Reading Assessment and Intervention
Purposes of assessment
Know four purposes: screening identifies who may be at risk; diagnostic assessment pinpoints specific strengths and needs; progress monitoring checks response to intervention frequently; summative/outcome assessment evaluates overall achievement. Distinguish norm-referenced tests (compare to peers) from criterion-referenced tests (compare to a standard). Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is brief, standardized, and sensitive to growth. Reliability means consistency; validity means measuring what is intended.
Using data
MTSS/RTI organizes support in tiers: Tier 1 core instruction, Tier 2 targeted small-group intervention, Tier 3 intensive individualized support. Intervention should increase explicitness, time, and feedback and reduce group size. Use error analysis and miscue analysis to understand patterns-not just scores. Avoid grade-equivalent scores for decisions; use standard scores and percentiles carefully. Screening does not diagnose, and one measure should not determine placement.
Traps
Common question traps include confusing screening with diagnosis, using progress monitoring to rank students, assuming a percentile is a percentage correct, and overlooking that a measure must be sensitive to short-term change. Also avoid "wait to fail" policies.
Rule of thumb
Screening answers who; diagnostic assessment answers what; progress monitoring answers whether it is working. Example: a second grader screens below benchmark. Diagnostic assessment shows weak phonemic segmentation and digraph decoding. The team provides Tier 2 instruction 20 minutes, three times weekly, and monitors weekly with a decoding probe.
Key points
- Screening = who; diagnostic = what; progress monitoring = whether.
- CBM is brief, standardized, and sensitive to growth.
- Reliability is consistency; validity is accuracy of purpose.
- MTSS tiers increase intensity and explicitness.
- Do not base decisions on a single measure or grade equivalents.