Now that the school year is coming to a close, both teachers and students may wonder how AceReader’s Assessment tests can help determine the amount students have improved in their reading fluency skills over the past academic semester or year, as well as how they demonstrate the program’s effectiveness for reading instruction.
When working through the Course Mode and using the collection of pre-set activities grouped together for each practice session, the first Assessment test always appears at the beginning of the Course itself (teachers primarily use the General Test Set, although any of the other themed Test Sets may be used). The Assessment takes one Reading Comprehension Test each from Levels 01, 03, and 05, averaging the scores to give a single, baseline number in both speed and comprehension. The results are not a case of pass or fail, merely an indication of where each student starts with the program. Typically the next Assessment – also taken from Levels 01, 03, and 05 – is given once the student has completed all the activities in the Course, although we encourage students to take additional Assessment tests using the Menu Mode during the semester as a way of measuring their ongoing progress. Because each Assessment uses Tests from the same levels as the beginning Tests, the results can be compared on equal footing, and they demonstrate a true representation of progress.
The nature of reading is such that we don’t expect to see a straight line heading in an upward direction in the results. Instead, what we want to see is a general trend upward in both speed and comprehension. This indicates that the student has learned to read at a faster pace while maintaining or increasing their comprehension level. Each Assessment serves as a new baseline for the student, and the difficulty levels of the next set of Drills and Games will be based on the results achieved.
Used in conjunction with other classroom reading strategies, the AceReader Assessment tests can help determine how quickly and effectively a student is able to master the different reading techniques.
Not yet on AceReader but want to know how you might do on an Assessment test? Go to www.freereadingtest.com and see for yourself. You can also find out more information about the Educational, Family, and Individual versions of AceReader at www.acereader.com.
