ABSTRACT
This chapter establishes some general definitions of common literacy assessments, and shows how each assessment has evolved in the instructional context. Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs) are more formal than formative and involve some standardization in administration. IRIs include detailed documentation that accurately represents the student’s reading and begin with a text that is relatively easy for a student (i.e., a basal level). In terms of assessing understanding, running records do not include quantitative considerations of fluency or comprehension. Benchmarking systems resemble IRIs in their formality, continua of text difficulty, and use of forms that include a copy of the text. These systems may relate to running records in their analysis and, perhaps, in their use of small books. Traditionally, error analysis of the visual system, or print, in IRIs has involved thoughtful examinations of student use of the elements of print.
