PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS >  BROWSE

Technology Helps Teachers Assess Student Progress

November 3, 2004
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) is integrating new technology and assessments into the classroom to support the work of teachers in diagnosing and guiding students' academic progress. The new technology initiative is called the Teacher Centered Model (TCM).

The most visible element of the initiative is a handheld device currently being used by elementary-level teachers in selected schools to assess student reading using software called “mCLASS: Reading.” The device allows teachers to record and review student performance assessment data within seconds, right in the classroom. These “running records” of a student's reading skills enable teachers to assess specific strengths and weaknesses in an individual child's reading performance on an ongoing basis.

Teachers who participated in pilot studies of the devices report that record keeping and analysis that used to require hours every week now are done in a matter of minutes. For example, it used to take more than 2 hours each week for an individual teacher to calculate, graph, and target the areas of weakness in reading performance for a class of fifteen students.~ That work is now done instantly by computer, freeing up those hours for the teacher to plan instructional strategies. The instant feedback also allows teachers to tailor instruction to individual needs of students more quickly and more effectively, an approach of particular importance in responding to the federal No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, the computer prints out a message to parents, based on specific data from the assessment, that gives suggestions on how they can assist their child in improving reading skills.

In addition to mCLASS: Reading, other elements of the TCM include several new formative reading assessments that will be administered electronically. The new TCM includes four key elements:

· "mCLASS: Reading" for all students in kindergarten through Grade 2, in which teachers use handheld devices to implement a range of assessments, including running records.

· "Measures of Academic Progress-Reading (MAP-R),” for all students in Grades 3-5, in which a computer-adaptive test measures reading proficiency.

· "mCLASS: DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills)," for struggling readers in Grades 2 and 3 in selected schools, in which teachers also use handheld devices to record and review a timed assessment.

· "Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT)," currently a paper/pencil assessment for struggling readers in Grades 3-5, which will be replaced by a computerized version.

Last spring, mCLASS: Reading and mCLASS: DIBELS were field tested in eight elementary schools: Broad Acres, Rolling Terrace, Pine Crest, Montgomery Knolls, Viers Mill, Maryvale, Washington Grove, and Clopper Mill.

This month, all 125 MCPS elementary schools are scheduled to administer MAP-R to Grade 3-5 students and repeat it in May 2005. The SDRT assessment for struggling readers in Grades 3-5 was administered in September and early October, and the assessments will be repeated in April 2005. By next spring, 60 elementary schools will use handheld devices to administer and collect assessment data on running records (mCLASS: Reading) and selected schools will use DIBELS. By the end of 2005-2006, the remaining elementary schools will be using the handheld devices to administer and collect running records assessments.

<<Back to browse