Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System

EVALUATION REPORT 2

Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System

Prepared by Kimberly A. Sharp

Prepared for Yvonne Frey and Ivy Creek Elementary School

November 1, 2010

Executive Summary

Background Information

Ivy Creek Elementary School is a seven year old school located in Buford, Georgia. It is comprised of 886 students in grades PreK-Fifth Grade with the following demographics: 58% Caucasian, 20% Hispanic, 10% African – American, 8% Asian and 4% Multi-Racial. The majority of students come from families with an average socioeconomic status.

The school was recently invited to pilot the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System largely as a result of the efforts of the reading coach at Ivy Creek Elementary School. The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program is designed to measure student’s reading levels with the use of benchmark books. The information gained from a personalized assessment session with each student provides the teacher with valuable insight into the reading ability of the student and the concepts that need to be addressed during reading instruction (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008.)

Purpose

The administrative staff at Ivy Creek Elementary School requested that this program be evaluated to determine the impact of the assessment system on reading instruction and student achievement in reading. This assessment system is closely aligned with the district’s views of reading instruction. The Language Arts Department feels confident that the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program meets the needs of reading teachers.

Now that this formative evaluation project is complete, the leaders at Ivy Creek Elementary School can examine how the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System is impacting classroom teachers and their reading instruction. Additional professional learning opportunities will be offered to teachers based on the needs outlined in this evaluation.

Evaluation Questions

·  What impact do professional learning sessions have on teachers as they implement the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System?

·  How does the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System impact reading instruction?

·  How does the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System compare to the assessment program used last year?

·  Should the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System be adopted for use at Ivy Creek Elementary School next year?

Methods

All 37 certified staff members who administer the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System at Ivy Creek Elementary were asked to participate in this study. Qualitative data was gathered from open-ended and closed-ended questions in surveys (Appendix A) and one member from each grade level was interviewed using the interview guide approach (Appendix B.) Informal student assessment data was used to determine if students appear to be progressing in the area of reading achievement. Because the formal assessment was not administered before the end of this project, the evaluator examined student work and relied on teacher observation to determine if students are showing signs of achievement.

Key Findings

The results of the survey indicated that teachers were pleased overall with the training they received and that the initial professional development session during pre-planning was the most helpful. Several teachers indicated that they especially appreciated watching the video of an expert conducting an actual assessment and comparing the expert results with their own. All of the teachers interviewed expressed a desire to spend more time with the supplemental materials in the kit.

According to the survey, teachers found that the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program was implemented smoothly. In each of the subsequent interviews, teachers shared that the results of their assessments were extremely accurate. They were pleased with the program in that it has enabled them to form solid reading groups and paint a truer picture of each student’s reading ability. Notably, they described that the assessment period was originally scheduled to last for two weeks, but it actually took four weeks to complete. Teachers also explained that they believed this process would be faster next year because all of the students who were tested this year would begin with a consistent starting point.

One of the reasons the assessments took so long was a result of the inaccuracies with the Word Lists. This was a significant source of frustration for many teachers. However, the teachers did like the recording forms as a communication tool to use during parent-teacher conferences. They especially found that having copies of the recording forms and assessments available in the teacher workrooms was helpful for logistical reasons.

The majority of teachers found that they liked the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program as much as or more than programs they have used in the past. They cited the accuracy of the results and the amount of information gathered for each student as a benefit. They also liked the fact that the assessment books were shorter with more complex text.

The survey showed that teachers like this program enough to agree with adopting the program at Ivy Creek and within Gwinnett County. There were no noticeable differences in the responses of teachers when cross-referenced by age, teaching experience and degree.

Recommendations

Training and Professional Development

Professional development instructors should take into consideration the meeting schedule as well as the number of days available to prepare for the beginning of school. Training should be adjusted to account for experiential differences by allowing teachers to attend a beginning, intermediate or advanced session based on their needs. When possible, instructors should use an actual assessment as a model for teachers attending training.

Future professional learning sessions should be focused on the contents of the assessment kits and the use of the supplemental materials provided by the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program. It would be appropriate to offer a variety of scheduled sessions (i.e. before or after school, summer, etc.) in an effort to accommodate everyone.

Implementation and Reading Instruction

Additional professional learning on how to practically use the error information in reading instruction would be valuable to teachers. In order to overcome the time constraints of teachers trying to assess all students in a timely fashion, perhaps classes could be covered by support staff or substitute teachers for a period of time so that teachers’ schedules were free to conduct assessments during the first two weeks of school. Professional development could also be offered to share practical strategies for conducting assessments throughout the school day.

The issue of mid-term grading is a concern that should also be addressed by grade levels. A common strategy for reporting student progress needs to be developed. Informal assessments revealed that students had improved at least one or two levels since the beginning of the school year. However, it is unclear if this was because of the strategies implemented as a result of the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program, the efforts of the teachers conducting quality reading instruction or a combination of both.

Resource materials that accompany the program need to be adjusted as well. The recording forms and assessments need to be modified so that they are easier to read. It was suggested that these documents be placed on the Share Drive for all teachers to easily access in addition to providing copies in the teacher workrooms.

