Overview/Setting
This reading component is part of a comprehensive series of ESL assessment tools. The assessments center around the student’s planning of a year-end party for their ESL class, incorporating speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The series is designed for an upper-level ESL class in a high school setting.
At the point when the reading assessment is presented to students, they will have already completed the speaking/listening assessment, and have a good start on the writing assessments. Because events in the series occur chronologically, it is imperative that the reading assessment be the final administered assessment in the series.
On the day of the reading assessment, students will be called one at a time to the teacher’s desk, or a small testing area apart from the rest of the class (who are working on polishing their writing assessments). There, the student will be given the reading prompt, which is a make-believe letter from the special events coordinator at a local hotel. The coordinator is writing in response to a letter of inquiry from the student, which asked if the hotel could host the year-end party. The letter is full of information about securing a banquet room for the party, and does not reject the possibility of having the party.
Students will read the letter once, taking however long they feel is necessary to get the information they need from it. (Reference to dictionaries is acceptable). The letter is then taken away from the student, and the student is presented with an envelope, containing the letter cut into strips by paragraph. The student’s task is to place the parts of the letter in proper order, thereby reconstructing it.
During the "reconstruction" phase, the teacher should closely observe, and either ask for the student’s rationale for placing certain parts of the letter in certain places, or ask a random sample of follow-up questions concerning the content of the letter. The teacher notes the various behaviors demonstrated by the student during and immediately following the reconstruction/questioning period on a rating sheet.
Rationale
This reading assessment completes the series of assessments based on "real-life" situations that may be faced by any of the ESL students in the classroom. This particular assessment asks students to read a piece of correspondence in order to glean information and make decisions based on the information provided. Opportunities are provided to us in written media, both formal and informal; in order to be well-informed and make intelligent decisions, we need to be able to decipher the messages of these writings.
The test is administered to each student independently so that the teacher can gain a more accurate picture of the student’s reading ability independent of external factors. The scenario given the student calls for the student to plan the year-end party in secret, so they should not be seeking input from their peers if they wish to keep the secret! However, even when we do not have help from other people, we still turn to other resources for help in deciphering written text. For this reason, students may use a dictionary or other written resource to aid in their understanding of the letter.
Targeted Learning Objectives (from WA ELRs):
People regularly must rely on their reading skills to interpret information that will determine how certain decisions are made. In order to disseminate more important information from written texts while using time wisely, effective readers use strategies to locate specific information in order to pursue interests or make decisions (4). When doing this, they often read at different speeds. This is done in order to focus on more important information slowly and carefully while scanning over more superfluous data (3). When reading, these people use a variety of strategies comprehend words and ideas, including self-correcting, re-reading, reading-on, and slowing down (1). A strategy for clarification of written text is often reading aloud, and this is also necessary when sharing information with others for a variety of reasons. For this reason, readers also learn to read both orally and silently (2).
There are many options for the teacher when giving this reading assessment. For example, the teacher may choose to ask the student to explain why they chose reconstruct the letter in a certain order after they are done. The teacher may ask the student to verbalize the thought process while reconstructing the letter. The teacher may bypass these two options and simply give follow-up questions following the student’s reconstruction phase. These questions can range from general ideas in the letter, such as "Where do you get clues that Ms. Jones would be willing to help host the party?" to the specific, "How much is one dinner entrée?" "What is not included in the price of dinner?"
The following pages show the letter from the hotel, and a series of questions, both oral and written, to be answered by the student after reading the letter.
Reading a Letter
Today you checked your mail and found a letter (see below) from Linda Jones, the special events coordinator at Sandman Inn. Take a few moments to read the letter thoroughly, then you will be asked some follow-up questions by the teacher.
The Sandman Inn Pat Ng 9876 5th ST NE Somecity, WA 98111 June 3, 1997 Dear Pat: I apologize for the delay in my response to your recent letter concerning arrangements for your group’s year end party. I wanted to make sure that we had a banquet room that would fit with your plans. I am happy to inform you that we have two banquet rooms available on the night of your party, the Ruby Room and Emerald Room. Both would accommodate your group, with room to spare. Both feature sit-down dining, and the Emerald Room has a 20x20 foot parquet floor for dancing. Food and beverage service is available at an additional cost. We feature three different entrees: poached salmon, honey-baked dijon chicken, and roast beef. Each comes with vegetable and choice of potato or our very own home-made dinner fries. Dessert is a choice of either chocolate mousse or lemon torte. Cost per plate is $12.99, beverages and tip not included. The Sandman Inn would be happy to accommodate your group. Additional information you may need is listed below:
I cannot guarantee how long the rooms will be available, but hope that the information I have provided leads to the conclusion that the Sandman Inn can meet your needs. I look forward to serving you and your group. Sincerely, Linda Jones Linda Jones Special Events Coordinator |
Follow-up Questions, "Reading a Letter"
1. Do you feel Ms. Jones is willing to help in planning your party?
2. Where in the letter do you get that impression? Would you please read that part out loud?
3. What are the choices for a dinner entrée?
4. What costs will you need to consider in planning the party?
5. What is NOT included in the price of the dinner entrée?
6. Which room will you choose, if both are available for the party?
7. Based on this response from Ms. Jones, what decisions do you have to make in planning the party?
Observation During Reading
| Above Target: Student tracks with no interruption; no evidence of word-to-word reading; demonstrates use of targeted reading strategies |
On Target: Student tracks with little interruption; little evidence of word-to-word reading; demonstrates use of targeted reading strategies |
Work In Progress: Student tracks with frequent interruption; apparent evidence of word-to-word reading; demonstrates use of targeted reading strategies |
Unacceptable: Student unable to read letter despite repeated attempts OR refuses to read letter |
Oral Reading
| Above Target: Student reads naturally with no hesitation and no evidence of word-by-word reading |
On Target: Student reads with little or some hesitation; evidence of some word-by-word reading |
Work In Progress: Student reads with noticeable discomfort or hesitation; reliance on word-by-word reading |
Unacceptable: Student unable to read selection aloud OR refuses to read |
Follow-up Response
| Above Target: Student recalls information OR uses scanning to locate desired info in timely fashion; uses data in letter to inform upcoming choices – no misinterpretation present |
On Target: Student recalls information OR uses scanning to locate desired info in timely fashion; uses data in letter to inform upcoming choices – little misinterpretation present |
Work In Progress: Student scans document for prolonged period to locate information; uses data in letter to inform upcoming choices yet many decisions are misinformed due to misinterpretation |
Unacceptable: Student unable to locate information OR refuses to perform exercise |