# data[].attributes.body
EKC

# data[].attributes.body
Kylene Beers and Bob Probst

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Forged by Reading Excerpts - Authentic Reading Response

# data[].attributes.headline
Reflective Practice to Empower Self-Adjusters

# data[].attributes.subject
Reflective Practice to Empower Self-Adjusters

# data[].attributes.body
EKC

# data[].attributes.headline
Developing Assessment-Capable Visible Learners, Grades K-12

# data[].attributes.subject
Developing Assessment-Capable Visible Learners, Grades K-12

# data[].attributes.body
Nancy Frey, John Hattie, Douglas Fisher

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introduction. The Foundation: Visible Learning

Chapter 1. Defining Assessment-Capable Visible Learners and the Teachers Who Create Them

Chapter 2. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Know Their Current Level of Understanding

Chapter 3. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Understand Where They're Going and Have the Confidence to Take on the Challenge

Chapter 4. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Select Tools to Guide Their Learning

Chapter 5. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Seek Feedback and Recognize That Errors Are Opportunities to Learn

Chapter 6. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Monitor Progress and Adjust Their Learning

Chapter 7. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Recognize Their Learning and Teach Others

Chapter 8. Mindframes of Schools That Create Assessment-Capable Visible Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Developing Assessment-Capable Visible Learners, Grades K-12

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Introduction. The Foundation: Visible Learning Chapter 1. Defining Assessment-Capable Visible Learners and the Teachers Who Create Them Chapter 2. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Know Their Current Level of Understanding Chapter 3. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners... Understand Where They're Going and Have the Confidence to Take on the Challenge Chapter 4. Assessment-Capable Visible Learners...

# data[].attributes.body
Frey, Hattie, and Fisher (2018)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Four Possible Learning Events - Frey, Hattie, and Fisher (2018)

# data[].attributes.headline
Using Formative Assessment to Enhance Learning, Achievement, and Academic Self-Regulation

# data[].attributes.subject
Using Formative Assessment to Enhance Learning, Achievement, and Academic Self-Regulation

# data[].attributes.body
Heidi L. Andrade and Margaret Heritage

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Table of Contents

List of Figures, Tables, and Boxes

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction to Formative Assessment

Overview

What About Grading?

Three Guiding Questions

Formative Assessment Influences Learning through Feedback

Formative Assessment and Self-Regulated Learning

Classroom Culture and Formative Assessment

Chapter 2: Actionable Principles of Formative Assessment

Overview

Middle School Classroom

Elementary Mathematics Lesson

Diagnostic Items

Self-Regulated Learning, Self-Efficacy, and Motivation

Chapter 3: Clear Learning Goals and Criteria

Overview

Learning Goals Derived From Standards

Learning Goals Derived From Learning Progressions

Performance and Product Criteria

Performance Criteria

Product Criteria

Checklists

Rubrics

Goals, Criteria, and Self-Regulation

Co-Constructing Criteria With Students

Chapter 4: Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning

Overview

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence as Students Work

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Diagnostic Items

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Parallel Tests

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning With Technology

Researcher-Developed Tools

Online Assessment Response Tools

Evidence Quality

Validity in Formative Assessment

Reliability in Formative Assessment

Fairness in Formative Assessment

Using the Evidence

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Themselves: Student Self-Assessment

Collecting and Interpreting Evidence of Learning From Peers

Student Interpretations of Feedback

Chapter 5: Taking Action

Overview

Teachers Taking Action

Continue With the Lesson as Planned

Make Immediate Instructional Adjustments

Modeling

Prompting

Questioning

Telling

Explaining

Directing

Providing Feedback

Make Plans for Subsequent Lessons

Students Taking Action: Assessment Strategies That Prompt Corrections, Rethinking, and Revisions Connected to Learning Goals and Success Criteria

Summing Up and Moving Forward

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using Formative Assessment to Enhance Learning, Achievement, and Academic Self-Regulation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There is convincing evidence that carefully applied classroom assessments can promote student learning and academic self-regulation. These assessments include, but are not limited to, conversations with students, diagnostic test items, and co-created rubrics used to guide feedback for students themselves and their peers.

# data[].attributes.body
Patrick Griffin

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Assessment for Teaching [Griffin, Patrick] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Assessment for Teaching

# data[].attributes.headline
Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

# data[].attributes.subject
Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

# data[].attributes.body
Edited by Dale H. Schunk and Jeffrey A. Greene

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Table of Contents

Contents

1. Historical, Contemporary, and Future Perspectives on Self-Regulated Learning and Performance

Dale H. Schunk and Jeffrey A. Greene

Section I. Basic Domains of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

2. Social Cognitive Theoretical Perspective of Self-Regulation

Ellen L. Usher and Dale H. Schunk

3. Cognition and Metacognition Within Self-Regulated Learning

Philip H. Winne

4. Developmental Trajectories of Skills and Abilities Relevant for Self-Regulation of

Learning and Performance

Rick H. Hoyle and Amy L. Dent

5. Motivation and Affect in Self-Regulated Learning: Does Metacognition Play a Role?

Anastasia Efklides, Bennett L. Schwartz, and Victoria Brown

6. Self-Regulation, Co-Regulation and Shared Regulation in Collaborative Learning Environments

Allyson Hadwin, Sanna Järvelä, and Mariel Miller

Section II. Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance in Context

7. Metacognitive Pedagogies in Mathematics Classrooms: From Kindergarten to College and Beyond

Zemira R. Mevarech, Lieven Verschaffel, and Erik De Corte

8. Self-Regulated Learning in Reading

Keith W. Thiede and Anique B. H. de Bruin

9. Self-Regulation and Writing

Steve Graham, Karen R. Harris, Charles MacArthur, and Tanya Santangelo

10. The Self-Regulation of Learning and Conceptual Change in Science: Research,

Theory, and Educational Applications

Gale M. Sinatra and Gita Taasoobshirazi

11. Using Technology-Rich Environments to Foster Self-Regulated Learning in the Social Studies

Eric G. Poitras and Susanne P. Lajoie

12. Self-Regulated Learning in Music Practice and Performance

Gary E. McPherson, Peter Miksza, and Paul Evans

13. Self-Regulation in Athletes: A Social Cognitive Perspective

Anastasia Kitsantas, Maria Kavussanu, Deborah B. Corbatto, and Pepijn K. C. van de Pol

14. Self-Regulation: An Integral Part of Standards-Based Education

Marie C. White and Maria K. DiBenedetto

15. Teachers as Agents in Promoting Students' SRL and Performance: Applications

for Teachers' Dual-Role Training Program

Bracha Kramarski

Section III. Technology and Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

16. Emerging Classroom Technology: Using Self-Regulation Principles as a Guide for Effective Implementation

Daniel C. Moos

17. Understanding and Reasoning About Real-Time Cognitive, Affective, and

Metacognitive Processes to Foster Self-Regulation With Advanced Learning Technologies

Roger Azevedo, Michelle Taub, and Nicholas V. Mudrick

18. The Role of Self-Regulated Learning in Digital Games

John L. Nietfeld

19. Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Environments

Peter Reimann and Maria Bannert

Section IV. Methodology and Assessment of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