Finally, Ivy Creek should invest in three more kits to share with intermediate grade levels. This will eliminate the need for sharing kits amongst grade levels during the limited time available for assessments to be completed.

Comparison to Other Programs

While teachers liked the variety of texts offered by this program, they would like to have several options available so that students are looking at a new text for each of the upcoming assessments. This may be beyond the control of the local school or county officials, but it is a suggestion worth offering to the company producing the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program materials.

Adoption for Ivy Creek and Gwinnett

Overall, teachers recommended that the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program be adopted by Ivy Creek Elementary and by Gwinnett County. There was some confusion about this portion of the survey that will need to be addressed with teachers during the presentation of the findings of this evaluation report. I believe that the confusion was due to the teachers’ familiarity with the work of Fountas & Pinnell. However, contrary to the opinion of some, Ivy Creek had not utilized the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program in the past.

Conclusion

The key findings of this evaluation report on the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program were overwhelmingly positive. Teachers at Ivy Creek Elementary School indicated that they were pleased with the professional development sessions, the quality of the materials, the impact the program had on reading instruction and student achievement. Generally, they felt that this assessment program was as good as or better than programs they had previously used and they recommended that the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program be adopted for continued use at Ivy Creek Elementary School and within Gwinnett County. While the initial indications are very positive, by following the recommendations mentioned above, the school has an opportunity to make the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program even more beneficial to teachers.

Based on the findings in this report, I believe that the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program has the potential for improving reading instruction and student achievement at Ivy Creek Elementary. Professional development will be more focused on the specific needs of teachers now that the general instruction is complete. As teachers grow more comfortable with utilizing the program, I believe they will become more efficient in conducting their assessments and they will begin to apply what they learn about student errors to their reading instruction. Ultimately, both the students and teachers will benefit from the implementation of this program.

Evaluation Report: Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System

Introduction

Background Information

Ivy Creek Elementary School is located in northeastern Gwinnett County in Buford, Georgia. Founded in 2003, the school is comprised of 886 students in grades PreK-Fifth Grade. At a recent faculty meeting, the principal of Ivy Creek, Yvonne Frey, shared statistics about the students attending the school. Demographically, the student population is 58% Caucasian, 20% Hispanic, 10% African – American, 8% Asian and 4% Multi-Racial. Approximately 29% of students receive free or reduced price lunch while the majority of students come from families with average socioeconomic status (Y. Frey, personal communication, May 17, 2010).

Gwinnett County prides itself on becoming a system of world-class schools. As a member of the largest school district in the state of Georgia, Ivy Creek Elementary has enjoyed the support of an active Language Arts Department. The school was recently invited to pilot the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System largely as a result of the efforts of the reading coach at Ivy Creek Elementary School.

The administrative staff at Ivy Creek Elementary School requested that this program be evaluated to determine the impact of the assessment system on reading instruction and student achievement in reading. This evaluation was designed to provide valuable information to the Ivy Creek Elementary School Stakeholders: Principal, Assistant Principals, Reading Coach, Teachers and Staff. In addition, the results of the evaluation are available for review by the county office staff. These data may have an impact on whether the program is recommended to all elementary schools in the county. As the media specialist at Ivy Creek Elementary School and one of the few teachers not directly involved with administering the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System, I conducted an objective evaluation of the program.

Evaluation Program

Fountas and Pinnell have spent more than twenty years establishing a leveling system for educators to use when evaluating students’ reading ability. Teachers are able to determine whether a student is meeting the standards set for each grade level by using leveled books and measuring a student’s reading fluency and comprehension. Levels follow a twenty-six point scale from the easiest level (A) to the most challenging level (Z.) These alphabetical levels correspond with reading ability levels ranging from Kindergarten to 8th Grade (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008.)

The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program is designed to measure student’s reading levels with the use of benchmark books. These leveled books are used during a one-on-one session between the teacher and the student. During these sessions, the student reads the book aloud and discusses the book while the teacher observes and codes the behavior of the reader. This system of coding allows the teacher to identify student errors with regards to fluency and comprehension. The information gained from this personalized assessment session provides the teacher with valuable insight into the reading ability of the student and the concepts that need to be addressed during reading instruction (Fountas & Pinnell, 2008.)

Purpose

The purpose of conducting an evaluation of the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System at Ivy Creek Elementary School was to determine the impact it has on reading instruction and student achievement. The program is designed so that teachers administering the assessment are able to use student errors to guide instruction. As a result, reading instruction is more focused and allows students to progress more rapidly through the stages of reading.

This assessment system is closely aligned with the district’s views of reading instruction. Specifically, the program correlates with the use of guided reading and reading workshops as methods of delivery. In a program study of a reading initiative designed to improve reading achievement, Al Otaiba and Hosp recommended that assessment programs should align with district reading programs (2008.) The Language Arts Department feels confident that the Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Program meets the needs of reading teachers.

Unfortunately, complete student achievement data was unavailable during the time constraints for this project. While there is some indication of student progression in reading, official midterm and year-end assessments will not be administered until January and again in May. Therefore, the focus of this project was on professional learning related to implementing the assessment system and the impact this program is having on teacher instruction.