension question after a passage, the answer you receive will tell you little or nothing. Better to listen for fluency and mark miscues or hesitations on your teacher version.
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Fewer than five miscues or hesitations in a particular passage indicates that a book at that level can be read "independently," that is, without much teacher support. However, the nature of the miscue must be considered in evaluating a student's level. Better to err by offering a book that is too easy than one that is too difficult.
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We find that students will often point out their own level if asked, "What passage did you feel most comfortable reading?"
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Remember that this is not a norm-referenced reading test. No three-minute assessment can give results that match the detailed information from a set of running records or a lengthy standardized test.
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This is the "beta" version of the assessment. We are still seeking further feedback from students in minority groups and English language learners to be sure this works for a wide range of students. If you'd like to offer comments or advice, please do so. By 2006, we would like to offer an "A" and "B" version of the assessment so teachers can plot progress over time.
