How to Administer
an
INFORMAL READING INVENTORY
Before the inventory:
1. Develop
rapport with the student.
2. The setting
in which you administer the IRI should be as quiet and isolated as possible.
Try to speak in a relaxed tone and reassure the child constantly that
they are doing great. Explain that this is not for a “grade” and that they are
REALLY helping you by letting you practice with this inventory.
NO child should leave this setting feeling bad or that they have not done
well.
3. For grades
1 and 2 you should used individual index cards for each of the twenty words on
the lists you will need. The words
should be printed in black ink in GOOD manuscript (printing) handwriting. The
words should be large and clear. You
will need to prepare these sets of cards in advance.
Since you don’t know the exact ending level, you should be prepared by
having preprimer, primer, first, second, and third word lists on cards.
If you are administering the IRI to a child who the teacher believes is
reading above grade level, you can switch to using the word lists in the book
after third grade. Keep each set of
cards separate in rubber bands and marked with a small letter on the back of the
first card to indicate the level (i.e., pp, p, 1, 2, 3).
4. If you are
administering the IRI to a child grade 3 or above, you can use the word list in
the book. Provide the student with
a cardboard (or stiff board) marker to put under each word as he or she reads
it.
5. Have all of
your copies ready BEFORE you begin your session with the child.
Do NOT ask to make the copies at your school.
You will need student copies of all the word lists you think you will
“reasonably need.” In other
words, if you are administering an IRI to a third grade student who the teacher
indicates as reading BELOW grade level it would be reasonable that you would
need word lists and graded passages for preprimer, primer, first, second, third,
and fourth (possible listening level). You
will also need copies of all the “TEACHER” forms that go with those words
lists and graded passages. Copies
of all summary sheets will also be needed.
6. NOTE on selection of child for this practice IRI: If you have K, 1, or 2 ask you teacher to recommend a child who is at or above grade level (otherwise you may get a child whose frustration level is preprimer and you won’t get much practice administering an IRI). If you have 3rd or above, you may ask for a child who is at any level. If a child frustrates at preprimer or primer then you will need to give the IRI to another student. It takes several administrations before you can trust your results due to administration errors on your part. The more experience you have with giving multiple levels then the more understanding you will have of exactly how an IRI is administered, scored and used to lead instruction.
Administering the GRADED WORD LISTS
Explain to the student that they will be reading a list of
words. Tell the child that while
they are reading you are going to be making some notes. You should try to mark your list discretely.
USING A TAPE RECORDED REALLY HELPS so that you don’t have to
make lots of notations in front of the child.
Then you can reply the tape as many times as necessary to check for
accurate markings.
1. READ page
14 and 15 numbers 1 through 6. These
passages provide instructions for how to MARK the Word List Scoring Guide (pages
58, 59, 60).
2. Start the
graded word list at least two years below the student’s grade in school.
IF there is ANY miscue on that list, drop to an easier level and continue
to drop to lower levels until there are NO miscues or you are at preprimer
level. (p. 15)
3. The HIGHEST
level word list on which the student makes NO errors is the level at which you
should start administering the graded passages.
4. You
continue asking the child to read the word lists until you have determined the
Independent level (0-2 errors), the Instructional level (3-4 errors), and the
Frustration level (5+ errors). You
start the graded passages at the level at which NO words were missed.
If words were missed on ALL levels, you start at preprimer.
NOTE: Figure 2-2 on page 14.
Administering the GRADED PASSAGES
The oral reading sequence should begin on the highest level
at which the student achieved a perfect score on the graded word list.
The student should be told, “I want you to read some stories for me.
Some of them will be easy for you; others will be hard.
You are not expected to read everything perfectly.
Just do your best. If you don’t know a word, try to figure it out instead of
skipping it. After you finish each
story, I’m going to ask you some questions about it.”
1. Read the
introductory statement at the beginning of the first graded passage.
Do not indicate correctness or incorrectness.
If the child pauses briefly and looks at you, say “go on.”
If the child struggles for more than 5 seconds, you should tell them the
word and mark TP on the word you gave to the child.
(TP stands for “teacher pronounced”).
p. 16
2. Use table
2-1 (p. 16) to mark miscues. Don’t
try to analyze or make decisions about these miscues while the child is reading,
just mark everything and then figure out later what counts for what.
3. After the
student has finished reading the passage, remove his/her copy and ask the
accompanying comprehension questions. Record
any incorrect responses for later analysis.
4. If an
INDEPENDENT level (word recognition and comprehension) was met at this level,
move to the next HIGHER level and repeat the process.
If an independent level was not reached, drop back to the next lower
level passage and administer the graded passage at that level.
Continue to drop back to a lower level until the independent level is
determined. NOTE:
You may not be able to determine this with some students … they may not
be at the independent level at preprimer.
5. Continue
moving up or down in levels until independent, instructional, and frustration
levels are located. (chart on page
3)
6. Both
criteria (word recognition and comprehension) must be met to establish the
independent and instructional reading levels; in contrast, only ONE of the
criteria need to be met to establish the frustration level.
7. When a
student reaches frustration level, it is appropriate to begin listening
comprehension testing. The examiner
should read aloud one section from each successive level (beginning with the SAME level at which the child reached frustration - different version)
and ask the student the
accompanying comprehension questions. Progressively
higher levels should be administered until the student is unable to answer at
least 75 percent of the questions asked. The
highest level at which the student still gives correct answers to at least 75
percent of the comprehension questions is the listening comprehension level.
(p. 20)
NOTE: Frequently
Asked Questions on page 32-34.
Due to time constraints we will not be administering the SILENT reading passages for this assignment.
Burns, P. and Roe, B. D. (2002). Informal reading inventory: Preprimer to twelfth grade, 6th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
12/30/2004 10:42:14 AM