20. Validity and the Use of Self-Report Questionnaires to Assess Self-Regulated Learning

Christopher A. Wolters and Sungjun Won

21. Capturing and Modeling Self-Regulated Learning Using Think-Aloud Protocols

Jeffrey A. Greene, Victor M. Deekens, Dana Z. Copeland, and Seung Yu

22. Assessing Self-Regulated Learning Using Microanalytic Methods

Timothy J. Cleary and Gregory L. Callan

23. Advancing Research and Practice About Self-Regulated Learning: The Promise of In-Depth Case Study Methodologies

Deborah L. Butler and Sylvie C. Cartier

24. Examining the Cyclical, Loosely Sequenced, and Contingent Features of Self-Regulated Learning: Trace Data and Their Analysis

Matthew L. Bernacki

25. Data Mining Methods for Assessing Self-Regulated Learning

Gautam Biswas, Ryan S. Baker, and Luc Paquette

Section V. Individual and Group Differences in Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

26. Calibration of Performance and Academic Delay of Gratification: Individual and Group Differences in Self-Regulation of Learning

Peggy P. Chen and Héfer Bembenutty

27. Academic Help Seeking as a Self-Regulated Learning Strategy: Current Issues, Future Directions

Stuart A. Karabenick and Eleftheria N. Gonida

28. The Three Faces of Epistemic Thinking in Self-Regulated Learning

Krista R. Muis and Cara Singh

29. Advances in Understanding Young Children's Self-Regulation of Learning

Nancy E. Perry, Lynda R. Hutchinson, Nikki Yee, and Elina Määttä

30. Self-Regulation: Implications for Individuals With Special Needs

Linda H. Mason and Robert Reid

31. Culture and Self-Regulation in Educational Contexts

Dennis M. McInerney and Ronnel B. King

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The second edition of the popular Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance responds to and incorporates the wealth of new research that the first edition inspired on the subject. At the same time, it advances meaningful perspectives on the scholarship and history that originally shaped the field.

# data[].attributes.body
Dr. Paul Napper and Dr. Anthony Rao

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introducing The Power of Agency, a science-backed approach to living life on your own terms. Agency is the ability to act as an effective agent for yourself-reflecting, making creative choices, and constructing a meaningful life. Grounded in extensive psychological research, The Power of Agency gives you the tools to help alleviate anxiety, manage competing demands and help you live your version of success.

Renowned psychology experts Paul Napper and Anthony Rao will help you break through your state of overwhelm by showing you how to access your personal agency with seven empowering principles: control stimuli, associate selectively, move, position yourself as a learner, manage your emotions and beliefs, check your intuition, deliberate and then act.

Featuring stories of people who have successfully applied these principles to improve their lives, The Power of Agency will give you the insights and skills to build your confidence, conquer challenges, and live more authentically.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Power of Agency: The 7 Principles to Conquer Obstacles, Make Effective Decisions, and Create a Life on Your Own Terms - Kindle edition by Rao, Anthony . Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets.

# data[].attributes.body
Connect with educators around the world!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

# data[].attributes.headline
Optional: Include your contact information below, so we can keep our global collaboration going! :) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Optional: Include your contact information below, so we can keep our global collaboration going! :) 

# data[].attributes.body
Twitter: @mrs_gilchrist
Blog: tonyagilchrist.com
Email: tonya@erinkentconsulting.com
Website: erinkentconsulting.com

# data[].attributes.headline
Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

# data[].attributes.subject
Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

# data[].attributes.body
Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
embedding formative assessment: practical techniques for k-12 classrooms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms [Dylan Wiliam, Siobhan Leahy] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical Techniques for K-12 Classrooms

# data[].attributes.body
Collaborative Jamboard

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is learning? (Agency & Assessment, June 2021) - Google Jamboard

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The version of the browser you are using is no longer supported. Please upgrade to a supported browser. Dismiss

# data[].attributes.body
Twitter: @knitarow
Email: nita.row@bis.edu.in

# data[].attributes.body
Twitter: @ktofua
Email: ktofua@hotmail.com or kterrell@daiskz.org

# data[].attributes.body
Twitter: @KetakiKTweets
Email: ketaki.kapoors@gmail.com

# data[].attributes.body
minaalamin88@gmail.com
Twitter: @minaalteaches

# data[].attributes.body
Twitter: @teachthenbeach
Email: mrossi@dunecrest.ae

# data[].attributes.body
American School of Madrid Learning Support Coordinator
Email: meredithbosco@asmadrid.es

# data[].attributes.body
Email: joshua.johnson@kis.or.kr

# data[].attributes.body
Email: kanchanhara@gmail.com
Twitter: @kanchanhara

# data[].attributes.body
erin_pade@fis.edu
@Assess4learning
assessment4learning.net

# data[].attributes.body
Email: ula.konczewska@aisdhaka.org or u.konczewska@gmail.com

Twitter: @ula_kon

# data[].attributes.body
I wonder how Workshop teachers can integrate "Assessment for Learning" more frequently during Readers & Writers lessons? (i.e. What if everyone isn't at the same point in their writing process/what they are working on doesn't match with the lesson's teaching point?)

# data[].attributes.body
I feel like I'm teaching to the assessment and not just seeing how the kids are growing in reading. What types of authentic assessments do we do in readers workshop?

# data[].attributes.body
In response to the last post, I use daily conferencing as my way of assessing student growth in reading, but I've found that it is important to have an easy and consistent way of recording information during a conference. This could be a checklist, or a rubric.

# data[].attributes.body
It's true that usually students aren't at the same place during WW units. I still teach the scheduled mini lesson, but I make sure that resources are available that students can refer to, or that I can use during conferencing, to review those skills that students maybe weren't ready for when I taught the mini lesson. These could be a recorded lesson, a video, or a poster. I put a lot of resources in our shared Google Drive folders that students can access during writing time.

# data[].attributes.body
kimberley.wood@imagineschools.org
@mom2punkerdoo

# data[].attributes.body
michael.reid@kaust.edu.sa

@michaelreid89

# data[].attributes.body
aclemente@scollege.cl
amparoclementemartinez@gmail.com

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: It was great going into the definitions of the terms so we're all on the same page. The characteristics of assessment-capable learners was especially helpful.
Wants: I'm sure we're get into this, but I'm all about the practical: how does this look in real units, especially science and social studies units, too, if possible.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: The agency quadrant
Building assessment-capable learners — loved the specific strategies

Wants: Culturally, students in India tend to be dependent on the teacher to make the decisions and help them. That's their expectation and it is fuelled by their parents as well. How might we help wean them off this and become more independent and trusting of their own capability?

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: overview of assessment and four dimensions. Time to reflect on personal practice. Ideas for developing agency

Wants: ideas for sharing progress with community/families, examples of different assessments

# data[].attributes.body
GOTS: The relationship between Agency and metacognition, Prioritizing time for Monitoring learning, The concept that surface learning is important to translate to transfer learning, -Providing learners with the tools to be agentic
WANTS: Developing agency and assessment capability in early years-

# data[].attributes.body
Gots:
-"Aha" of how agency and metacognition go hand in hand.
-How as teachers / facilitators we can support learner agency.

Wants:
Some exemplars of what agency looks like, feels like, sounds like.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: How I can apply today's session to my class next year

Wants: (If possible/relevant) more connections to integrating Agency + Assessment into the meat of a TC unit (so aside from pre/post). Thank you, Tonya!! <3

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: The importance and interplay of surface learning, deep learning, and transfer of learning to concept-driven learning.
Wants: What strategies could we implement in our learning spaces to enhance student vulnerability?

