Organizing Testing Data

Hey, hey ladies! It's Megan from I Teach. What's Your Super Power? I'm here today to share a little organizational gem with you.

It's back to school time. Which means you are currently DROWNING in paperwork. Yea for being a teacher, right? Just when you think you may have a handle on the beginning of the year paperwork, it's time for literacy assessments. More paper.

You know the worst part of beginning of the year assessments? No, not hearing 44 kids read the same fluency passage. It's all the forms you need. And don't have. And can't find. And forgot to make copies of. And where are those DRA books? That to me is always the worst. Then I'd get started late, be rushed, frustrated. All lovely feelings to throw into the beginning of the year mix. But a couple of years ago I figured out answer. The box. A lovely, simple, white Ikea magazine box. This beauty has everything I need. Take a look:

I didn't say this organization was rocket science. But it is efficient. I have a folder for our fluency screener and another folder for our quick phonics screener. Each folder has a million copies of the recording sheet and several of the student sheet. Behind those folders are folders for each DRA level that I might possibly need. The last folder holds originals of everything. You ever notice that if you put the original in with the copies you use, you inevitably use the original? Not this girl.

This last picture shows how I made sure I get all the tests in that I need. In our district, all third and fourth graders take the fluency assessment. ESL kiddos and at risk kids are also assessed using the DRA and a quick phonics screener. I make one sticky note for each of my sections to keep track of what I still need to do. (I made fake sticky notes for privacy.) Again, not rocket science, but it made my reading assessments much less stressful to manage.

Here's a little back to school laugh for you: