If teaching is both an art and a science, then assessment constitutes the science that teachers practice in their classrooms. Assessment works alongside the art of creating engaging assignments and crafting dynamic presentations to inform instruction, place students at an appropriate level, and monitor student progress. When using a blended learning approach to instruction made possible through our latest product, Raz-Plus, you will have the assessment tools you need to accomplish your learning objectives.
Placing Students
Before creating personalized learning plans, especially plans that involve both small-group and individual activities, you most likely try to determine the instructional level of each of your students. Doing so helps you to form effective student groupings and determine the needs for one-to-one instruction. You can accomplish this in Raz-Plus by assigning print or digital formats of Benchmark Passages and Benchmark Books, and then evaluating a student’s reading behavior with Running Records, Comprehension Quick Checks, and Retelling Rubrics.
Once you’ve identified students’ reading levels, students can learn and communicate collaboratively within an appropriately challenging and supportive small group setting, while also working independently with print and online books from any one of 29 reading levels.
Monitor Student Progress
Because all students learn at different levels, they also progress at their own unique pace. You can stay up to date with student progress with a variety of digital monitoring tools that complement the on-the-spot evaluations you already do in large group, small group, and one-on-one interactions.
Kids A-Z is an easy to use hub for monitoring student activity and performance on all assignments. This site shows assignment submission dates along with scores to illustrate individual student learning outcomes over time. If students have failed assignments, you receive an immediate alert so you can plan intervention accordingly. When students have mastered the content, you can award the student an online incentive or print a personalized award certificate. Raz-Plus also provides progress monitoring reports for reading level progress and word per minute reading rate.
Data-Informed Reports
Raz-Plus’ assessment options give you the data you need to gauge how well your students are learning content. For example, after students complete online comprehension quizzes with accompanying constructed response items, you can view class-wide and individual reports on student performance. Other reports are available under the “Manage Students” tab found at the top of the Raz-Plus screen. By integrating data review with your lessons and student practice, you can personalize instruction for a range of learning levels.
The seamless union of teacher-led and purposeful practice combined with informative assessment for data-driven decision making are a hallmark of effective teaching in a blended learning framework. Through a combination of your in-class observations, print and digital assessments, and targeted reporting, you get the feedback you need for your students’ academic success.