# data[].attributes.body
Got: The agency quadrant, a reminder of the different types of assessment and the building assessment capable learners. That last part was something new for me and I'm excited to delve into this further.

Want:  How to share and use standards and outcomes in a purposeful way with students. Apart from showing them to students how can they also use those themselves as an assessment tool?

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Making it clear for students what the shared expectations are, and what they can do to solve problems independently.
Wants: Still wondering about how we can show students where we are going without overwhelming them at the beginning of a unit

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Nice to have the characteristics of assessment capable learners named.

Wants:

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Getting a better idea of everything that includes agency.
Wants: Be able to see how it would work for me as I won't have a place.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Really loved the list of skills that assessment-capable students have.
Wants: I always appreciate examples from classrooms and teachers that represent the ideas we have discussed in action.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Clear list of characteristics of assessment capable learners

Wants: Tools for teachers to help build these characteristics in their students.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots- Reflection on list of characteristics for assessment capable learners.

Wants- how to foster intrinsic motivation?
What learning experiences allow for students to show transference?

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Teacher clarity is working with students to co-create the expectation, not just communicating the unit expectation

Wants: Want to look at some examples of co-created learning progressions for grade 3 reading and writing units if possible

# data[].attributes.headline
Here's the study I mentioned in response to our group wondering. :) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Here's the study I mentioned in response to our group wondering. :) 

# data[].attributes.headline
Here's the TedTalk Nita lifted up for us when discussing the wondering, too. :) 

# data[].attributes.subject
Here's the TedTalk Nita lifted up for us when discussing the wondering, too. :) 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.

# data[].attributes.body
EKC

# data[].attributes.body
nacosta@cms.edu.do
nancy.a19@gmail.com
@nancya19

# data[].attributes.headline
Examples of co-constructing success criteria

# data[].attributes.subject
Examples of co-constructing success criteria

# data[].attributes.body
Any reading materials, blogs, videos, books to refer to?

# data[].attributes.body
I wonder if Lucy Calkins sessions already guide using A Forever Stance or this is something TC educators need to think more about? Furthermore, I  think I could add microprogression and repertoire strategies more often as I teach sessions

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: "Feed up" is a new term. Building assessment capable learners - exemplars of what it looks like to honouring learner agency.

Wants: Just a wondering - whether agency is always tied up with assessment? What other examples can I link learner agency to?

# data[].attributes.body
This is powerful to co-construct the success criteria. I wonder if I will be able to provide effective models and examples to ignite this.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The What, Why, and How of Sharing Clarity With Learners

By Kara Vandas

Success criteria in a learning environment has to be clear both to educators and their students - but what is the definition of success criteria, why does it matter, and how do you implement it? We explore how best to co-construct success criteria.

Success criteria definition

“The worst learning scenario is to be unaware of expectations or how your work will be judged and to have no guidelines about how to achieve the objective in the first place.” Shirley Clarke (2008, p. 81).

Have you ever been in those shoes? The shoes where you have no idea what is expected of you or how to be successful?

It's a pretty uncomfortable and even nerve-wracking position to be in as a learner. An eighth- grade student that was interviewed on this issue said, “I feel frustrated and confused. I don’t want to do the work because I have no idea what I am supposed to do or what to even ask my teachers.” When asked when he feels the most motivated in school he replied, “It’s when I am going deeper and deeper in the learning, and I can show that I am actually learning.”

This lack of clarity and desire to go deep in learning is where Co-Constructing Success Criteria comes into play as a powerful practice for moving learning forward. Simply defined it is the practice of working with students to develop a shared understanding of what success looks like (Almarode & Vandas, 2018, p. 75).

Why does co-construction matter so much?

It matters because it makes learning go faster. How many of us have been looking for a strategy or practice that accelerates learning?

Let's explore a few reasons why that is, along with some success criteria examples.

1. Co-constructing kick-starts a metacognitive process

Co-constructing success criteria allows for analysis of learning expectations, which sets off the metacognitive process for students.

Metacognition is essential, as it is the active monitoring of one’s own learning. Co-constructing success criteria in education ignites this process because kids must think through learning expectations, review and analyze examples (high quality work that meets learning expectations), and plan for their next steps in learning. In doing so, it allows for self-appraisal of how close or far one is from the expectation.

2. The Metacognitive process enables better feedback

The metacognitive process then kicks off the feedback loop between learners, teachers, self, and peers. Wisniewski, Zierer, & Hattie (2020) define feedback in three capacities:

Feed-Up: Comparison of actual status with target status (determining expectations)

Feedback: Comparison of the actual status with previous status (determining progress toward the expectation)

Feed-Forward: Explanation of the target status based on the actual status (providing information to students about “Where to next” in their learning).

3. Feedback enables learners to meet their success criteria

When co-construction takes place, learners engage in “feed-up” in order to determine where they are currently in their learning compared to the expectation.

Once they have clarity about where they stand, they can then engage more deeply in “feedback” and “feed-forward.”

4. Students engage more deeply in their learning

When co-construction takes place, learners engage in “feed-up” in order to determine where they are currently in their learning compared to the expectation.

Therefore, students are more engaged, more willing to do what it takes in the classroom, and even more willing to reinvest in future learning.

5. Students control their own learning

Finally, co-constructing success criteria in education allows students to have power over their learning, choose strategies that work best for them, ask for feedback and feed-forward when they're ready, and exert agency over their own learning.

Agency is the power to act (Martin, 2018). How many times have we hoped our students would act, that they would take the opportunities given and run with it?

All of these reasons are compelling, and yet, we need to know how to Co-Construct Success Criteria with students.  It’s one thing to say it works and another to make it work.

How to co-construct success criteria (and when to do it)

As previously mentioned, Co-Constructing Success Criteria is about developing a shared understanding of what success looks like. To do so, students need models, examples, exemplars, and works-in-progress to think through and evaluate what makes quality work and how work can be improved.

By engaging in such conversations with students, it becomes clear to them what the Success Criteria are, what each criterion means, and what their work will need to include. It is, therefore, critical to ensure students are the ones doing the thinking as they engage in this practice.

Our job, as teachers, is to gather the necessary materials, be prepared to ask probing questions, and think through ways to continue to co-construct what success looks like over time.

Success criteria template

This is a simple success criteria template to think through when and how the practice can be used in the classroom.

Co-Constructing Success Criteria is a linchpin practice, as it encourages and allows for so many other high-impact strategies to grow in the classroom.

However, the question often raised is, “When is there time for this in my instruction?” When we think about the need for learners to do the thinking and doing in the classroom, rather than teachers, it becomes necessary that students have clarity about the learning expectations.

In addition, we often take the time to reteach, intervene, and remediate. What if, instead of using the time to reteach, we spent time Co-Constructing Success Criteria and found that we had much less need to reteach? It might sound too simple, but Co-Constructing Success Criteria presents itself as a powerful catalyst for learning and has been proven to speed up the learning process.

To be immersed in deep learning is an empowering experience, and Co-Construction of Success Criteria allows learners to move from being knee-deep in trying to determine expectations to being knee-deep in growing their brains.

Roll your pant legs up, dip your toe in, heck, jump in head first! The water is warm and the experience meaningful.

References:

Almarode, J. & Vandas, K. (2018). Clarity for learning: Five essential practices that empower students and teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA:  Corwin.

Bloomberg, P., Pitchford, B., & Vandas, K. (2019).  Peer power:  Unite, learn, prosper, activate an assessment revolution. San Diego, CA: Mimi & Todd Press.

