Why do I assess?
What is assessment?
Assessment is the process of collecting information, and it can allow us to understand more about the progress of an individual. Assessments support to identify strengths and challenges, and from that, conclusions and recommendations can be reached.
What is a literacy assessment?
A literacy assessment therefore is the process of collecting specific information in regards to literacy through various screening tools, to understand the strengths and challenges an individual has in the area of literacy. In this case, literacy means reading, writing, and spelling.
Further to this, regular progress assessment and review for individual learners enables me to measure their literacy progress over time and supports me to understand where my teaching has been effective, and perhaps not so effective. It can also support in identifying whether further more formal assessment is required.
Different types of assessment.
There are many different types of literacy assessment, including formal assessment, informal assessment, formative assessment, summative assessment, literacy screening, diagnostic literacy assessment, single-point estimates, and progress monitoring.
What should we assess?
So how do we know what to assess for literacy? We know that a structured literacy approach to teaching is essential. A structured literacy approach provides:
explicit, systematic, and sequential teaching of literacy at multiple levels – phonemes, letter-sound relationships, syllable patterns, morphemes, vocabulary, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and text structure.
Therefore, a good literacy assessment should include the following screening assessments:
Phonological Awareness
Letter-sound relationship awareness
Oral reading benchmark fluency assessment
Nonsense word assessment
Reading assessment that includes a comprehension element
Spelling assessment
Writing assessment
RAN assessment
Working Memory and Short-Term Memory Assessment
I have popped these elements into a handy table to highlight what they will tell me:
When all of this comes together, it can paint an in-depth picture of where a student is sitting with their literacy and provide a starting point for teaching. A good assessment should result in a written report that details the information collected and provides an outline of strengths and weaknesses.
What next?
Finally, intervention planning should be detailed in the report that meets the specific gaps. There is no point in teaching a student something they already know. Documentation from the report is essential to determine eligibility for special education or any support services needed. It may also act as a tool for a parent to advocate for their child.
From there, aligning the assessment and report with a robust, sequential and systematic scope and sequence is essential to begin teaching.
Further reading:
https://theeducationhub.org.nz/literacy-and-assessment/
https://inclusive.tki.org.nz/guides/dyslexia-and-learning/understanding-structured-literacy/
Testing and Evaluation