STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Student Assessment & Lesson Plan Project

Anne Kissinger
EDU 325
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Student Assessment Project Paper

The student, who will be referred to as PL (name redacted) throughout this paper, is a

bright seven-year old who is currently a first grader at an elementary school in Mingo Junction,

Ohio. PL lives in a suburban area with her mother, father and two sisters, one is older and the

other is younger. Currently, PL is struggling with every subject area and receives one on one

help for each. When taking assessments and tests, PL does not have any adaptations takes them

without extra help. PL does, however, meet with another teacher for 30 minutes three times a

week. In regards to reading, there are three different classrooms for the first graders separated by

reading levels. PL is currently in the lowest tiered reading group and works in small groups for

instruction. I am currently doing my field experience at her school and help her teacher twice a

week. I have gotten to know PL and have seen the behaviors she exhibits in relation to school

work and learning. When the teacher is instructing, she is eager to learn and very obedient as she

listens and tries her best. When it comes time for independent work and the students in her class

are allowed to ask for help from myself or the main teacher, PL raises her hand consistently. PL

will raise her hand for every question, but not be able to articulate or point to which one she

needs help with. I believe that she has the ability to do it independently, but chooses to

consistently ask for help. Due to PL’s general calm and obedient nature, she shows no signs of

needing a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP). PL is a bit timid, but when she warms up to you, she

is outgoing and loves to talk and make new friends.

I believe that PL’s decision making and organization skills need some improvement as

she does not like to work independently. For all content areas, PL has shown to depend on her

classmates and teachers to give her the answer to most questions and help her with each problem.
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PL has the ability to work independently as I have seen her do when there were no extra hands,

but teachers should definitely use specific ignoring techniques to allow PL to realize she can

work out problems herself. Also, I would say PL has a very short attention span. It can be hard to

get her focus on specific content or information I convey to her when helping her with her work.

She is a very curious child and can not seem to focus on tasks efficiently. Lastly, I would say that

despite the need for an improvement in independent work and improvement in attention span, PL

has shown to really want to learn. She tries her best and really wants to make an effort despite all

the challenges she can face. PL’s parents have expressed that they hope their daughter would be

able to fluently read books that are her grade level by the end of the year.

Procedures

For this project, I had contacted my cooperating teacher for field this semester. I have

currently been helping in a first grade classroom and have gotten to know many of the students

and where they are at in their learning. I contacted the teacher and asked if she was comfortable

with me administering a few DIBELS assessments to one of the students. She said that she was

completely comfortable with it and that the students were already familiar with DIBELS

assessments as they have used them in the past. Initially, I administered the probes to a different

student, but he ended up scoring fairly high and I thought it would be more beneficial to test a

different student, who the teacher knew was struggling with reading. During one of the days

where I go in for field, PL and I went to a testing room away from the classroom so that she

could focus better. On the walk over, she asked why she had to take these tests and if they would

take long.
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Once there, she immediately started exploring the room. I explained to her that the tests

I’m about to give her are important for her to try her best and that she shouldn’t be nervous. She

seemed a little hesitant about tests in general. I tried to get her attention multiple times to start,

but she was busy looking around the room and playing with her hair. I tried to explain to her that

each mini test would only be one minute long and that I would time it. I read the instructions

multiple times to make sure she understood as she wasn’t very focused. Briefly, she was able to

focus once the first probe was given for involving letter naming fluency. Once I started

explaining the second probe, she seemed to lose interest and I had to say the instructions more

than once again. For the phoneme segmentation fluency probe, the student performed below

benchmark as she blended all ending sounds together rather then splitting each sound apart. No

matter how many letters and sounds in the word, the student would say one sound for the initial

letter and blend the rest of the letters together to create one sound. For the nonsense word fluency

probes, she was slightly uninterested and looked away a few times. Lastly, for the oral reading

probes, she could not sit still the whole time, and couldn’t focus for each one. Throughout all of

these probes, she seemed to forget instructions right away and wouldn’t follow along with her

finger for any of the probes.

