Uses and Misuses of Commercial Reading Assessment: An Applied Framework for Decision Making in Grades K through 6

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to offer guidance to educators in evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, and most effective uses of commercial reading assessment suites. We provide three resources to help educators who are responsible for making instructional decisions in reading using formal screening, benchmark, interim, and progress-monitoring assessment suites. First, we recommend a framework for how one can judiciously select and use reading assessment. Then we identify a few common misuses of reading assessment scores and ways to reframe them into more effective uses. Finally, we detail the specific strengths and limitations of six commercial assessment suites commonly used in elementary schools for screening and other specific instructional decisions. The framework we describe could also generalize to other subject matter, grade levels, and types of assessment scores.