READING INSTRUCTION: ASSESSMENT

The essential components of a structured literacy program include explicit and rigorous instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.  An evidence-based, comprehensive assessment system supports “educators to adjust instruction to meet the specific needs of students” (Spear-Swirling, 2018).  Evidence-based reading assessment is critical for students with Learning Disabilities and reading difficulties but can also be used to help all students who may have opportunity gaps in their overall reading skills.  

(Evidence Based Reading Assessment in the Science of Reading, Malcolm) 

Types of Reading Assessment 

Screeners: A quick measure used to identify whether a student is reading at benchmark (consistent with grade expectations) or is in risk for reading difficulties.  Evidence-based screening tools will be scripted and come with administration and scoring guidelines.  Benchmark cut scores are established based on research through longitudinal studies.  Screening tools cannot tell us specifically what is causing the student to fall below benchmark.  Therefore, some students will likely need to participate in diagnostic assessment (see below) and will need support to close opportunity gaps.  

Diagnostics - These tools enable further exploration into identified areas of need for specific reading sub skills and strategies. Diagnostic tools are longer and help teachers to dig deeper into opportunity gaps to differentiate reading instruction or plan targeted intervention support.  For example, is the student struggling with digraphs and trigraphs, segmenting, or blending phonemes?  Depending on how they are used, some assessment tools can be used as either a screener or a diagnostic tool.   

Progress Monitoring - Progress monitoring tools typically come with screening tool packages.  Whereas screening tools are typically administered 3 times per year and are based on benchmark or grade level cut scores, progress monitoring tools can be administered more frequently and at the student’s individual instructional level.  Progress monitoring tools measure effectiveness of instruction/ intervention and enable the teacher to adapt and adjust instruction.  Since these tools are in alignment with a student's current reading skills, they allow students and teachers to see and celebrate skill growth that a benchmark assessment may not register.

Outcome Measures - Judge effectiveness of instruction on a broader scale (Standardized tests, exams, projects, etc..)

Affective Reading Measures - Measure how students feel about reading/ reading goals. (e.g. rating scales, surveys, reflections)  Affective Reading Survey sample here. Reading Goal and Reflection sample here. 

(Differentiated Literacy Instruction, Grades 4 & 5, Walpole et al., 2020)