Assessments Given

The probes given were Letter Naming Fluency, Oral Reading Fluency, Nonsense Word

Fluency and Phonemic Segmentation Fluency. Letter Naming Fluency is an assessment that is an

indicator of risk which isn’t directly related or linked to any of the basic early literacy skills. It

consists of a page with upper and lowercase letters organized randomly in rows on a page.

Students are asked to name all the letters they can going in order from left to right. Oral Reading
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Fluency is an assessment that measures skills in all areas. It is a test of accuracy and fluency with

connected text. The test consists of a standard set of passages where students are asked to read as

much of the passage as they can in one minute​. The number of correct words per minute is the

oral reading fluency score. ​Phoneme Segmentation Fluency is an assessment that measures a

student's ability to segment three- and four-phoneme words into their individual phonemes

fluently. The task is administered by the examiner orally presenting words of three to four

phonemes. The student is required to produce verbally the individual phonemes for each word.

Lastly, Nonsense Word Fluency is an assessment​ of the alphabetic principle including

letter-sound correspondence in which letters represent their most common sounds. The student is

given a paper with random CVC or VC nonsense words and are asked to verbally produce the

individual letter sounds in each word, or read the whole word. Because the measure is fluency

based, students should receive a higher score if they are phonologically recoding the word, as

they will be more efficiently producing the letter sounds, and receive a lower score if they are

providing letter sounds in isolation.

Results & Analysis:

Reference Chart:

Assessment Required Score to be at Need for Support

Benchmark

Letter Naming Fluency N/A No Benchmark goal for this

(LNF) grade level

Oral Reading Fluency (ORD) 23 At Benchmark Goal

Nonsense Word Fluency 27 At Benchmark Goal

(NWF) Whole words read: 1

Phonemic Segmentation 40 At Benchmark Goal

STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Fluency (PSF)

PL’s Scores:
Assessment Score Need for Support

Letter Naming Fluency 31/32 (No benchmark goal for this

grade level)

Oral Reading Fluency 6/11 words read correctly Well Below Benchmark,
(ORF) Accuracy: 89% Intensive Support

Nonsense Word Fluency Correct letter sounds: Well Below Benchmark,

(NSF) 17/28 Intensive Support
Whole words read: 2

Phonemic Segmentation Fluency 33/53 Below Benchmark,

(PSF) Core Support

Graph for Reference:

STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Areas Targeted for Improvement

Target A: Nonsense Word Fluency (NSF)

This specific fluency area will need intensive support in addition to effective core support

considering the overall composite scores given to PL. PL scored well below benchmark due to a

continuous pattern of errors she made. PL took two different probes for this fluency and scored a

seventeen and a sixteen. It can be seen that PL would try to guess letter sounds before looking at

the letters themselves. For example, in one of the probes, PL read the nonsense word “kiv” as kil

and in another probe said nar instead of the nonsense word “nol.” In these errors, it can be seen

that PL hasn’t had much exposure to nonsense words and is trying to guess the letters to make it

a real word. This area was targeted because PL’s scores on these probes are important because

students should be able to read nonsense words as it helps them practice breaking apart words

into syllables. Nonsense words follow predictable phonetic patterns and the students are able to

practice decoding words. (Boschen, 2018).

According to Speece and Ritchey (2005), students need to be able to read sight words and

decode words at a fast rate to develop their oral reading fluency. Once students acquire these

skills for pronouncing letter sounds, decoding words, and also have a solid base of sight words,

these students can begin to feel the flow of naturally smooth reading (Speece & Ritchey, 2005).

To strengthen PL’s Nonsense Word Fluency skills, she can be given blending activities that will

help her learn to decode words with more ease and be able to fluently read words, nonsense or

real. Some of these activities could be touch and say activities, where students spell words with

letter tiles where they touch each letter and say the sound. Another activity that can be used is
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

word chains. With this activity, students use movable letters or letter tiles and start with simple

CVC words. Here they would change one letter at a time to create new words (Boschen, 2018).

