On the other hand...

"People who know it all have a lot to learn," is a quote I picked up (or made up) a while back. If I had a dollar for every time I thought I had something completely figured out only to find I was in error, I wouldn't be as concerned about the gradual erosion of my retirement fund.

I had such an experience yesterday during a staff meeting. In the past couple years, I have struggled with the the notion of assessing reading at the middle level. The Common Core Standards require assessments of content far beyond a student's reading level, encompassing everything from comparisons of similar texts in different forms to evaluating an author's choices of evidence. Reading level is not directly referenced until the tenth Learning Target of both Reading Measurement Topics (Reading Informational Text and Reading Literature). To date, my approach has been to ignore text complexity until I assessed that tenth Learning Target. This has worked well, giving what I perceived as a clearer picture of just what a student can and can not do related to reading (rather than just a student's ability to read).

I noticed the first credible signal that my approach to reading assessments could be in error during a meeting in which staff were shown the latest Educate public releases from the Maine Cohort for Customized Learning. This latest release included the text complexity requirements of the tenth reading Learning Target within each of the earlier Learning Targets. This was obviously a departure from my prior thinking.

In a follow up conversation with a colleague, she suggested that including the text complexity requirement within each assessment would provide a clearer picture of each student's current skill and knowledge level. This becomes clearer when you look at correlating Learning Targets over levels. The Learning Targets are remarkably similar as they progress through the levels (previously grades, but ultimately levels of student skill and knowledge). Adding a text complexity component to each of those Learning Targets provides more information. With text complexity in the mix it is possible to identify and share not just if a student can, for example, compare similar texts in different forms but also the complexity of text with which a student can still successfully perform that task.

This makes sense. Of course, it is still important to provide each student with readings at their instructional and independent reading levels. Yet, text complexity probably has a greater role to play in assessment than simply the tenth Learning Target.  (More on this in a future entry.)

This idea requires greater thought on my part and is a good reminder to constantly be on the lookout for the complacency that can come with having figured something out. In short, none of us knows it all, and we all have a lot to learn.