ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 addresses assessment practices related to early literacy skills, developmental spelling, fluency, and linguistic knowledge. It provides a thorough overview of the foundational literacy skills typically assessed in the emergent and beginning stages of literacy development, and it offers recommendations for assessment in each of those areas. The chapter devotes considerable attention to informal reading inventories (IRIs)—their features, their use, and their potential for informing classroom instruction. It also discusses connections between reading and spelling and explains how developmental spelling inventories can be used to gather information and plan for reading, writing, and word study instruction. In addition, it provides information about methods of involving essential stakeholders in the assessment process. The chapter also contains valuable information about ways that teachers can provide assessment accommodations to meet the specific needs of English learners.
