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