CARS OVERVIEW
The research-based Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies (CARS) module of CARS & STARS Online helps educators identify students' strengths and weaknesses in the 12 standards-based reading skills.
Pretests, Benchmark and Post Tests that cover a range of genres.
Longer reading passages are followed by selected-response questions.
Series includes complete reporting for teachers, removing the need for manual marking, and self-assessment forms for students.
Use results to target instruction with the Strategies to Achieve Reading Success (STARS) instructional module.
WHY USE CARS?
The research-based CARS Series helps you quickly identify which of the 12 standards-based reading comprehension strategies your students might be struggling to understand. Informed by this data, you can then provide students with targeted instruction depending on each student's individual needs by using STARS.
BENEFITS OF CARS INCLUDE:
Pretests, Benchmarks and Post Tests to easily and conveniently monitor students' progress.
Complete reporting for teachers, removing the need for manual marking, and self-assessment forms for students.
Assessments covering a diverse range of genres and cross-curricular content.
Responses to strategy-specific questions to help you tailor instruction.
Self-assessments to encourage goal setting and reflection.
1
Pretest
To be done at the beginning of the year. Give students one test per day for five consecutive days.
2
Benchmarks
To be done throughout the year. There are five benchmarking tests to be administered in 45-60 minute periods.
3
Post Test
To be completed at the end of the year. Give students one test per day for five consecutive days.
STRATEGIES BY READING LEVELS
Level AA
Pre-reading- Finding Main Idea
- Finding Details
- Putting Things in Order
- Understanding What Happens and Why
- Making a Guess
- Figuring Things Out
Level A
Beginning Reading- Finding Main Idea
- Recalling Facts and Details
- Understanding Sequence
- Recognising Cause and Effect
- Making Predictions
- Finding Word Meaning in Context
- Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences
- Reading Pictures
Level B - C
Early Reading- Finding Main Idea
- Recalling Facts and Details
- Understanding Sequence
- Recognising Cause and Effect
- Comparing and Contrasting
- Making Predictions
- Finding Word Meaning in Context
- Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences
- Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
- Identifying Author's Purpose
- Interpreting Figurative Language
- Distinguishing Between Real and Make-believe
Level D - H
Main Strategies- Finding Main Idea
- Recalling Facts and Details
- Understanding Sequence
- Recognising Cause and Effect
- Comparing and Contrasting
- Making Predictions
- Finding Word Meaning in Context
- Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences
- Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
- Identifying Author's Purpose
- Interpreting Figurative Language
- Summarising
THE PERFECT FIT FOR YOUR CLASSROOM
The CARS Student MODULE
Student Progress Chart to measure strengths and weaknesses by strategy across Pretests, Benchmarks and Post Tests
5 Pretests, 5 Benchmarks & 5 Post Tests
2 Self-assessments
Rewarding experience
The cars Teacher module
Overview of the program
Complete Reporting
Ability to make data-driven adjustments
Suggestions for effective use
Research summary
Answer Keys
RESEARCH-BASED BEST PRACTICES
CARS RESEARCH
The CARS Series is a diagnostic, progress monitoring and assessment tool that helps teachers focus their reading instruction to meet each student's needs. These classroom-based assessments meet the recommendations of several reading organisations and educational experts.
DATA-DRIVEN INSTRUCTION
Data-driven instruction is an approach that benefits every student. Instructional decisions are based on the systematic collection of data that reflects students' understanding. Researchers recommend that data that drives instruction should come from multiple sources. The CARS Series provides multiple sources of data to guide instruction through Pretests, Benchmarks, Post Tests and Teacher Assessments.
PRETESTS, BENCHMARKS AND POST TESTS
Data-driven instruction is based on the data resulting from diagnosing, benchmarking and assessing students' performance on a learning task (Education Commission of the States, 1992; IRA, 2010; Trimble, Gay & Matthews, 2005). From these results, teachers may tailor their instruction to meet each student's needs. The CARS Series is specifically constructed to provide teachers with the data they need to create effective and customised lesson plans using the STARS Series.
QUICK-REFERENCE GUIDE OF BEST PRACTICES
Core Reading Strategies
These are the fundamental reading strategies that bring thinking skills and reading together, allowing students to understand what they are reading.
Throughout the series
"Great readers make sense of text … Readers need to make sense of what they read and they do so by mobilising literacy processes simultaneously."
(Frey, Fisher & Berkin, 2009)
SHOW EXAMPLE
Best Practices: Strategies & Features
These are teaching strategies and instructional features that guarantee effective research-based instruction.
Throughout the series
Parris and Block (2007) state that effective teachers address diverse needs of students through: individualised instruction and flexible grouping strategies that attend to individual needs within the context of groups.
