Task 3 Assessment Commentary

Early Childhood
Task 3: Assessment Commentary
TASK 3: ASSESSMENT COMMENTARY

Respond to the prompts below (no more than 10 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within
the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Commentary pages exceeding the maximum will not be
scored. Attach the assessment you used to evaluate student performance (no more than 5 additional pages) to the end of this
file. If you submit feedback as a video or audio clip and your comments to focus students cannot be clearly heard, attach
transcriptions of your comments (no more than 2 additional pages) to the end of this file. These pages do not count toward
your page total.
1. Analyzing Childrens Learning

a. Identify the specific language and literacy learning objectives for the common
assessment you chose for analysis.
[The language/literacy objective for the common assessment is, students will be able to begin
implementing reading with expression, reading at a steady rate, reading with accuracy, and
reading using proper phrasing while being timed, reading a short passage (as a final,
culminating assessment for the learning segment).
*Note that Focus Child 1 is sometimes referred to as Focus Child A and Focus Child
2 is sometimes referred to as Focus Child B throughout this commentary and the
documents for task 3.]
b. Provide a graphic (table or chart) or narrative that summarizes the class/groups
learning for the common assessment.
[For the common assessment, students read a short passage, while being timed for one minute,
and were assessed on their ability to read words with accuracy, at a steady rate, using proper
phrasing, and with expression, as well as how close they were able to meet the weekly goal of
reading 61 words per minute. When viewing all five students scores, I noticed that the students'
scores ranged from a total score of 7 to 13, with the other three students in this group scoring a
9, 9, and 10. The average of these five students scores is a 9.6.
When analyzing student scores for the "expression" criterion, four students scored in the 1 point
range of "student did not change the sound of his/her voice (read like a robot)", while one
student scored in the 3 point range of "student read changing his/her voice to show feeling or to
sound like the character, most of the time". Next, when viewing student scores for the "rate"
criterion, all students scored a 2, representative of that, "the student read at a steady rate for
part of the time". The third criterion was accuracy, in which three students scored a 2, "student
read most of the words by his/her self", while two students scored a 3, "student read almost
every word correctly by his/her self". The fourth criterion was "phrasing", in which three students
scored a 1, "student did not use proper phrasing or pay attention to punctuation at all; student
read word by word", one student received a 2, "student used proper phrasing and paid attention
to punctuation some of the time; student read a couple words at a time", and one student
received a 3, "Student used proper phrasing and paid attention to punctuation most of the time".
Lastly, in terms of meeting the weekly goal of reading 61 words per minute, three students met
(or exceeded the goal), two students were within ten words of meeting the goal, and one
student was not within ten words of (was below) meeting the goal.]
c. Use the class/group summary you provided in prompt 1b to analyze the patterns of
language and literacy learning for the class/group.
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Early Childhood
[For the common assessment, reading a one minute timed passage fluently (reading at a steady
rate, with accuracy, using proper phrasing, and with expression), I noticed that the students'
scores ranged from a total score of 7 to 13, with the other three students in this group scoring 9,
9, and 10. The average of these scores is a 9.6.
When analyzing student scores for the "expression" criterion, four students scored in the 1 point
range of "student did not change the sound of his/her voice (read like a robot)", while one
student scored in the 3 point range of "student read changing his/her voice to show feeling or to
sound like the character, most of the time". This shows that four of the five students in this
struggling group of readers either did not grasp how to read with expression or that they need
more practice implementing this component of fluency when reading; I believe the latter is more
likelythat they need more practice in order to develop this skill.
Next, when analyzing student scores for the "rate" criterion, all students scored a 2,
representative of that "the student read at a steady rate for part of the time". This indicates that
students recognize what it means to read at a steady rate, however need more practice with this
skill as well.
The third criterion was accuracy, in which three students scored a 2, "student read most of the
