Reading Inventories - Home use!!

They are expensive but you can get some of the tests teachers use (like the Gray Oral Reading Test) from companies such as Pro-Ed (http://www.proedinc.com/ ) . Problem is they sell them as if you were going to test a bunch of kids - and, of course, because to do a standardized test you have to get thousands of students at different grade levels to take the test (so you know whate the “levels” should be), and that costs money.

I would not recommend a test like the GORT for homeschoolers as it is not really very easy to give and score. The Qualitative Reading Inventory is a good one and it is not expensive. I think I ordered mine on Amazon. Something free online would be the DIBELS oral reading fluency measures.

I’m not sure how complex a math assessment you want, but here is an inexpensive option:

http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/detail.asp?topic=T0M&sub=T0M1&title=GPTmath&Type=SCH&CustId=949281095402231450253

The Brigance is another option that would test reading, math, and many other areas in detail:

http://www.curriculumassociates.com/products/detail.asp?topic=T0A&sub=T0A2&title=BrigCIBS&Type=SCH&CustId=949281095402231450253

OH, yes,… the Brigance is a good one - is it standardized though, or criterion referenced?

Wow, thanks for the replies,

I don’t mind using the GORT method as long as it’s easy to use and easy to analyze.

The problem I had with the Reading Inventory is it only tested the reading level, not the skills they were lacking. I need something that will pinpoint their problem and how I can fix it. What do they need to work on to improve their reading and writing. I originally wanted to go to Sylvan or some kind of center where they test their skills but it’s costly for more that 1 child and I wouldn’t want to do that year after year. I do however, liked their idea of how to build study skills and teach them how to reach goals etc… If anyone has any advice on that, let me know.

If I buy my own books, I have more control over how I test them and how I can work at improving their weaknesses. And then I can just work with them at home.

OK, so you’re not needing to get an official “grade level” thing… that’s good.

The GORT isn’t that easy… it’s just what my school had ‘cause I worked with middle & high schoolers.

THe basic principle of the GORT is that you get the student to read passages that get harder and harder and keep track of exactly what mistakes they make. You still have to be able to figure out what’s missing from their mistakes.

If you have her read something to you (have a copy of it yourself so you can mark her mistakes) and record her mistakes, I’d be glad to do some diagnostics.

Well, it would be nice to know what grade level they are reading at, I would also like to pinpoint where they need to improve. I was checking out the other links that were given and the Brigance seemed really good. I just have never seen it in person so it’s hard to know what it’s like just by viewing it online.

Does anyone know about workbooks teaching movtivational skills, organizational skills and study skills?

Thanks :D

I searched online about different assessement tests. The CAT/5 test seemed proficient but I am not sure if I have to pay for the tests and the assessment. I am pretty sure they want you to pay for the assessment as well. I live in Canada so I’m not too familliar with these tests. The Brigance test also came up. Do I have to pay for the assessment as well with that test? Here is the list that it gave me for assessment tests.

Brigance
California Achievement Tests,
California Diagnostic Tests
Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills
Iowa Tests of Basic Skills
Metropolitan Achievement Tests,
Peabody Individual Achievement Test Inc.
Stanford Achievement Tests
Stanford Early Achievement Test
Tests of Achievement and Proficiency
TerraNova
American College Testing .
PLAN (Scholastic Aptitude Test I: Reasoning
Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test

I just want to buy the test and administer it myself and not pay for the testing as well. Does anyone has any info about any of these tests and whether they provide the free assessment.

Thanks :D

Okay, I want to be clear about what you need. Are your children having specific problems with reading that you are trying to diagnose?

Or are you just trying to measure their acheivement levels to be sure they are progressing in all subjects? Those are two different things. Homeschoolers in this country sometimes order a California Achievement test from a testing service to administer at home. They send it in and the scores come back. It is not free, but it is not too expensive either. Some states require yearly acheivement testing, and this just documents the approximate grade levels the child is on.

The best thing I know of for study skills is this:

http://www.curriculumassociates.com/order/newproduct.asp?title=SkillsSS&Type=SCH&CustId=7721402820007182220153

Janis

I want to measure acheivement levels to see how they are doing but I want an analysis, not just “your child is reading at grade 3”. I’ve found a lot of resources with help from this site. Thanks so much everyone :)

I am having no luck at remembering whether any of those tests had a “diagnostic” element. That would be a key word to look for in the description of the test, though.

I do know that when our school was trying to find one, it was *hard.* Unfortunately, the school systems seem to only want “The Number” so most of the tests just give a Magic Grade Level, and don’t tell you what the strenghts and weaknesses were.

We had used one that was about 25 years old, but the grade scores told you a grade level for overall, and also a grade level for literal reading and making inferences and at least one other reading skill. It also told you how well that student did in the comprehension skills at “easy” “medium” and “hard” - so when we had kiddos who had *great* comprehension at easy, but lousy at hard… we could infer that accuracy what was throwing them off.

You might look at the Stanford test (that’s what we ended up getting, but I can’t remember whether it gave diagnostics ‘cause it was my last year there).

The other thing is that when *you* give the test, and it’s just to one person, you can see the individual mistakes and get a better idea of what’s going on.

Of course, you can do this just as well with anything you’re reading with a student… but it’s hard to get a feel for whether that’s what a typical student would be reading and what kinds of questions they’d be expected to answer.