Student Inclusion
Ideally, every student would be included in provincial reading data collection; however, participation in a levelled reading assessment will not be the reality for all children. For the purpose of collecting data to determine progress toward our reading Outcome and Hoshin, the Provincial Leadership Team (PLT) has approved the following guidelines to help define eligible students:
Students learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) in Grades 1-3 in English schools
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- The purpose of conducting levelled reading assessments is to inform effective instruction for each student. EAL learners in English schools should be assessed when they are able to comprehend and respond to prompts about print text. Students should participate in a reading assessment as soon as information gained from the assessment can be used to inform appropriate text selection that will support their reading growth.
- Reading assessment reports generated from the Student Data System include a student’s Common Framework of Reference (CFR) level to identify the learner’s EAL profile. Every EAL student has a CFR level recorded in the provincial Student Data System by the end of September each year. The CFR is more than a reading level. It is a reference framework that helps to guide decisions about inclusion of EAL learners in a levelled reading assessment.
Action Item: Students below the B1.1 CFR level are not included in Grades 1 to 3 provincial reading level statistics, even if students have been assessed and a level has been entered for them. Students who are below level B1.1 and are not yet able to be assessed should have a value of NM (not measurable) entered in the data system.
Other students
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- The purpose of conducting assessments is to help provide effective instruction for each student. Students should participate in a reading assessment when information gained from the assessment can be used to inform appropriate text selection that will support their reading growth.
Action Item: In rare instances, exemptions may occur based on a recommendation by a collaborative team which includes the classroom teacher and school-based members, and is connected to division-based personnel. Students who are in this category should have a value of NM (not measurable) entered in the data system.
- Exemptions may include:
- students who have limited communication skills or are unable to communicate;
- students whose intellectual functioning is significantly below average; and,
- students with severe emotional and/or behavioural difficulties who are unable to be assessed, or for whom levelled reading assessment may be harmful.
In the rare instance that a student is not assessed for another reason (such as absence during the assessment period), a value of NA (not assessed) should be entered in the data system. At the end of an assessment period (January or earlier, and June), every student on a teacher’s class (homeroom) list should have a value entered for a reading level, which will either be an actual reading level, or NM or NA.
Saskatchewan Reads 