PLACEMENT TEST - Smart Achievers
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SMART WORDS Word Study Program PLACEMENT TEST Julie Bradley © Revised 2014
Transcript of PLACEMENT TEST - Smart Achievers
SMART WORDS
Word Study Program
PLACEMENT TEST
Julie Bradley
© Revised 2014
SMART WORDS PLACEMENT TEST Introduction: In order to place students at an appropriate level of the SMART WORDS program the following placement test may be used. The test is to be used to place students in the program at their appropriate working level. In the test Level T is the highest level tested for placement through to Level C being the lowest. Each level has been arranged from higher (more difficult words) to lower lists (easier words) for convenience of testing. This also allows the students to leave the test feeling more positive and hopeful as they finish with the easiest words in the level. A Screen Test is available for use after completing 10 weeks of Smart Words Level A and PMP. Level B is a separate test. Students scoring accuracy on Level T will need to work consecutively through the extension levels: U, V, W and then X. Testing Process: Initially the whole class may be tested at the same time starting at a level judged to be midway for the group. Or, where possible a class should be split into two or three testing ability groups. These groups may be based on spelling age test scores (eg Schonell) or, on the teacher’s knowledge of the students. Testing should begin at a level that the tester believes is just beyond the ability of the best achieving student in the group. Test one appropriate level set of words. Placement Test Procedure Levels C to T: Print and distribute grid for answers. Students complete name and date. Teacher calls word, places it in a sentence for meaning, and repeats the word. Students write the word. Those students who have all the words correct in a level, should be tested
on the next higher level, until the highest level of mastery is found. Those with errors at a given level should be tested at the next lower level
until a full set is seen to be mastered. Please note: one or two words incorrect at each level may be allowed. Three errors or more in a level indicates that this is the level the child needs to be working at. While one group is being tested the remainder of the class should be set work that is at a level that the students can complete without requiring the teacher’s assistance or discussion.
Recording the Results: Record the results on a master sheet indicating the lowest level at which each pupil has scored three or more errors. Organise the names and the lev-els from highest to lowest scores. There will be some students who have such scattered knowledge that they will have errors at all levels. The teacher’s discretion should be used to put these students at an appropriate level for the first book. The next testing (at the completion of that book) will give a more realistic level for these stu-dents as gaps in their knowledge are filled by the program. Organising Groups: The class list that is organised into strongest to weakest spellers should help the teacher to recognise four common working groups (maximum). Choose four (4) lowest common denominator points from the set of tests in order to group the students into 4 manageable teaching groups. It will not disadvantage some students to review some words they have already learnt. Working with words they can easily “spell” correctly will make it easier to become familiar with the activities / format of the work books. Typically the middle two groups will be larger allowing for the groups at the top and bottom of the range to be smaller so more/less assistance may be offered to extend or modify/revise where necessary. These two groups may need more/less work to master a rule or phoneme and their program may need to be more individualised. An extended group may gain understanding of a new rule or phoneme quickly allowing the teacher more time to work with their bottom group. Even though the top group may accelerate through the work quicker they will could be granted more time to explore the Day 4 activ-ities and extend their general and word knowledge beyond the list of example words presented in the list they are currently working on. An analysis of results of the students working below level would indicate if any lists could be missed if the group showed mastery. These children need to ‘catch up’ and even though they cannot be rushed through the program, they may be able to skip lists that they already know the rule and/or the phoneme/grapheme representation for. Further diagnostic testing may be necessary for some students (memory, vi-sion, visual skills, hearing, auditory skills, speech and/or handwriting). Example: A Year 2 teacher’s subjective judgement was used as to where students would begin the test. Testing was started at Level J for the more able group and at Level E for other group. At the end of the testing the teacher had 4 groups. An L group (because most of these students had mas-tered Level K), a group beginning on Level I (having mastered Level H), a group on level F and another on Level D.
Starting the program: Begin the four day cycle as shown in the SMART WORDS program (refer to: instructions in the front of each workbook, course notes or training DVD). Placement Retesting: After the students have completed one level of the program, retest and reassign groups. Test the level the student has completed and then, if necessary test higher levels. Many students progress very rapidly after starting the program as they learn the rules, sound groups and fill many of the gaps in their knowledge, and may be able to be placed at a higher level. Each student, after this second testing will begin the level above the level at which the placement test has shown mastery. When starting students on levels it is pertinent to remember: ** Levels which have the most new sound groups to be learnt. i.e. Level C, Level E, Level G, level J. Level K, Level L, Level O, Level T, Level X All children should complete these levels. ** Levels which have fewer new sound groups to be learnt. i.e. Level D, Level F, Level I, Level W Great revision for those who need it. ** Levels which are consolidation / review Levels with the least new sound groups to be learnt. i.e. Level H, Level M, Level N, Level P. Level Q. Level R. Level S. These are also important revision lists for many children. A teacher may consider missing these levels with their extension group if they conduct a pre test using the Placement Test and find that students have mastered all the rules/phonemes covered in a level. Level M is a mainly a revision level but includes some excellent activities on grammar, particularly apostrophes. *** Extension Levels: Level U, Level V, Level W, Level X Extension students will need to work through all of these levels and lists in consecutive order. These are consolidation lists and include less common rules and phonemes that are also important. For strong spelling competency schools should aim for the majority of their students to complete these levels.
