Qualitative Spelling Inventory (QSI)

1 Qualitative Spelling Inventory (QSI) Highly Recommended Grades 1-12 Frequently Asked Questions 2010-2011 Vision: As a courageous, innovative leader in education, Washoe County School District will be one of the nation s top performing school districts, graduating all students college and/or highly skilled career ready. Mission: To create an education system where all students achieve academic success, develop personal and civic responsibility, and achieve career and college readiness for the 21st century. 425 East Ninth Street Box 30425 Reno, NV 89520-3425 Heath Morrison, Superintendent Public Policy, Accountability & Assessment pg. 3 8/18/2010 Quick Links WHAT IS THE Qualitative Spelling Inventory (QSI)?

2 WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ADMINISTERING THE QSI? WHAT QSI MATERIALS DOES WCSD PROVIDE? TO WHOM AND WHEN SHOULD THE QSI BE ADMINISTERED? WHO DETERMINES WHEN THE IRI IS ADMINISTERED? WHO ADMINISTERS THE QSI? WHICH Spelling LIST SHOULD BE USED FOR THE QSI? HOW IS THE QSI ADMINISTERED? HOW IS THE QSI SCORED? HOW DO I COMPLETE THE EDUSOFT SCORE SHEET? HOW IS THE OVERALL PERFORMANCE SCORE FOR AN INDIVIDUAL STUDENT USED? HOW IS THE DEVELOPMENTAL Spelling LEVEL FOR AN INDIVIDUAL STUDENT DETERMINED? WHICH ORTHOGRAPHIC FEATURES ARE MEASURED IN A SPECIFIC Spelling STAGE? IS SUPPORT ON ADMINISTERING AND SCORING THE QSI PROVIDED? PRIMARY Spelling Inventory LIST ( words THEIR WAY, 3RD EDITION, 2004) ELEMENTARY Spelling Inventory LIST ( words THEIR WAY, 3RD EDITION, 2004) INTERMEDIATE Spelling Inventory LIST ( words THEIR WAY, 3RD EDITION, 2004) UPPER LEVEL Spelling Inventory LIST ( words THEIR WAY, 3RD EDITION, 2004) Public Policy, Accountability & Assessment pg.

3 4 8/18/2010 WHAT IS THE Qualitative Spelling Inventory (QSI)? Spelling inventories are words specially chosen to represent a variety of Spelling features or patterns at increasing levels of difficulty. The words in Spelling inventories are designed to show students knowledge of key Spelling features that relate to the different Spelling stages. The lists are not exhaustive in that they do not test all Spelling features; rather, they include orthographic features that are most helpful in understanding where to begin instruction. Students take an Inventory as they would a Spelling test. The results are then analyzed to obtain a general picture of their development.

4 Spelling inventories are a powerful yet easy way to see what students understand about the orthography. (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, et. al, 2004, pg. 34). WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ADMINISTERING THE QSI? The QSI provides a partial picture of a student s reading and Spelling skills. It allows a teacher to assess a student s Spelling and orthographic knowledge and to determine a stage of Spelling development for each student, pinpointing the learning needs of the student. WHAT QSI MATERIALS DOES WCSD PROVIDE? The following Spelling inventories may be used with WCSD s adopted Assessment Management System, Edusoft: The Primary Spelling Inventory (Bear, D., Invernizzi, M.)

5 , Templeton, S., Johnston, F., 2004. words Their Way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary and Spelling instruction. 3rd Ed., Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.) The Elementary Spelling Inventory ( words Their Way) The Intermediate Spelling Inventory ( words Their Way) The Upper Level Spelling Inventory ( words Their Way) All resource materials related to the administration and analysis of the QSI are from the 3rd edition of words Their Way (2004) and are included in this document with permission of the authors. TO WHOM AND WHEN SHOULD THE QSI BE ADMINISTERED? The WCSD Assessment Division has strengthened the alignment between the district-wide QSI implementation plan and the principles of data use.

6 Starting in the 2010-2011 school year, the QSI in grades 1-6 will no longer be mandatory. The Assessment Division highly recommends its use for all students in grades 1-2, for below-grade-level students in grades 3-6, and for all ELL students and will continue to support it. The implementation plan calls for the mandatory use of the QSI to complete the Oral Proficiency and Word Study (OPAWS) battery in 2011-2012. Quick Links Page Public Policy, Accountability & Assessment pg. 5 8/18/2010 WHO ADMINISTERS THE QSI? Since the QSI is designed to be used by elementary classroom teachers to inform instruction, classroom teachers assess the students.

7 In this way, the classroom teacher can observe behaviors during the assessments in addition to interpreting the results from the assessment in order to accommodate student learning. Elementary classroom teachers (grades 1-6) enter QSI data for English as a Second Language (ESL) students into Edusoft so that the data may be used to complete the OPAWS assessment. Middle school and high school ESL teachers assess students and enter the QSI data into Edusoft. *An analysis of QSI score sheet shortcut options and the rationale for using the required score sheet may be accessed on the K- 6, 6-8, and 9-12 District Assessment web pages. WHO DETERMINES WHEN THE QSI IS ADMINISTERED?

8 Each school site can determine the timeframe within a given 12-week period that the IRI is to be administered. WHICH Spelling LIST SHOULD BE USED FOR THE QSI? Teachers will choose the Spelling Inventory that most suits the needs of the students in the class from the following list. In a few cases, you ll find that the Spelling list doesn t match the student s developmental range. In those instances, you will want to choose a different, more appropriate Inventory to administer, which will give you the data you need to inform instruction. A copy of each list is included in this document. Spelling Assessment Grade Range Developmental Range Primary Spelling Inventory (Specific directions for administering this assessment are available in words Their Way, 3rd, Ed.)

9 , 2004, ) K- 3 Emergent to early syllables and affixes Elementary Spelling Inventory (Specific directions for administering this assessment are available in words Their Way, 3rd Ed., 2004, pp. 304-307) K- 6 Late emergent to early derivational relations Intermediate Spelling Inventory (Specific directions for administering this assessment are available in words Their Way, 3rd. Ed., 2004, pp. 308-310) 3-8 Late letter name-alphabetic to middle derivational relations Upper Level Spelling Inventory (Specific directions for administering this assessment are available in words Their Way, 3rd. Ed., 2004, pp. 311-316) 5-12 Within word pattern to derivational relations Quick Links Page Public Policy, Accountability & Assessment pg.

10 6 8/18/2010 HOW IS THE QSI ADMINISTERED? Each Spelling Inventory will assess the structural word knowledge students bring to their reading, writing, and Spelling . You can administer this same list of words three times a year, within each 12-week period, to measure students progress. Do not send the student QSI s home with the students. Retain the assessments for your records. Create a Relaxed Atmosphere. Let students know that you are administering this assessment to learn about how they spell. Let them know that THIS IS NOT A TEST You may want to prepare an assessment paper ahead of time with an area for the student s name, the date, and the numbers for the assessment already on the page*.