Oral Comprehension and Fluency Test Administration

[Luv2Travel]

This is my first time posting. I am administering the End of Year Assessment for 4th grade using the Core Knowledge Curriculum and have a question. After having the student to read the selection aloud for fluency, and when asking the comprehension questions, is the student aloud to look back at the reading selection if they don’t remember the answer from the first time they read the text aloud? It does not specify this in the instructions. The reason I ask is because some students may be so focused on reading the text without making any errors that they forget to pay attention to the story as they read it.

[Tree Frog]

I'm not a specialist, but rather a beginning teacher who is currently taking an STR course. 

Were they told they would be asked comprehension questions at the beginning of the assessment? That was important information for my 1st graders when I assessed them. 

I don't think they should look back. Comprehension is based on understanding the text, not just looking at the pictures. If they're struggling so much to decode, it will show in their comprehension. I wonder if the student could instead reread the story, then answer the comprehension questions.

Hopefully someone else with more knowledge than me will be able to answer your question. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Tree Frog
Assessed, not addressed

[Momto6inIN]

Welcome to the boards! 🙂

I would have them read it once for fluency, and then if they struggled with comprehension questions I'd let them read it again to themselves and then try again.

[Luv2Travel]

@Tree Frog They read the text fluently. No struggles with decoding.

@Momto6inIN I agree. Just wanted to be sure.

[AmandaVT]

I administer achievement testing at my school - reading comprehension tests generally allow the student to reference the text when answering questions. Otherwise, the assessment is testing memory more than comprehension. (WIAT and K-TEA are the two I typically use when testing for special education evaluations). 

[Luv2Travel]

Thanks Amanda that makes sense.