Clarke, S. (2008). Active Learning through Formative Assessment. London, UK: Hodder Education.

Hattie, J. A. & Donoghue, G. M. (2016, August 10). Learning strategies: A synthesis and conceptual model. Nature/NPJ: Science of Learning. doi:10.1038/npjscilearn.2016.13

Katie Martin, 6 Questions that Promote Learner Agency. Posted on November 10, 2018 by Katie Martin

Spencer, J. What is Metacognition? August 10, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZrUWvfU6VU.

Wisniewski, B., Zierer, K., & Hattie, J. (2020, January). The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research. Frontiers in Psychology. Volume 10, Article 3087.  www.frontierin.org.

About the Author

As a consultant, Kara Vandas works with districts and schools around the country to implement processes and practices that best support student learning.  She is the co-author ofPartnering with Students: Building Ownership of Learning andPeer Power: Unite, Learn, Prosper. Her areas of focus include implementing practices that encourage students to be partners in learning, the Visible Learning research and professional learning, EmpowerED Coaching™, EmpowerED Assessment™ and EmpowerED curriculum design™.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Co-Construct Success Criteria in Education

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"The worst learning scenario is to be unaware of expectations or how your work will be judged and to have no guidelines about how to achieve the objective in the first place." Shirley Clarke (2008, p. 81). Have you ever been in those shoes?

# data[].attributes.body
TC has states a % of classroom libraries that should be leveled- ;with your statements on not sharing reading levels with students, should these visu
al levels be removed?

# data[].attributes.body
If we use rubrics/progressions for giving teacher "grades"/feedback, is that just as bad as giving a letter or number grade?

# data[].attributes.body
lkasal@cacegypt.org
@LeeAnnKasal1

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Having kids set their own goals and self assess is super impactful!

Wants: How do the TC Reading End of Unit assessments tie into this? I feel like I'm trying to get my kids to respond in the ways that the progressions show, but then I feel like I'm just telling kids how to think and write.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: It really made a lot of sense that the two most impactful factors in developing assessment-capable learners reflected the power of the student in charting their own course in the journey of learning, i.e. self-reported grades and student expectations of their learning.
That's what developing agentic learners is all about, isn't it? The teacher's role is to help them get into the driver's
seat.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: You can't connect the dots if there are no dots
Wants: How can we find time to prioritize this kind of work amongst a very packed curriculum?

# data[].attributes.body
GOTS: Asset based philosophy and the FOREVER stance synergizing with everything, Instructional design leads to agency
WANTS: How do the Assessment Tools and Strategies fit in with Agency, provided we try and balance all within a year?

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: The importance of using the feed up, feed back, and feed forward process. Also, how huge of an impact student self reported grades can have.

Wants: More information on how to support students in generating self reported grades.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: I find the Feedback Loop very interesting and crucial.
Wants: I would like to provide powerful feedback in a timely manner. I guess that I need to work on my Teacher clarity.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Appreciated all the examples shared. Co-creating tools with learners.
Wants: I'm wondering if anybody has experience with implementing Story Workshop in the Upper Elementary classrooms. (I'll look up Pernille's blog post - thank you!)

# data[].attributes.body
Gots:
Needing to look for the evidence of invitations in our teaching and learning.
Feedforward is the crux.

Wants:  How might we embed a Forever Stance?

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: I'm now thinking about the way our writing pieces are connected to our units of inquiry and how necessary this always is. Whether its helping or hindering. I'll take these thoughts forward to next year.

Wants: How can I give students more agency with using outcomes for math units? Thinking about the 3 'feeds', how can they track their journey in a simple and effective way?

# data[].attributes.body
Got: co-creating the tools with students. I loved to see the impact of each of the components

# data[].attributes.body
e.swartz_daa@gemsedu.com

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: lots of scaffolding and explicit use of language

Wants: More research to support assessment through agency

# data[].attributes.body
was wondering about some more examples about these

# data[].attributes.body
How do we formally document VCO in the PYP planner with authenticity

# data[].attributes.body
Always wondered how this would look like in translation- as most assessments are teacher designed. How do we design assessments for our units with students?

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: It was so helpful to see some examples of how others have created the student agency in the classroom. I’m definitely borrowing (?) some of the ideas... :)

Wants: The majority of my parents value  standardized tests (MAP tests) and sometimes judge their child’s progress based on their score. Do you know any good resources that I can share with these parents?

# data[].attributes.body
How do we model what it looks like for students? how can it be made genuine so that students value it?

# data[].attributes.headline
Toolkits: A folder with many examples...

# data[].attributes.subject
Toolkits: A folder with many examples...

# data[].attributes.body
EKC

# data[].attributes.body
Trevor Mackenzie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How can we . . .
Help students see themselves in a more positive, confident, and personally fulfilling light?
Cultivate the conditions for agency and equity in our classrooms and schools so all learners can thrive?
Shift education so that our students become more empowered, more competent, and more compassionate young people?

Trevor MacKenzie takes another deep dive into inquiry as he examines the role of assessment in education through the lens of co-designing and co-constructing with students. In Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition, he outlines the beliefs, values, and frameworks that allow teachers to scaffold assessment infused with student voice, understanding, and autonomy.

Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition offers practical ways to . . .

Co-design assessment with your students to create both a sense of belonging and ownership over learning in the classroom.

Establish greater clarity and a deeper understanding for your students in how they'll be assessed.

Positively impact achievement and scores as well as your students' sense of self and personal responsibility and autonomy.

Give your learners an authentic seat at the assessment table!

"If you value inquiry and seek to develop reflective, self-directed students, get this book. It is brimming with advice and seasoned with soul. Your students will thank you."
-Jay McTighe, coauthor of the Understanding by Design® framework

"I work with schools around the world to help them redesign and align their curriculum and assessment, and this is a book I'll be recommending to those schools from now on. It's a perfect starting point for the work educators need to do to make assessment authentic, meaningful, and powerful."
-Alexis Wiggins, teacher, author of The Best Class You Never Taught

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
inquiry mindset: assessment edition: scaffolding a partnership for equity and agency in learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition: Scaffolding a Partnership for Equity and Agency in Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Buy Inquiry Mindset: Assessment Edition: Scaffolding a Partnership for Equity and Agency in Learning: Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com

# data[].attributes.headline
Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children's Learning

# data[].attributes.body
Peter H. Johnston

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.

Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool: language. Throughout, Peter Johnston provides examples of apparently ordinary words, phrases, and uses of language that are pivotal in the orchestration of the classroom. Grounded in a study by accomplished literacy teachers, the book demonstrates how the things we say (and don't say) have surprising consequences for what children learn and for who they become as literate people. Through language, children learn how to become strategic thinkers, not merely learning the literacy strategies. In addition, Johnston examines the complex learning that teachers produce in classrooms that is hard to name and thus is not recognized by tests, by policy-makers, by the general public, and often by teachers themselves, yet is vitally important.

This book will be enlightening for any teacher who wishes to be more conscious of the many ways their language helps children acquire literacy skills and view the world, their peers, and themselves in new ways.
eBook Available Through Major Retailers
We offer ebook editions for most of our print titles so you can access on your computer, tablet, or e-reader from several major retailers including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, OverDrive, and ebooks.com. View the full list of retailers here. For eBook purchases of 10+ please email us for a quote. Purchases of 20+ qualify for a bulk discount.

