Reading Assessment Model, Grades 5-12

By the time students reach grade 5 and beyond, they require grade-level reading skills in order to learn and meet the growing demands of challenging text encountered in the secondary grades. It is therefore essential to screen all students at least once a year to determine if their literacy skills are keeping up with grade-level requirements. Many schools rely solely on high-stakes state assessments to determine grade-level reading ability for these grades. While this kind of assessment offers a first glance of who may be struggling to read, they do not provide sufficient data to determine why, and more importantly, the type of intervention supports these students need.

A Screening & Diagnostic Assessment Model

In 2011, I developed a Reading Assessment Plan for Grades 5-12 that screens students in grades 5 to 12 to determine which students may not have grade-level reading skills, and to identify which components of reading might require instructional support for those who do not. The model differs from an elementary assessment model. In the elementary grades when students are learning skills associated with all five components of reading, reading assessments are given to determine if students have reached grade-level benchmarks for all the reading components (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension). Elementary educators need to know if students are sufficiently developing grade-level skills for decoding words and fluency as well as for vocabulary and comprehension. Up through the end of grade 4, reading instruction is needed to (1) expand beginning phonics skills to advanced word study skills as students learn to read multisyllabic words, (2) develop fluency to above 130 Words Correct Per Minute with at least 95% accuracy, (3) expand vocabulary knowledge, and (4) develop the ability to use knowledge of text structure and use of comprehension strategies to read and understand increasingly complex and challenging text. For elementary initial screening and benchmark testing during the school year, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension are assessed (plus phonemic awareness in the primary grades).

However, once students move into the middle school grades and are readily able to read and comprehend grade-level text, it can be assumed they have sufficient phonics/advanced words study skills, fluency levels, vocabulary knowledge, and comprehension strategies. This is because deficits in these reading components would affect reading comprehension and result in difficulty comprehending grade-level text. Therefore, screening to determine which students do not have grade-level reading ability should begin with a group-administered reading comprehension assessment. Students who can comprehend at grade level based on this assessment do not need any further assessment. For those students who have difficulty with reading comprehension, a series of steps should be followed to determine the reason why in order to provide intervention instruction that is targeted to the individual needs of students. These steps are described below.

The Model

The graphic below indicates the steps to follow, which are summarized below the graphic. Note that students at Step 1 who have grade-level reading comprehension skills do not require further assessment. As indicated by the arrow pointing to the first box on the left, these students benefit from Tier I, high-quality instruction in all subject areas to continue growing their vocabulary and comprehension skills. Those students who are having difficulty with reading comprehension will follow the path on the right, proceeding through steps 2 through 4 based on assessment findings at each step. A smaller set of students who have difficulty with all reading components will end up being assessed at all the steps. Review the graphic and read the description of the steps that follow for more detail.

Reading Assessment Plan for Grades 5-12:

Step 1: Administer a reading comprehension assessment to determine which students are not able to comprehend grade-level text. If possible, use more than one assessment source (e.g., state ELA assessment combined with a norm-referenced reading comprehension test). Also consider informal, formative assessment data and input from teachers about students. Those students who are not having difficulty benefit from Tier I content literacy instruction in all subjects.

Step 2: For those students not reading at grade level, assess oral reading fluency. An individual, quick, curriculum-based measurement that measures words-correct-per-minute, or a more formal oral reading assessment can be used. Those students who are fluent will most likely benefit from an intervention that focuses on vocabulary and comprehension (in addition to Tier I content literacy instruction).

Step 3: For those students not reading fluently, assess phonics skills. A quick, informal phonics screen can be used. Students who have solid phonics skills will most likely benefit from an intervention that focuses on fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (in addition to Tier I content literacy instruction).

Step 4: Those students who have phonics difficulties will most likely benefit from an intervention that focuses on phonics and advanced word study, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. A quality phonics intervention program will most likely include more in-depth phonics assessments.

In the following video, I explain how this model might be applied to a group of 100 students from any grade between grade 5 and 12.

In summary, students in grades 5-12 require a different approach to reading assessment than is typically used in the early elementary grades. Rather than assess all students to measure ability in all reading components, this upper-grades model begins with assessment of reading comprehension. Only those student who exhibit difficulty with comprehending grade-level text continue through the steps in the secondary assessment model based on their individual skill set.