Track Progress Over Time
Measure Reading Skills Improvement
If a method of instruction is not helping it needs to be changed. You can tell if the current method of instruction is effective by asking these questions:
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Is my child improving?
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Is he or she closing the gap with their peers?
Our Progress Tracking addresses these questions. The testing produces a progress report that addresses trends in progress over time. Closing the gap is the goal as one may improve but fall further behind. Progress testing may be done as often as weekly.
Our Progress Tracking system permits frequent testing of four important reading skills:
Word Naming
Nonsense Word Naming
Word Meaning
Sentence Understanding
Why Track with these skills?
These skills are the most important indicators of fluent reading. Improvement indicates progress in becoming a skilled reader.
- Rapidly identifying words is the foundation of skilled reading
- Pronouncing nonsense words measures the ability to sound out words
- Meaning activation is the first step in comprehending
- Understanding sentences is the final step in comprehension
How the Tracking Works
The Tracking system uses tests that are part of our diagnostic system. The emphasis is progress over time and closing the gap with one’s peers.
- Appropriate for grades 3 to 8
- Student performs four core reading tasks
- System measures time and accuracy for each test item
- Speed and accuracy are combined into percentile scores
- System immediately generates a progress report
How the Testing Works
1
A text item appears and a timer starts.
2
Student speaks response and presses the SPACEBAR at the same time.
3
The SPACEBAR press stops the timer and measures time taken.
4
The response is scored manually by the administrator.
How Can We Test So Frequently?
For most progress testing, students are tested at the start and end of school year and the difference is compared. Often a whole year of potential progress is wasted on ineffective interventions because of lack of good progress monitoring.
We can test frequently because no two tests are the same. Each test has a large pool of potential items that are randomly chosen. We do not have to wait until the student “forgets” the test.
The Progress Report
When the student completes all the tests, the system generates a report addressing progress made. The report compares previous performance to the current performance. Speed, accuracy and percentile scores are compared to previous scores in tables and charts.
Report sections include:
- Introduction
- Progress testing results
- Interpretation of results
- Progress summary
- Additional resources