Mastery of Level B: Sound, Name, Symbol (SNS) check: The child must be able to give the sound a letter may make, the name of a letter, and write a symbol (upper or lower case) for each letter.
The following testing page is provided in a simple font. Teachers will need to replace this page with the script they are currently using if manuscript is not used at this stage.
c i l t j
a d e g o
r n m h
u y
p s f b
k v w x z
qu
Test date: Score: Action:
Name: Date commenced:
Date achieved:
c i l t j
Sound Name Symbol S N S S N S S N S S N S
a d e g o
S N S S N S S N S S N S S N S
r n m h
S N S S N S S N S S N S
u y
S N S S N S
p s f b
S N S S N S S N S S N S
k v w x z
S N S S N S S N S S N S S N S
qu
S N S
Notes:
Children must be able to: Name the letters Give the common sound a letter may make Write the symbol for the majority of common letters Competently write 3 sound / 3 letter words (CVC words) before moving on to Level C. [email protected] can also supply: Simple analysis and synthesis (reading and writing) master sheets including testing sheets. Level B Supplementary Reading Activities Read Along Sing Along Nursery Rhymes and Songs Pack Further diagnostic testing may be necessary for some students: Memory Vision Visual skills Hearing Auditory skills Speech Handwriting: fine/gross motor skills Ideally the Screen Test for Formal Learning should have been administered after 10 weeks of Level A Smart Words Smart Start with PMP
Mastery of Level B: Writing simple 3 letter words.
Test 1: can
red
big
pot
nut
Test 2: bag
men
sit
log
rug
Test 3: rag
let
bin
top
sun
Procedure: Test 1: Conduct this test with all children who show mastery or near master of SNS of letters of the alphabet. If they score 5/5: proceed onto Level C Placement Test. If they score less than 5/5: analyse the errors and make a decision to revise SNS or complete some 3 letter word analysis and synthesis practise
sheets. These are available from [email protected]. At-tempt the sheets that relate to the letter that the child displayed difficulty with after appropriate discussion. Instructions are in-cluded with the pack. There is a sheet for every letter of the al-phabet.
When analysis and synthesis of 3 letter words become easy for the child test them on Test 2 words. Analyse errors and make a decision to either: 1. Proceed on to the Level C placement test 2. Continue on 3 letter words and retest with Test 3 words when
appropriate. If you are unsure of how to deal with a problem then contact Julie at [email protected] for some free advice. Problems to consider: reversals, letter confusion (b/d/p/q) poor lettering, letters out of sequence, use of capitals.
Answ
er #
Leve
l C
Answ
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Leve
l D
Answ
er #
Leve
l E
14 chip 14 sank 19 low
13 king 13 bunch 18 saw
12 far 12 trip 17 out
11 tall 11 smart 16 book
10 fish 10 cry 15 new
9 neck 9 she 14 smell
8 skin 8 cloth 13 think
7 sand 7 rung 12 boat
6 off 6 shelf 11 town
5 mess 5 chill 10 wait
4 toy 4 brick 9 read
3 doll 3 this 8 room
2 day 2 sleep 7 whip
1 seed 1 tray 6 sway
5 sheet
4 hard
3 scrap
2 have
1 they
Placement Test for Levels C D E
Test Procedure: Print and distribute grid for answers. Students complete name & date. Teacher calls word, places it in a sentence for meaning, and repeats the word. Students write the word. 3 errors indicates the list is too hard for the student and their paper may be collected. If the list is: Too hard (3 or more errors) try them on an easier level. Too easy (less than 3 errors) try them on a harder level. Working level is the level that is the lowest level they score 3 or more errors on.
