Classroom assessments include all the processes involved in making decisions about students' learning progress. (Airasian, 1997) Classroom assessments consist of many measures including students' written work, their answers to questions in class, and performance on teacher-made and standardized tests. (Eggen, 2001) Teachers make decisions about learning progress through assessment. The two main goals of assessment are (1) increasing learning and (2) increasing motivation. (Eggen, 2001)
Early Screening Inventory (ESI)
The ESI (Wiske and Meisels, 1983) is administered annually in September to all incoming New Haven Public School (NHPS) Kindergarten students. Students are scored according to the performance expectations of their chronological age. The ESI is used to determine students who may be at risk entering Kindergarten. Scores acquired through the use of the ESI may afford the insight necessary for a teacher to increase learning by offering lessons which address gross motor skills, fine motor skills, memory and perception abilities. However, the ESI is not re-administered to the student, denying any improvement information or comparison for the teacher. In fact, the ESI kit available to Kindergarten teachers in the district is not valid if a student reaches an age above 6 years.
Letter Identification (LetterID)
The LetterID assessment (Clay, 1993) is administered three times during the school year: October, January, and May. The students are shown a chart of letters and are asked to identify each letter of the alphabet, capital and lowercase. A total of 54 letters can be identified: 52 manuscript letters and 2 print letters (g and a). The New Haven Public Schools collects letter identification scores only. The LetterID test however allows for phonetic sound identification and initial sound identification for each letter.
The LetterID assessment offers one on one opportunities to check letter identification and sound abilities. In some classrooms, the LetterID assessment is being replaced with the letter assessment segment of Breakthrough to Literacy software. This alternative is helpful yet the results vary greatly from the one on one LetterID assessment.
The LetterID assessment increases learning and motivation by providing pertinent information to the teacher and necessary feedback to the student. The teacher can better serve the student by addressing his/her deficiencies in flexible or cooperative group activities. The student becomes more motivated via the frequent feedback throughout the school year. A goal of 54 letters is set in October and can be achieved in most cases by May.
Concepts About Print (CAP)
The CAP assessment (Clay, 1972) uses one of two books (Sand or Stones) to assess the ability of a student to identify print. Various errors in text and illustrations offer opportunities for the assessor to note the reading cues used by the student. A student can score up to 24 points on this assessment. The CAP is administered three times during the academic year in NHPS: October, January, and May. The CAP provides an opportunity for the assessor to group students according to deficient assessment areas. Flexible grouping is best suited for CAP score improvement.
The CAP offers specific information regarding reading cues and miscues. The skills required for CAP score improvement are also the skills necessary to read. The CAP is a one on one assessment that provides legitimate information to assist in student achievement.
The CAP identifies specific skills necessary for literacy and assesses the child's skill ability. The score is easily analyzed affording the teacher to address the needs of the student(s). The students receive no negative feedback, only positive, since the missed items are not obvious to a student. If the student does not notice a mistake in the text or in the illustrations, he/she does not realize it. The obvious mistakes to the teacher assist in diagnosis and facilitation of learning. The CAP offers opportunities for increasing learning more obviously than opportunities for increasing motivation.