This report describes an individualized literacy intervention program that was developed for a fifth grade boy who struggled with reading. Based upon informal assessment and evaluation procedures, the following literacy strategies were taught within a one-to-one instructional setting: Repeated Readings, Personal Vocabulary Journal, Phonemic…

A great reading conference only takes five minutes, but its impact can last a lifetime. That is because conferences are the critical, one-to-one teaching that forms the backbone of reading instruction. This book shows teachers how to confer well and demonstrates why a few moments with students every week can put them on the path to becoming…

Offers a procedure for keeping a record of the quality and quantity of student responses (both group and individual) to K-W-L informal assessment. (SR)

Discusses the use of both formal and informal reading assessment to help teachers tailor reading instruction to students' specific needs. Includes criteria for determining the effectiveness of reading assessment. (PKP)

Describes recommended procedures for assessing reading readiness and the teaching of beginning reading for three- and four-year-old children. (Author/MP)

Tells how children's performances on informal spelling and writing tasks can be analyzed to develop appropriate instructional activities. Argues that the real utility of assessment procedures comes from the qualitative interpretation that a sensitive diagnostician makes, based on a knowledge of the student and of the process of reading. (AEA)

Offers an overview of the steps taken by Orange County Public Schools in Florida to move to a portfolio approach to literacy assessment. (MG)

Clarifies the term "emergent literacy" and reviews significant informal assessment techniques, record-keeping systems, and reporting measures appropriate for emergent literacy. Discusses guidelines for whole-language assessment. Suggests areas of evaluation to be considered for inclusion in a locally developed emergent literacy assessment system.…

Intended to translate the content of the 1985 report "Becoming a Nation of Readers" into particular points that all groups can look for in their schools, this checklist consists of 30 questions to help a school or school system assess its strengths and weaknesses. The 30 questions evaluate the categories of philosophy, curriculum…

Emphasizes that consideration of students' reading attitudes is an essential part of reading assessment. Discusses different ways of conceptualizing reading attitudes that teachers might find helpful and makes suggestions on how teachers can actually measure the attitudes of their students. (AEA)

Discusses several problems associated with standardized testing. Proposes possible solutions to these problems, and calls for a new perspective on testing which utilizes informal tests and teacher observations of reading behavior. (MM)

Argues that informal assessment is an important bridge between formal assessment and classroom instruction. Notes that one way to keep an informal record of a student's progress is to maintain a portfolio, a collection of student work that reveals both affective and cognitive growth. (RS)

Describes the development of an informal syllabication instrument that has proven useful in determining the strengths and weaknesses of secondary school students' word attack abilities. (FL)

Describes using book diaries as a way for students to respond in writing to their reading as they practice the comprehension strategies learned in class; also describes using the diaries as an informal means of assessing students' learning and communicating regularly with parents. (MG)

Five examples illustrate how teachers can analyze patterns of oral reading errors informally, effectively, and inexpensively. (RL)