In any ongoing endeavor, frequent analysis of experiences and measurement of progress optimize results. In a reading tutoring program, assessment of a student's progress renews or redirects the focus of the tutor and coordinator by spotlighting what is working and what is not. Without assessment, excellent practices may not be emphasized and ineffective techniques may be perpetuated. Assessment reveals the small course changes that can help a tutor stay on track and attain the ultimate goal: the reading child.
Most of the 61 America Reads programs assess the impact of their tutoring efforts with a combination of objective and subjective techniques. Some assessment tools are informal and flexible enough to be used by tutors; others require a trained educator to administer and interpret.
Although subjective assessment tools may not give measurable results, they do give tutors, teachers, and parents valuable insights into a child's progress. America Reads programs use: home reading logs; student self-assessments; tutor/student reader attitude surveys; tutoring impact and progress reports that detail the time the tutor spent with the child; and goals and plan logs. The Reading Team (Morrow & Walker, 1997) suggests that a tutor maintain a diary of each tutoring session, a record of the books the child has read, weekly samples of the child's writing, a record of the child's successes, and an audiotape of the child's oral reading. Delaware Reads tutors are required to audiotape at least one tutoring session; program managers analyze the tapes to better understand undergraduates' tutoring abilities.
Less rigorous than formal evaluation, but no less heartening, is anecdotal evidence of tutoring's benefits: children who become more attentive; who learn to follow directions; who begin to volunteer for tasks in the classroom and school activities; and who choose to read.
In many programs, teachers report progress not only in classroom ability but also in attitudes about learning. Students are sometimes even reluctant to leave their tutoring sessions. The University Park Tutoring Program in Worcester, Massachusetts, reports, "Students have told their tutors that they like school better now that they know how to read." Such comments give tutors a lift: They know that they're making a difference.
At the time this report was written, most of these 61 programs had not yet had sufficient time to assess the progress of their tutored students with objective measures; however, many do have assessment plans in place. Columbus Reads in Ohio uses a structure of formal and informal assessment using: grade-level assessments by teachers and onsite instructors; sight word lists; reading aloud and charting unknown or difficult words; and journal and summary assessments written by tutors. Columbus Reads also uses software designed to evaluate students' reading grade level and progress. The program preassesses students in the first week of tutoring for a benchmark, and post-tests at the end of each 10-week period.
Book Buddies in the Bronx uses a three-pronged approach to assess tutors and students. First, the tutor-training coordinator observes each tutor at least one hour per week, with an immediate debriefing. Second, the coordinator assesses tutors twice monthly using a checklist for adherence to the lesson plan. Third, children are tested monthly for alphabet and sound knowledge. If a child's reading skills do not improve, the tutor is given more support and the coordinator gets involved, modeling tutoring techniques when necessary.
Some programs measure the progress of tutored students against a control group. At project's end, Wisconsin Reads in Madison will use a language arts assessment tool developed by school district reading specialists and the University of Wisconsin College of Education. Wisconsin Reads will also compare results for children who are tutored once a week with results for those tutored twice a week. And to assess the impact of the tutor-student relationship, the program will compare the performance of children who meet with the same tutor each week with the performance of those who meet with several different tutors.
Other objective measurement programs use include standardized test data to inform a tutor's instructional lesson planning; a pre- and post-tutoring spelling inventory; tools to assess oral reading performance; a skills checklist; a record of time spent tutoring; and a record of skills addressed and skills acquired.
End of story.
