Originally published in TEACH Magazine, May/June 2017 Issue
“Mr. Morrison, I want to take a reading test today. I know I’m going to get a green. Let’s go!”
These words still catch me off guard. It’s not that I don’t believe my student (we’ll call him Elias). In fact, I know he is going to get a “green”—the colour code I use when students pass a reading test. What shocks me is that he wants to take a reading test at all.
At the beginning of the year, Elias—my most challenging student—either flat out refused to take the test or did so with great hesitation and protest. In fact, none of my students were particularly thrilled.
I teach 7th and 8th grade students who receive special education services and come to my self-contained classroom for reading instead of the general education classroom. My students are below-grade-level readers, but they try and they’re frustrated. Giving these tests allows me to gauge their reading skills and monitor the progress they are making throughout the year.
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As a first-year teacher, I’m still figuring out where the copy machine is, what time third lunch begins, and what works best for my students. One thing I quickly discovered, however, is that sharing the results of my personal tracking system with the students has completely changed their engagement and motivation levels. It also has resulted in significant improvement in their reading fluency.
At the beginning of the year, I used a combination of my students’ standardized test scores, informal reading tests, and observations to formulate a general assessment of their individual reading levels. From there, I devised my own reading tests and started administering them every two weeks.
I tracked reading accuracy, measured the percentage of total words read correctly, their pace, and words read per minute. I inputted the data into a spreadsheet and used a colour coding system to keep track of students who were ready to move on to the next level. If a student read the text with 95% accuracy or greater, they were coded green and were ready to move on. If a student read with less than 90% accuracy, they were coded red and I knew to lower the level.
One day after conducting one of my reading tests, I decided to share the results with a student to show her the progress she had made. This then grew into showing all my students their data. They were very curious and were hooked by the idea of beating their current reading level.
When students take their reading tests, I follow along and make subtle tick marks on a scrap of paper every time they read a word incorrectly. I thought I was being covert, but one student in particular, let’s call her Jennifer, quickly clued in. Whenever she noticed a tick mark, she playfully argued with me like an NBA player arguing with a referee over a bad call.
When students encounter a difficult word, I provide the correct pronunciation so we can move on. When Jennifer senses this is about to happen, she loudly lets me know that she doesn’t need any help. “I’ve got this Mr. Morrison!”
When I first created the reading test, it was supposed to simply track student progress. But after I shared the results, I think I sparked the students’ inner competitiveness. No longer are they satisfied with simply getting through the test—they want to improve.
Students are not competing with one another. Rather, they are competing with themselves. Everyone has their own individual level and everyone can win by surpassing their previous level. Many students will actively root for their classmates to succeed. They are working together and competing at the same time.
As a former guidance counselor, I think student self-esteem is very important. My students know their reading fluency is behind that of their peers. I like to think that passing levels and seeing their tangible growth right in front of their eyes gives them pride, a sense of accomplishment, and a little more self-esteem. Either way, seeing their hands fly up in the air when I ask who wants to take a reading test next is a great sight to see.
Throughout the year, my students have continually made impressive strides as readers. Some students pass a level every reading test while some need to spend a little extra time. Elias, who still gives me a run for my money but far less often, has improved so much that I had to frantically search for more challenging reading passages.
Teaching special education students can be challenging at times, but it’s absolutely worth it. Many of my students have experienced struggles in the general education classrooms either with behavior, academics, or both. It’s rewarding to see them succeed and wonderful to see their joy when achieving their goals.
I have a feeling that sharing this data with my students is only the tip of the iceberg. I’ve started asking them to calculate their own reading accuracy and input the data directly into my spreadsheet as a way of increasing ownership of their own development. What other ways can we, as teachers, help students grow and learn?
Kirby Morrison is a 7th and 8th grade Special Education Teacher at Chavez Elementary School in the Chicago Public Schools district.
