Assessment Stories

Like many schools, we give our kids internal assessments a few times a year to track their growth, inform our teaching, and communicate progress with families. In reading, we use the STEP assessment which is similar to a DRA or F&P test, while in math, we use our own internally created assessments based off our standards. Since these assessments are given 1-1 or in small groups, we give them slowly over two weeks while continuing with our regular teaching. As we finish with each student, we enter these results in fancy spreadsheets. The documents do relatively snazzy things like change the cell color based on how much kids are learning and spit out stats about the average reading level or the amount of growth a class is making.

These stats are really useful and crunching these numbers makes us better able to teach our kids. But we really, really believe that kids are more than numbers and we shouldn't only be talking about student progress by using Microsoft Excel. To make sure that this sentiment stays squarely in front of us, we send out all staff emails throughout our testing window celebrating students who have made awesome progress. What is great about our staff and these emails is that we know we work in the real world with real kids and that means not all of our kids will be above grade level. That's ok and our teachers are equally excited about students who made great progress, but for one reason or another are below grade level as they are about students scoring way above their grade.

Below the fold are some of these teacher emails from this last round of testing, lightly edited for clarity and with student names removed for privacy. I've also added some background on STEP levels where relevant.



Kindergarten:

T began the year not achieving a pre-reading level and has now grown to a STEP 3 (end of kinder goal). I am so proud of all her work. In the beginning of the year she struggled with determination and would often say “I can’t do it” or “I don’t want to read.” She now asks to come read with me rather than go to a center choice or computer. She has developed so much confidence in herself as a reader and is so proud of herself!!!

R began kindergarten on a pre-reading level and has grown 8 STEP LEVELS ending the year as a STEP 8 reader (mid 2nd grade)!!!!! He has worked SO hard this year in small reading groups, quickly transitioning between Ms. Iglehart’s guided reading group, my own, and Ms. Dunn’s in the past few weeks. As soon as we introduced sight words earlier this year and explained how they can helped us become better readers, I could tell that R was very invested in growing his reading brain because on Monday mornings when we would check sight word lists, R would get at least 2-3 lists at a time. Each time he received a hole punch or a brand new list, the sweetest smile would take over his face and he would say “My mom is going to be really happy!!!” R is such an enthusiastic learner and we are so very proud of all of the progress he has made as a reader this year. Yay, R!!

F has been working hard both in the classroom and outside of the room with Ms. Cad to stretch his reading brain! He reached his big goal of a STEP 3 today, making 4 levels of growth this year! He needed to work on learning sight words and brought his tactile sight word ring to and from school, showing it off to his Mom at home and telling her that they needed to practice! Also, a big shout out to Ms. Cad for all of  the 1:1 time she has spent with F helping him get all of the academics that he needs every day, even if he spends time outside of the room taking breaks. F was so proud of himself today! After completing his STEP with Ms. Cad and learning that he reached his big goal, he told me, “Get your phone and take a picture to send to my Mom. I want her to see my smile!”

D entered the school year reading at a STEP 1, but still made 7 levels of growth this year in kindergarten, ending the year on a STEP 8!  D works very, very hard and takes a lot of pride in his work.  Big shine to Ms. Evans for all of the time that she puts into planning and leading guided reading with our highest readers. Even though D reached his big goal in January, he has been able to get really intentional guided reading with Ms. Evans all year long. He used deductive reasoning to figure out that STEP 8 was the first grade big goal, and that it meant that he was actually reading 2nd grade books. He said that he really wants to be able to read 3rd grade books, but that he has next year to work on that goal. It has been really exciting to see so much growth in all of our learners this year, but it is especially great to know that whether a student struggles or is above grade level at KPEA, that they will get support and targeted practice at the right level to continue pushing them forward.

1st Grade:

Shout out to C!!! He showed so much determination these past 2 months by reading with Ms. Perry during reading and again lunch time, and then bringing the book home to read to mom. He needed to work on stretching out his words and reading with fluency and he did not give up! Especially when there were rice cakes after as a reward. And….to top that off, he started the year at a 13% on the first grade benchmark, he had a 50% last trimester and he went above his individual goal and earned a 80% on the math benchmark. Way to go C!!!


