mClass is a Reading Assessment Program...
This program measures the development of reading skills in K-5 students. The program assesses the development of these schools through two main assessments: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) and The Reading Comprehension (TRC) assessments. These combined tests measure multiple reading skills that children must develop to become proficient readers. These skills are:
-Hearing and using sounds in spoken words and language (phonemic awareness)
-Knowing the sounds of letters and being able to sound these sounds out correctly when reading words (alphabetic principle)
-Recognizing and reading words easily, correctly, and quickly
-Reading with comprehension (this is the ultimate goal of reading)
-Understanding and using a variety of words, and learning new words
Teachers gather this data by administering the TRC and DIBELS assessments. These assessments are administered individually with each student. The gathered data is then imputed into the mClass program and calculates scores and levels of proficiency based on the data provided. The program disaggregates the data, provides individualized assessment information about each student’s reading progress, and tracks the student’s progress during the school year. Tracking a student's progress is called "progress monitoring."
-Hearing and using sounds in spoken words and language (phonemic awareness)
-Knowing the sounds of letters and being able to sound these sounds out correctly when reading words (alphabetic principle)
-Recognizing and reading words easily, correctly, and quickly
-Reading with comprehension (this is the ultimate goal of reading)
-Understanding and using a variety of words, and learning new words
Teachers gather this data by administering the TRC and DIBELS assessments. These assessments are administered individually with each student. The gathered data is then imputed into the mClass program and calculates scores and levels of proficiency based on the data provided. The program disaggregates the data, provides individualized assessment information about each student’s reading progress, and tracks the student’s progress during the school year. Tracking a student's progress is called "progress monitoring."
What is DIBELS?
The DIBELS assessment is an umbrella name for many smaller tests. These smaller tests are administered at the beginning of the year (BOY), middle of the year (MOY,) and at the end of the year (EOY). The program takes the scores from these tests under the DIBELS name and calculates/determines proficiency on the specific skills that were tested. There are four main tests that factor into DIBELS. Two of the tests (NWF and DORF) measure more than one skill. The DIBELS assessments include:
Non-sense Word Fluency (NWF) - Students are given a list of "non-sense" or "silly" words to read. They are told if they can't read the whole word, they should say any sound they know. The sounds are recorded under CLS and any whole words that the student is able to read are counted under the WWR. This assessment is also timed and students are given one minute. The students have three seconds to identify and say the sound/word. If students are able to read the whole word for all of the words they get to, the program still gives them credit for the three sounds that were used to read the "silly" word. In a sense, students are given credit for saying the whole word without having to sound out each individual sound first. For a whole word read, students get one point inWWR and three points in CLS (one point for each correct sound and there are always three sounds). The non-sense words are consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words that always have short vowels sounds in the middle.
The Reading Comprehension assessment (TRC) - This assessment measures reading comprehension through a few different activities. The child is first told the title of the book and a general statement is read to the student stating what the book is about; sometimes providing character names. The student is then prompted to look through the pictures in the book. Next, the student reads the book to the teacher. While the student reads the book, the teacher (or test administrator) follows along on the ipad in the mClass app. Any mistakes that are made are coded using the app on the ipad. Mistakes include substituting a different word, pronouncing the word incorrectly, not knowing the word, only saying a portion of the word, or skipping over a word and not reading it, just to name a few.
After the student reads the story they are asked to answer five oral comprehension questions. These questions usually require students to make predictions, summarize the beginning, middle or end of the story, clarify which character was associated with a specific action, and give an opinion as to why a certain event happened in the story Answers should show reasoning and interpretation.
The last piece in the TRC is the written comprehension (only for levels F-Z). Depending on the level of the book, students are asked to answer two written comprehension questions. Students are allowed to use the book to help them answer the questions. They may go back to the text and look for the answer or locate details from the text that can further support their answer. The comprehension questions are graded using a 0-3 rating scale based on the answers and rubrics provided in the mClass assessment manual. Students must pass the written comprehension in order to be considered proficient and in order to move to the next reading level. Just because a student can read a book fluently with high accuracy, does not mean that the student is understanding what they are reading. MCLass not only looks for oral comprehension but also requires written comprehension. This is true for all grade levels (K-5). When students have been able to read a text fluently with high accuracy but have not passed the written comprehension, it is usually because of any or all of the following reasons: proper sentence structure, capital letters, proper punctuation, re-words the question in the answer, uses specific details/information from the text to support their answer (proof).
After the student reads the story they are asked to answer five oral comprehension questions. These questions usually require students to make predictions, summarize the beginning, middle or end of the story, clarify which character was associated with a specific action, and give an opinion as to why a certain event happened in the story Answers should show reasoning and interpretation.
The last piece in the TRC is the written comprehension (only for levels F-Z). Depending on the level of the book, students are asked to answer two written comprehension questions. Students are allowed to use the book to help them answer the questions. They may go back to the text and look for the answer or locate details from the text that can further support their answer. The comprehension questions are graded using a 0-3 rating scale based on the answers and rubrics provided in the mClass assessment manual. Students must pass the written comprehension in order to be considered proficient and in order to move to the next reading level. Just because a student can read a book fluently with high accuracy, does not mean that the student is understanding what they are reading. MCLass not only looks for oral comprehension but also requires written comprehension. This is true for all grade levels (K-5). When students have been able to read a text fluently with high accuracy but have not passed the written comprehension, it is usually because of any or all of the following reasons: proper sentence structure, capital letters, proper punctuation, re-words the question in the answer, uses specific details/information from the text to support their answer (proof).
Reading Level Benchmark Goals for First Grade
The levels listed below are mClass goals for 1st grade students for beginning of year (BOY), middle of year (MOY), and end of year (EOY). These goals align with Granville County standards, are Granville County approved, and also align with Granville County benchmark proficiency guidelines.
Beginning Of Year- Level D
Middle Of Year- Level G
End Of Year- Level J
Beginning Of Year- Level D
Middle Of Year- Level G
End Of Year- Level J