Why might DORA’s Lexile Level be different for a student than other assessments?
2 Comments Posted Wednesday, April 15, 2009
How often can I test my children?
We recommend that one not assess sooner than 8 to 12 weeks with DORA...
0 Comments Posted Friday, December 12, 2008
What is the Difference between a Formative Assessment and a Summative Assessment?
Formative assessment is an ongoing assessment used to inform instruction...
1 Comments Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008
What Makes an Assessment Diagnostic?
These are deep assessments that ask additional questions to find out how the teacher should improve instruction for a student or students...
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008
What is the Difference between Criterion-Referenced and Norm-Referenced Testing?
These terms relate to how the results of an assessment are presented...
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008
What is a Benchmark Assessment?
This term refers to a gauge of advancement, such as pre-testing at the beginning of a class/school yera and post-testing at the end. Or it can be one-time testing that provides comparison to state standards thus showing a "benchmark" of student abilities.
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008
What is an Accountability or High Stakes Assessment?
These look to tell school administrators whether something is working or not. Is the school improving year after year? Is the a CD-ROM that they bought working? These assessments hold a person or program accountable for success.
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008
What is RtI?
RtI is the model of intervention that a school district follows when responding to students who are below grade level in their core reading and math abilities.
0 Comments Posted Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Why might DORA spelling scores not reflect classroom spelling test achievement?
Spelling is the most challenging sub-test on DORA as the answers are completely student generated as opposed to multiple-choice. If students are performing well on classroom spelling tests, consider the difference in the task.
0 Comments Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007
I have an advanced preschooler and a struggling kindergartener. How can I help them both read?
It sounds like you have two children with different approaches to reading. Whether or not you'd call it, 'formal,' it sounds like you've already exposed your son to reading fundamentals.
0 Comments Posted Friday, August 31, 2007
My kindergartener can read Charlotte’s Web. Will DORA tell me her true reading level?
It's astounding that your daughter seems so advanced in reading for her age. If you know your daughter can comfortably read Charlotte's Web orally (i.e., generally misses less than 5-10 words on a page - varies depending on difficulty of the page), then you know that your daughter is able to decode a book with a reading level approximately between grades 4 to 6 (give or take a grade level depending on who you talk to). However, reading ability, whether it's measured by 'grade level' or some scaled score on standardized tests, is complicated...
2 Comments Posted Friday, August 24, 2007
My son is in 2nd grade and can read OK but can’t spell very well. Should I have him assessed?
Yes. The processing abilities that are required to make a good speller are the some of the same processing abilities that make a good reader. Beginning readers who have trouble spelling often have trouble becoming efficient readers as well. In my experience, adults who consider themselves poor spellers are often phonetic spellers.
2 Comments Posted Wednesday, July 25, 2007