What is an interim assessment?
An interim assessment is used by classroom teachers or special education teachers in schools to check individual student progress through the year and to figure out which reading skills and strategies each child needs to focus on. Teachers want the results for this type of assessment in order to measure which areas the student is strong and weak in. It also helps guide instruction for individual children. From my experience, I often use some interim assessment results more than others. For example, I often do not use DIBELS results to guide my instruction, but I do use a student’s running record
after analyzing it.
Materials and consistency vary from one test to another. For example, with DIBLES there are testing booklets to mark student scores in and a scripted
administration manual to keep it as consistent as possible. Another example would be Marie Clay’s Observation Survey. The materials include her textbook
where the various tests can be copied off. The instructions are also in her book, so there is consistency; however, there is a little more flexibility with this assessment. Schools or individuals can purchase any interim assessments.
For an interim test, an individual student takes the test while someone administers the test. The administrator is looking for specific needs in areas such as: fluency, comprehension, print concepts, letter naming, and more depending on the test. Some tests are more authentic than others. For example, DIBLES has nonsense word fluency, which is not an authentic task in my opinion. Some students have a hard time saying a nonsense word because there is no
meaning behind that word and in real reading situations they will not come in contact with these types of words. I think Marie Clay’s Observation Survey has more authentic tasks such as giving an untimed running record and then analyzing the results.
All interim assessments are administered individually, so they can find individual students strengths and needs. Also, these tests are good at identifying the strengths and needs of each student, if given correctly by the administrator. For example, this was my first year giving DIBLES tests to my students. Getting the timing correct and marking the testing booklets accurately takes time to learn, and I do not think my results were 100% accurate. Also,
with Marie Clay’s Observation Survey, I had a hard time giving the print concepts test because I had never given it before and it had many instructions
and a script to say with each instruction. Most interim assessments are inflexible. For example, DIBLES is scripted and RTI curriculum is scripted and
inflexible. An Observation Survey does have scripted pieces and instructions, but lends itself to supplementing when a teacher sees the need.
After an interim assessment is given, it can be applied to the general classroom. An interim assessment gives information about individual student’s strengths and weaknesses in different areas of reading. It can also help determine a student’s reading level, so students can be put into leveled reading
groups. Also, it can give specifics about which skills and strategies a student uses effectively or needs to work on. In my own classroom, I used An Observation Survey with one of my struggling students and that assessment helped me to see she has strengths in pre-reading skills, but struggles with phonemic awareness.
Typically an interim assessment is done at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to check student’s progress and to check if a student needs
extra support. After reading a passage from an inventory or doing a running record with a book, the student’s level is described as: independent, instructional, or frustration. In my school, diagnostic testing is done for students who struggled with the DIBLES testing. Then, students are given support from our special education services in their areas of need.
One of the affordances with using an interim assessment appropriately is it helps monitor student’s progress and check which areas individual students
are struggling in. Then, it can help guide a teacher’s instruction with individual students and their needs. Another advantage of this type of test is that the administrator can build a relationship with a student. For example, I have been doing Marie Clay’s Observation Survey with my student partner and I have spent a lot of time with this child while administering this test. It has given me a bond with this child and I now know a lot about her.
There are some disadvantages associated with using interim assessments. For example, with DIBLES the tests are not very authentic to reading, so it is
difficult to apply those results to the classroom. It tests only isolated pieces of reading and not the actual act of reading. Also, Marie Clay’s Observation
Survey takes a lot of time to administer to individual children. It takes between 5-15 minutes for each of the 6 tasks, so it would be difficult to give to all students in a classroom. I have found this to be true. I have only administered an Observation Survey to one child, and it has taken a lot of time to do so. Also, many of the tests require professional development to get reliable and valid results.
after analyzing it.
Materials and consistency vary from one test to another. For example, with DIBLES there are testing booklets to mark student scores in and a scripted
administration manual to keep it as consistent as possible. Another example would be Marie Clay’s Observation Survey. The materials include her textbook
where the various tests can be copied off. The instructions are also in her book, so there is consistency; however, there is a little more flexibility with this assessment. Schools or individuals can purchase any interim assessments.
For an interim test, an individual student takes the test while someone administers the test. The administrator is looking for specific needs in areas such as: fluency, comprehension, print concepts, letter naming, and more depending on the test. Some tests are more authentic than others. For example, DIBLES has nonsense word fluency, which is not an authentic task in my opinion. Some students have a hard time saying a nonsense word because there is no
meaning behind that word and in real reading situations they will not come in contact with these types of words. I think Marie Clay’s Observation Survey has more authentic tasks such as giving an untimed running record and then analyzing the results.
All interim assessments are administered individually, so they can find individual students strengths and needs. Also, these tests are good at identifying the strengths and needs of each student, if given correctly by the administrator. For example, this was my first year giving DIBLES tests to my students. Getting the timing correct and marking the testing booklets accurately takes time to learn, and I do not think my results were 100% accurate. Also,
with Marie Clay’s Observation Survey, I had a hard time giving the print concepts test because I had never given it before and it had many instructions
and a script to say with each instruction. Most interim assessments are inflexible. For example, DIBLES is scripted and RTI curriculum is scripted and
inflexible. An Observation Survey does have scripted pieces and instructions, but lends itself to supplementing when a teacher sees the need.
After an interim assessment is given, it can be applied to the general classroom. An interim assessment gives information about individual student’s strengths and weaknesses in different areas of reading. It can also help determine a student’s reading level, so students can be put into leveled reading
groups. Also, it can give specifics about which skills and strategies a student uses effectively or needs to work on. In my own classroom, I used An Observation Survey with one of my struggling students and that assessment helped me to see she has strengths in pre-reading skills, but struggles with phonemic awareness.
Typically an interim assessment is done at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year to check student’s progress and to check if a student needs
extra support. After reading a passage from an inventory or doing a running record with a book, the student’s level is described as: independent, instructional, or frustration. In my school, diagnostic testing is done for students who struggled with the DIBLES testing. Then, students are given support from our special education services in their areas of need.
One of the affordances with using an interim assessment appropriately is it helps monitor student’s progress and check which areas individual students
are struggling in. Then, it can help guide a teacher’s instruction with individual students and their needs. Another advantage of this type of test is that the administrator can build a relationship with a student. For example, I have been doing Marie Clay’s Observation Survey with my student partner and I have spent a lot of time with this child while administering this test. It has given me a bond with this child and I now know a lot about her.
There are some disadvantages associated with using interim assessments. For example, with DIBLES the tests are not very authentic to reading, so it is
difficult to apply those results to the classroom. It tests only isolated pieces of reading and not the actual act of reading. Also, Marie Clay’s Observation
Survey takes a lot of time to administer to individual children. It takes between 5-15 minutes for each of the 6 tasks, so it would be difficult to give to all students in a classroom. I have found this to be true. I have only administered an Observation Survey to one child, and it has taken a lot of time to do so. Also, many of the tests require professional development to get reliable and valid results.