If you previously purchased an ebook from Stenhouse.com, they will remain available in your digital library.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In productive classrooms, teachers don't just teach children skills: they build emotionally and relationally healthy learning communities. Teachers create intellectual environments that produce not only technically competent students, but also caring, secure, actively literate human beings.Choice Words shows how teachers accomplish this using their most powerful teaching tool:

# data[].attributes.headline
Story Workshop: New Possibilities for Young Writers

# data[].attributes.subject
Story Workshop: New Possibilities for Young Writers

# data[].attributes.body
Susan Harris MacKay

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Even our youngest students have lots of stories to tell, whether real or imagined. How can we create entry points for writing, so that all writers feel confident and motivated to share their stories? How can we establish a classroom community of beginning writers where equity, empathy, and compassion become part of the process and vital by-products of story writing?

Enter story workshop, a structure for early literacy that amplifies the relationship between play, art, and writing. Children develop ideas and stories through choices of art materials. By creating images through play, story workshop invites children to explore the "amazingness" (Nisa, age 10) of their ideas in a variety of art forms. "Through their stories," Susan writes, "students share the meaning they make of their experiences in the world." Children in every classroom environment feel empowered to transition from play to pencil as they add words to their stories.

Story Workshop includes an abundance of classroom videos, photos, and student samples that illustrate what is possible when children use words, colors, textures, shapes and all kinds of materials to create the stories they want to tell. Watch how students' imaginations soar, their love of writing blossoms, and their connections with one another become the focal point of your classroom.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How to create entry points for beginning writers by amplifying the relationship between play, art, and writing. - Heinemann

# data[].attributes.body
A treasure trove of ideas!

# data[].attributes.body
Debbie Miller

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Introduction: We Can Do This

Asking Beautiful Questions

Paying Attention to What Doesn't Feel Right

Asking, "What If?": Creating Space for Possibility

Chapter One: What If Each Day's Teaching Focused on Children's Agency?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Disengaged Child

What's the Best That Could Happen? Agency Fosters Engagement

Imagining New Possibilities for a Child

Conferring to Support Access and Choice

Paying Attention During Independent Work Time

Conferring to Inquire and to Offer Community

Postscript

Chapter Two: What If We Made What Children Make and Do Our Priority?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Workshop Planning

What's the Best That Could Happen? Meaningful Work

Planning for What Children Will Do First

Planning for What Teachers Will Do During Work Time

Figuring Out What to Teach

Playing with the Sequence

Taking Ownership

Chapter Three: What If Our Classroom Environment and Routines Offered Choice?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: Frustration over Supplies

What's the Best That Could Happen? Managing Their Own Work

Being Intentional in Our Language

Cocreating Routines

Designing Agentive Environments

Chapter Four: What If We Owned the Units We Are Asked to Teach?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Units We're Given

Are These the Right Goals?

Which Texts Work Best?

How Will We Know When We're Done?

How Can This Happen Within Daily Workshop?

What's the Best That Could Happen? Perfection in Imperfection

Chapter Five: What If Read-Aloud Sustained Children's Independent Thinking?

Finding Our Way to a Beautiful Question: The Wisdom in Children's Thinking

Expecting Brilliance

Finding Time for Read-Aloud

Reading Aloud for Joy

Teachers and Children Thinking Aloud

What's the Best That Could Happen? Being Inspired to Act

Conclusion: In Pursuit of Beautiful Questions

We all have difficult moments in our teaching, and without a question to drive us forward, we can get stuck. But that difficult moment might be the question we need to ask ourselves. Questions can bring a positive attention, creating a presence in the moment. When I ask children, "Are you the kind of kid who...?", I'm inviting them to imagine a new possibility for themselves, one in which they have more power than they did before. I want those new possibilities for teachers, too. Are you the kind of teacher who is ready to try something new, something that will make your students stronger, more joyful readers and bring you greater joy in your work? I think you are.

Asking questions leads to opportunities-it's about growth, openness, and a willingness to change, which top-down models don't allow. It's a way for us to focus our thinking and be present in the lives we've chosen to live. Asking the question is the essential behavior of teaching. It's not a perfect call-and response but a messy business of wondering, stumbling, and figuring things out. It requires bravery and commitment, but that's what teaching is. It's a joyful, creative, purposeful profession. If you feel you've lost even some of your passion for teaching, I would love to help give it back to you. So, in this book, we'll talk about creating beautiful questions about the teaching of reading. To help you take on the process of asking beautiful questions, I'll share how I got to some beautiful questions about teaching reading and what I did with them as I worked with teachers in classrooms across the country.

This book is about owning our teaching and making decisions based on who we are and what's best for the children in our classroom today. That all sounds ambitious and brave... and the work is-teaching is-but it happens in so many small and simple ways. My wish is for you to think about what you do and ask your own beautiful questions, so that you and your children can thrive and view yourselves and each other as valuable, idea-filled, creative, and contributing humans who own your teaching and learning. Be open and receptive to possibilities! Think: "What if we did it this way?"

"A one-of-a-kind book, full of wisdom and heart. Debbie Miller inspires educators to step back and question everything-challenging us to rethink and reinvent the ways we teach. What's the best that could happen? Read this book and it will help you find your own answer to that beautiful question."

-Warren Berger, author of A More Beautiful Question and The Book of Beautiful Questions
"Debbie Miller is a magician with children, and in What's the Best That Could Happen? she hands us her magic wand. With honesty, humility, and optimism, she shares her thoughts and actions about teaching and learning. Run-don't walk-to conjure up this essential book!"
-Stephanie Harvey, coauthor of The Comprehension Toolkit series, From Striving to Thriving, and Strategies That Work
"Debbie Miller is suggesting something revolutionary. She is suggesting the way to ensure all students learn is to intentionally and persistently expect not just capability but brilliance from them."
-Gretchen Morgan, author of Innovative Educators: An Action Plan for Teachers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"One of the great joys of teaching is anticipating children's brilliance." In What's the Best That Could Happen?, Debbie Miller confronts a challenge all

# data[].attributes.headline
Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

# data[].attributes.subject
Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

# data[].attributes.body
Zaretta Hammond

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From math, literacy, equity, multilingual learners, and SEL, to assessment, school counseling, and education leadership, our books are research-based and authored by experts on topics most relevant to what educators are facing today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction.

# data[].attributes.body
Margie Carter

# data[].attributes.body
Tammy Mulligan & Clare Landrigan

# data[].attributes.body
Irene Fountas (2013)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Lesley University Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
by Irene Fountas, Author and Director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

When my colleague Gay Su Pinnell and I created a gradient of text for teachers to use in selecting books for small group reading, we were excited about its potential for helping teachers make good text decisions to support the progress of readers.

Our alphabetic gradient is widely used by teachers for this purpose and has become an essential tool for effective teaching in guided reading lessons.

With every good intention, the levels may have been applied by professionals in ways we would not have intended. We did not intend for levels to become a label for children that would take us back to the days of the bluebirds and the blackbirds or the jets and the piper cubs. Our intention was to put the tool in the hands of educators who understood their characteristics and used it to select appropriate books for differentiated instruction.

We are well aware of the importance of communicating student progress accurately to families. Rather than the use of levels in reporting to families, we have encouraged the use of terms like "reading at grade level expectation" or "reading above grade level expectation" or "not yet reading at grade level expectation" on report cards along with other clear indicators of a student's processing abilities such as understanding, word-solving abilities, accuracy or fluency. In addition we have encouraged the use of indicators related to amount and breadth of independent reading.

