STUDENT-TEXT MATCH ASSESSMENT

The student-text match is a very useful tool to help decide whether the textbook is at an appropriate level for understanding by the student. For my student-text match, I chose to use a maze passage because they are usually less frustrating for the student. I talked with my practicum teacher, Mrs. Gaskins, and asked her for a student that would be willing to do the passage. Without thinking, she told me that Larry Brewington would be perfect for it. Larry is an exceptionally bright student for Mrs. Gaskins' class. He seems to be a level ahead of the rest of the class because he gets bored with the class very easily. Mrs. Gaskins said that he finishes with his work before anyone else and then goes to sleep. Mrs. Gaskins allows him to sleep in her class because he consistently makes A's on his tests.

Before I administered the passage to Larry, I observed him for two sessions. Larry is a very quiet student, but he usually has something to say before he drifts off to sleep. He is easily bored with the class because he catches on to things faster than anyone else in the classroom. Whenever he is awake, he does seem to take good notes (most of the students do not even bother to take notes). I believe that Mrs. Gaskins needs to attempt to use Larry to her advantage. He is one of three or four students in the classroom that quickly catches on to the subject matter. It seems that all four students fall asleep in class because they are bored. I think Mrs. Gaskins could keep the faster students' interests if she were to allow them to help teach the class. If Mrs. Gaskins were to let the four students explain ideas and concepts to others in small groups, both sets of students would benefit: the faster learners would stay interested because they were actually getting to do something, and the slower learners could hear the concepts from the perspective and form from their peers. Grouping would increase the interests of the fast learners, like Larry, because they would be actively involved in the discussion.

I had a hard time trying to decide which passage to give the student: the maze, or the cloze. I finally decided to give Larry the maze passage because I felt like it would cause the student less stress. When I was making the passage, though, I felt like I was making it too easy. I found myself not wanting to cause Larry too much strife, but I did not want to make it too easy. I found it very difficult to think of words for Larry to choose from also.

While Larry was doing the passage, I noticed he was pondering over some words. Although I could not tell him, Larry asked me for the meaning of words that I thought to be quite simple words: quaint, nobility, jeering, vagrants, patrons, scandalous, matrons, subtle, and gesture. He told me after he finished that he did not know what the word ‘quaint' meant but he chose it anyway. After he finished the passage, I asked him to read the same passage from his book. Larry read very well, but stumbled over the words he asked the meaning of earlier. After he read, he noted that he noticed some portions of the passage where he had chosen the incorrect word.

Larry did very well on the maze passage, getting 81% of the passage correct. Although an 81% on a maze passage indicates an independent reader, I am reluctant to say this score is valid. I say this because of the difficulty I had in making the passage. As I stated before, I did not want to make the passage too hard or too easy. As I look at it now, I do believe I made the passage easier than it should have been. Maybe it would have been best to give Larry both the maze and the cloze passage and to take an average of the two. I believe this would have given a more accurate view of Larry's reading comprehension ability.

See copy of maze passage.

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