In this class, I provide a comprehensive English language arts assessment for your middle school student referencing professional data and national grade-level norms (United States). I will get back to you within 24 hours of the assessment with the results broken down into percentiles and understandable numbers that will help you make a plan for your child’s unique individual needs. This communication will be found as an attachment in the classroom. 

Over the course of 45 minutes, I will work with your middle school learner using assessments targeting three key areas:

- Reading fluency (number of words read per minute and accuracy)
- Comprehension (understanding grade-level science and social studies passages)
- Writing (ideas generated with correct grammar and punctuation) 

In order to establish a median score, three different assessments in each area will be given. 

For example: 
3 different grade-level fluency passages (each one read-aloud for 1 minute)
3 different grade-level comprehension passages (3 minutes each, timed)
3 writing prompts (1 minute to think and 3 minutes to write)

(Students will be asked to read documents presented and shared on the computer screen. If this is a concern for any reason, please contact me beforehand and I will gladly provide documents to be printed at home.)

The writing assessment will take place via Google Docs or other word processing software convenient to you. Oftentimes, students simply send the writing in the chat. If you would like the student to be assessed with their handwriting, please let me know. I can do this by having the student hold up their writing while I take a screen shot. 

****While Outschool discloses the age of a student, please have your child prepared to tell me their exact grade level for comparison with national norms (5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th grade). 

Fluency: I use ReadWorks grade level passages. For norms, I consult the "National Oral Reading Fluency Norms" from Hasbrouk & Tindal.
Comprehension: I use MAZE passages based on grade level social studies and science content put through a maze passage generator. The national norms come from Jenkins & Jewell.
Writing: Students generate writing samples with a standardized procedure. The norms for correct word sequences come from AIMsweb.

Trained and certified in both special education and talented/gifted education, I know assessments can be stressful for students of all abilities. My goal is to help your learner feel confident and positive about reading and writing. Genuine confidence comes from having a realistic sense of grade-level ability and a plan for what to work on next. To help students feel at ease, short talking breaks and friendly activities will be sprinkled throughout our session.