Students actually experience a variety of books at varied levels in a rich literacy program. They may experience complex texts as read aloud or shared reading selections and a range of levels in book discussion groups or independent reading. Highly effective teaching provides a range of opportunities with different texts for different purposes.

In our best efforts to use assessment indicators, we want to be sure that our purposes best serve the children we teach and give families the important information they need. This may not mean using labels such as book levels that hold more complexities and are intended for the use of the educators as they make day-to-day teaching decisions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
by Irene Fountas, Author and Director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative When my colleague Gay Su Pinnell and I created a gradient of text for teachers to use in selecting books for small group reading, we were excited about its potential for helping teachers make good text decisions to support the...

# data[].attributes.body
Irene Fountas (2015)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Lesley University Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More on Text Levels: Confronting the Issues

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
by Irene Fountas, Author and Director of the Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative at Lesley University In response to the many comments the blog has received this week on the Text Levels- Tool or Trouble blog post: You have shared many important thoughts on the topic of text levels.

# data[].attributes.headline
A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

# data[].attributes.subject
A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

# data[].attributes.body
Fountas & Pinnell (2016)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's hard enough to be a kid. They have lots of things to worry about: parents, friends, sports, grades, etc. Reading can be an escape from those worries, just like it is for adults; it's a way to relax and plunge yourself into someone else's world for a little while. But what happens when a child finds out that they're not reading on the "same level" as the other children? What does that even mean to them? It's not good, they know that. Reading has now become another worry to add to the pile of worries.

Trying to climb the "level ladder" is not what reading is about. It should be about enjoyment and discovery. Focusing too much on text levels can cause problems. Fountas and Pinnell created the F&P Text Level Gradient ™ to be used as a teacher's tool for assessment and instruction. The levels aren't meant to be shared with the children or parents.

Help Students Build Self-Esteem and Love of Reading

"It is detrimental to a student's self-esteem and to their love of reading when they are encouraged to measure their own progress by 'moving up levels,'" (Fountas and Pinnell 2017). Students should not use levels to compare themselves with others or to compete. This is counterintuitive to building a classroom community where each student is respected; has a sense of agency; values collaboration over competition; and grows up seeing themselves as literate.

Make "Choice" Authentic

Telling students to choose by "level" is not an authentic way to select books to read independently. That isn't how I choose a book as an adult. In fact, I really love reading high fantasy, young adult books with a romantic twist. Can I read War and Peace? Sure, but I devour those YA novels like candy and that's what we want students to do: get them to a point where they need to read every day; they yearn for it. As much as possible, strive for them to choose books in a way that all readers do-books that interest and engage them.

Advocate for the Appropriate Use of Levels in Your School

Fountas and Pinnell believe very strongly that students' reading levels have no place in teacher evaluation or on report cards to be sent home to parents. Too much emphasis on levels can lead to misconceptions on the part of families. Informing parents of the level at which their child is reading can make them uneasy. They may see the level as a very exact
measurement, but students don't always read at a precise level. Parents also talk with other parents, and if they find that their child is reading at a lower level than other children, they might panic. But they don't understand the intricacies of how those levels work the way you do.

Levels can be a resource for you and your colleagues to guide student choices for independent reading, but they should not be a limitation or a requirement. Leveled books are instructional tools for teachers who understand them-nothing more. Above all else, a level is a teacher's tool, not a child's label.

Jill Backman, Fountas & Pinnell Marketing Manager

Join the fastest growing community in the field of literacy education. Get your free membership and stay up to date on the latest news and resources from Fountas and Pinnell at www.fountasandpinnell.com

Join the Fountas & Pinnell Literacy™ Facebook Learning Group for more collaborative conversation at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FountasPinnell/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Level is a Teacher's Tool, NOT a Child's Label

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's hard enough to be a kid. They have lots of things to worry about: parents, friends, sports, grades, etc. Reading can be an escape from those worries, just like it is for adults; it's a way to relax and plunge yourself into someone else's world for a little while.

# data[].attributes.headline
Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers

# data[].attributes.subject
Thinking Outside the Bin: Why labeling books by reading level disempowers young readers

# data[].attributes.body
School Library Journal (2017)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Leveled reading systems are popular in many school districts but are they doing more harm than good?

# data[].attributes.body
Psychology Today (2017)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Psychologists love to measure things, and perhaps nothing has been measured as much by psychologists as reading-both texts and readers. Multiple different instruments measuring text readability have been devised and used over the past century, as have multiple standardized tests of readers' abilities. Though their results are often first presented as numerical scores whose interpretation is difficult without a key, most instruments also translate these into more generally understood grade-level reading scores. These are typically reported as year-and-month scores; thus a book scoring at reading level 8.1 is said to be written at the early eighth-grade level, while a student scoring at reading level 4.6 is judged to be reading at the level of the average student in the sixth month of fourth grade. Two common reading level systems are exceptions to this: Fountas and Pinnell's Guided Reading program uses letters, from A to Z, while the increasingly popular Lexile leveling scheme rates both texts and readers from 0L to approximately 2000L (there is actually no upper limit). Both of these do, however, offer rough grade level conversion charts on their websites, here and here respectively.

However measured, reading levels can be a generally useful guide to whether a particular text is going to be far too difficult for a particular reader. For example, the student who scored at 4.6 on a recent, valid reading test will probably have significant difficulty reading and understanding that text at an 8.1 reading level.

Unfortunately, though, the ubiquity and precision with which these reading levels are now being tested and reported has led to their increasingly inappropriate use, especially in schools. For example, professional development materials accompanying the Common Core initiative instruct teachers to "match" texts to readers based on Lexile level, staying within a narrow range of only 50L above to 100L below each student's tested Lexile level. Most school reading incentive programs require students to read texts within a restricted range of their measured reading skill levels, either within the Lexile range just mentioned, or, if using another rating system, within five months of their measured reading levels. For example, that student who tested at 4.6 might only receive credit for reading books leveled from 4.1 to 5.1. Many schools now even restrict the books students can check out from the school library to those at such "appropriate" levels, and in some cases, parents are even being told to " concentrate on material within his or her Lexile range " when offering books to their children at home.

Such misguided policies and practices are based on three very prevalent myths about reading levels:
Myth #1: Each text has a discrete, accurately measurable reading level.
Because reading levels are often reported very precisely, one might think that measuring the readability of a text was an exact, agreed upon science. Nothing could be further from the truth. Almost all text level measures are based upon some combination of word difficulty (measured by number of letters, number of syllables, and/or frequency of use) and sentence complexity (measured by length in words and/or number of phrases). However, the specific formulas and differing emphases of various measures can result in very different reading levels for a single text.

