Where Does Johnny Read?

Mildred Howard

Fresh faces, full rows. Even as you greet your class on the first day of school, you begin your mental assessment of each student. Within the next few weeks, the individual students must be merged into small, manageable groups in order to provide effective instruction in reading.

Many commercial reading inventories are available to help in placing students. These can be obtained from companies that specialize in constructing test materials. However, if you are confident of your personal judgement, you can construct your own informal reading inventory. In attempting to do so, you must establish criteria to determine the independent, instructional, and frustration levels of each student.

The following skills should be included in your evaluation to help identify and isolate problems:

1. Word Recognition and Analysis: Most sight word lists can give an indication of a student's ability to recognize commonly used words. Have the student read words on the lists up to and somewhat beyond his grade level. Mark mistakes on your copy. Select the phonic skills appropriate to the grade level, and construct a worksheet that will evaluate the student's ability to work with both simple and more complex words.
2. Oral Reading: Selections from the basal readers can provide a tentative reading level for each student. Use a readability formula, such as Frye, to find an accurate grade level selection of approximately 100 words. Have the student begin below grade level and read passages of increasing difficulty until he reaches his instructional level. As the student reads, mark omissions, incorrect pronunciations, long pauses, and other problems on your copy. Make sure at least eight written or oral questions are provided for each passage, and that the questions are thought provoking.
3. Silent Reading: Again, choose accurate grade level selections of approximately 100 words from the basal readers. Have the students read the passages silently. Provide eight or more written questions or quiz the student orally.
4. Listening: After obtaining the student's instructional level, read a passage aloud that is slightly above that level. If the student comprehends oral material better than he does written material, he may be able to advance quickly after remediation in the deficient areas.

Teacher evaluation is still the most important factor in establishing reading levels. Watch the students as they read or work. If you observe any of the following, allow the student to begin work at a lower level. It is better and easier on all concerned to move a misplaced student up to another group than down. Also, a good teacher will keep her groups fluid and not "lock" a student into one particular group for the year.

1. Is his vocabulary limited? Does he miss commonly used words?
2. Does he hold his book awkwardly? Too close? Too far away?
3. Does he show signs of strain? Is he nervous? Does he fidget?
4. Does he guess often?
5. Does he look to you for visual direction?
6. Does he read word for word?
7. Does he read in an unusually loud or soft voice?

Testing materials and teacher evaluation are the professional tools used to accomplish your goal of placement. But don't forget that you have an even greater tool at your disposal - prayer. As you evaluate each student, remember to pray for the student and for yourself, asking God's wisdom in interpreting the results.

Reprinted from Balance, a publication of the School of Education, Bob Jones University. Used with permission of Bob Jones University. Please write BJU Press, for permission to reproduce this article.