Considering Text Complexity

 While there is a time and place for standardized testing, a feasible alternative is the content area reading inventory (CARI). A successful CARI measures the performance on the task itself (Vacca, et al., 2021), and gives the teacher insights how students read course materials. It seeks information about basic reading tasks and gives the teacher the information needed to adjust instruction to be able to meet student needs (Vacca, et al., 2021). 

Implementation 

Implementation of the CARI was fairly straightforward. Working alongside an English II teacher in my district, I was able to collect data for the text "Ms. Sue, Alive and Liberated: An Overview of the Equal Rights Amendment" . The CARI was administered to 25 students.

Steps of Implementation: 

• The teacher introduced the CARI and made students aware of its purpose.
• Students were tasked with reading the article "Ms. Sue, Alive and Liberated: An Overview of the Equal Rights Amendment." A stopwatch was located on the board and students were given explicit instructions to record their time as they finished reading. 
• Students were given the questions and were able to return to the passage. In this regards, the CARI was considered and open-book evaluation. 
• Upon completion of the CARI, small group conferences were held to go through the results of the CARI.  

Results

   

As you can see, most students had similar fluency, with an average time around 5 minutes. There were some outliers, which generally impacted student learning when it came to the amount of points students earned. Students scored overall better on the open ended questions than the True or False statements, when their ability to provide text evidence was available. Additionally, question 1 and 3 had the lowest outcome.

Now What?

Data from section 1 (open ended question about ERA knowledge) can be used to further plan units based on the Equal Rights Act. By assessing whether or not students had enough knowledge after reading, it'll give a starting point on where to go with the unit. 

Student fluency that showed the lowest, should be focused upon. It is obvious from the data, that one particular student had trouble reading the passage and comprehending the data. Otherwise, most students had comparable fluency, which sets a standard for the classroom. I would continue to work with the student that struggled to increase reading fluency--this could be done in a private tutoring session to not bring attention to the student.

This data could also drive tutorial grouping--those that had the lowest amount of points would be students that I would want to see for extended instruction. Others who scored in 7-8 point range would need enrichment in the classroom, or an alternative text to keep them challenged. 

This text is also available in lower level lexiles--It would be interesting to go back and have the lower performing students read and answer questions at the lower lexile to determine if they are struggling with comprehension or text complexity.