Cloze test assessment training

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Cloze testassessment training

• Angie Kluever Clint HeitzRDG 570

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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
  Learnings Odyssey computer-based, reading
  program
• Assesses four reading categories
  Interpretive/Inferential Comprehension,
  Evaluative Comprehension, Literal Comprehension,
  and Word Meaning

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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?smWhpqX0iwa5Mn
  nia_2bP76kUA_3d_3d

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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
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Training Session Information
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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 students reading level
  on content area work.
• Determines an individual students 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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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
  students 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
• lt 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

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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.

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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/administrat
  ors 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 teachers 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).

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Questions/Discussions

• Take a moment to think about the following
  questions and talk with a colleague near you.
  Well 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?

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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?sm2djNThNt0U9A
3eS_2bLUOFzg_3d_3d