words by his/her self", while two students scored a 3, "student read almost every word correctly
by his/her self". This indicates that students understand what it means to read words accurately
and are making an effort to do so/attempting to correct their mistakes when they notice that they
have made one.
The fourth criterion was "phrasing", in which three students scored a 1, "Student did not use
proper phrasing or pay attention to punctuation at all; student read word by word", one student
received a 2, "student used proper phrasing and paid attention to punctuation some of the time;
student read a couple words at a time", and one student received a 3, "Student used proper
phrasing and paid attention to punctuation most of the time". This indicates that some students
are beginning to understand this concept of using proper phrasing in order to read fluently, while
others could use more practice.
Lastly, in terms of meeting the weekly goal of reading 61 words per minute, three students met
(or exceeded the goal), two students were within ten words of meeting the goal, and one
student was not within ten words of meeting the goal. When analyzing this criterion along with
the others, this shows that while some students are able to reach the goal, they still received
lower scores for the other fluency criteria. In order to boost scores in terms of "words per
minute", use of expression, reading at a steady rate, reading words accurately, and use of
proper phrasing need to be implemented and further practiced by this group of students.
An overall pattern that I recognized when analyzing this data was that most students tended to
score higher in the categories of rate and accuracy, compared to those of expression and
phrasing. This pattern makes sense, as these students have had fluency practice over many
weeks, which taught them to focus on reading with accuracy and at a steady rate, however the
concepts of reading with expression and reading using proper phrasing were just introduced
to them this week during the learning segment. It makes sense that students scores would be
lower in these categories, as they have not had as much time to develop these skills. ]
d. Analyze the patterns of learning for the 2 focus children. Reference the 3 sources of
evidence you collected for each of the 2 focus children.
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Consider childrens strengths (what children understand and do well), and areas of
learning that need attention (e.g., common errors, confusions, need for greater
challenge).
[For focus child As learning in regards to the common assessment, I noticed that after
completing her rubric (my evaluation criteria for learning experience five, which functioned as
the observation tool) she scored a 3 in the reading with expression category, a 2 in terms of
reading at a steady rate, a 3 in terms of words read accurately, a 3 in terms of using proper
phrasing, and a 2 in terms of meeting the weekly goal of 61 words read per minute, for a total
score of 13/15. When viewing the Work Sample Child A document and the video
evidence/work sample (the work sample video clip functions as the same video clip as the one
titled Focus Child A Evidence of Learning Day 5, since the childs work was orally reading a
passage) of Child As learning, one can tell that this student reads at a fairly steady rate, though
perhaps a bit slow, reads most words accurately, with the exception of playgarden instead of
playground, and reads with great expression/phrasing when reading the dialogue of characters
in the story.
For focus Child Bs learning in regards to the common assessment, I noticed that after
completing his rubric, he scored a 1 in terms of reading with expression, a 2 in terms of reading
at a steady rate, a 2 in terms of reading words accurately, a 1 in terms of reading with proper
phrasing, and a 1 in terms of meeting the weekly goal of reading 61 words per minute, for a total
score of 7/15. When viewing the Work Sample Child B document and the video
evidence/work sample of this childs reading (which can be viewed in the video clip One-on-one
instruction LE Day 5), one can tell that he does not change the expression/intonation of his
voice when reading, that he reads each words individually rather than whole sentences or even
several words all together, and he reads a few words incorrectly/adds in words; he says pet
instead of Pete, Joan and then corrects himself by saying Joe, says to instead of the, and
also begins reading the line one day before finishing the previous line (which all impact his
ability to read fluently when he cannot read with consistent accuracy).]
e. If video or audio evidence of learning or a video or audio work sample occurs in a group
context (e.g., discussion), provide the name of the clip and clearly describe how the
scorer can identify the focus children (e.g., position, physical description) whose work is
portrayed.
[N/A; video evidence of learning occurs in a one-on-one setting]
2. Feedback to Guide Further Learning

