iLit Assessment Handbook - My Savvas Training...ILit assessments have strong content validity because they all closely represent the learning objectives and instruction in the ILit

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All Rights Reserved.

iLit

Assessment Handbook


Overview of iLit Assessment The ILit program provides a robust suite of assessments that includes diagnostic assessments, progress monitoring assessments, and curriculum-embedded assessments. Diagnostic and progress monitoring assessments measure student progress at regular intervals and over varied durations of time. Curriculum-embedded assignments measure student progress at strategic points of instruction. Because all assessments are available digitally, results are either instantly or quickly generated, and teachers are updated continuously on their students’ progress. The cornerstone of the ILit assessment suite is GRADE™, the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation. The GRADE Beginning of Year, Middle of Year, and End of Year assessments provide a norm-referenced, research validated measure to (1) determine when students need to enter or exit the course (2) place students in one of nine skill/reading levels and (3) determine which students need basic foundational skills instruction and practice. Progress monitoring assessments include Unit Benchmark Assessments, which students take at the end of every unit starting in Unit 2, and Reading Checks, short, passage-based reading comprehension assessments, which students take three times per unit on average, and oral fluency assessments based on three ILit reading components. Curriculum-embedded assessments are numerous and varied. They are available at multiple points within every lesson and are completed as individual or whole-class activities. They include:

• Interactive Reading – an interactive reading activity available on nine reading levels; based on nonfiction text; measures reading comprehension, summary writing, and critical response writing

• iPractice Assignments – based on skills and strategies taught during Whole Class and Read Aloud, Think Aloud

• Word Study Readers and Phonic Readers • Writing activities – weekly activities during which students receive digital feedback on their

writing, including on ideas, organization, sentence fluency, and grammar • Performance-based – collaborative projects that involve research and/or writing and are rubric

scored • Grammar and Spelling Study Plans – individualized instruction that is customized to a

student’s needs • Word Slam and Word Match vocabulary games that practice previously taught vocabulary

words • Independent reading

Detailed information on these and other curriculum-embedded assessment activities is provided in section III of this handbook.

ILit assessments have strong content validity because they all closely represent the learning objectives and instruction in the ILit program. They include a large variety of response types, including selected responses, constructed and extended responses, and open-ended responses. All response types are technology based.


Entering and Exiting iLit Placing Students in iLit

iLit is recommended for students who are two or more years below level in reading and other literacy skills. Following are recommendations for determining which students should be placed in iLit:

• Students whose reading scores on district-based or state level assessments reveal that they are significantly below level should be placed in iLit.

• Students who fail English the previous year can be placed in iLit. • Students whose GLE (Grade Level Equivalent) is two or more years below level on the

end-of-year GRADE assessment in iLit (see the Assessment Handbook for detailed information on GRADE) should be placed in iLit.

• Administer the beginning of year GRADE assessment in iLit to students. Use the scores to determine which students should be in an iLit class. Students scoring two or more years below grade level are recommended for ILit.

Determining When Students Should Exit iLit iLit is designed to accelerate students’ reading and literacy growth by two or more years in a single year. A three-step process is recommended for determining when students should exit and for providing ongoing support once they have exited the program.

STEP 1

Identifying performance indicators that suggest students should exit

The following performance indicators suggest that students may be ready to exit iLit:

1. Students who have moved into the top two bands of the Interactive Readings—Levels 1 and 2—may be ready to exit.

2. Student reading growth is measuring within iLit based on students’

comprehension of the Interactive Readings, which span a wide range of levels of text complexity. Each student’s reading level as measured within the iLit system is captured on the Performance Dashboard (see Screen Shot in the Assessment

Handbook). Students who reach a reading level on or above grade level (for example, a Grade Equivalent level of 7 for a 7th grader) may be ready to exit.

3. Students who receive scores of 85% or higher on Unit Benchmark Assessments may be ready to exit.

4. Students whose fluency scores are on or above the grade-level expectations indicated in the Assessment Handbook may be ready to exit.


STEP 2

Confirming that the students should exit

Administer the Mid-Year or End-of-Year GRADE assessment to students who meet one or more of the above criteria. If those students achieve a GLE score at or above grade

level, they are ready to exit iLit.

