Second Grade Assessments

DIBELS: (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Assessment)
Oral Reading Fluency - The children are given one minute to read a 2nd grade level passage. One point is given for each word read correctly. The benchmarks to meet are:

Fall - 44 words per minute January - 68 words per minute May - 90 words per minute

Nonsense Word Fluency - The children are given a page of two- to three- lettered nonsense words to read in one minute. One point is given for each letter sound correctly identified. The benchmark to meet is:

Fall - 50 sounds per minute

DSA: (Developmental Spelling Analysis)
This assessment is given to identify a child's orthographic ("correct writing") understanding. We check to make sure a child is using the correct sequences of letters to spell words, and then tailor instruction to help each child the most. It is only one part of the information-gathering process.
There are 4 stages of the DSA: Letter Name, Within Word, Syllable Juncture and Derivational Constancy.
The following are the Stage Score descriptions:

22 to 25 = Mastery - Confident & Competent in the stage 12 to 21 = Stage of Development - The student has some understanding of the spelling patterns at this stage. Features are used correctly at times but confused at other times. Below 12, but mastered previous stage = Early Stage of Development - Although they haven't figured out much at this stage, they have a solid base of understanding to build upon. Below 12 and did not master previous stage = This stage is out of their Zone of Proximal Development. Students may have some experience and skills in this stage, but the previous stage is also weak.

 

Star Reading: This is a computerized assessment of your child's reading abilities. The child is given 25 sentences to read with one word missing in each sentence. Each sentence is given 3 to 4 choices of words to chose from, and is timed. As the child responds to each sentence, the reading level of the next sentence is adjusted either higher or lower than the one just finished. A final score is given to identify a child's grade level equivalence as well as a score based on the national curve equivalent (how s/he compares to all second graders nation-wide). The results of this assessment allows for the child to choose leveled books to read from the Accelerated Reader Book list.
Click here to see a list of books in our Orchard Hollow Library and their grade equivalence levels.

Informal Reading Inventory:
This assessment is given to determine a child's reading level for Guided Reading Group work. A child's reading is measured to see what reading level s/he is reading without frustration.

State of Ohio Diagnostic Testing: These tests will be administered to track a child's achievement in Reading, Writing, and Math. They are the same format as the Ohio Achievement Tests given in Third Grade.

InView Cognitive Abilities Test:
In the Spring, this test is administered to measure a child's skills and abilities that are important for academic success. The tests given include Verbal Reasoning - Words; Verbal Reasoning - Context; Sequences; Analogies; and Quantitative Reasoning. Results of the InView test help identify those students who require special instruction for advanced learning, or to identify those students who need further diagnosis to determine if they have any learning problems.

TerraNova Achievement Tests: (Reading, Math, and Science)
These tests are given to assess increase depth of knowledge and higher-order thinking skills. This test helps to predict likely student outcomes on state achievement tests.