Assignment 2: Multimodal report

This report will investigate three English assessments currently implemented within Australian Primary schools that assist students to grow and develop in their Literacy learning. NAPLAN, self-assessment and Fountas and Pinnell will be closely analysed, identified, compared and evaluated, demonstrating an understanding and purpose of each assessment. This report will critically evaluate the benefits and limitations of the selected assessments and how they can be reported to parents, teachers, and students to best support with students reading and writing skills. Combining the information with various images, videos and texts. The selected assessment and reporting will thoroughly align with three content descriptors within the Australian Curriculum demonstrating an awareness of the English concepts within the upper primary school years. The Conclusion to restate the main argument.

Assessment plays an important role in Australian primary schools, as it supports teachers to monitor and measure the development of young Australians, emphasising the importance of assessing the development and growth of their learning and understanding. National Assessment Program-Literacy and Numeracy [NAPLAN], provides teachers with useful information about the level of understanding students have for decoding and understanding the writing component in the test. NAPLAN allows teachers to measure student’s reading and writing strengths and needs (Winch, 2014). Self-Assessment is a personal development involving the students to evaluate their own strengths, achievements, and areas needing improvement (Desjarlais & Smith, 2016). Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Systems are an accurate tool that identifies the independent reading level of all students (Heinemann, 2019). Reporting is the method used to communicate knowledge gained from the assessments used to measure the students learning. The purpose of reporting is to provide important data about the student’s progress and share this information with students, parents, and teachers (Blackwood Primary School, 2016). Interviews are a great form of reporting, as teachers can update parents on the student’s progression throughout the year (State Government of Victoria Australia, 2018). Student-led conferences are a form of reflection, giving students the opportunity to share their progression and growth as a learner with their teacher. This form of reporting provides students with a voice in the discussion. A form of reporting for Fountas and Pinnell is a reading conference between a teacher and student. The focus of this discussion is based on the text selected for the student and sourcing their ‘just right’ book (State Government of Victoria Australia, 2018). This multimodal report is divided into four main sections. The introduction, a finding section which will cover, the three assessments, the content descriptor, the benefits and implications, the reporting, and evidence through images, texts and videos, a compare and contract section critically analyzing the similarities and differences in each assessment and finally a conclusion bringing all the information together.

Assessments are an essential part of the teaching and learning process, as it allows teachers to gather and identify evidence of student’s development and growth through various techniques, analysing their achievements in relation to the expected outcomes and standards aligned to the Australian Curriculum (Winch, 2014).

The National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment designed for students in year level 3, 5, 7 and 9. This test focuses on essential skills students will use through their school and life such as reading, writing, and spelling (National Assessment Program, acara, 2018).

Content descriptor - Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing text structures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)

The Australian Curriculum: English requires students to be introduced to various forms of writing, the three main text types are imaginative, informative and persuasive writing. The NAPLAN currently test on a student’s ability to write a narrative and persuasive text. Students are required to write their opinion and implement their personal knowledge and experience when responding to test topics. The writing task targets the student in years 3 to 9 expected capability (National Assessment Program, acara, 2018).

The most important purpose of reporting is the support it offers towards students learning. It provides an opportunity for teachers to discuss with students and parents about their progression and achievement and identifying areas for further development. NAPLAN results are provided to schools and parents, placing the students within bands of achievement. This information allows parents and teachers to discuss the progression and development of the individual student (Winch, 2014). A great reporting method is data triangulation. The teacher will collect three data points to interpret and cross-identify educational decision making to enhance and support students learning. The data collected will be classroom-based data from teacher’s observations of student’s classwork, NAPLAN and formative assessment (NWEA, 2018). Teachers compare the data from their sources to measure individual performances and identify learning needs. This information is shared during parent-teacher interviews. This provides many opportunities to develop strong communication and build a respectful relationship. The involvement of a parent will engage and influence students to achieve and excel in their learning at home and school (Australian Council for Educational Research, 2019).

Image 1 (Winch, 2014).

Image 2 (National Assessment Program, acara, 2018).

Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment was created to determine student’s independent and supported reading levels. Teachers will observe students reading ability and behavior one-on-one. The teacher and student will engage in comprehension conversations and discussions that go further than retelling the story the student read and make connections to the book and assessment (Heinemann, 2019).

Content Descriptor - Understand how to use phonic knowledge to read and write multisyllabic words with more complex letter combinations, including a variety of vowel sounds and known prefixes and suffixes (ACELA1828) (ACARA, 2017).

The Australian Curriculum: English requires students to improve their reading fluency and reading comprehension. Students will develop knowledge and understanding about patterns and connections that they learn through communicating effectively through coherent, well-structured sentences and texts. They gain a consistent way of understanding and talking about language, so they can reflect on their own, reading, speaking and writing and discuss these productively with others and a teacher (ACARA, 2018).

A form of reporting that is best suited for Fountas and Pinnell is reading conference. This is when a discussion occurs between a teacher and a student, focusing on the principles of dialogic teaching. The students independently select their text aligning to their ‘just right’ book, which is tailored to their learning needs and reading interests. Reading conference offers students with the opportunity to share their thoughts about what they have read, set future goals for their reading and receive feedback from the teacher to assist and improve their reading skills. Reading conference is an effective and individualised strategy that will focus on a specific aspect of reading that will benefit each student such as phonics and fluency.

(Illuminate Education, 2018)

Fountas and Pinnell Assessment in Palliser Regional Schools (2014)

Self-assessment involves students in evaluating and analysing their own work and learning progress. They will identify their own skill gaps, set goals, revise and edit their work, track their own progress and communicate and evaluate with the teacher. This form of assessment supports students to stay engaged and motivated in their learning and encourage them to achieve well in their studies (Stanford University, 2018).

Content descriptor - Re-read and edit students’ own and others’ work using agreed criteria and explaining editing choices (ACELY1715)

The Australian Curriculum has achievement standards that are important for teachers to focus on their planning and preparing for learning activities. In each class, there are students with different learning needs and abilities and teachers have a range of resources to support their prior achievements (below, at or above) their year level expectations (ACARA, 2018). The Australian Curriculum requires ongoing formative assessment within classrooms for teachers to monitor learning and provide feedback.

Teachers will implement assessment tools to encourage students to reflect on their own learning experience. Student-led conferences provide students with the opportunity to present their own learning to their teacher and parents/carers. They will reflect on what they have been able to achieve and identify during the period. The students will show and explain what they have learned using evidence such as a portfolio (Educations Service Australia, 2018).

Teacher engages students in self-assessment - Example 1, (2016)

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In summary, assessments are designed for teachers to implement within the classroom setting, to improve and develop the learning for all Australian students. The NAPLAN was designed to measure students understanding in their literacy and numeracy skills. Self-assessment allows students to create learning goals to focus on their growth and development, encouraging them to self-assess and analyse their status in their learning. Fountas and Pinnell was implemented in the classroom setting to focus and support students with their reading fluency and skills. This source of assessment allows the teacher to capture the progress of each student throughout the year. Implementing assessments within the classroom provides a structure, aim and outcome for each individual student. Assessments will continue to develop and enhance making learning exciting and fun for children.