Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Emergent Literacy (Assessment)

Please post your response by Jan. 25. What are the differences between the Bridge and the ERSI? Why? What question(s) do you have about emergent literacy?

17 comments:

  1. They both measure aspects of emergent lliteracy. The Bridge assessment is completed by the teacher, but the ERSI is more like a little test the students have to participate in. The Bridege could be completed by the teacher just observing the student over time. I feel like the difference may be that The Bridge is for younger kids. The ERSI is more specific. How do you assess young students with significant disabilities to determine where they are as far as emergent literacy is concerned?

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  2. The Bridge is an assessment farmework for early literacy, based on observation and developmental analysis. Bridge is founded on four central concepts- All children can learn. Families are the first teachers. Partnerships between the school and the family yields the best outcome; and early language abilities are taught incidentally. The ERSI is the "Early Reading Screening Instrument." This test addresses alphabetic knowledge, concept of word, phoneme awareness and word recognition. The Bridge seems to be a more wholistic approach with a more specific rating scale. It is based more in observation, and is also still in the experimental phase. The ERSI has been used longer, but may also have more limitations. It takes measurement less from observation, and more from explicit tests.

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  3. Both of these assessments are effective if they are used correctly. The Bridge assessment is more based on observations and work done by the student. Many of the observations are done early on in the childrens life. The Bridge assessment is given to the younger population of students that are not fully cabale of being literate, but are struggling early on. This assessment is typically done by the teacher overtime. Oberservations and the student's work is the base of this assessment. Where as the Early Reading Screening Instrument is an assessment that helps screen lower readers. The four areas that this assessment includes are alphabet knowledge, concept of word, phoneme awareness, and word reginition (Morris 30). As you can see this assessment is more specific. Since the ERSI has less observations how can it be as accurate than the Bridge? I just know that when I have to sit down and take a test that I know could impact my education I get really nervous and tense, but when I am in a typical setting I am more relaxed and ready to do my best.

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  4. The Bridge is an observation-based assessment tool that is used to determine ongoing progress & children's interests as well as to inform daily practice related to early language & literacy development. It is a tool that was created specifically to inform literacy-related classrooms with children with & without disabilities functioning in the birth-to-5 developmental range. The ERSI, or the "Early Reading Screening Instrument”, is an assessment tool used to identify kindergarteners at risk for learning to read. The ERSI is used to assess reading readiness in kindergarten children so that one can promptly begin an intervention to prevent or, at the very least, to diminish risk for reading failure. The ERSI is much more specific & has more restrictions than The Bridge. Instead of using observations as a tool of measurement for the final outcome of the assessment like The Bridge, The ERSI uses many subtests with little wiggle room to be given in test results. Are there other, more effective tools for assessing emergent literacy other than The Bridge & the ERSI?

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  5. The Bridge is a portfolio rating scale of preschoolers’ oral and written language. The Bridge is used to make sure that children, their families and their communities are working with the children as early as possible so they can have literacy abilities and supports.
    Early Reading Screening Instrument (ERSI) was first made to screen low-reading first graders. ERSI is an individually-administered assessment and it is now used to see how much printed word knowledge a student has. ERSI has four task areas: alphabet knowledge, concept of word phoneme awareness (spelling), and word recognition.
    Are there different strategies of emergent literacy for those young students who are just starting to learn English as their second language?

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  6. The Bridge is an assessment that uses observation to determine student progress. This assessment also helps teachers determine language and literacy development. Educators look at a series of work completed by the student, observe that work and draw conclusions about the students development. The Early Reading Screening Instrument (ERSI) assesses literacy development in kindergarten students. This assessment helps teachers know where their students are in terms of their reading development. This assessment is great because it allows for early intervention in the students reading development. It is different from the Bridge assessment because it narrows the age range. I am curious as to how this tests are given and how students typically respond to the tests.

