Incorporating Choice in Reading to Promote Student Success in the High School English Classroom
Major
English – Literature
Second Major
Educational Studies
Submission Type
Oral Presentation
Area of Study or Work
Educational Studies
Faculty Advisor
Leah Nillas
Location
CNS C102
Start Date
4-12-2025 8:30 AM
End Date
4-12-2025 9:30 AM
Abstract
Within the high school English classroom, students are often assessed and graded through reading comprehension assessments. The purpose of these assessments is to gauge student understanding of class readings and texts, however, English language learners or students with dyslexia demonstrate that the assessments are not solely assessing reading comprehension (DelliCarpini, 2009; Schneider & Gong, 2016). While a student may comprehend a text at a proficient level, an essay based comprehension test would create an obstacle for a student with dyslexia to demonstrate their text comprehension (Schneider & Gong, 2016). The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that encourages differentiating how students receive and produce content (Cast, 2024). Considering the UDL framework, in order to promote student success in the ELA classroom and develop comprehension of texts, this classroom research looks into the impact of allowing students to choose the mode and format of their reading comprehension assessment. The study compares three high school English students’ formative and summative assessments over the course of a unit. Through student work, student feedback, and teacher observations, the impact of allowing these students to choose their assessment format is shown to encourage students to further interact and engage with texts and improve their overall performance on reading comprehension.
Incorporating Choice in Reading to Promote Student Success in the High School English Classroom
CNS C102
Within the high school English classroom, students are often assessed and graded through reading comprehension assessments. The purpose of these assessments is to gauge student understanding of class readings and texts, however, English language learners or students with dyslexia demonstrate that the assessments are not solely assessing reading comprehension (DelliCarpini, 2009; Schneider & Gong, 2016). While a student may comprehend a text at a proficient level, an essay based comprehension test would create an obstacle for a student with dyslexia to demonstrate their text comprehension (Schneider & Gong, 2016). The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an educational framework that encourages differentiating how students receive and produce content (Cast, 2024). Considering the UDL framework, in order to promote student success in the ELA classroom and develop comprehension of texts, this classroom research looks into the impact of allowing students to choose the mode and format of their reading comprehension assessment. The study compares three high school English students’ formative and summative assessments over the course of a unit. Through student work, student feedback, and teacher observations, the impact of allowing these students to choose their assessment format is shown to encourage students to further interact and engage with texts and improve their overall performance on reading comprehension.