A Survey of Audiences for Reading Assessment: One District’s Needs and Methods of Assessment and Its Profile of a Good Reader

Abstract

Teachers and residents in one small school district were surveyed to determine their needs for reading assessments, the methods of assessment they thought would best meet those needs, and their opinions on what is needed in order to read well. Results showed that both groups use assessment primarily to monitor student progress and to identify student strengths and weaknesses. Teachers also use assessments to plan instruction, strategies and activities. The two methods of assessment that the majority of respondents thought would best meet their assessment needs were individual assessment of reading performance and daily observation with frequent anecdotal records. Respondents cited 93 different criteria for reading well, with all but eight corresponding to factors cited by experts and researchers as influencing reading proficiency. Results indicated agreement between the two groups across all three topics and implied a support for whole-language instruction and alternative, perhaps authentic, assessment.