PALS Assessments, Instructional
Resources,
and Data
EDIS 5020: Instruction and Assessment
Thursday, January 31st
Ellen O. Shrum, PhD
Agenda
•
PALS: Origin, purpose, and assessments
•
PALS-PreK: Administration, scoring, and data-generated reports
•
PALS-K: Administration, scoring, and data-generated reports
•
PALS 1-3: Administration, scoring, and data-generated reports
•
PALS K-3: A screening tool
•
PALS Quick Checks
•
PALS: Instructional resources
•
PALS Website
•
Formative Assessment: Driving and Monitoring Instruction
PALS: Why Was PALS Developed?
What Is PALS?
The Phonological Awareness Literacy
Screening (PALS) is a research-based
organization dedicated to providing
instructionally useful literacy assessments on
which to plan, implement, and assess
instruction and on which to assess and monitor
student literacy achievement.
PALS Assessments
• Criterion-referenced assessment developed by Marcia
Invernizzi, PhD, and her colleagues at the University
of Virginia.
• Used in all fifty states and several foreign countries.
• Since 1999 serves as Virginia’s universal screening
and diagnostic literacy tool.
PALS: Assessments
• PALS-PreK
• PALS-K
• PALS 1-3
• PALS Quick Checks (RtI)
• PALS español (in development)
• PALS 4-8 (in development)
PALS Purpose
• Diagnose children’s knowledge of literacy fundamentals
• Screen for students who may be in jeopardy of not reading on grade
level by the end of third grade
• Monitor effectiveness of instruction, and student progress
• Plan instruction that targets children’s needs
Data You Can Trust
• Each task is research-based and measures a component of early
literacy development shown by research to predict later reading
achievement.
• Strong technical adequacy was established by thorough pilot studies
with large sample groups.
• Most excellent ratings on the National Center on Response to
Intervention’s Screening Tools Chart
http://www.rti4success.org/screeningTools
PALSPreK
PALS
Assessme
nts:
Literacy
Skills
PALSK
PALS
1-3
Print and Word Awareness
✓
Nursery Rhyme Awareness
✓
Name Writing
✓
Rhyme Awareness
✓
✓
Beginning Sound Awareness
✓
✓
Alphabet Knowledge
✓
✓
✓
Letter Sounds
✓
✓
✓
Concept of Word
✓
✓
Blending
✓
✓
Sound-to-Letter
✓
✓
Spelling/Phonics
✓
✓
Word Recognition in Isolation
✓
✓
Oral Reading in Context (accuracy,
fluency, WPM/rate, and
comprehension)
✓
PALS: Assessments and Web Site
PALS Assessments
(PALS Materials)
Online Score Entry and
Reporting System
(the PALS Web site)
The PALS Web Site, aka
The Online Score Entry and
Reporting System
•
Enter scores into online account
•
Score entry generates reports for assessing (PreK3), screening (K-3), diagnosing, and progress
monitoring
•
Resources available for planning instruction
•
Downloadable progress monitoring assessments (K3) (Quick Checks)
PALS-PreK Assessment
PALS-PreK Assessment
• Is a developmentally appropriate assessment
• Provides critical literacy data upon which to
plan instruction
• Administer in fall, mid-year, and spring of the
4-year-old preschool year (same form
administered each time)
PALS-PreK: Materials
• Teacher’s Manual
• Child Packet
• Child Summary Sheet
• Class Summary Sheet
17
PALS-PreK: Preparing to
Administer
Flexible Administration Schedule
• Complete PALS-PreK administration within
any contiguous two-week period during the
four-week window
• Fall screening window begins six weeks after
the first day of school
1st day of school + 6 weeks = 1st day of your PALS-PreK fall
window
Calculating Your Assessment
Windows
2011-2012 PALS-PreK
Assessment Calendar
The PALS Online Score Entry and Reporting System will open July 18, 2011.
Assessment Windows
In the fall, your PreK program’s four -week assessment window begins six weeks into
school. Teachers must complete the entire PALS assessment for the ir class within any
contiguous two-week period within the four -week assessment window. For your
convenience, common school start dates are listed below.
Schools opening August 1st:
FALL 2011
MID-YEAR 2012
SPRING 2012
Screening Starts
Sept. 12
Jan. 2
April 30
Screening Ends
Oct. 7
Jan. 27
May 25
Data Due
Oct. 21
Feb. 10
June 8
MID-YEAR 2012
SPRING 2012
Schools opening August 22nd:
FALL 2011
Screening Starts
Oct. 3
Jan. 2
April 30
Screening Ends
Oct. 28
Jan. 27
May 25
Data Due
Nov. 11
Feb. 10
June 8
MID-YEAR 2012
SPRING 2012
Schools opening September 7th:
FALL 2011
Screening Starts
Oct. 17
Jan. 2
April 30
Screening Ends
Nov. 11
Jan. 27
May 25
Data Due
Nov. 23
Feb. 10
June 8
How Much Time Is Required
to Administer PALS-PreK?
• Untimed, varies child to child
• Flexible administration – customize to
your schedule (for example, administer
one task per day to break up the
assessment)
Who Should Administer PALSPreK?
• Teachers
• Reading specialists
• Instructional support colleagues
To Whom Should PALS-PreK
Be Given?
 Mandatory for children in Virginia whose
PreK enrollment is partially of fully funded
by the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI)
 Optional for all other preschool children
PALS-PreK: Task Administration
& Scoring
PALS-PreK: Tasks
Each task represents a literacy fundamental that is predictive of future reading success.
Task
Includes
Name Writing
Alphabet Knowledge
Beginning Sound Awareness
Print and Word Awareness
Rhyme Awareness
Nursery Rhyme Awareness
Upper-Case Alphabet Recognition
Lower-Case Alphabet Recognition
Letter Sounds
PALS-PreK Administration
• One-on-one administration
• Approximately 25 minutes per child
• Developmentally appropriate
• Flexible administration--Don’t have to administer the entire
assessment at one time (For example, one can administer one
task to all children on each day for six days.)
• Fall, Mid-Year, and Spring recommended assessment windows
• Enter scores online via traditional score entry or the Online
Assessment Wizard
Task: Name Writing
Say,
I would like for you to draw a picture of
yourself, and then write your name.
When you are finished, I’d like for you
to show me your name.
•
If the child is reluctant to attempt name writing, encourage the child to
“pretend” to write his or her name or collect a writing sample at a more
informal time.
•
Not an all-or-nothing skill – it develops gradually and reveals what
students know about early components of literacy.
27
Name Writing: Scoring
(Administration &
Scoring Guide, Page 14)

