CRITICAL READING ASSESSMENT PROJECT
What is the Critical Reading Assessment Project?
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The CRA Project aims to develop a reading assessment tool that gauges TK-12 student ability to read critically and foster critical reading behaviors in students associated with Community Based Literacies. Reading critically is a unique approach to understanding what we read. A few ways readers demonstrate critical reading include:
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Questioning the author
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Questioning the text
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Identifying biases in texts
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Approaching texts from multiple points of view (e.g., reading about a local water shortage from the perspective of a business owner or local wildlife).
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Understanding information represented in multimodalities ie., word texts, data representations, embedded video clips, etc.
Current Project Activities:
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Identifying engaging texts that elicit a critical approach (e.g., identifying biases).
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Adapting critical texts for readers in TK-12 grades that involve young developing readers who represent a range of cultural and linguistic knowledge.
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Exploring what it looks and sounds like to think critically about what we read.
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Assessing TK-12 students as guided by the Critical Reading Assessment Protocol.
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Analyzing student responses to identify strengths and developing strategies in critical reading practices.
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Scheduling an Assessment:
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The CRA Project welcomes TK-12 students for assessment opportunities in critical reading. Please contact Luis Narvaez at luisnarvaez@ucsb.edu to schedule an assessment.