Assessing Reading 1

This book is the most comprehensive of the assessment of reading in a foreign or second language.

Practical, effective, evidence-based reading interventions thatchange students' lives Essentials of Understanding and Assessing ReadingDifficulties is a practical, accessible, in-depth guide toreading assessment and intervention. It provides a detaileddiscussion of the nature and causes of reading difficulties, whichwill help develop the knowledge and confidence needed to accuratelyassess why a student is struggling. Readers will learn aframework for organizing testing results from current assessmentbatteries such as the WJ-IV, KTEA-3, and CTOPP-2. Case studiesillustrate each of the concepts covered. A thorough discussion isprovided on the assessment of phonics skills, phonologicalawareness, word recognition, reading fluency, and readingcomprehension. Formatted for easy reading as well as quickreference, the text includes bullet points, icons, callout boxes,and other design elements to call attention to importantinformation. Although a substantial amount of research has shown that mostreading difficulties can be prevented or corrected, standardreading remediation efforts have proven largely ineffective. Schoolpsychologists are routinely called upon to evaluate students withreading difficulties and to make recommendations to address suchdifficulties. This book provides an overview of the best assessmentand intervention techniques, backed by the most current researchfindings. Bridge the gap between research and practice Accurately assess the reason(s) why a student strugglesin reading Improve reading skills using the most highly effectiveevidence-based techniques Reading may well be the most important thing students are taughtduring their school careers. It is a skill they will use every dayof their lives; one that will dictate, in part, later life success.Struggling students need help now, and Essentials ofUnderstanding and Assessing Reading Difficulties shows how toget these students on track.

This book, along with its companion volume Assessing Reading 2: Changing Practice in Classrooms, was originally conceived as the major outcome from an international seminar on reading assessment held in England. It focuses particularly on theoretical and methodological issues, though with a clear series of links to practices in assessment, especially state and national approaches to classroom-based assessment in the USA, the UK and in Australia, at both primary and secondary levels. Chapters offer new perspectives on the theories that underlie the development and interpretation of reading assessments, national assessments and classroom-based assessment, challenging readers to think in different ways.

The series Tools for Instructions and Reading Assessment is a companion piece to Dr. Jennifer Katz's book Teaching to Diversity. The series, which supports the three-block model of universal design for learning, offers two instructional guides, A Model Unit and Reading Assessment Program Guide for each grade from 1 to 12. The Reading Assessment Program Guide includes: 1. A guide that focuses on how to assess students' progress in reading comprehension and fluency/decoding 2. Accompanying blackline masters and grade-specific rubrics 3. Four levelled Reading Passages to use for assessment throughout the school year

Now in a revised and updated fourth edition, this accessible text has given over 100,000 preservice and inservice teachers vital tools for systematic reading assessment in grades K–8. The book explains how to use both formal and informal assessments to evaluate students' strengths and needs in all components of reading. Effective, engaging methods for targeted instruction in each area are outlined. In a convenient large-size format, the book includes 30 reproducible tools, plus an additional multipage assessment in an online-only appendix. Purchasers get access to a companion website where they can download and print the reproducible materials. New to This Edition *Expanded coverage of the middle grades (4–8), including a new chapter and case study, and explicit attention to this grade range throughout; new coauthor Kevin Flanigan adds expertise in this area. *New and expanded topics: computer-based testing methods, assessing academic language, and how to use reading inventories more accurately. *Additional reproducible tools: informal reading inventory summary form, comprehension retelling forms for narrative and informational text, computer-based comprehension test comparison worksheet, revised Informal Decoding Inventory, and more.