Wednesday, May 13, 2009

School Stuff and A Name Game

--School Stuff: This week my students took their final Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) test for the school year. (The test is taken via computer near the end of each quarter. It is used to determine students' Lexile reading level.)

The goal for our county was to have students "gain" 75 points from their first score in October, to the score they received this week. They consider 75 points equal to one year of growth (or one reading "grade level.")

The Bad: I have 4 students' whose Lexile level dropped. (This indicates they didn't test well today, not that they are reading at a lower level.) I have 5 students who showed growth, but did not have 75 points of growth.

--The Fabulous: I had 26 of 35 students make 75+ point gains. I also had 24 students score over a 100 point gain. WAY exciting! Also exciting----6 students who gained over 200 points in their reading level, 3 students who gained over 300 points in their reading Lexile level, and 1 student who gained over 400 points in his Lexile level! YIPPEE! (He started the year at a 370 Lexile (2nd grade reading level) and is now at a 864 Lexile level (7th grade reading level.) Best of all, I have 8 students who are now considered grade level readers!! SUPER AWESOME!

--My name: I'm wondering how many readers who've never met me IRL "pronounce" my name correctly when they read it?? My entire life people have mispronounced my name. I learned long ago not to be offended by this, as there are so many different possibilities. But I am curious...

Do you think the correct pronunciation of "Alana" is:
a. Uh-lane-uh
b. Uh-lawn-uh
c. Allen-uh
d. Uh-lan-uh

9 comments:

Mrs. Gamgee said...

That's fabulous that so many of your kids made excellent strides this year! As for the name game, I hear you... my name can be spelled about 5 different ways (I spell it differently than was originally intended by my mother). I'm going to guess option D, but I won't be at all surprised to find out I'm wrong. :)

Becoming a Family of Four said...

I pronounce it "d" in my head. Am I right?

Carrie27 said...

We have a similar system here, but our students do not take the tests seriously, so we don't take them as seriously.

I'm going with d.

Marie W said...

I'm going with option d. At least thats how I have been pronouncing it.

Alana said...

Oh my! Dear readers...it is NOT D. Will give you an answer in a few days. :)

Sunny said...

Thanks for the comment on my blog! :) Congratulations on the good work with your students. I imagine that these sorts of tests would be high stress for teachers. Which of course never occured to me when I was a student!

My guess for your name is B... although A was a close second in my mind.

sklay723 said...

Alright, major "YAY!" on the advances in reading levels!!! That's really great news!

As for your name, I'm definitely saying B. My married name is "Lay" and you should hear how many people screw that one up. Don't you love it? Makes me wonder how they'd do on an SRI test... :)

Beautiful Mess said...

I pick B! Great job on your students! You're an awesome teacher! Will your school pay for you to come give Zilla a few pointers? He's a bit younger then your use to, but we need a little extra help!
*HUGS*

Laurel said...

Does my vote count? I'll bet I'll get it right, and if not, you can disown me as a sister. ;)