I knew at that at some point Irene or Gay Su would have to write something about the text level controversy and the CCSS. We've talked about this subject in my grad classes and I've alluded to it at school. But here is the first article I have read that addresses it head on, Text Levels-Tools or Trouble? Fortunately, it is by Irene herself!
http://lesleyuniversitycrrlc.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/text-levels-tool-or-trouble/
http://lesleyuniversitycrrlc.wordpress.com/2013/10/23/text-levels-tool-or-trouble/
She makes some very good points:
We did not intend for levels to become a label for children that would take us back to the days of the bluebirds and the blackbirds or the jets and the piper cubs. Our intention was to put the tool in the hands of educators who understood their characteristics and used it to select appropriate books for differentiated instruction.
In our best efforts to use assessment indicators, we want to be sure that our purposes best serve the children we teach and give families the important information they need. This may not mean using labels such as book levels that hold more complexities and are intended for the use of the educators as they make day-to-day teaching decisions.
Point made. Point taken. Lesson learned.
We did not intend for levels to become a label for children that would take us back to the days of the bluebirds and the blackbirds or the jets and the piper cubs. Our intention was to put the tool in the hands of educators who understood their characteristics and used it to select appropriate books for differentiated instruction.
In our best efforts to use assessment indicators, we want to be sure that our purposes best serve the children we teach and give families the important information they need. This may not mean using labels such as book levels that hold more complexities and are intended for the use of the educators as they make day-to-day teaching decisions.
Point made. Point taken. Lesson learned.
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