STEP 3

Providing support for students who have exited iLit

To provide continued support to the students who exit iLit and to ensure that these students succeed in on-level ELA classes, it is recommended that students continue to complete the iLit independent practice activities following the iLit 20-minute model described in the iLit Usage Models section

About GRADE In ILit, the Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation (GRADE™) is used as a diagnostic assessment for placement and to get an independent measurement of reading growth. GRADE is research-based, norm referenced, and NCRTI (National Center for Response to Intervention) approved. Every GRADE assessment contains multiple sections, or subtests. Each subtest contains questions, or items, designed to measure specific skills that are developmentally appropriate for that level. Depending on students’ ages and abilities, it takes about 70 minutes to administer. Testing can be done in one session or in multiple, shorter sessions to allow for breaks. We recommend administering the first half of GRADE on one day and the second half on the next day. GRADE includes these four subtests:

• Vocabulary – measures word decoding and vocabulary knowledge • Sentence Comprehension – measures ability to comprehend a sentence as a whole or a

complete thought • Listening Comprehension – measures understanding of spoken language • Passage Comprehension – measures ability to comprehend extended text as a who

These assessment measures provide the following:

• Overall GLE (Grade Level Equivalent) Reading Level • GLE for Reading Comprehension • GLE for Vocabulary • Stanine scores (9-point scale, with 9 being the highest score) for Sentence Comprehension,

Passage Comprehension, Listening Comprehension, and Vocabulary

In ILit, GRADE is administered and scored digitally. The results are available immediately. It is used to assess students three times a year: the beginning of the year, mid-year, and at the end of the year.


GRADE results are used at these three times as follows:

• At the beginning of the year – to establish students’ baselines independent reading levels • At mid-year – to provide an independent measure of reading growth and to determine if

students are ready to exit the ILit program • At the end of the year – to provide an independent measure of full-year reading growth and to

help determine if students are ready to exist the program

Each student’s overall GLE score will determine which of the nine levels of Interactive Readers they are placed into and will determine their initial Lexile level that will drive the Library Search at My Level feature for Independent Reading (Time to Read). Students will then see library titles 75 Lexile points above or below their own Lexile level, as determined by GRADE.

Note that students' reading levels will be adjusted every one or two weeks within the iLit system, based on how students perform on the embedded assessments built into the Interactive Readers. Also note that the Interactive Readers within each of the nine level bands stair-step in text complexity over the course of the school year, ending the year at two grade levels higher than at the start of the school year.

Instructions for administrating GRADE to your students are available on the ILit Teacher App. To see the test itself, tap View GRADE. To view the instructions, tap Planner at the bottom of the screen. Then tap the GRADE button at the top of the screen to view the instructions for administering GRADE. Tap button for the time period you are interested in (Beginning of Year, Mid-Year, or End-of-Year). Then tap Teach to view the instructions on sending GRADE to the Student App and for administering the test.


Progress Monitoring Assessments In addition to GRADE, Unit Benchmark Assessment, Reading Checks, and fluency checks based on three ILit components are available for periodic progress monitoring at regular intervals. All these assessments are available in Assignments and scored automatically. Unit Benchmark Assessments These assessments are based on instruction in the Vocabulary, Whole Group, and Read Aloud, Think Aloud sections of ILit lessons. Assessment items evaluate students’ acquisition of language skills, vocabulary words, use of context clues, reading strategies and skills, writing skills, and literary skills. A Unit Benchmark Assessment is available for every unit of instruction. The number of items in a Unit Benchmark Assessment reflects the length of the unit. For units that have 50 lessons, the Unit Benchmark Assessment consists of 40 multiple-choice items. For units with 5 or 10 lessons, the Unit Benchmark Assessment consists of 10 multiple-choice items. We recommend that students complete the Unit Benchmark Assessment on the last day of the unit, but the longer assessments can be taken over two days. Assessment items associated with language development, such as evaluating language choices, and reading, such as identifying main idea and details, are often based on short reading passages. Reading passages represent the variety of text structures that students read during instruction, as well as appropriate Lexile ranges.


Reading Checks These are short assessments, designed to give you a snapshot of your students’ reading comprehension as they progress through the iLit program. There are eighteen Reading Checks per level that are available at regular intervals. Each Reading Check consists of a short reading passage, followed by a set of five assessment questions in a multiple-choice format. Each passage is on a high-interest topic, designed to have wide appeal for both boys and girls. In each assessment, there are questions that require students to think critically to identify the correct answer. Instructional support helps teachers review Reading Checks with students who answer two or more of the five assessment items incorrectly. There is specific guidance for reviewing each question that focuses on the thinking process involved in determining the correct answer. Oral Fluency Checks Three components – Word Study Readers, Phonics Readers, and Reading Checks – are used to assess fluency. The three components provide short reading passages on high-interest topics. Oral fluency checks based on both components are automatically scored and entered in a student’s performance data. Automatic scores report on Words Correct Per Minute, accuracy, and expression.

For teachers who prefer to score fluency checks themselves, printable running record forms for the Word Study Readers are available on the ILit Professional Learning Community website.


