Stages and Standards in Literacy: Teaching Developmentally in the Age of Accountability

Abstract

This article describes a model of literacy development, as reflected in students’ spelling. The model, based on research that has identified five stages of word knowledge, explains the development of this knowledge in readers and writers, and provides a framework for elementary-grade instruction that is intended to: 1) address grade-level expectations established by the English/Language Arts standards of the Common Core State Standards, and 2) describe a developmentally appropriate approach to instruction. The model also informs the assessment of word or orthographic knowledge in order to gain insight into the range of developmental levels in a classroom, and to guide instruction in whole-class and small-group contexts. Examples focus on a third-grade classroom in which the range of developmental levels includes beginning, transitional, and intermediate readers and writers, and suggest the implications of developmentally grounded instruction for supporting students’ growth toward achieving grade-specific Common Core State Standards in reading and language arts.

Assessing Approaches to Learning in School Readiness

“…Particularly, in program evaluation and accountability, important and politically sensitive program evaluations often are conducted by request of funders, such as federal agencies, state and local governments, nongovernment organizations, and private philanthropy that require reliable and valid data for meaningful investment decisions (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, 2011). An additional concern is that the high-stakes testing movement (Books, 2004; Kim & Sunderman, 2005; Woodside-Jiron & Gehsmann, 2009) coupled with oversimplified and one-time-used assessments has produced deleterious effects on vulnerable populations (Gehsmann & Templeton, 2011–2012). This concern was also reflected by UNICEF research (Brito & Lumlingan, 2012).…”

Validating an Online Assessment of Developmental Spelling in Grades Five Through Eight

“…Knowledge of a student’s stage of development has implications for not only what is taught but how and when (Bear et al, 2016; Gehsmann & Templeton, 2011–2012; Templeton & Gehsmann, 2014a). Understanding the developmental continuum allows teachers to match instruction and instructional materials to students’ “instructional zones” or “zones of proximal development” (Betts, 1946; Vygotsky, 1978).…”