RICA Overview

RICA Rationale

• Beginning teachers need to be able to deliver effective reading instruction that:– is based on the results of ongoing

assessment;– reflects knowledge of state/local

reading standards;– represents a balanced,

comprehensive reading curriculum;– Is sensitive to the needs of all

students.

Attitude of RICA Developers

• Emphasis is on a “balanced” approach to teaching reading.

• Balanced instructional reading program consists of:– “systematic, direct, and explicit” skill and strategy

instruction• Skill: something the reader does automatically• Strategy: something a reader consciously chooses to

implement• Direct, explicit: teacher directed. Teacher sets the

objectives, focuses on a specific reading skill or strategy.

• Systematic: Teacher knows which skills and/or strategies are appropriate for grade level as defined by the ELA Content Standards.Teacher uses assessment results to focus instructional planning.

Attitude of RICA Developers

• Balanced instructional reading program consists of:– Students should have opportunities to

use the skills and strategies through meaningful reading and writing experiences in several formats.

Important dates and fees

– RICA Written Examination will be available for computer-based testing year-round by appointment, Monday through Saturday (excluding holidays), on a first-come, first-served basis.

– Computer-based testing will be offered at 23 test centers in California.

– Cost = $172

Code to know

• Pearson Test Centers–Santa María–Pasadena–Westlake

• Institution code for UCSB–412

RICA Scoring and Passing Guidelines

• There are 120 points possible– Scaled scores range: 100-300

• A score of 81 is passing (67.5%)– Minimum passing scaled score: 220

• Good news: – Passing rate is excellent!– 90% pass rate

Five Domains of RICA

• Domain 1: Planning, Organizing, and Managing Reading Instruction Based on Ongoing Assessment

• Domain 2: Word Analysis • Domain 3: Fluency • Domain 4: Vocabulary, Academic

Language, and Background Knowledge Domain 5: Comprehension

RICA Overview

• RICA has 3 parts (4 hours):– Multiple Choice Questions

• There are 70 MC Questions.• Suggested time: 90 minutes

– Focused Educational Problems and Instructional Tasks

• There are 4 of these: 2 @ 75-125 words and 2 @ 150-300 words.

• Suggested time: 15-15-25-25 minutes each

– A Case Study• Your response to this will be approximately 300-600 words. • Suggested time: 60 minutes

Sections/Time

• Multiple Choice (70 items): – 90 minutes

• Short Essays (2): – Fluency and Vocab, Aca Lang, Prior Knowledge– 75-125 words– 30 minutes (15 minutes each)

• Long Essays (2):– WA and Comprehension – 150-300 words – 50 minutes (25 minutes each)

• Case Study (1): – 300-600 words – 60 minutes

RICA Overview

– Multiple Choice Questions• Domain 1: Planning, Organizing, and Managing

Reading Instruction Based on Ongoing Assessment = 10%

• Domain 2: Word Analysis = 24%

• Domain 3: Fluency = 8%

• Domain 4: Vocabulary, Academic Language, and Background Knowledge = 15%

• Domain 5: Comprehension = 13%

RICA Overview

• There are 15 competency areas within the 5 domains.

RICA Competency Area Specifications

• DOMAIN 1: Planning and Organizing Reading Instruction

– COMPETENCY 1: Understand how to plan, organize, and manage standards-based reading instruction.

– COMPETENCY 2: Understand the purposes of reading assessment and best practices related to standards-based entry-level assessment, monitoring of student progress, and summative assessment.

RICA Competency Area Specifications

• DOMAIN 2 : WORD ANALYSIS

– COMPETENCY 3: Understand the role of phonological and phonemic awareness in reading development and how to develop students' phonological and phonemic awareness skills.

– COMPETENCY 4: Understand the role of concepts about print, letter recognition, and the alphabetic principle in reading development and how to develop students' knowledge and skills in these areas.

– COMPETENCY 5: Understand important terminology and concepts involved in phonics instruction and recognize the role of phonics and sight words in reading development.

RICA Content Area Specifications

• DOMAIN 2 : WORD ANALYSIS

– COMPETENCY 6: Understand how to develop students' phonics knowledge and skills and recognition of sight words to promote accurate word analysis that leads to automaticity in word recognition and contributes to spelling development.

– COMPETENCY 7: Understand the role of syllabic and structural analysis and orthographic knowledge in reading development and how to develop students' knowledge and skills in these areas to promote accurate word analysis that leads to automaticity in word recognition and contributes to spelling development.

RICA Content Area Specifications

• DOMAIN 3 : FLUENCY

– COMPETENCY 8: Understand the role of fluency in reading development and factors that affect students' development of fluency.

– COMPETENCY 9: Understand how to promote students' fluency development.

RICA Content Area Specifications

• DOMAIN 4 : VOCABULARY, ACADEMIC LANGUAGE, AND BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

– COMPETENCY 10: Understand the role of vocabulary, academic language, and background knowledge in reading development and factors that affect students' development of vocabulary, academic language, and background knowledge.

– COMPETENCY 11: Understand how to promote students' development of vocabulary, academic language, and background knowledge.

RICA Content Area Specifications

• DOMAIN 5 : COMPREHENSION

– COMPETENCY 12: Understand literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension and factors affecting reading comprehension.

– COMPETENCY 13: Understand how to facilitate reading comprehension by providing instruction that prepares students for the reading task, scaffolds them as needed through the reading process, and prepares them to respond to what they have read.

