WTD: Beginning-of-Year Reading Assessments: Benchmark Running Records and Istation Windows

Benchmark Running Record Assessment

As an integral part of Literacy By 3, students are to complete a Beginning-Of-Year (BOY) Benchmark Running Record Assessment. Results from the benchmark running record assessment provide data about individual student reading behaviors. By administering the assessment in a one-to-one setting, teachers are able to identify reading strengths as well as instructional needs for each student.

The BOY assessment should be administered to all students in grades one through five during the administration window which opens Aug. 22, 2016 and closes Sept. 23, 2016. This early window provides teachers with ample time to administer the running record as well as maximize instructional time for the remainder of the school year.

The Scholastic Benchmark Book Assessment and Guide and the Scholastic Benchmark Data Collection and Scoring Guide were developed to serve as objective tools to assess readers. The documents include a running record assessment recording form, an objective comprehension assessment, a writing prompt to assess writing skills, and an assessment guide (including an expected BOY reading level for each grade). An electronic copy of these documents is available on the HUB in each grade level ELA course in the resource folder. Instructions on how to locate the documents on the HUB, including screen shots, may be accessed here: Instructions for Accessing Documents on the HUB .

Campuses currently using DRA2, Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment or Next Steps in Guided Reading may use these tools in place of Scholastic Benchmark Book Running Record and Comprehension Assessment.

Administering Spanish Benchmark Running Records – Each campus serving bilingual and/or dual language students received Sistem de evaluacíon de la lectura, a one-to-one comprehensive assessment to determine benchmark independent reading levels (A-N). This assessment is a companion to the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System in English. Campuses received one assessment kit per grade level during the 2015-2016 school year.

Online training modules and videos– Teachers and school leaders who have not participated in face-to-face running record training are encouraged to take advantage of an online training module, Running Record: Administering and Scoring the Running Record. The online course will be available online Monday, August 22, 2016.  The course can be accessed through OneSourceMe using the following directions:

1. Log into OneSourceMe using your network credentials.
2. Click the Home dropdown button in the upper-left corner of the screen. Select Learning.
3. In the HISD Learning tile, click Browse all Courses.
4. In the search field, type CU
5. Click Go.
6. Hover over the course you wish to enroll in, and click Start Course.

The district continues to provide an electronic data collection tool through EdPlan. The platform supports the review of student reading progress at the campus and district levels. Additional information, including screen-shots and videos, is available atwww.houstonisd.org/runningrecord.

Istation Universal Screener

Istation is an internet-based reading assessment and intervention tool. All HISD students in grades K-5 are assessed three times per year. All students in grades 3-5 have access to the intervention component of Istation.

Assessment Schedule 2016-2017

Istation is the HISD universal screener as well as a progress monitoring tool for reading. Each month that a student logs in, a computer-generated assessment is administered.  Istation’s computer-adaptive assessments, known as ISIP™, integrates testing reflective of a student’s reading ability and measures growth over time in various literacy components.

The required assessments for all students in grades K-5 will be administered using the following schedule:

• Beginning of Year (BOY): Sept. 6-23, 2016
• Middle of Year (MOY): Dec. 6, 2016-Jan. 13, 2017
• End of Year (EOY): May 1-19, 2017

Access

Istation can be accessed using your HISD credentials through single sign-on at https://secure.istation.com/Account/LogOn.

Note: This link does NOT go to the student assessment and intervention site. The link to download and access the student assessment and intervention site is available at Istation Student Site.

Training

Digital Istation training on use of the assessment tool and reports will be available September 6, 2016 on the HUB in each grade level ELA/SLA folder. Face-to-face trainings may be scheduled on a campus-by-campus basis