Does anyone else feel like all we do is assess? Don't get me wrong I LOVE data! I love knowing exactly where my kiddos are functioning so that I can make sure I am meeting everyone's needs. And I might be a little obsessed with making charts of the data so I can see how my whole class is doing on a particular skill in just one glance. But some days and weeks I feel like I spend soooo much time assessing just for the sake of having data for meetings. Let me give you the list of assessments we just had to give, PALS which is mandated by our state (it is a test of early reading skills), STAR Early Literacy which is a universal screener of early literacy skills, sight word list, Concepts of Print assessment, and Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark assessment. That list doesn't include the assessments that we give as a grade level for report cards either! I am hoping for some changes for next year because is it just me or does that seem like a lot of tests to assess our students literacy skills! (and you will notice no tests for math, yup that's right NONE)
But until it changes I had to find a way to keep all of that data, paperwork and information organized! Like a lot of teachers I keep my data in a binder. Click the picture to get your FREE copy of the cute cover. Having a cute cover makes me smile when I pull the binder out! (graphics by mycutegraphics.com and the3amteacher.blogspot.com)
Inside the binder I have a plastic divider with pockets for each student. In the front pocket I keep their latest running record from the Fountas and Pinnell testing.
When you flip the pocket over on the other side I keep the papers that we copy and include in the report card. I keep them in the pocket so they are easy to pull out and copy each quarter. (Sorry about the picture I couldn't get it to turn!)
Next hole punched and in the binder is an overview sheet that I keep on each student. The sheet lists most of the basic literacy skills and all of the Common Core Math Standards. This allows me to see the overall picture of each student at a glance. Every time I update information on the sheet I use a different colored pen or pencil and write the date with that same color on the date line so I can keep track of when they gained new skills or when I assessed that skill.
If you would like a copy of my individual student sheet just click on the picture below to get your FREE copy. I would be happy to modify it for you, just let me know. You can email me at clearlykindergarten@gmail.com
In the front cover of my binder I keep all of those charts that allow me to see how the class as a whole is doing clipped together. I have one for letter sounds, letter recognition, sight words, number recognition, and lots of other skills. So I might pull it out as we are reviewing the sight word said to see who still needs work on reading that word and I can quickly pull them together as a group. (Again sorry about the pic. Arghh!)
Hope this helps you organize some of your student assessment information!
LOVE the binder. It looks so neat and organized (and not to mention - adorable). Doesn't it feel so good to have everything put together? That's how I felt about setting up my sub binder this year. Updating it was on my to-do list for MONTHS and I finally got it pulled together. It makes me ridiculously happy.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you thank you for sharing the assessment sheet. I will be using it with my kids and it saved me tons of time! You're the best :)