– COMPETENCY 14: Understand how to promote students' comprehension and analysis of narrative/literary texts and their development of literary response skills.

– COMPETENCY 15: Understand how to promote students' comprehension of expository/informational texts and their development of study skills and research skills.

Specifications on the Domains and Competencies

• http://www.rica.nesinc.com/RC_preparation_materials.asp

COMPETENCY 1

Understand how to plan, organize, and manage standards-based reading instruction.

– Readings: • “Guided Reading within a Balanced Reading Program”

Tompkins Chapter 10, “Organizing for Instruction”

– Homework Class #1 (Class #2)• Balanced Reading program graphic organizer

COMPETENCY 2

Understand the purposes of reading assessment and best practices related to standards-based entry-level assessment, monitoring of student progress, and summative assessment.

– Tompkins: Chapter 9:• Assessing Students’ Literacy Development

– Marie Clay text

– Assignments: Literacy Assessment

COMPETENCY 3

Understand the role of phonological and phonemic awareness in reading development and how to develop students' phonological and phonemic awareness skills.

– Readings: • Word Identification Phonological Awareness and Phonics• Phonological Awareness: Hear it. Cheyney & Cohen • The Elusive Phoneme (course reader)

– Tompkins Chapter 4: • Cracking the Alphabetic Code

COMPETENCY 4

Understand the role of concepts about print, letter recognition, and the alphabetic principle in reading development and how to develop students' knowledge and skills in these areas.

– Tompkins Chapter 3: • Working with Young Readers and Writers

– See also Lit Assessment for grades K-2

COMPETENCY 5

Understand important terminology and concepts involved in phonics instruction and recognize the role of phonics and sight words in reading development.

– Readings: • Grapho-phonic Analysis: Associate it (course

reader)

– Tompkins Chapter 4: • Cracking the Alphabetic Code,

COMPETENCY 6

Understand how to develop students' phonics knowledge and skills and recognition of sight words to promote accurate word analysis that leads to automaticity in word recognition and contributes to spelling development.

– Readings: • Words and the Development of Orthographic knowledge• Connecting developmental word study….

• See also in-class graphic organizer, Stages of spelling development

– Tompkins, Chapter 5: • Cracking the Alphabetic Code

COMPETENCY 7

Understand the role of syllabic and structural analysis and orthographic knowledge in reading development and how to develop students' knowledge and skills in these areas to promote accurate word analysis that leads to automaticity in word recognition and contributes to spelling development.

– Readings: • Structural Analysis: Expand it (course reader)• Teaching for word solving (course reader)

– Tompkins, Chapter 5: • Developing fluent readers and writers

COMPETENCY 8

Understand the role of fluency in reading development and factors that affect students' development of fluency.

• Ready for RICA pp. 65-68 (3rd edition)

• Tompkins: see index

• APE = Accuracy, Pace, Expression– Note: This is where prosody comes in!

COMPETENCY 9

Understand how to promote students' fluency development.

– Tompkins pp.154-156 and 173-181

COMPETENCY 10

Understand the role of vocabulary, academic language, and background knowledge in reading development and factors that affect students' development of vocabulary, academic language, and background knowledge.

– Ready for RICA pp. 75-78 (3rd edition)

– Tompkins Chapter 6:• Expanding Students’ Knowledge of Words

COMPETENCY 11

Understand how to promote students' development of vocabulary, academic language, and background knowledge.

– Ready for RICA pp. 79-87 (3rd edition)

– Tompkins Chapter 6:• Expanding Students’ Knowledge of Words

COMPETENCY 12

Understand literal, inferential, and evaluative comprehension and factors affecting reading comprehension.

– Readings: • Strategic Reading • Proof, practice and promise

– Tompkins Chapters 7 and 8• Facilitating Students’ Comprehension: Reader

Factors and Text Factors

COMPETENCY 13

Understand how to facilitate reading comprehension by providing instruction that prepares students for the reading task, scaffolds them as needed through the reading process, and prepares them to respond to what they have read.

– CLS assignment

– Tompkins Chapters 7 and 8• Facilitating Students’ Comprehension: Reader Factors and

Text Factors

COMPETENCY 14

Understand how to promote students' comprehension and analysis of narrative/literary texts and their development of literary response skills.

– CLS assignment

– Tompkins Chapters 7 and 8• Facilitating Students’ Comprehension: Reader

Factors and Text Factors

COMPETENCY 15

Understand how to promote students' comprehension of expository/informational texts and their development of study skills and research skills.

– Tompkins pp. 270-276

– Ready for RICA pp. 114-123 (3rd edition)

Sections/Time

• Multiple Choice (70 items)– 90 minutes

• Short Essays (2): – Fluency and Vocab, Aca Lang, Prior Know– 75-125 words– 30 minutes (15 minutes each)

• Long Essays (2): – WA and Comprehension – 150-300 words – 50 minutes (25 minutes each)

• Case Study (1): – 300-600 words – 60 minutes

More RICA Resources• RICA Home Page

– http://www.rica.nesinc.com/

• RICA Sample Written Exam Form (PDF)– http://www.rica.nesinc.com/RC_publicTF_opener.asp

• Rossi, J. & Schipper, B. (1999). Case studies in preparation for the California reading competency test. Allyn & Bacon: Needham Heights, MA.

• Zarillo, J. (2011). Ready for Revised RICA (3rd edition)