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  7. The Bridge and the ERSI are both assessments that evaluating emerging literacy in preschoolers. The Bridge allows the child to stay in their natural environment, while the teacher evaluates them. The teacher watches the student and sees how they interact with different objects of literature. Based on these interactions the child is given a certain number of points. More than likely the child does not even realize that they are being evaluated, which would cause a low stress environmnet.I would consider the ERSI as more of an assessment. The teacher sits down with the child and gives them what would be considered a test. On sheets of paper the child has to indicate whether the recognize different letters or word recognition. Other aspects of literacy are also tested. Obviously the child would be able to tell that they are being evaluated. This may cause stress, which could affect the students performance. Out of these two assessments which do teachers prefer to give?

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  8. The Bridge Assessment and The ERSI(Early Reading Screening Instrument) are both useful tools for assesssing emergent literacy in developing children.The Bridge Assessment is based on observation and is a tool used to gather information on younger children, usually between the ages of three and five.This Assessment is also more losely constucted and not as specific as the ERSI.The Bridge Assessment also accounts more for daily interations and parental involement and accountability in it's use as an assessement tool.The ERSI is an Assessment tool used in beginning reading classes usually around the first grade. It is a useful tool for helping teacher determine differnces in reading levels and can be a reference point for new teacher tring to assess students from year to year.The ERSI is more specific in it's use, using four main categories to determine literacy. Alpabet Knoledge,Concept of word,Phoneme Awareness and word recognition are individual test used to gain insight into a child subject knoledge.With both test being equal in validity is the teacher the final say on competancy in this sbject matter or is it determined by a group of professionals?

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  9. The Bridge is an early literacy and language assessment. The assessment begins when the child is born. The test is not only a way for teachers to assess children but also their parents. The test is based on observations. There are many fields that the child is tested in; such as motor skills, phonemic skills, expressive skills, retentive skills, and the child's willingness to learn and their interactions with books. The scoring system of the Bridge is not black and white; it leaves room for gray so that if the child has the potential to develop the skill he/she still earns credit for trying. The ERIS is more critical, they use the same concept to assess the child but only test him/her on reading skills: such as alphabet skills, concept of words, phoneme awareness, and word recognition. This test is only concerned with what the child knows about reading at that particular time. It is a more detailed test that has many subtest in it so that the teacher can understand what the child can do. I believe that a child can be good at many different skills which is why I think the Bridge is a well rounded test. The ERIS is looking for one result and knows how to pinpoint what it is looking for. Is the Bridge test a good way to spot a child who may need early intervention with specific skills?

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  10. The Bridge is used for younger children who show signs of struggling early on. It is completed by a teacher observing the student over a period of time. The results of the Bridge are based on the student’s work and observation. Because of this the students are assessed in their natural environment not knowing that they are being assessed. The purpose of the assessment is to determine the progress of the child’s oral and written language. It is important to gather this information early so that the child has the necessary supports needed.
    The ERSI is used to assess kindergarten children. The ERSI is more of a test and assesses more directly and specifically. The results are based on test and not observations. The students sit down with the teacher and using paper identifies letters or words. Because the student knows they are being assessed this could skew the results, as many children will not perform to their best ability under the stresses of a test. The purpose of the assessment is to determine how much printed word knowledge a student has. It is important to gather this information so that an intervention can begin as soon as possible and the teacher knows where the student lies in regards to their reading development.
    Of these two assessment tools, which do educators prefer to give, and do students typically perform better on one verses the other?

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  11. Both emergent literacy and ERIS have to do with learning about the student. Emergent literacy deals more with loosely assessing each student from birth until early preschool years. A parent or teacher simply takes notes and studies a child's tendencies and reactions to particular aspects of reading and writing. Some examples are when a child might hit his fist on a book and smile or a child might really enjoy scribbling in a coloring book at an early age. A teacher or parent would record that data and check child's progress. I feel like it is more of an observation rather than an actual assessment like the ERIS. The ERIS takes 4 aspects of learning which are: alphabetic learning, concept of word, phoneme awareness, and word recognition and tests children in those areas. I think the Bridge in emergent literacy is much better tool because it helps with gradual growth of the student whereas the ERIS is an assessment in attempt moreso to label a child. I feel like you can learn more from observing a child rather than to test them.

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  12. It seems as if ERSI is used mostly as an individual assessment, to interpret where a child stands in terms of literacy. In other words, in what ways can a teacher help this student with their specific strengths or weaknesses. However, since the child will know they are beinf tested, it could make concentration or thought processes more difficult for the student. The Bridge Assessment is when they gather information on a student when they are in a natural environment or setting for learning. I believe most would agree this a more comfortable and perhaps even more helpful approach for both student and teacher.

