Reader Response

The Assessment of Thoughtful Literacy in NAEP: Why the States Aren't Measuring Up


The authors of this article state that not all reading test are created equal, and state test could be less effective then the NAEP. One thing the state and NAEp framework have  in common is that both require more than just the "ability to extract information from text." Both require some level of comprehension and thoughtful response from the student.

The research uses many methods and test and things like vocabulary knowledge, familiarity with genre, text organization, characterization, detail, text emphasis items, and higher order interpretation items. The first thing was to examine the "portion of items that assessed comprehension in an open-ended as opposed to multiple choice format" between the NAEP and state tests.It appears that the NAEP places a lot of weight on the readers capacity to create a response to the text, where the state places more merit on the student's ability to recognize and distinguish it from other less adequate responses.

In the NAEP vocabulary knowledge was seldom used, where in some state test 25% or more of the test checks vocabulary. The problem with these vocabulary test portions is they are trying to test for the ability to use contextual clues. There is one big problem with that: prior knowledge. There is know way to know if the student is performing well because they are using appropriate contextual clues, or they have learned he word elsewhere.

In the NAEP genre accounts for avery small percentage as opposed to the 11% on state tests. Some of the poor assessment genre features include just asking the student to apply a mindless definition of a genre element to a text. This can lead to problems because the student can easily answer this question with no reference or comprehension of the text.

 The authors also compare the state test and the NAEP in terms of recognition and interpretation. Which test are created to have the students recognize the information and which is actually having them interpret them. This is smart, because one can thinking of the higher orders of thinking and true cognitive ability, and to have true understanding the student must synthesize and interpret,  not just recognize. The research shows the NAEP helps foster higher order thinking.

In all, the research and analysis of the authors of the article found that teachers who encourage higher order thinking and engagement with text will prepare their students better for both test, regardless of which test is a better model of assessment. In the end, that is the most important thing for teachers to remember.