Scoring samples demonstrate the
continuum of name writing
development

Only the written name is scored; it
is not necessary for the child to
draw a picture

Not scored based on neatness

Question child for clarification on
letters if necessary
28
PALS-PreK: Logging Into A
Teacher Account
Step 1: Go to the PALS Web site.
https://pals.virginia.edu
30
Step 2: Place your cursor on the yellow-highlighted area,
and move it down to the second link, Virginia PreK.
Click here.
31
Step 3: On the Login Page that appears, enter user
name and password.
32
Step 4: Upon login, you’re on the ADMINSTRATIVE tab.
33
Child Information:
Accommodating Non-Standard
Administration
NS
E
Entering Scores
Two Ways to Enter Scores for
Instant Access to Child Data!
Traditional Score Entry: Record scores on Child
Summary Sheets. Then, after administration,
enter scores into the PALS Web site (aka, The Score
Entry and Reporting System).
Online Assessment Wizard: Enter scores directly
into the PALS Web site during or after administration.
36
Score Entry Option:
Traditional Score Entry
Step 1: Highlight a child’s name and click the link, “Enter
Child’s Scores.”
38
Step 2: Enter scores and click the link, “Submit Scores.”
39
Score Entry Option:
The Online Assessment Wizard
(OAW)
Benefits of “the Wizard”
 Efficient
 Flexible
 Creates item-level reports
Efficient
 Reduces paperwork (e.g., Student Summary Sheets)
 Decreases chance of transfer error during score entry
 Guides K-3 assessment process (in fall and spring)
 Keeps track of scores
 Reduces assessment time
Flexible
 Use with one or all of your students
 Use during or after administration
 Use regardless of the score entry school colleagues
use
Creates Item-Level Reports
 Student OAW Report
Alphabet Recognition
Letter Sounds
Print and Word Awareness
 Class OAW Report
Using The Online Assessment
Wizard
(OAW)
Step 1: Highlight a child’s name and click
“Online Assessment Wizard.”
46
Step 2: Review information on Welcome Page;
then, click the Continue Icon or the Task Icon.
Continue Icon
Task Icon
47
Step 3: Select a task.
Upper-Case Alphabet
49
Using
the
Online
Assessment
Wizard:
PALS
Practice
Accounts
50
PALS-PreK Data Generates Reports
Child Summary Report
52
Individual
Task
Growth
Report
53
Class Summary Report
54