Refer to specific evidence of submitted feedback to support your explanations.
a. Identify the format in which you submitted your evidence of feedback for the 2 focus
children. (Delete choices that do not apply.)
Written directly on work samples or in separate documents that were provided to

the focus children
If a video or audio clip of feedback occurs in a group context (e.g., discussion), clearly
describe how the scorer can identify the focus child (e.g., position, physical description)
who is being given feedback.

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[I submitted my written feedback in a separate document, attached to the completed rubric used
for the common assessment, for each focus child. These documents are titled Child 1
feedback and Child 2 feedback.]
b. Explain how the feedback provided to the 2 focus children addresses their individual and
developmental strengths and needs relative to language and literacy development.
[For Focus Child A, I addressed this child's developmental, fluency strengths by writing "I
like the way you used expression and changed the pitch of your voice when you read the
dialogue of a character! You also remembered to use proper phrasing by taking pauses at the
end of sentences." From this student's reading, I recognized her understanding of and ability to
read with expression and use proper phrasing when taking a pause at the end of a sentence.
However, in regards to phrasing, I felt like she could use more practice with taking pauses within
sentences, hence I wrote "Remember to take pauses within sentences too, like when you come
across a comma or the words "and". Next, I recognized that she was able to read most words
correctly by herself, (except for one) and that she was close to meeting the weekly goal of 61
wpm, by writing, "You did a good job of reading almost every word by yourself, and you were
close to meeting the weekly goal of 61 words per minute". When reading this feedback and
viewing the completed rubric, one can gather that this student's fluency strengths include
reading with expression, reading words accurately, and reading with proper phrasing (at the end
of sentences), while her needs/areas to work on include reading at a steady rate and meeting
the weekly goal in terms of words per minute. Within the feedback provided to this student, I
also mentioned that "we will continue to practice these skills of reading at a steady rate, with
accuracy, using proper phrasing, and with expression more next week", to encourage her to
keep practicing these skills, in order to become a fluent reader.
For Focus Child B, I addressed this child's developmental, fluency strengths by writing, "while
reading this passage, you were able to read most of the words by yourself and you were able to
read part of the passage at a steady rate". From this student's reading, I recognized his
beginning understanding of and ability to read at a steady rate as well as to read words
accurately. Next in my written feedback to this student regarding his reading of the passage, I
wrote, "we also want to remember to change our voice as we read, when we see dialogue in
quotation marks in a story, or when we see an exclamation mark or question mark. I knew from
the students responses regarding "what it means to read with expression", that he knew what it
meant, however his reading indicates that he is struggling with/needs more practice learning
how to apply reading with expression. In addition, I mentioned, "also remember to pause when
we come to the end of a sentence", in regards to his inability to read using proper phrasing while
reading (I didn't mention remembering to take pauses within sentences because this student
first needs to master taking pauses when reaching the end of a sentence, while reading). I
concluded the feedback provided to this student by writing the encouraging words of "we will
keep practicing these skills of reading with expression, with accuracy, using proper phrasing,
and at a steady rate more next week", and to, "keep reading".]
c. Describe how you will support each focus child to understand and use this feedback to further
their learning related to learning objectives, either within the learning segment or at a later time.
[I will support Focus Child A to understand and use this feedback to further her fluency,
by reading the feedback to her as well as by modeling examples of how the areas she needs to
improve on would look while reading (especially phrasing and reading at a steady rate in
relation to her needs). In addition, I will continue to provide this child with many opportunities to
practice reading fluently, encouraging the implementation of the areas she needs practice with
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in terms of reading fluently, through which to especially implement these skills. For focus Child
A, I feel that this student understands the vocabulary concepts of reading with expression, at a
steady rate, with accuracy, and using proper phrasing, however could use more practice with
implementing all of these while reading, in order to develop fluency. In particular, she needs
more practice reading at steady rate to meet the weekly reading goals (measured in words per
minute). Also, she could use more practice implementing the use of proper phrasing while she
reads. To address this student's areas of need, I will plan specific fluency practice activities for
this student at a later time, in the context of whole group settings as well as one-on-one settings,
working with the teacher (me).
To address reading at a steady rate, I would provide models of others reading at a
steady rate that the student could listen to/read along with. For example, I would read a passage
aloud and then have the student choral read it along with me/other students in a whole group
setting. Another way to provide this student with a model of reading at a steady rate would be to