Take, for example, the 2016 Newbery Medal book, The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. The Lexile corporation rates this award-winning book for young teens at 640L, equivalent to somewhere between a 3rd and 5th grade reading level, according to their conversion tables. ATOS, the reading level system used by the Accelerated Reader program, rates it at reading level 4.8 (i.e., 4th grade, 8th month). Using the first 200 words from Chapter 2 of the book, the Free Readability Calculator results in the following range of levels, from seven more of the best known and respected readability scales, for exactly the same words from the same book:

Automated Readability Index: RL 5.6

The SMOG Index: RL 5.8

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: RL 5.8

Linsear Write Formula: RL 6.6

Dale-Chall Formula: RL 6.9

Gunning Fog Index: RL 7.6

The Coleman-Liau Index: RL 8.0

That readability scores for this book, based on well-accepted, research-based formulas, span more than three grade levels is not an unusual result; try it for yourself using 150 words or more from any text. And of course, none of these scales can measure how well the text is actually written-whether the author uses transitions effectively, provides rich descriptions, or explains things clearly, all of which certainly affect the readability of a text.
Myth #2: Each reader has a discrete, accurately measurable level of reading skill.
Tests of reading skill levels, even those that are carefully designed and commonly used, suffer from many of the same difficulties as measures of text readability, in that each uses differing contents and criteria for measuring reading ability.

Some use lists of common words at differing grade levels to judge decoding ability, while others require readers to pronounce a list of nonsense words as well. Some include measures of oral reading fluency and/or vocabulary, while others do not. Some tests ask readers to answer questions after reading a passage, while others measure comprehension through a CLOZE procedure in which readers are asked to supply missing words in a passage, and still others require readers to recall salient details of a text as a means of judging comprehension. Some tests are given by a trained psychologist, one-on-one, while others are given to groups of students in regular class settings. Some are timed, while others are not.

Even the very criterion for scoring "at" a certain reading level differs among tests, with some tests allowing readers to attempt all the test questions (or as many as they have time for), and then scoring based on the number of correct answers, while others subtract a certain percentage of incorrect answers from the number of correct answers before scoring, and still others arrive at a reading level by stopping the test after the reader has missed a certain set number of questions.

Not surprisingly, readers will often score quite differently on different reading tests.

In addition, while texts stay the same from day to day, readers do not. People's performance on many tasks, including reading tests, can be significantly affected by whether they are tired or well-rested, hungry or full, healthy or sick, distracted or focused, anxious or confident. Children are perhaps even more affected by such outer circumstances, since they lack the maturation and self-regulation skills that allow many adults to maintain more even performance levels in varying circumstances.

Myth #3: Readers should (almost always) read texts very near their reading level.

Given the margins of error implied by the variability in both text readability and reading skill measurement described above, the expectation that texts can be closely "matched" to readers' skill levels is clearly unfounded. The idea that texts should always be matched to readers' tested levels is equally problematic, for a number of reasons.

First, reading is an interactive process, so the difficulty or ease with which a particular reader can read a particular text depends in part on his or her prior knowledge related to the text and motivation for reading it.

Reading research has repeatedly demonstrated the effects of prior knowledge on reading comprehension; simply put, it is easier to read and understand texts that talk about things you already know a lot about. When readers have a good bit of prior knowledge on a topic, even difficult texts can be easier to read and understand because they can draw on their own knowledge to fill in any gaps in their comprehension. Conversely, many of us have experienced the effects of a lack of prior knowledge when first reading in an unfamiliar subject area, whether it is economics or art or environmental science. It is not so much that we cannot read or do not know the words in the texts, as it is that we don't have the background knowledge to make sense of what they say. Similarly, readers demonstrate higher "reading levels" in genres that are familiar to them. For example, a complex science fiction novel, very difficult to read for someone who rarely reads in that genre, may be considerably less difficult for a frequent science fiction reader, who is familiar with common science fiction conventions and story lines, and perhaps even with previous books by the same author.

Interest and motivation also great affect a reader's ability to read a text. An excellent example of this is the recent Harry Potter phenomenon, in which thousands of children as young as second grade read and enjoyed 300 and 400 page books written at fifth to seventh-grade reading levels, simply because they were fascinated by the magical world created by J.K. Rowling in her series. Most teachers can likewise recount stories of students like the struggling high school reader who tests at a fourth or fifth-grade reading level, but somehow manages to read and understand a motorcycle repair manual written at the tenth-grade level, because he wants to fix up his motorcycle. And of course, resources can be made available to help truly motivated readers read difficult texts, from dictionaries, online resources, and audio texts to the time-honored strategy of simply asking someone else, a teacher, parent, sibling, or friend, about the words you don't know. We might also point out here that most very early simple books (those with highly repetitive text) simply cannot give children a full sense of the joy of reading.

Also, there is good evidence for the benefits of reading texts both above and below one's official reading level. Reading easier texts can help novice readers, especially, gain fluency and confidence, and can develop readers' enjoyment of reading at all levels. Consider how many of us enjoy relaxing with a good romance or murder mystery that is well below our adult "reading level"! On the other hand, researchers are finding that challenging students to tackle more complex texts, while supporting them in their efforts to do so, leads to greater growth in reading than simply having them read texts at or just above their current reading levels.

Finally, full comprehension is not necessary for a reader to enjoy and benefit from a book. Certainly students should not be assigned and required to learn from a book that is significantly too difficult for them to read, but most of us, again, remember reading and enjoying in childhood books like The Secret Garden or A Christmas Carol or Captains Courageous without, at first, fully understanding the historical contexts or social issues involved. Indeed, it is often as we grow, and read and then reread such books, that we first gain a sense of history or start to value equality or self-reliance or charity, from stories and characters we have grown to love.
Some take-aways:
Reading levels should never be used to limit the texts children may access or try to read. Neither reading tests nor readability measures are anywhere near exact enough to predict which individual child will best be able to read or benefit from which individual book or magazine or online text. There is nothing wrong with letting a child try to read a text, and then abandon it if it is too hard, or too simplistic, or simply boring-after all, adults do this all the time. Limiting reading selections based on reading levels too often results in children having too few texts available to them that they want to read, and thus discourages them from reading altogether.

Passion, curiosity, and knowledge are at least as important as reading levels in helping children find good things to read. This is especially true because we know that motivation and knowledge can increase effective reading levels, while, conversely, readers can enjoy and gain a lot from texts that interest them, even if they are "too easy."

Children should not be required/expected to independently read and learn from texts that are considerably above their reading levels. Ironically, textbooks are perhaps the most common source of such demands, since they are frequently written well above the reading levels of the grades for which they are intended. But disparity between student reading levels and text readability levels does not necessarily mean we should discourage or prevent such students from engaging with such texts. Rather, it should trigger educators to provide support for reading as necessary, including vocabulary- and knowledge-building tools, partner reading, group discussions, audio- and video-texts, and simple availability for questions. Indeed, since reading levels are not exact measures, and also affected by prior knowledge and interest, such supports will probably be helpful to many other students as well.

To read more about this topic, check out these clear, but nuanced discussions of readability and leveled reading by top researchers in this field:

Hiebert, E. H. (2012). Readability and the Common Core's staircase of text complexity. Retrieved from http://ransonbalancedliteracy.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/file/view/Text-Matters_Readability-and-Complexity.pdf

Shanahan, T. (2011). Rejecting instructional level theory. Retrieved from http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/2011/08/rejecting-instructional-level-...

Benjamin, R. G. (2012). Reconstructing readability: Recent developments and recommendations in the analysis of text difficulty. Educational Psychology Review, 24(1), 63-88.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Psychologists love to measure things, and perhaps nothing has been measured as much by psychologists as reading-both texts and readers. Multiple different instruments measuring text readability have been devised and used over the past century, as have multiple standardized tests of readers' abilities.

# data[].attributes.body
Fountas & Pinnell, School Library Journal (2018)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fountas and Pinnell Guided Readers by Interest Q_A

# data[].attributes.body
Fountas & Pinnell (2019)

# data[].attributes.body
Pernille Ripp (2021)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
I have been thinking a lot about easy books. About our adult urges to steer kids into "better" books, harder books, away from all those easy books. Away from books with pictures, graphic novels, or topics we deem immature.

