Accessing Early Literacy Skills

Accessing Early Literacy Skills

Read Chapter 3: Assessing Word Recognition and Reading Fluency (pp. 20-40). This chapter describes several early reading assessments such as Yopp-Singer Test of Phonemic Awareness, Basic Print Concepts, Three Minute Reading Assessments, Common Phonogram Assessment, etc. These tests measure various early literacy skills such as word recognition or sight words, concepts of print, fluency, etc. 

The following are other sources which describe various early literacy assessments:

• Concepts about print test.
• Letter/sound identification.
• Hearing and recording sounds assessment.
• Basic phonics skills test.
• The names test: A quick assessment of decoding ability.
• Writing vocabulary.
• Words their way spelling inventory.
• San diego quick assessment of reading eligibility.
• Taking running records.
• An example of an informal reading inventory.

Pick any one of these assessments and conduct further research on it. You can do a Google search, interview an early reading teacher, etc. In your posting:

• Describe the purpose of the assessment. What is it supposed to measure?
• The procedures of the assessment. How would you administer it?
• The rationale. Why is it important to measure this early reading skill?

The implications for your classroom . How would you use the assessment to inform your classroom practice?