have her listen to a tape-recorded reading of a story; she could re-listen to it and whisper read
along with the recording to develop reading at a steady rate. For further practice with
implementing the use of proper phrasing, I would break up short passages using slash marks
(just as I did in the chunking activity, to indicate when to take shorter and longer pauses). I
would have her practice reading the marked version of a passage, and then the same passage
without the marks to develop this skill.
I will support Focus Child B to understand and use this feedback to further his fluency,
by reading the feedback to him as well as by modeling examples of how the areas he needs to
improve on would look while reading (in this students case, all areas of fluencyreading with
expression, at a steady rate, with accuracy, and using proper phrasing in order to meet the
weekly goal of words read per minute). I will continue to provide this child with many
opportunities to practice reading fluently, encouraging the implementation of the areas he needs
practice with in terms of reading fluently. Regarding Focus Child B's understanding of the
fluency vocabulary concepts, I feel that he has a basic understanding of what they mean,
however is having difficulty implementing them while reading. I feel that this may be because
this student is still decoding words one by one while reading (focusing on accuracy), in order to
simply read the words, before thinking about/implementing any of these other components of
fluency.
In general, this student simply needs to keep reading to improve his fluency. As previously
mentioned in task 2, repeated readings are beneficial in improving students' fluency as well as
their confidence in their ability to read fluently. Since this student could use practice
implementing all components of fluency, I would design/choose more activities focusing on how
to read with expression, at a steady rate, with accuracy, and using proper phrasing--similar to
the ones used in this learning segment. In addition, I think it would be beneficial for this student
to do more one-minute timed readings, and read these passages several times, both throughout
the school week as well as at home with a parent/guardian, in which he can practice
implementing all these components of fluency while reading. Through providing this student with
models of fluent reading, giving him opportunities to do repeated readings, and continually
encouraging him to implement these aspects of fluency while reading, I believe he will be able
to improve his fluency in time.]
3. Evidence of Vocabulary Understanding and Use
When responding to the prompt below, use concrete examples from the video clips and/or
childrens work samples as evidence. Evidence from the video clips may focus on one or
more children.
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a. Explain how children were able to use the key vocabulary1 to support their learning of the
content.
For prompt 3a, refer to the evidence of childrens vocabulary use from ONE,
TWO, OR ALL THREE of the following sources:
1. Video clips from Instruction Task 2 and time-stamp references for
evidence of vocabulary use
2. Additional video file named Vocabulary Use of no more than 5
minutes in length and cited vocabulary use (this can be footage of one
or more children). See Assessment Task 3 specifications in the Early
Childhood Evidence Chart for acceptable file types. Submit the video
clip in Assessment Task 3, Part C.
3. Childrens work samples analyzed in Assessment Task 3 and cited
vocabulary use
[In the clip titled, "Vocabulary Use Clip Day 3", the four key fluency vocabulary concepts of
reading at a steady rate, with accuracy, using proper phrasing, and with expression were
reviewed (three were reviewed, and one was introduced--expression) to the students. I
reviewed the vocabulary terms by introducing what each one was, and asking guiding questions
about what they meant. I elicited children's responses by prompting them, asking such things as
for example, "do we want to read fast like a rabbitor slow like a turtle?", to which they all
responded "no!". In another instance I asked, "what did we do when we saw one line in our
passage?", and a student responded, "we took a short pause at the one... and if theres two
lines you take a longer break", which demonstrated this student's understanding of using proper
phrasing while reading a text. Later on in that learning experience, day 3, students were able to
use the key vocabulary reviewed within this video clip, to support their learning of reading
fluently (implementing these aspects of fluency), especially with expressionwhich was the
focus of this particular learning experience.
Additionally, the two focus children displayed their understanding and use of the
vocabulary learned throughout the learning segment, (respectively in Focus Child A Evidence
of Learning Day 5 and in One-on-one instruction LE Day 5which featured focus child B).
In the video clip featuring focus child B, At 00:09 I say to the student, we want to
remember to read, and he finishes the statement by saying, at a steady beat (I corrected
him by saying steady rate). I then ask, what do we do when we see a period?, and he said we
take a little break (which related to the work we did on using proper phrasing). I then asked, do
you remember what we do when we read something in quotation marks, or if theres an
exclamation point or a question mark?, to which he responded, a question mark is (makes
your voice) going up, an exclamation mark is excited. In this way, he was able to reveal his
understanding of the weeks vocabulary terms (the aspects of fluency to me), prior to showing
This vocabulary was identified in Planning Task 1 and refers to developmentally appropriate sounds, words, phrases,
sentences, and paragraphs that children use or create to engage in the learning experience.