Both F an M passed STEP 12 (end of 3rd grade)!!!! Both girls came into the school year on a pretty high STEP level already- F was on a 7 and M was on a 6. They have worked very, very, very hard this school year, using all their center time, guided reading time, and word study time very intentionally. Their families are great about reading with the girls at home and doing homework almost every week! Going from a STEP 6/7 to a 12 by the end of the school year means they made 5-6 levels of STEP growth, or TWO YEARS of progress, since August! Wow! Lots of shout-outs, shine, and hugs to these girls for working so hard, being so nice, showing our school values, and reaching their BIG GOALS!!!!

S rocked his STEP last week and reached his big goal. When S came in this year he was on a STEP 2 (middle of kinder), and now he's leaving not only at a STEP 5 (almost end of 1st grade), but also with a confidence in himself and his work that's truly amazing to see! We're really proud of the progress he's made this year in both reading and math.

2nd Grade:
I am so proud of H! At the beginning of first grade, she was in one of my C guided reading groups, sloooooowly tapping out every word.  Now, at the end of second grade, she is easily chunking up multisyllabic words and thinking very deeply about characters.  She achieved STEP 10 (early 3rd grade), the high second grade goal. She works hard every day, and I feel so honored to have been able to teach her two years in a row!

My assessment shout out is to S who in the past year has made huge amounts of growth in his abilities and habits as a reader.  He started 2nd grade at a STEP 5 and just passed a STEP 9 (end of 2nd grade)! S was a student who at the beginning of the year struggled in so many ways, being a year older than his classmates added to an overall lack of confidence. As we’ve talked about he really is one of those students who might have slipped through the cracks at another school because he has such good coping skills when he is confused about something.  Knowing how much S loves to run track we often had to encourage him that slow and steady wins the race.  With Emily’s guidance we found new ways to scaffold his vocabulary, word solving strategies, and writing.  He is now a very fluent reader but it is his growing confidence that is most rewarding to see!

We’ve worked all year to help H start off his morning right because the transition off the bus can be tricky for him. We’ve tried computer time, coloring, other classrooms, being a helper, etc. but still nothing seemed to work until he started reading with Ms. Cad! When H took his STEP test in the beginning of the year, he struggled to finish the book and it took him close to 20 minutes! Today we read STEP 8 (almost end of 2nd grade level) and he breezed through it! His speed was in the independent level! We’ve seen such a difference throughout the year with reading being such a struggle and something he didn’t like to now picking up a book and asking to read with us! It is a a joy to see him enjoy reading and feel confident about his reading. Yay H!

I'm also so so proud of D! She grew 4 STEP levels and that girl LOVES to read. She’s always asking to borrow chapter books (favorites are babysitters’ club) and books we read during read aloud. Mom and Dad couldn’t be prouder and are excited to see this new love developing. Apparently she’s always begging to go to the library. Shout out to Ms. M for all the hard work she’s done with her this year!

Q  reached his big goal of STEP 6 (end of 1st grade)!!!!!  He’s been working really hard and showing lots of determination in his reading! Special thanks to Mrs. Mitchell for giving Q the opportunity to double down on his guided reading. Thanks to you we’re able to give him 1:1 guided reading twice a day! Special thanks to everyone who works with this friend!  GO GO Q!!!!

K grew 5 STEP levels this year!!!! She began this year on a STEP 7 and has stepped out (passing STEP 12 for end of 3rd grade)! Every day, we have watched her responses both on the carpet and during guided reading become more and more insightful. When it came time for QAR and determining how to answer comprehension questions, K  was always able to identify in the book questions versus on my own questions and use her inference skills. The last questions STEP 12 asked is “why did the girl (who had imagined being a pigeon) not want chicken for dinner that night?”, she said “Because she experienced being a bird she didn’t feel comfortable eating chicken that night”  Way to STEP out!!!!!