The Value of Reading Assessment

Reading instruction in the classroom would be meaningless without having the proper assessment tools in place. While authentic reading assessment is necessary for all readers, it is critical for struggling readers who could easily find themselves wasting valuable time on materials that confuse them and have no real connections to building their reading process system. In Catching Readers Before They Fall Johnson and Keier describe a teaching environment that is built on ongoing and informative reading assessment. This environment  includes both informal and formal assessment tools intertwined into the literacy experience in the classroom. Educators would be left guessing about appropriate lessons for their students if they were not including assessment tools, such as anecdotal notes, benchmark assessments, or running records, into their everyday routine.

While anecdotal notes can be gathered throughout the school day and on many different occasions, running records are a more structured assessment tool and are essential to knowing your students strengths and challenges. Running records consist of a structured coding system that allows an educator to record what a student says and does while reading. Though running records may seem like a more efficient way of judging a student’s reading abilities, without incorporating informal assessment methods into the mix, gaining an holistic view of that child’s reading skills would be impossible.

Ongoing reading assessment not only plays a major role in classroom instruction, it is crucial when responding to curious and concerned parents. Many parents are concerned about their children’s reading level and can often place blame on an educator when their child is struggling. Ongoing and thorough assessment in the classroom allows educators to point to actual data when discussing reading issues with parents. Also, when such importance is placed on assessment, I feel that an educator gets to know their students better and can make more informed judgments about personal instruction. This has been very apparent in my field experience classroom. On several occasions I have witnessed parents bringing their children to the classroom and asking my cooperating teacher about their child’s studies. A couple of the parents were asking about reading materials and what they should be doing at home to help their children with their skills. While there was not much time for discussion, the teacher knew her students well enough to be able to speak intelligently about that particular child and his/her strengths and challenges. If ongoing assessment was not a priority in this classroom, brief discussions like these would be difficult for the teacher and confusing for the parents. While students will inevitably move back and forth on the reading spectrum, committing to an assessment approach that is woven into the fabric of the classroom will not only benefit the students, but the teacher as well.