The document discusses the importance of assessing students' reading skills using reliable and valid tools, specifically highlighting formative and summative assessments such as the Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading (FAIR), Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and word mapping. Each assessment method has its advantages, providing educators with ways to develop curriculum and meet individual student needs effectively. The conclusion emphasizes the educator's role in guiding and assessing reading skills to support academic success.

1. ASSESSING READING SKILLS: RELIABLE
AND VALID TOOLS
BY
LISA MACLEOD
Transformational Synergies International FZ-LLC

2. OVERVIEW
Educators are repeatedly being reminded of the new
skills that are required in order to be successful in
leading students towards academic success. The
motivation behind such communication stems from
combining knowledge about:
1. the student
2. the subject matter
3. pedagogical expertise
(Wagner, 2010)

3. ASSESSMENTS AND THE TOOLS
As an educator, it is necessary to assess students’
reading ability to ensure what is being taught is being
learnt. Educators participate in both formative and
summative assessments to evaluate students with
effective tools such as:
1. Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading (FAIR)
(Crawford, 2010)
2. Individualized Education Plan (IEP) (Smith-Woofter,
2010)
3. Word Mapping (Burton and Watkins, 2007)

4. ADVANTAGES OF THE FAIR
1. Summative assessment
2. Valid
3. Reliable
4. Assesses vocabulary levels
(Crawford, 2010)

5. ADVANTAGES OF IEP
1. Formative assessment
2. Assists student develop their reading skills
3. Guides educators develop the curriculum based on
the individual needs of the students
4. Validity and the reliability of the IEPs are dependent
on the schemata of the educators
(Smith-Woofter, 2010)

6. ADVANTAGES OF WORD MAPPING
1. Formative assessment
2. Students build on their pre-existing knowledge and
increase their vocabulary
3. Word mapping assesses expressive vocabulary
4. Students continuously add to their mind map as the
teacher reads a story
5. Word mapping reinforces student ownership
(Burton and Watkins, 2007)

7. CONCLUSION
It is the educator who is required to guide, encourage and
assess the reading skills of the students and is encouraged
to use effective and reliable summative and formative
assessments for valid results. The assessment tools
outlined included:
1. The Florida Assessment for Instructing Reading (FAIR)
2. Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
3. Word Mapping

8. Assessing Reading 1
REFERENCES
Burton, V. J., & Watkins, R. V. (2007). Measuring word learning: Dynamic versus static
assessment of kindergarten vocabulary. Journal of Communication Disorders, 40, 335-
356. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from EBSCOhost database.
Crawford, E. C. (2001). Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading (FAIR) – Expressive
vocabulary measure: Development, validation and its relation to reading. Dissertation
Abstracts International, (UMI No AAT 3442113). Retrieved March 20, 2011, from
Proquest Dissertations and Theses database.
Smith-Woofter, M. (2010). The impact of alternative assessments and stands-based IEPs on
classroom instruction and student achievement. Dissertation Abstracts International,
(UMI No AAT 3434165). Retrieved March 21, 2011 from Proquest Dissertation and
Theses database.
Wagner, T. (2010). The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach the
New Survival Skills Our Children Need - and What We Can Do About It. Basic Books,
New York.