Smart Words Placement Test Level C Name:________ Date:_________
Word Number Word
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13
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9
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6
5
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2
1
Smart Words Placement Test Level D Name: ____________ Date: _________
Word Number
Word
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Smart Words Placement Test Level E Name:_______________ Date: _____________
Word Number
Word Word Number
Word
19 9
18 8
17 7
16 6
15 5
14 4
13 3
12 2
11 1
10
Answ
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Leve
l F
Answ
er #
Leve
l G
Answ
er #
Leve
l H
21 home 12 blind 17 south
20 bite 11 grass 16 crawl
19 gave 10 fright 15 spooky
18 found 9 spy 14 peach
17 stood 8 begin 13 carpet
16 flew 7 only 12 white
15 lawn 6 frosty 11 clay
14 grow 5 sliding 10 ticket
13 quack 4 smoke 9 much
12 first 3 cold 8 patch
11 morning 2 space 7 free
10 dream 1 those 6 snack
9 toast 5 blank
8 clown 4 some
7 tooth 3 string
6 train 2 sharp
5 pair 1 block
4 corn
3 bird
2 threw
1 shrank
Placement Test for Levels F G H
Test Procedure: Print and distribute grid for answers. Students complete name & date. Teacher calls word, places it in a sentence for meaning, and repeats the word. Students write the word. 3 errors indicates the list is too hard for the student and their paper may be collected. If the list is: Too hard (3 or more errors) try them on an easier level. Too easy (less than 3 errors) try them on a harder level. Working level is the level that is the lowest level they score 3 or more errors on.
Smart Words Placement Test Level F
Name:___________ Date:______
Word Number Word
Word Number Word
21 10
20 9
19 8
18 7
17 6
16 5
15 4
14 3
13 2
12 1
11
Smart Words Placement Test Level G
Name:_________ Date:________
Word Number
Word
12
11
10
9
8
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6
5
4
3
2
1
Smart Words Placement Test Level H
Name:________ Date:________
Word Number Word
17
16
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14
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9
8
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6
5
4
3
2
1
Answ
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Leve
l I
Answ
er #
Leve
l J
Answ
er #
Leve
l K
14 river 18 rabbit 19 page
13 bush 17 puddle 18 hedge
12 pie 16 ladder 17 money
11 uncle 15 creamy 16 watch
10 sigh 14 please 15 busy
9 ask 13 fence 14 many
8 between 12 horse 13 bought
7 happy 11 leave 12 pear
6 lazy 10 beware 11 chair
5 stove 9 hear 10 coal
4 hire 8 coast 9 soup
3 grade 7 crew 8 castle
2 dirty 6 grain 7 hour
1 forget 5 tower 6 knife
4 her 5 wrong
3 pole 4 around
2 war 3 church
1 boil 2 heavy
1 half
Placement Test for Levels I J K
Test Procedure: Print and distribute grid for answers. Students complete name & date. Teacher calls word, places it in a sentence for meaning, and repeats the word. Students write the word. 3 errors indicates the list is too hard for the student and their paper may be collected. If the list is: Too hard (3 or more errors) try them on an easier level. Too easy (less than 3 errors) try them on a harder level. Working level is the level that is the lowest level they score 3 or more errors on.
Smart Words Placement Test Level I
Name:___________Date: __________ Word
Number Word
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Smart Words Placement Test Level J
Name:__________ Date:_________
Word Number Word
Word Number Word
18 9
17 8
16 7
15 6
14 5
13 4
12 3
11 2
10 1
Smart Words Placement Test Level K
Name:_________ Date:________
Word Number Word
Word Number Word
19 9
18 8
17 7
16 6
15 5
14 4
13 3
12 2
11 1
10
Answ
er #
Leve
l L
Answ
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Leve
l M
Answ
er #
Leve
l N
21 already 16 whistle 22 plenty
20 cable 15 answer 21 loose
19 work 14 single 20 sailor
18 great 13 worn 19 jumper
17 where 12 blanket 18 judge
16 cotton 11 travel 17 charge
15 walk 10 number 16 stoke
14 aunt 9 ditch 15 umpire
13 could 8 easily 14 huge
12 blue 7 chart 13 waste
11 grey 6 tenth 12 small
10 soar 5 finish 11 flour
9 angry 4 weren’t 10 warn
8 buy 3 you’re 9 spare
7 people 2 buckle 8 awful
6 valley 1 keen 7 pillow
5 tube 6 screw
4 these 5 poach
3 tough 4 howl
2 heard 3 least
1 door 2 faint
1 choose
Placement Test for Levels LMN
Test Procedure: Print and distribute grid for answers. Students complete name & date. Teacher calls word, places it in a sentence for meaning, and repeats the word. Students write the word. 3 errors indicates the list is too hard for the student and their paper may be col-lected. If the list is: Too hard (3 or more errors) try them on an easier level. Too easy (less than 3 errors) try them on a harder level. Working level is the level that is the low-est level they score 3 or more errors on.