Target B: Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF)

This specific fluency area will need effective core support considering the overall

composite scores given to PL. Despite how PL scored only below benchmark in this fluency, but

scored well below benchmark with Oral Reading Fluency, focus on issues of phonemic

segmentation should be addressed first before a students ability to read sentences. These DIBELs

assessments were given in the beginning of first grade and students aren’t typically assessed till

the middle of the school year for Oral Reading Fluency.

In regards to Phonemic Segmentation Fluency, PL took one probe regarding this fluency

and scored a thirty-three out of fifty-three. With the words she got incorrect on, PL blended all

ending letters together. She would always say the first letter sound, but would blend the rest of

the letters together to form one sound. PL will need core support as she isn’t well below the

benchmark. It is important that PL meets the benchmark for her grade level because it is a

phonological awareness skill that goes hand in hand with literacy skills. Students who have

stronger phonological awareness will demonstrate better literacy skills. Children need to

understand how sounds work together to form words ​because it plays such an important role in

the formation of a foundation of reading and spelling development. It would be useful for PL to

engage in activities like bingo chip segmenting, where students pick up a bingo chip for each

sound they say of the word. Another activity that could be used are sound boxes where students

place one game chip under each box. The student would then say the name of each picture and

then push up a chip into a box for each sound in that word (Ascd, n.d.).
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Conclusion
Overall, PL has shown to need intensive and effective support in her phonological

awareness and reading skills. This was expressed by the teacher as well when discussing PL. She

already has extra help at her school, but seems to need even more intensive support for specific

areas. Through the probes administered to her, she showed to need specific support in regards to

Nonsense Word Fluency, Phonemic Segmentation and Oral Reading Fluency. Despite how Oral

Reading Fluency isn’t assessed till the middle of first grade, PL scores showed that she was not

near the benchmark as the middle of the year is fast approaching. The reason for her below

benchmark score for her Oral Reading Fluency is due to her lack of understanding of

phonological awareness and inability to read and decode nonsense words. There is a direct

correlation between these as they are the building blocks for reading skills and ability. PL is a

bright student who is eager to learn, and with the help of more intensive and effective support

through accommodations and extra help, we hope that she progresses nicely and is soon able to

meet the benchmarks for first graders.

STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Bibliography

1. Boschen, J., & James. (2018, October 18). Why do we teach nonsense words? It doesn't
make sense. • What I Have Learned. Retrieved from
https://www.whatihavelearnedteaching.com/why-do-we-teach-nonsense-words-it-doesnt-
make-sense/​.
2. Speece, D., & Ritchey, K. (2005). A longitudinal Study of the development of oral
reading fluency in young children at risk for reading failure. Journal of Learning
Disabilities, 38 (5). Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.pearl.stkate.edu/education/docview/194223585/ECDDCCCB
3E804922PQ/1?accountid=26879
3. Ascd. (n.d.). Chapter 1. Readiness/Phonemic Awareness. Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103316/chapters/Readiness~Phonemic-Awarene
ss.aspx.
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Lesson Plan
Lesson Title: ​A Deck of Sounds Grade: ​1st Grade

Learning Target:​The student will be able to read each CVC words, pronouncing each letter
sound correctly and efficiently blending sounds together.

Grade Level Guide: Content Standards: ​Ohio, 1st Grade, Reading

Content Common Core State Standards Interdisciplinary Connections

Curriculum Focal
Points

NCTE CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3 When PL gets frustrated, use

Know and apply grade-level phonics and positive reinforcement
word analysis skills in decoding words.
(OR)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.G
Recognize and read grade-appropriate
irregularly spelled words.

Academic Language: ​Since the majority of the lesson pertains to letter sounds and blending
sounds, there is no need for academic language.