Below are appropriate fluency rates for students at each grade level. Grade Level

Beginning of year

Mid year

End of year

4 94 WCPM 112 WCPM 123 WCPM






Curriculum-Based Assessments ILit offers numerous opportunities for gathering information about students’ achievement of learning objectives during each part of the daily lesson. With the exception of observational assessments, assessments are automatically scored and student performance data is entered into the student’s performance record. Observational Assessments Time to Read and Classroom Conversation are opportunities to observe and assess students as they either read independently and respond to a prompt about their reading or meet in pairs, small groups, or as a class to discuss questions related to class literature. The Time to Read Conference Form and Classroom Evaluation Forms are available to record observations. Knowledge Checks Students respond to several skills-based survey questions during Vocabulary, Whole Class, and Read Aloud, Think Aloud instruction. Their answers are automatically scored and available to the teacher, which supports adaptation of instruction based on students’ knowledge of a topic. Suggestions for adapting instruction based on students’ responses are available at point of use.


Interactive Reading When using this component, students read high-interest, nonfiction passages at a readability level that is initially set based on their GRADE results. They then answer Reading Checkpoint comprehension questions, using drag-and-drop and highlighting functionality. Students also summarize the text and write a critical response to it. Scoring of Reading Checkpoint answers is automatic and instantly available. iLit’s automated scoring feature assesses each summary and provides feedback to help students improve their skills. In each Interactive Reading assignment, students answer a critical response question in which they are asked to draw on information from the selection to support their ideas. You will use a rubric to score student responses. Based on their scores, their level in Interactive Reading is regularly adjusted.

iPractice Assignments Based on Read Aloud, Think Aloud and Whole Group lesson objectives, these varied short and constructed response assignments address many instructional topics, such as evaluating language choices, determining a sequence of events, or making an inference. Scoring is automatic, and results are recorded. Word Study and Phonics Readers These components provide practice of word study skills and phonics skills in the context of high-interest text passages. Students answer comprehension, word study skill, and phonics questions by selecting from possible responses. Writing Assignments In each level of iLit, narrative, informative or explanatory, and opinion or argumentative writing are taught in whole class and small group instruction. In addition to writing short and long pieces in each of the three genres, students complete a research project and writing related to drama and poetry. Students also have the opportunity to practice summary and critical response/short answer writing. For every paragraph, essay, and summary writing assignment, iLit’s automated scoring feature assesses student work and provides personalized, scaffolded instructional feedback at point of use.


As students work on writing assignments, they are encouraged to use iLit’s Get Feedback function to access targeted feedback designed to help them improve their writing. The iLit scoring engine automatically scores student writing assignments. However, a rubric for each piece of writing is available so that teachers have the option of scoring writing assignments themselves.

Performance-Based Projects iLit includes three performance-based projects per level. Students work in collaborative groups to research and create a multimedia presentation and complete writing projects related to drama and poetry. During the drama unit, students learn and analyze elements of drama and then apply what they’ve learned during a collaborative writing project, such as a monologue or a scene. In the research unit, students work in collaborative groups to brainstorm and choose a topic, research the topic, and create a multimedia report to present to the class. Throughout the unit, there is an emphasis on writing: students write research questions, take notes, and organize ideas for the presentation. During the poetry unit, students learn themes and characteristics of poetry, study the language of poetry, and apply what they’ve learned as they write their own poems. iLit’s rubrics are providing for assessing students’ work on the projects and the presentations. Grammar and Spelling Study Plans Study Plans offer opportunities for students to learn and practice a wide variety of grammar and spelling skills. Each study plan begins with an instructional video and pre-test of skills, which is scored to determine the instruction and practice that a student needs. Students who need additional instruction and practice watch the instructional video again and apply what they have learned by answering short-response questions.


Word Slam and Word Match Students use these games to demonstrate their acquisition of previously-taught vocabulary words. In Word Slam, they build vocabulary words by moving letter tiles into position. In Word Match, they select a word to complete a sentence. Students receive feedback on their answers, and their results are recorded in their performance data.

Independent Reading Students’ reading of iLit library books is tracked as “words read” and “pages read.” Because research has shown that number of words read is correlates strongly with student reading achievement, these measures provide important information on student progress.


Monitor Student Progress

The iLit Performance Dashboard and Assignments tab make it easy for you to monitor student progress. You can quickly see how individual students, the whole class, or groups of students are performing in the following strands:

• Reading Growth (Reading Level) • Reading Comprehension • Words Read • Fluency • Word Study and Phonics • Writing • Vocabulary • Language • Speaking • Benchmark Assessments

The Performance Dashboard also allows you to track individual student, group, and whole class skills mastery in each of these strands.

In addition, the Performance Dashboard will provide you with warnings when a student is struggling in a strand or a skill.