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  13. The Bridge and the ERSI are both assessments that are used in evaluating literacy students. In the Bridge teachers observe students to determine progress. Teachers look at work completed by the students and draw conclusions about their progress. The ERSI lets teachers know where students are in their reading development. The ERSI is more specific in its use, and uses four main categories to determine literacy. These categories help teachers understand where a child stands on their subject knowledge. How are these test given? Do students tend to do better on one versus the other? Can thesr test be used to determine if a student is lacking in a certain subject area?

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  14. Both the ESRI and the Bridge focus on emergent literacy. The ESRI is flexible in its administration and informal. It is observational and it focuses on four key elements. Alphabet knowledge: recognizing letters. Concept of a word: knowing that those letters, put together, infer meaning and make words. Phonemic awareness: knowing the sounds the letters make. And word recognition: decoding words. It can help teachers create baseline data to know where to begin instruction. It was created with school-aged children in mind. Seems to be very in depth. The Bridge is good for assessing preschoolers. It is a great support for families who are interested in it because it seems to be heavily family dependant since it is aimed more toward preschoolers. One component that I thought was really cool with the Bridge was that it assesses how a child responds to the book not just the written word. I never thought of that as being important but I guess it is. This test seems to be more natural in its assessment. I thought it was also really cool that the first foundation for it was that all children can learn to read. I want to learn when it will be appropriate to use the one or the other. How can I tell when one will be better to administer than the other?
    How long do we classify someone as emergent literate? At what point do we say someone is literate?

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  15. The ERSI and the Bridge are both means of assessing students' literacy.The Bridge test was developed as a global standard with which to measure the English proficiency of begining and intermediate learners. The ERSI seems to be more of an individual assessment to test where a student's needs are in terms of their literacy. The Bridge is information collected over time unlike an actual test that the child sits down to complete. It could become overwhelming for a student when they are aware that they are being tested, therefore I believe that the Bridge is a more efficient way to gather accurate information on a student's level of literacy. Which one seems to come out more accurate? Do teachers prefer one over the other?

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  16. The Bridge assessment is done by a teacher observing a child, without the child knowing. The test is done in their everyday enviroment, so that they are not brought out of their norm and are able to do their normal activities, without the pressure of being "tested". the results of the Bridge are based on the student's work and what the teacher observed the student doing. They are looking for the student't oral and written language. This test is to be done on a child who is struggling at an early age and will need help throughout their school career.
    The ERSI is considered more of a test and is preformed on kindergarten children. The children try to indentify letters or words with their teacher, and they know they are being tested. Since they know they are being tested, it could cause them stress and make them do poorly on the test and miss things they actually do know. But, this test also allows teachers to know where a child stands on knowledge of printed words, so that they can either move on or try and get that child extended services.

    Which one of these test assess the child in a way that best represents their tru knowledge?

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  17. The Bridge assessment and the ERSI (Early Reading Screening Instrument) assessment are focused on children at very young ages and both in the subject of reading. The Bride tends to preschool age children, while the ERSI is for first grade students. The Bridge is very focused on the concept that family involvement is the most important to a childs learning; this concept seems to be the most important just because it is focused on children at such a young age. The fourth concept of the Bridge is that learning comes through incidental and explict teaching; these instances are most likely to happen away from schools and in the homes so it is very important for parents to take advantage of these times to teach their children. The positive aspect of this form of assessment is that it is "authentic" and more complete than standardized screening and assessment tools. The article on the Bridge mentioned that it is still being validated for reliability, and therefore, is not important to me as a teacher to be implemented until further research has been conducted. ERSI is also directed to children at a young age, but at an older age level than the Bridge. The four areas this assessment tests are: alphabet knowledge, concept of word, phoneme awareness, and word recognition. The ERSI is an informal measure which provides practical information as the article states; it is important for teachers because it can be useful to detect readers that may need extra support. Both of these assessments may be beneficial for some; however, I do not feel these types of assessments will be important to me when I become a teacher due to the population and disabilities I plan on teaching.

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