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Reading Assessment Database - Overview

This searchable database describes in detail all available early reading assessment tools that are published and distributed in the SEDL region. It is intended to provide valuable information about all of the options available to teachers and administrators who are seeking reliable reading assessment tools for children in grades Pre-K to 3.

Overview

Teachers depend on assessment tools for determining the reading abilities of students in their classrooms, and administrators depend on assessment tools for making decisions about literacy education from the school level to the regional level. Recent state and federal initiatives requiring early reading instruction and intervention are further driving the need for comprehensive and accurate information about reading assessment tools - especially those tools that are appropriate to administer to young children before the second grade.

It was with this in mind that SEDL created the Reading Assessment Database for Grades PreK-3. We collected information about 80 reading assessment tools that are appropriate for children who have not yet entered the 3rd grade, and we are presenting this information to the public in an easy-to-use, Internet-accessible format. The information provided about each of the assessment tools is unbiased - SEDL is not affiliated in any way with any of the publishers of these assessment tools. Also, we do not offer nor imply any opinions about the quality of any assessment tool - our role is to inform the public about all of the options available for assessing the reading ability of young children, and the information provided in this database is only meant to assist teachers and administrators to decide for themselves which assessment tools are most appropriate for their particular needs.

What's in the Database?

This is more than a simple database of early reading assessment tools - we've collected quite a bit of information about each of the reading tests and have presented that information in database form. On each page, you'll find the name of each reading test, plus a brief description of what skills and abilities each test measures (subtests, such as phonemic awareness or alphabet knowledge). Also, we've included information about the reliability and validity of each of the tests, as well as a description of how the scores are reported by each test (e.g. percentiles, stanines, etc.). In addition, we've reported information about each test's restrictions, such as the time it takes to administer each test, what grades or ages the test is appropriate for, whether the test can be administered individually or in groups, and whether the test can be administered in languages other than English. Of course, we've also included pragmatic information about the cost of each of the tools and information about ordering the tests from the publishers, and finally, we've included a space for miscellaneous information where we've tried to highlight features of the test that may otherwise be overlooked.

How to Use the Database

We've designed a simple search engine to allow you to search the database for parameters that are of particular interest to you (e.g. certain grades or certain subtests), or you can simply browse the whole database, learning about all of the assessment tools. For more information about how to use our search engine, go to our tips on searching the database page.

The Reading Assessment Clipboard:

The RAD Clipboard - for keeping track of reading assessment tools you're interested in.

If you would like to keep track of reading assessments that interest you, you can add them to your "Reading Assessment Clipboard" for later printing. You even have the option to e-mail the details about the assessments to yourself or others.

  • To view the clipboard, click on the large clipboard image to the right.

  • To add an assessment to the clipboard, search the database, then click on the tiny clipboard next to any of the assessments on the search results screen.

Tell Us What You Think

We are very interested in hearing from you - we'd like to hear your comments about this database (in general terms) and about specific assessment tools that we have described in the database (or that we have failed to describe - it is certainly possible that we have failed to include certain assessment tools that would be appropriate in this database).

Using the Information

Using this database, educators and administrators will be able to select reading assessment tools that are most appropriate for the needs of their students. They will be able to select the most affordable assessment tool, and they will instantly have information about the reliability and validity of the assessment. Further, because different reading tests assess different facets of reading at different stages of development, teachers and administrators will be able to select tests that complement each other, and which, when combined, provide a complete picture of the reading instruction needs of any student.

Thank you - we hope you find the Reading Assessment Database for Grades PreK-3 to be informative and useful.


Archived Resource

The resources listed on this website are from a past project. The Reading Assessment Database and external links have not been updated since 2009.

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