Teachers use assessments in reading to make sure students are making measurable progress. In elementary school, students must make sense of sounds, letters and words in text to become fully independent readers. Students should be able to read a wide variety of materials, both fiction and non-fiction, with comprehension.
Each state sets specific standards for every grade level in reading along with other subjects. Elementary school students should be able to recognize words, use a dictionary and thesaurus, employ reading strategies such as graphic organizers to illustrate concepts in text, and figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words by using roots, prefixes and suffixes. Students should have achieved comprehension skills such as identifying cause and effect, recognizing propaganda techniques and identifying themes. Students also should know how to use multiple sources to locate information when finding the answer to research questions. Reading assessments evaluate whether students meet these criteria.
To determine whether students meet the state standards for reading, teachers may administer authentic assessments that resemble reading tasks in the real world. Authentic assessment tasks might be to ask students to read real text or discuss books. The thinking process students use to complete the task is taken into consideration when evaluating progress. Working on these authentic tasks is an engaging activity that provides a learning opportunity for the student and assures the teacher that students are spending time working on worthwhile skills and strategies.
Teachers commonly use performance assessments with other forms of assessment in reading. For example, in a performance assessment a student might be asked to demonstrate literacy skills by analyzing characters, dramatizing or illustrating a story, or by conducting research. These activities are preferable to taking a multiple-choice test because students present their knowledge by applying skills. Performance assessments assigned by teachers often take the form of a project in which students work in a groups to demonstrate skills in reading, such as creating a picture book of a longer narrative.
Another possible reading assessment is the portfolio assessment. Teachers keep a portfolio for each student. Portfolios may contain lists of books read by the student, written book reports, photographs of presentations related to research, teacher observations of student oral reading ability, and student self-evaluations of work. Portfolios help the teacher assess a student's reading progress when used along with other forms of assessment.