I have been thinking a lot about our well-meaning intentions and how they sometimes do damage that we are not even around to see because the real consequences of our gentle guidance actually steers a child away from reading altogether.

I have been thinking a lot about the collections of books we build, where our money is used, because often it is not so much into the books that kids actually want to read but the ones we hope they read. And how we then sometimes wonder why no one seems to want to read the books we have.

Why is it that we, the adults, who have the ability to shape the reading lives of our students into beautiful things sometimes get so lost in thinking of the future of our readers that we lose sight of the present? Don't get me wrong, I want to do the best I can to create rich reading opportunities for all of my students but that also means that they need to want to read right now.

As so perhaps this reminder is more for myself as I feel the pressure to help these children grow as readers, perhaps this post is really just a re-commitment to the words I have spoken for so many years. Perhaps it is a reminder to the universe of what our gatekeeping of books can do for the lives of the readers we are entrusted with. Perhaps this is a reminder that when we decide that a child is reading too "easy" of books we are really dismissing the reading journey they are on. That in our quest to challenge our readers we sometimes lose sight of what they may need from their reading experiences right now, and that that perhaps is not harder vocabulary or more complex storylines but instead a chance to truly melt into a world and escape a little bit from the craziness of this one.

It is a question I am asked a lot when I coach and train other teachers; what about the kids who read books that are much too easy, how will we challenge them? The problem is implied; easy books don't offer up real growth opportunities. Easy books don't develop their skills. Easy books don't push them forward in the ever-present journey toward becoming a better reader. Easy books means that they will never perform in a way that our standardized tests want them to do. And I hear the worry, the concern for their readerly lives, I see that the question is not asked out of an urge for censorship but instead from a place of care.

But it seems as if, in our well-meaning intentions, that we have forgotten what a better reader really is. A better reader is not just someone who can just tackle complex texts, who can comprehend at a deep level, who can answer the questions on the test to back up what we already knew. While those are aspects, they are not the only thing that makes a child a better reader.

A better reader is someone who sees reading as valuable. Who recognizes the need to read because they will feel less than if they don't. Who sees reading as a necessity to learning, for themselves and not just for others. Who sees reading as a journey to be on, something worth investing in. That a better reader is someone who will continue to come back to reading when they can, finding value within whatever materials they read in order to make their lives better in some way. A better reader is not just a child who reads hard texts, always pushing their skills, but also someone who commits to the very act of reading. And so I wonder; when we tell children not to read "easy" books, how much of their individual reading identity journey have we dismissed? And what becomes of the reader?

"Easy" books, whether they be graphic novels, illustrated books, books about "silly" topics, books below their actual comprehension skills, free verse, audio books, or even picture books, can get such a bad reputation in our schools. As if those books are only allowed in the brief moment of time when they fit your exact level, whatever level means. As if those books are only meant to be discovered when you have nothing else to read, when you actually are allowed to read for fun, rather than for skill. As if those books are only relegated to a certain age, a certain stage in your readerly journey. and after that they should be put away, never to be revisited again.

Yet so often the books that others may judge as "too easy" for us are the books that make us readers. The ones where we finally feel comfortable, where reading is not hard work but something that we can do successfully. Are the books that keep us loving or liking reading. That keeps us coming back. Those books that we devour in one sitting because we must find out what happens next, aren't those "easy" books for all of us?

So do we tell our students to embrace easy reading whenever they want to keep them loving reading? Or do we push them so hard to develop their skills that their connection to reading breaks and then we wonder why reading becomes something just to do for school and tasks?

And yes, I teach that child that reads Diary of a Wimpy Kid every day, who is not sure of what else he can read that will make him love reading as much. My job is not to tell him, "No, you cannot read that," but instead to urge him to read more books in the series and to celebrate the reading that is happening. To recognize that this child has discovered a part of himself where he finds a purpose within the pages of this book and to help him find books that will offer up similar experiences. Not to take away, but to recommend, while also protecting the fierce commitment that exists between a child and a favorite book. To explore why that child loves this book so much and then help discover others like it. To acknowledge the reading relationship that already exists and to build on that rather than breaking it apart at all costs because I know better.

Don't all kids deserve to have their reading choices celebrated and held up as valuable choices no matter where they are on their journey?

I am not dismissing the need to challenge kids to read more, to read longer, to read more complex text, but we must be careful with how we present their reading choices, how we judge their reading choices. We must make reading for enjoyment, whatever that means for a child, a central part of our teaching so that children can understand that reading for enjoyment is just as, if not more, important than reading for a skill. And we must honor the choices that kids make to further this part of their journey. The research agrees, "...it was shown that those who graduate from programs that encourage self-selected reading, do not avoid literature of high quality...Children in a print-rich environment in which they are free to select their own reading do not stay with easy books. They not only read more as they mature, but they also select, on their own, books that are harder to read and have more complicated plots."(Krashen, Lee, and Lao - Comprehensible and Compelling, 2018). So are we making room to embrace those books that happen to make our children, and adults, love reading? Or do we only focus on those texts that will continue to challenge them in the ways we have deemed acceptable, to move their skills, unfocused on the other damage it may do?

Because when we tell a child that a book is too easy for them we are dismissing the very reading journey they are on. That book we called too easy may have been the first book they have ever wanted to read, it may be the first series they have wanted to complete, it may be a book that offers them an escape, it may be the first book they have connected with, that they have seen themselves in, or even one that they can fully read on their own.

While our job, as educators, is to develop children who can read, our job is also to support and develop children who want to read. The two are not always taught together, or even considered, so it is up to us to make sure that when we plan for our reading experiences that "easy" books and anything else that may keep a child's love of reading intact is not only welcomed but encouraged in our classrooms. We must ensure that when we plan for reading instruction, that we plan for the protection of the love of reading. And that we stop calling books easy when what we really mean is enticing.
I am excited to be heading out on the road again to be with other educators in-district or at conferences, while continuing my virtual consulting and speaking as well. If you would like me to be a part of your professional development, please reach out. I am here to help.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
I have been thinking a lot about easy books. About our adult urges to steer kids into "better" books, harder books, away from all those easy books. Away from books with pictures, graphic novels, or topics we deem immature. I have been thinking a lot about our well-meaning intentions and how they sometimes do damage...

# data[].attributes.body
Many students say that jotting also takes out the joy of reading. How can we respond to this so that students have joy but do this work?

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Think about what the unit is about, what the thru-thread is, and then use that to plan for what to assess.

Wants: I would love 18 minute messages on your thoughts on the End of Unit TC reading assessments.

# data[].attributes.body
Next steps;
-Continue to make students part of the assessment process using the micro-progressions.
-Use anchor charts as tool for students to go to.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots:
Permission to shed. This has totally changed my perspective on what I'm doing with all the teaching tools in my basket.

Wants:
I need time to come back to all my thoughts at the start of the next school year to see how I can start making changes.

Time to zoom in on macro and micro progressions (within my grade level's standards and outcomes) to share with students so that they can use them as assessment tools.

# data[].attributes.body
Gots: Look for the invitations for voice, choice and ownership in all aspects of our time with students.

Next Steps:  Work to develop self-adjusters using the Forever Stance when provdiding feedforward.