Reading Growth Student reading growth is measuring within iLit based on students’ comprehension of the Interactive Readings, which span a wide range of levels of text complexity. Each student’s reading level as measured within the iLit system is captured on the Performance Dashboard (see Screen Shot in the Assessment Handbook). The Dashboard tracks students’ growth over time, capturing the student’s level each time he or she completes an Interactive Reading. The Interactive Readings stair-step in text complexity over the course of the school year, growing two years in complexity over the course of the year. There are nine levels of Interactive Readings. If students show strong comprehension, they will move up a level; if they struggle, they will move down a level. Students who reach a reading level on or above grade level (for example, a Grade Equivalent level of 7 for a 7th grader) may be ready to exit.


Sample Report of Reading Level Growth

Sample Reading Comprehension Report


Sample Fluency Report

Keeping Others Informed and Involved

Inform and Involve Fellow Teachers and Administrators

The iLit District Reporting Dashboard allows administrators and fellow teachers to track performance across classes and schools (Note: Districts establish policies for the extent to which data is shared.) All of the same types of data that can be viewed at a class level can be view across classes, teachers, and schools. The data is accessed through the iLit ClassView system.

Administrators can view data within any blocks of time they select within a school year, and they can track performance across school years. If students move from school to school, their data is retained and travels with them.


iLit ClassView District Reporting Access

Inform and Involve Students

ILit empowers students as learners by helping to develop their ability to take responsibility for their own assessment, growth, and goals and supporting students’ development of self-assessment skills. As you use the program, promote these skills by encouraging students to do the following:

• Review learning objectives before a lesson and set their own learning objectives


• Identify and name the skills and strategies students they are using as they use them. This mirrors Read Aloud, Think Aloud instruction, during which you will name the skills and strategies you are teaching.

• Add notes on instructional topics to Class Notes

• Reflect on their submitted work, including iPractice assignments, writing, and performances in order to identify positive outcomes as well as areas for improvement


• Self-manage missing or incomplete assignments by identifying them and proposing an acceptable due date

In addition, encourage students to set independent reading goals by:

• Making a list of books to read that represents a variety of genres and topics

• Periodically choosing a book to read that is different from other books they have read


• Periodically selecting a book that represents a reading challenge • Establishing a reasonably ambitious goal of reading a given number of pages or words each

week

Also to empower students:

• Allow them to review and make reasonable changes to requirements for a performance-based assignment

• Use self-assessment rubrics provided for writing and performance-based projects to review the evaluation criteria with students. Have students refer to the rubrics regularly as they complete their work and when they are ready to submit it; use the rubrics to provide feedback on students’ work.

• Permit students to make reasonable changes to the self-assessment rubrics to reflect their own criteria.

• Encourage students to use iLit writing feedback to improve their writing


• Guide students to use the Writer’s Handbook as a reference source to answer their own questions about language conventions


• Use suggestions for collaborative work, including Classroom Conversation, Book Clubs, and collaborative group projects

• Allow students to select their collaborative groups from time to time

• When students are participating in Classroom Conversation, Book Clubs, and collaborative partner or group work, have them refer to the Collaborative Conversation Routine and to use the sentence starters to acknowledge and provide constructive feedback on one another’s ideas.


• Have students regularly use the Peer Conferencing Routine to review on another’s written work

• Regularly use Time to Read and Classroom Conversation conferencing routines to engage students in discussions about their work


• Use the self-evaluation survey in Vocabulary lessons to allow students to evaluate their own knowledge of words

• Encourage students to use the language help within the iLit library. Students can tap on any word to access help with pronunciation and word meaning.

• Review assessment results with students on an individual basis, offering both feedback and encouragement


Inform and Involve Parents and Caregivers

ILit provides Family Letters for every one of the seven units of instruction in the program. Teachers can email the letters to parents and caregivers or print and send them home with students. They are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

The Unit 1 Family Letter describes iLit instructional routines, as well as key assessments used to monitor student progress. The Family Letter for each of the remaining six units describes instructional activities that are highlights of that unit. All of the Family Letters provide information on how the unit’s instruction represents the curriculum. In addition, each letter suggests activities that parents and caregivers can do at home to support their child’s progress toward the English language proficiency for his or her grade.

In addition, parents and caregivers can log into the students’ app from any laptop, desktop, or mobile device and see the following:

• The amount of words, pages, and books the student has read. • The books that the student has read. This is accessed by tapping or clicking “My Books.” • The students completed work, which is saved into a Portfolio in the student’s Notebook.

All of each student’s completed work is also saved on the teacher app. You can access any completed assignment at any time. This is ideal for parent/teacher conferences. To access student work, go to the Assignments tab, tap or click on an assignment listed beside a student’s name and tap or click “View.”

Accessing Work from the Student’s Portfolio

Documents

iLit Assessment Handbook - My Savvas Training...ILit assessments have strong content validity because they all closely represent the learning objectives and instruction in the ILit