Assessment of Comprehension
In order to assess a student's comprehension, they must share their thinking with us. Readers reveal their comprehension by responding to text, not by answering a litany of literal questions at the end of a chapter. Personal responses to reading give us a window into students' minds. We connect with their thinkingwhen we know what is going on for them as they read (Goudvis & Harvey, 1999).
Assessment for comprehension should be done systematically and periodically. Records of this should be kept in a child’s portfolio to evaluate his or her comprehension of text. Baseline data should be collected early in the school year with assessment measures repeated every 6 to 8 weeks (Morrow, 2009).
Ideas for the everyday use of assessment of comprehension:
*Hold one-on-one interviews with children
*Question and encourage response in whole-group, small group or individual interaction
The links below share an overview on assessing student comprehension.
Assessment for comprehension should be done systematically and periodically. Records of this should be kept in a child’s portfolio to evaluate his or her comprehension of text. Baseline data should be collected early in the school year with assessment measures repeated every 6 to 8 weeks (Morrow, 2009).
Ideas for the everyday use of assessment of comprehension:
*Hold one-on-one interviews with children
*Question and encourage response in whole-group, small group or individual interaction
The links below share an overview on assessing student comprehension.
How to Assess?
Response can be literal, interpretive or critical. They can reflect simple recall, detail, sequence, association, prediction, judgment or evaluation.
Comprehension from a story can be demonstrated and evaluated by:
-story retelling
-story rewriting
-attempted reading of favorite story books
-role-playing
-picture sequencing
-use of puppets or felt-boards to reenact stories
-questions and comments during storybook reading (Morrow, 2009)
Comprehension from a story can be demonstrated and evaluated by:
-story retelling
-story rewriting
-attempted reading of favorite story books
-role-playing
-picture sequencing
-use of puppets or felt-boards to reenact stories
-questions and comments during storybook reading (Morrow, 2009)
Check out the sources below for different ways to assess your students:
Find Out What Students Are Thinking...
We when listen to children, ask them questions and watch them closely, we learn not only what they understand, but also what they don’t understand. We can begin to see which comprehension strategies they activate to help themselves make meaning and which ones lag behind.
We find out if students are using their comprehension strategies in the following ways:
-Listening to kids
-Listening in on conversations
-Observing expressions and body language
-Charting responses and conversations in group discussions
-Conferring with children
-Keeping anecdotal records of conferences and conversations
-Scripting what kids say, recording their comments and questions
-Examining and evaluating written work samples to determine if kids are making meaning
See below to learn more and to see other resources for evaluating student thinking.
How Do We Know When Students Understand?
We know that our students comprehend when they provide us with specific
evidence of their thinking. Our students show us their strategy knowledge in the following ways:
*Using a variety of response options to ground their thinking in the text, answer questions, and support their interpretations.
*Answering questions during reading conferences to illustrate their thinking while reading.
*Articulating how and why a given strategy enhances understanding (Goudvis & Harvey, 1999).
Assessment Tools for Comprehension:
Below are some sources for lesson plans, tips and guidelines for teachers to use when assessing student thinking.