Smart Words Placement Test Level L
Name:___________ Date: __________
Word Number
Word Word Number
Word
21 10
20 9
19 8
18 7
17 6
16 5
15 4
14 3
13 2
12 1
11
Smart Words Placement Test Level M
Name:_________ Date:________
Word Number Word
16
15
14
13
12
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10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Smart Words Placement Test Level N
Name:_________ Date:________ Word
Number Word Word
Number Word
22 11
21 10
20 9
19 8
18 7
17 6
16 5
15 4
14 3
13 2
12 1
Answ
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Leve
l O
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Leve
l P
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er #
Leve
l Q
18 fruit 18 muscle 20 warmth
17 purple 17 stretch 19 scare
16 sugar 16 fifth 18 craft
15 piece 15 perish 17 breathless
14 whose 14 squirrel 16 proper
13 group 13 metal 15 strengthen
12 music 12 reef 14 nephew
11 toe 11 harvest 13 plough
10 concert 10 delay 12 spoonful
9 flood 9 enjoy 11 shallow
8 touch 8 butcher 10 routine
7 cover 7 sunnier 9 appear
6 spoilt 6 bravest 8 boast
5 repair 5 misplace 7 frown
4 careful 4 court 6 contain
3 leather 3 nation 5 caught
2 basket 2 husband 4 permit
1 hotel 1 against 3 yacht
2 written
1 scene
Placement Test for Levels OPQ
Test Procedure: Print and distribute grid for answers. Students complete name & date. Teacher calls word, places it in a sentence for meaning, and repeats the word. Students write the word. 3 errors indicates the list is too hard for the student and their paper may be collected. If the list is: Too hard (3 or more errors) try them on an easier level. Too easy (less than 3 errors) try them on a harder level. Working level is the level that is the lowest level they score 3 or more errors on.
Smart Words Placement Test Level O
Name:___________ Date: ________
Word Number
Word Word Number
Word
18 9
17 8
16 7
15 6
14 5
13 4
12 3
11 2
10 1
Smart Words Placement Test Level P
Name:____________ Date: ________
Word Number
Word Word Number
Word
18 9
17 8
16 7
15 6
14 5
13 4
12 3
11 2
10 1
Smart Words Placement Test Level Q
Name:__________ Date: __________
Word Number Word
Word Number Word
20 10
19 9
18 8
17 7
16 6
15 5
14 4
13 3
12 2
11 1
Placement Test for Levels R S T
Test Procedure: Print and distribute grid for answers. Students complete name & date. Teacher calls word, places it in a sentence for meaning, and repeats the word. Students write the word.3 errors indicates the list is too hard for the student and their paper may be collected. If the list is: Too hard (3 or more errors) try them on an easier level. Too easy (less than 3 errors) try them on a harder level. Working level is the level that is the lowest level they score 3 or more er-
Answ
er #
Leve
l R
Answ
er #
Leve
l S
Answ
er #
Leve
l T
14 height 21 idea 18 appointment
13 lounge 20 believe 17 fanciful
12 private 19 worse 16 insecure
11 dangerous 18 cruise 15 disappear
10 motor 17 argue 14 freezer
9 enemies 16 search 13 bravery
8 airy 15 reappear 12 carton
7 coarse 14 arrive 11 reference
6 pity 13 distant 10 ceiling
5 damage 12 question 9 choice
4 parade 11 double 8 escalator
3 gaze 10 anywhere 7 factory
2 title 9 pupil 6 difficulty
1 concrete 8 mention 5 weigh
7 cough 4 trial
6 surprise 3 though
5 notice 2 nature
4 formal 1 onion
3 length
2 surface
1 delight
rors on.
Smart Words Placement Test Level R
Name:___________ Date: _________
Word Number Word
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Smart Words Placement Test Level S
Name:___________ Date:_________
Word Number
Word Word Number
Word
21 10
20 9
19 8
18 7
17 6
16 5
15 4
14 3
13 2
12 1
11
Smart Words Placement Test Level T
Name:___________ Date: _________
Word Number
Word Word Number
Word
18 9
17 8
16 7
15 6
14 5
13 4
12 3
11 2
10 1
Guide to Levels and Ages Approximate guidelines only
Level Age Preparing Your Child for School 0-5
AB 5-6
CDE 6-7
FGH 7-8
IJK 8-9
LMN 9-10
OPQ 10-11
RST 11-12
UVWX Extension
There is no placement test for Levels UVWX. When students finish Level T they simply move onto Workbook U then V then W then X. The content of these levels revises and consolidates sounds and rules taught throughout the program. Difficult and less common rules and sound are also covered in Levels U to X. When students master Level T they should be competent, independent spellers. Students completing the program to Level X CAN SPELL and do not need to continue with Word Study lessons and these could be replaced by genre writing which embrace and enhance the editing skills learnt throughout Smart Words Word Study Program. A full chart of content (new and revision) is available from
website: www.smartachievers.net.au
