Initial+Goal-+Get+to+know+your+student

The initial goal of assessment should be to get to know your student. One may achieve this through a student, parent, and if necessary, teacher survey.
 * Questions should be aimed at gaining insight into a student’s current feelings towards reading, and what may be the cause of such feelings.
 * For example, an important question one may ask is: “Would you consider yourself a good reader, why or why not?” This question, although seemingly simple, can reveal a lot. A student with little knowledge of what makes someone a good reader may say: “I’m not a good reader because I am always one page behind my friends and I hate being the last one to finish.” Whereas a student who truly understands what it means to read and is aware of their difficulties may respond: “I am not a good reader because I do not understand what I am reading. No matter how fast or slow I read I am unable to retell what I just read. The words don’t sink in my brain.”


 * Another important type of question to ask is one that reveals student interest.
 * For example an important question may be: “What activities do you enjoy doing outside of school?” or “What is your favorite book to read and why is it your favorite.”
 * By obtaining information about your student’s interests in reading and outside of school you will be able to make learning more meaningful in the future.
 * For example, if a student explains that they love basketball and that their favorite book was a Michael Jordan biography because they were able to learn what life was like for their hero as a kid, you would want to be sure to include a sports option in later assessments or instruction.
 * As educators, we understand the importance of activating prior knowledge and recalling background knowledge when reading and writing. By surveying student interests we reveal a surefire topic in which our student will have the necessary information in order to be successful.


 * Surveys should also be provided to student’s parents and/or teachers in order to receive an outside perspective into your student’s abilities and struggles.
 * An important question should be aimed at uncovering any learning difficulties that would impact your student’s ability to read.
 * Such difficulties may include diagnosed disabilities, the fact that another language is spoken at home, or any undocumented struggles that a parent or teacher may have noticed.

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