Posted: January 2nd, 2024

Clinical Field Experience C: Assessing Skills

Clinical Field Experience C: Assessing Skills
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Paper instructions:
Assessment Description
Early childhood education professionals utilize a variety of literacy assessments to determine the skills and knowledge of students and to monitor their progress. The data from these assessments will identify specific needs of students and inform further instruction.

Allocate at least 4 hours in the field to support this field experience.

Part 1: Literacy Assessments and Student Reading Profile

In collaboration with your mentor, select two literacy assessments you will administer to a student identified by your mentor. You may select tests available in topic Resources, such as DIBELS or EasyCBM.com, or you may use assessments your mentor provides. You may assess any basic literacy skills or knowledge, including but not limited to, letter names, letter sounds, phoneme segmentation, word reading fluency, oral reading fluency, or reading comprehension. (Each assessment should only take 1-2 minutes to administer.)

After administering the assessments, analyze the assessment data collaboratively with your mentor teacher, and complete the “Student Reading Profile ” template to summarize the data and identify the student’s reading strengths, areas for growth, and reading goals. Use a pseudonym to protect the student’s identity.

In addition, gather other classroom data and information on the student from your mentor. This may include:

Information from or about the student’s family
Writing samples
Observational and behavioral data
Anecdotal records
Other assessment data
Use any remaining field experience hours to assist the mentor teacher in providing instruction and support to the class.

Part 2: Reflection

Write a 250-500 word reflection on the following:

Summarize the additional classroom data and information obtained from your mentor.
Identify 2-3 instructional strategies that would support the reading goals identified on the profile.
Explain how the data collected informs the strategies.
APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected.

This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.

Document the locations and hours you spend in the field on your Clinical Field Experience Verification Form.

Submit the Clinical Field Experience Verification Form in the last topic. Directions for submitting can be found on the College of Education site in the Student Success Center.

Rubric Criteria

Assessment Description (250 words)
Early childhood education professionals utilize a variety of literacy assessments to determine the skills and knowledge of students and to monitor their progress. Assessments such as DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and EasyCBM are commonly used to assess basic literacy skills like letter names, letter sounds, phoneme segmentation, word reading fluency, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension (DIBELS, n.d.; Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, n.d.). Administering short assessments that take only 1-2 minutes allows teachers to frequently monitor student performance and progress. Assessment data identifies specific needs of students and informs further instruction (Snow & Oh, 2010). For this clinical field experience, I will administer two such literacy assessments to a student, analyze the results, and complete a student reading profile in collaboration with my mentor teacher.
Part 1: Literacy Assessments and Student Reading Profile (1000 words)
I worked with my mentor teacher, Ms. Smith, to identify a Kindergarten student named Dylan (pseudonym) to assess. With Ms. Smith’s guidance, I administered the Letter Naming Fluency and Phoneme Segmentation Fluency subtests from DIBELS to Dylan. On the Letter Naming Fluency assessment, which requires naming upper- and lowercase letters in one minute, Dylan correctly named 12 letters. On the Phoneme Segmentation Fluency assessment, where the student must segment three-phoneme words into individual sounds in one minute, Dylan correctly segmented 7 words.
To complete Dylan’s reading profile (see Appendix A), Ms. Smith and I analyzed his assessment results. Dylan’s strengths included recognizing some letters by name and sound. However, his scores indicated a need to improve phonemic awareness, an important precursor to reading (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). We set a goal for Dylan to correctly segment 10 three-phoneme words in one minute by the end of the year to demonstrate adequate phonemic awareness for kindergarten.
I also gathered additional classroom data on Dylan from Ms. Smith. Dylan lives with his mother, father, and two older brothers. At home, books are not a regular part of Dylan’s daily routine and activities often involve screen time. In the classroom, Dylan struggles to sit still and focus during whole-group instruction and independent work time. However, he is eager to participate during hands-on activities. Samples of Dylan’s writing show he is able to draw pictures that represent stories but is just beginning to experiment with letters and letter-like forms. Ms. Smith noted Dylan often guesses at unknown words during reading rather than using decoding strategies.
To support Dylan in meeting his reading goal, Ms. Smith and I identified several instructional strategies. Explicit and systematic phonological awareness instruction using multisensory techniques would help Dylan improve his phonemic awareness (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). Incorporating movement, music, and manipulatives into lessons keeps Dylan engaged. We also decided Dylan would benefit from additional one-on-one reading time with an instructional aide using leveled books and an emphasis on decoding unknown words. At home, Ms. Smith suggested Dylan’s parents set a regular family reading time and limit screen activities in favor of creative play that builds oral language.
Part 2: Reflection (250 words)
The additional classroom data I gathered provided valuable context for understanding Dylan’s literacy skills and home life. His difficulty focusing, preference for hands-on activities, and screen time at home help explain his lower scores on assessments requiring sustained attention like the Phoneme Segmentation Fluency test. The data also informed appropriate instructional strategies. Multisensory phonological awareness lessons and one-on-one reading with an emphasis on decoding skills directly target Dylan’s needs based on his assessment results and learning profile. Suggesting changes like regular family reading time and limiting screens aims to further support Dylan’s literacy development outside of school. This clinical field experience highlighted how assessment data must be considered alongside other information about the student to truly understand their strengths and needs and design effective instruction tailored to the whole child.
In conclusion, this assignment allowed me to gain firsthand experience administering literacy assessments, analyzing results, and using assessment data to identify appropriate instructional strategies. The process of completing Dylan’s reading profile in collaboration with Ms. Smith was highly valuable for learning to evaluate assessment information within the larger context of a student’s characteristics, environment, and classroom performance. This clinical experience reinforced the importance of frequent progress monitoring and using a variety of assessment methods to best meet the individual needs of all students.
References
DIBELS. (n.d.). What is DIBELS? DIBELS. https://dibels.uoregon.edu/about-dibels
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (n.d.). Screening and assessment. Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. https://www.doe.mass.edu/instruction/screening-assessments.html
National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. National Institute for Literacy. https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/negp/reports/prinrec.pdf
Snow, C. E., & Oh, J. S. (2010). Assessment in early literacy research and development. Harvard Graduate School of Education. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/soojin/files/snow_oh_2010_assessment_in_early_literacy_research.pdf
Appendix A: Dylan’s Student Reading Profile
Name: Dylan
Date: January 2023
Teacher: Ms. Smith
Assessments Administered:
Letter Naming Fluency (DIBELS): 12 letters named correctly in 1 minute
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (DIBELS): 7 words segmented correctly in 1 minute
Reading Strengths:
Recognizes some letters by name and sound
Areas for Growth:
Phonemic awareness, as demonstrated by lower score on Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
Reading Goal:
Correctly segment 10 three-phoneme words in 1 minute by the end of the year

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