Three questions about Diagnostic Academic Language Assessments: 1. What if you were able to administer comprehensive diagnostic language assessments to determine exactly which Tier 2 academic words your students do and do not know? 2. What if these assessments were ordered by research-based frequency to help you pinpoint instructional levels? There are, and these assessments are absolutely free to administer in self-correcting Google forms.
Rationale: In addition to explicit instruction in Greek and Latin Morphology, figures of speech, word relationships, multiple meanings, and connotations, teachers know the importance of teaching academic language, thanks to the research of Beck, Isabel L. McKeown, M., & Kucan, L. (2002).
Yes, but which words? High frequency and utility seem like sensible selection criteria. Accordingly, I put together Dr. Averil Coxhead’s research-based Academic Word List in self-correcting Google forms as diagnostic assessments to inform instruction. I divided into grades 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 assessments, each with 56 words and matching definitions. Happy to share: https://blog.penningtonpublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Academic-Language-Diagnostic-Assessments-1.pdf
And question 3… What if there were comprehensive grade-level vocabulary programs (4, 5, 6, 7, and 8), which provided the corresponding instructional resources for each academic language word on the assessments and Greek and Latin Morphology (with Morphology Walls in interactive Google slides), figures of speech, word relationships, multiple meanings, and connotations? There are… check out the extensive previews for Comprehensive Vocabulary by Pennington Publishing.
If you would like to read more about how Dr. Coxhead developed her Academic Word List and download a free copy of the list, visit https://blog.penningtonpublishing.com/reading/academic-word-list/
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Diagnostic reading and ELA assessments, each with its recording matrix.
From the store · grades 4–8
Teaching Grammar, Usage and Mechanics
Grade-level lessons, remedial worksheets keyed to the diagnostic assessments, and unit tests. $49.99 per grade, licensed per teacher.
Questions teachers ask
Which grammar assessments are free?
The grammar and usage assessment and the mechanics assessment are both in the free toolkit. Each comes with a recording matrix that shows which conventions a student has and has not mastered, so instruction can be targeted instead of whole-class.
Do I have to buy anything to use the assessments?
No. Every diagnostic assessment on this site is free. Enter your email on the Free Assessment Toolkit page and the diagnostic assessments arrive as downloads, each with its recording matrix.
How are the programs licensed?
Every program is a digital download licensed for one teacher. School and district purchase orders are accepted through the store.
Mark Pennington, M.A. Reading Specialist
Thirty-six years teaching ELA and reading, elementary through community college, plus district reading specialist. He wrote every program on this site.
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