What are some informal measures that might be used to assess literacy development? What are the advantages and disadvantages of informal assessments overall? After listing a number of measures, choose one type and consider its particular advantages and disadvantages
What will be an ideal response?
Some informal measures include the following:
1 Retelling (including oral and written types)
2 Think-aloud protocols (including oral and written types)
3 Observation (including both reading and writing)
4 Anecdotal records (hand-written or computerized)
5 Ratings (including checklists, forced-choice and open-ended questionnaires, and interviews)
6 Conferences (including discussions with students)
7 Self-evaluation (including student checklists, questionnaires, exit slips, logs, and journals)
8 Evaluative writing (including holistic scoring and analytic scoring)
9 Portfolios (including reading and writing samples)
Advantages: are often less time-consuming and more practical than formal tests; can be incorporated into daily activities and group sessions; involve both written and oral expression; are free (certain types) from probes or questions, giving insight into language and thought processes; incorporate valuable teacher observations that cannot be obtained elsewhere; engage and reinforce the students; offer insight into a student?s thinking, interests, personal involvement, study habits, and strategies.
Disadvantages: may be biased; must be interpreted subjectively rather than objectively; may lead to conclusions based on only a few informal sessions; discourage shy or hesitant children from performing up to their ability; may omit or abbreviate crucial details if students assume the evaluator is familiar with the material; may neglect to use neutral and consistent language in teacher instructions; can involve laborious scoring; are based on mode of expression and the way students provide information; may neglect to consider how a class did overall when evaluating one student; portfolios, samples, or observations may not be broadly representative of student work; students may be overwhelmed if too many questions or tasks are required.
Student answers will vary regarding the advantages and disadvantages of one specific informal measure.
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