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Early Childhood
his ability to implement them when reading the passage. The scored rubric for this students
reading of the passage reflects his ability to implement these aspects of fluency; he could use
additional practice implementing all of the aspects.
Towards the beginning of the video clip featuring focus child A, I asked her, do you
remember some of the things we want to remember when were reading?, to which she replied,
(read) at a steady beat, to which I corrected, at a steady rate. I then asked her, do you
remember what the word accuracy means?, which she struggled with and I assisted her by
saying, get them correct. I then prompted, if we see quotation marks or an exclamation point,
we want to read with, to which she responded exciting or sad, to which I clarified, with
expression. Finally, I asked, when we see periods, what do we want to do?, to which she
replied take a quick long break (which related to using proper phrasing while reading).
Through her responses to my prompted questions, she was able to reveal her understanding of
the weeks vocabulary terms to me, prior to showing her ability to implement them while reading
the passage. The scored rubric for this students reading of the passage reflects her ability to
implement these vocabulary concepts (aspects of fluency); she was able to implement all
aspects, though some better than others, and could use additional practice especially with
implementing reading at a steady rate in order to reach the weekly goal of words read per
minute.]
4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

a. Based on your analysis of childrens learning presented in prompts 1bc, describe next
steps for instruction:
For the class/group

For the 2 focus children and other individuals/groups with specific needs
Consider the active and multimodal nature of childrens learning and the variety of
learners in your class/group who may require different strategies/supports (e.g., children
with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, children at different points in the
developmental continuum, struggling readers, and/or gifted children needing greater
support or challenge).
[In terms of next steps for instruction for the whole group, (of five students who are
struggling readers) they could all use more practice with all components of fluency: reading at a
steady rate, reading with accuracy, reading using proper phrasing, and reading using
expression, especially reading using proper phrasing and with expression--which were new
skills taught in this learning segment that students had not previously learned before. My
immediate plan in the following weeks is to continue providing the students in this small reading
group with opportunities to practice implementing these aspects of fluency into their reading,
while reading and rereading passages. I plan to design/choose activities similar to those done
within this learning segment, focusing on reading with accuracy, at a steady rate, using proper
phrasing, and with expression. I feel that this learning segment provided students with a good
introduction to understanding these vocabulary terms as well as implementing them, however I
feel that students will actually need much more practice (implementing them while reading) in
order to make progress at and eventually master the skill of reading fluently.

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In terms of focus child A's learning, as mentioned in question 2c, I feel that she could
use more practice with reading at a steady rate as well as implementing the use of proper
phrasing as she reads. I mentioned that to address this student's needs, I would provide models
of others reading at a steady rate that the student could listen to/read along with. For example, I
would read a passage aloud and then have the student choral read it along with me/other
students in a whole group setting. Another way to provide this student with a model of reading at
a steady rate would be to have her listen to a tape-recorded reading of a story; she could relisten to it and whisper read along with the recording to develop reading at a steady rate. In
addition, the future fluency activities planned for the whole group of five students would certainly
be beneficial to her, as she could use more opportunities to practice reading fluently overall. For
further practice with implementing the use of proper phrasing, I would break up short passages
using slash marks (just as I did in the chunking activity, to indicate when to take shorter and
longer pauses). I would have her practice reading the marked version of a passage, and then
the same passage without the marks to develop this skill.
In terms of focus child B's learning, as mentioned in question 2c, I feel that in general, he
could simply use more opportunities to read in order to improve his fluency. Since this student
could use practice implementing all components of fluency, I would design/choose more
activities focusing on how to read with expression, at a steady rate, with accuracy, and using
proper phrasing, similar to the ones used in this learning segment. In addition, I think it would be
beneficial for this student to do more one-minute timed readings as well as read these passages
several times, both throughout the school week as well as at home with a parent/guardian,
through which he can practice implementing all of these components of fluency. Through
providing this student with models of fluent reading, giving him opportunities to do repeated
readings, and continually encouraging him to implement these aspects of fluency while reading,
I believe he will be able to improve his fluency in time.]
b. Explain how these next steps follow from your analysis of childrens learning. Support
your explanation with principles from research and/or developmental theory.
[Based on my analysis of childrens learning, I have been able to identify the areas of
fluency in which these students especially need practice implementing (using proper phrasing
and reading with expression), though realize that all five children could use further practice
implementing all aspects of fluency learned throughout this learning segment. Overall, all
children in this group (struggling readers) need to keep reading, and especially do repeated
readings, in order to improve their fluency and boost their confidence in their ability to read
fluently. Fluency research from readingrockets.org supports my thought, saying,
Research over the past two decades has identified repeated reading as the key strategy
for improving students' fluency. Repeated reading has two essential elements: 1) Giving
students the opportunity to read and then re-read the same text, and 2) having students
practice their reading orally with an opportunity to receive corrections and guidance (if
necessary).
Additionally, fluency research from reading rockets mentions that, Usually, having students
read a text four times is sufficient to improve fluency. Furthermore, within NAEYCs position
statement, it is mentioned that students need many opportunities to practice newly acquired
skills. This research confirms my belief that this group of students needs additional practice
with reading text, in order to develop their fluencya key component of literacy.]

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Common Assessment:
Directions given to students: I am going to time you for one minute while you read this
passage. Remember to read fluently: at a steady rate, reading the words accurately, using
proper phrasing, and with expression.
*Marked passages (work samples) for each focus child are titled Focus Child 1 Work Sample
and Focus Child 2 Work Sample respectively.
*Note that Focus Child 1 is sometimes referred to as Focus Child A and Focus Child 2 is
sometimes referred to as Focus Child B

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Task 3: Assessment Commentary

TASK 3: ASSESSMENT COMMENTARY

1. Analyzing Childrens Learning

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

2. Feedback to Guide Further Learning

Written directly on work samples or in separate documents that were provided to

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction

For the class/group

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

Copyright 2015 Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University.

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