SHOW EXAMPLE
Metacognition
Students set learning goals and then self-evaluate for clarity and accuracy of their performance. They think about what strategies or skills need to be activated or improved to achieve their next milestone or final goal.
Student Module: Student Self-assessments
"Strategic reading reflects metacognition and motivation because readers need to know the strategies and to be willing to use them."
(Kolic-Vehovec & Bajsaski, 2006)
SHOW EXAMPLE
Progress-Monitoring
These are the fundamental reading strategies that bring thinking skills and reading together, allowing students to understand what they are reading.
Student Module: Pretests 1–5, Benchmarks 1–5, Post Tests 1–5
"Research has demonstrated that when teachers use students’ progress monitoring, students learn more, teacher decision-making improves, and students become more aware of their own performance."
(Safer & Fleischman, 2005)
SHOW EXAMPLE
Assessments
This feature is closely tied to common learning goals and provides decision-making guidance for each student.
Student Module: Pretests 1–5, Benchmarks 1–5, Post Tests 1–5
"In the […] search for ways of raising academic achievement, there seems to be wide-spread agreement that a 'standards-based' education system is the key to improvement."
(Briards & Resnick, 2000)
SHOW EXAMPLE
CARS RESEARCH
The core reading strategies that underpin the entirety of the CARS & STARS Online digital reading comprehension program form an underlying instructional framework that recurs throughout every level and provides consistency of understanding and instruction for students and teachers alike. These research-proven strategies, taken together, offer a complete recipe for increased student awareness of textual features and concepts, and provide a direct and understandable pathway to improving reading comprehension for each and every student.
CARS Supporting Research
by Hawker Brownlow Publishing
CARS & STARS Online and the Victorian Curriculum
by Hawker Brownlow Digital
CARS & STARS Online and the National Literacy Learning Progression
by Hawker Brownlow Digital
CARS & STARS Online and the Australian Curriculum 9.0
by Hawker Brownlow Digital
CARS & STARS - Placement Test Quick Guide
by Hawker Brownlow Digital
A Study for the Instructional Effectiveness of CARS & STARS
by Educational Research Institute of America
Overcoming the Odds: A study of Australia's top-performing disadvantaged schools
by Blaise Joseph
High performing primary schools: What do they have in common?
by William Louden
PICK A PLAN NOW
At Hawker Brownlow Digital, we understand that everyone's needs are different, so we've created short-term 3-month, mid-term 6-month and full-term 12-month subscription plans tailored to your needs to help you to achieve your goals.
WHAT PRINCIPALS, TEACHERS AND PARENTS ARE SAYING
This differentiated program allows students to read texts which are at a level suitable for their current ability and leads to students being more engaged in reading lessons. As a result, they can experience success and improve their reading and comprehension abilities. CARS & STARS Online is an important part of the English program and we are seeing fantastic improvement across all years in students' reading and comprehension abilities.
Linda Samardali
Head of Department from Kinross College
I've found CARS & STARS Online has really helped in improving my children's reading skills. The skills were all clearly presented with a lot of samples and practice opportunities. The student report also gives the parents a clear guide as to which areas need reinforcement and which areas each child is strong in.
Shannon Zhao
Parent from Sydney
I have found CARS & STARS Online very beneficial, especially during our time teaching and learning remotely. The ability to track live what the students are doing was helpful to ensure that they were remaining on task and to provide feedback.
Brent Ritchie
Teacher from Haileybury
Now that I understand how to use the online program and utilise the tools correctly, I am enjoying using CARS & STARS Online. The ability to locate and download the different reports is phenomenal!
Amber Rains
Teacher from Kambala
I am a bit of a technophobe but using CARS & STARS Online has certainly made life easier and the kids have found it easy to navigate.
Jo Oram
Teacher from Prescott College Southern
CARS & STARS Online has become a very useful tool for my staff to implement effective teaching and learning programs. Having a tool that gives timely assessment results, meets students at their level of need and allows them to see exactly what students are working on in real-time is time effective and impacts on future goals.
The detailed assessment data generated by CARS & STARS Online informs the specific direction of their reading and comprehension teaching. Students report they enjoy the tasks and feel a real sense of accomplishment as they work through the lessons and assessments at their own pace.
Craig Brown
Principal from Toongabbie Public School
REFER YOUR SCHOOL TO CARS & STARS ONLINE
Do you like what you’ve seen and want to share it with your teachers and principals? Use the Refer Now button to send them an information pack containing the benefits of CARS & STARS Online (which include Australian Curriculum 9.0 teaching resources), supporting research, professional development information, pricing and available plans with just one click.