Student’s Needs: ​Students will need to have an understanding of what sounds letters make and
understand that vowels can have a short or long sound. Also, students should be able to blend
letter sounds when looking at the word and sounding it out.

Student Name Additional Support With: What the Teacher Will Do:

PL Blending the sounds together in
order to form words. PL will also
need a constant reminder to sound
out the letters instead of guessing
without really looking. PL will also
need help staying focused and on
task.
The teacher will select easier cards for
PL to pronounce and blend together.
The paraeducator will work one on
one with PL during this activity to
make sure she is following along and
taking the time to pronounce each
sound.

Materials Needed:
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

● Student Needs: T​ he student will only need herself.

● Teacher Needs: 3​ decks of cards (two decks with consonants and one with vowels), index
cards, pencils, marker chips

Language Function:
Identify-​ Students will be able to identify sounds of consonants and vowels and read the word
accordingly.
Justify, Explain & Describe- S ​ tudent will explain and show their index cards with their word to
the teacher to show how they decode each word created.

Lesson Plan (step by step sequence of the lesson)

Before:
To review, we will go over the sounds of each letter in the alphabet followed by going over
vowel sounds. When reviewing vowels, we will also go over different long and short vowel
sounds. Following this, we will go over examples of CVC words and take time sounding out
each letter sound. After, the 3 decks of letter sounds will be explained. Each deck consists of
letters written on them. Two piles will have all the consonants and one pile will have all the
vowels. The decks will be arranged CVC. Explain to the students that some words are
nonsense (made up) words and some are real words in the deck. Explain that even if they
aren’t real words, we should pronounce them as if they were real words. Model for the class an
example of how to do this activity by picking up a card from each deck and placing it in order.

During:
1. Tell the students that we are going to practice decoding words through the deck of
cards. Hand out 3 decks to each table.
2. Explain directions: Each student will take one card from each deck and place it in front
of them. Using the marker chips each table is given, students will practice covering
each letter after they say the sound and then blend the sounds together to decode the
word.
3. After completing the word, students will write down on their index card the word they
decoded.
4. Following this, the students will grab another card from one of the decks they choose
and put in on top of one of their previous cards. It is important to emphasize that if they
grab from the vowel pile in the middle, they must put the new vowel card on top of the
other vowel card previous. Each time the students replace a letter, they need to write
down on their index card the new word they decode.

After:
After completing this activity, and decoding multiple words using the cards, students will
present their index cards to the teacher and read each word they wrote down. Students will be
STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

asked if any of them would like to present their index cards to the class. A few students will be
called on to read a word off their index card. Following this, students will be given a
worksheet to complete that will show their understanding of decoding nonsense and real
words. The teacher should walk around the room to make sure that everyone understands the
worksheet.

Assessment:

Type of Description of Modifications or Evaluation Criteria​-How good is

assessment assessment accommodations good enough to meet standards?
(formal or What will students To the assessment. Include the criteria they must
informal, do to show what List the student’s meet and the number of times you
formative or they have learned? name and the want it demonstrated. Refer to
summative) specific your learning target and the
modification you language function statements to
will give. ensure you assess required areas.

Formal Students will show PL will need PL will need to be able to decode
assessment their understanding modifications in more than ¾ of the words she
of the lesson which she will need picks out from the decks. I say ¾
through their index more one on one because the amount of cards she
cards and the when completing picks up can vary. PL will also
worksheet they the worksheet and need to get more than ¾ of the
complete. using the deck of worksheet questions correct to
cards with sounds. show understanding.

Plan for Classroom Management: ​Considering the lesson is more one on one, the other
students could be completing another worksheet related to nonsense word fluency. The student
will be praise for correct behavior as it would benefit her greatly.

Paraeducator Support: ​Support in making sure the lesson goes well with PL. He/She will
work with PL one on one throughout the lesson and also occasionally circles the classroom to
ensure that every student is understanding what is expected.

Resources: ​A worksheet (included below)

STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT