Practical and rich in resources, this book provides a roadmap to monitoring, evaluating, and implementing effective literacy instruction in grades PK-12. Designed for district and school leaders as well as literacy coaches and consultants, this book contains all the strategies, guidance, and tools you’ll need to monitor the effectiveness of literacy instruction in your school or system. Top literacy experts Angela Peery and Tracey Shiel share concise, well-researched information about how to identify enriched literacy environments, what constitutes well-designed literacy lessons, and the components of effective literacy programs at each grade level. Chapters cover reading, writing, speaking and listening, as well as collaboration, technology, and more, and offer adaptable strategies for different environments. Tools such as checklists and conversation frames are included to help busy leaders and administrators effectively monitor literacy instruction and provide constructive, thorough feedback to teachers. Each chapter features: Check-Up Tools to review documents and observe instruction Check-In Tools to guide your conversations and feedback given to teachers Reflective Questions for system and school leaders and instructional coaches.

This collection of 17 papers provides a blueprint for teachers who want increasingly sophisticated methods for monitoring student growth and can serve as a resource for in-service educators as literacy instruction changes. Papers in the first section of the book examine literacy assessment as it pertains to school-age children. Papers in the second section illustrate how portfolios can be used in a variety of different settings from the classroom through higher education. Papers in the book are "Assessment Criteria in First Grade: What Do Teachers Want to Know about Students' Reading and Writing?" (Elizabeth Pryor); "Learning about Literacy through Retelling" (Gail G. Smith and Diane Keister); "Profiling Students' Achievement in Language and Literacy: Merging Perspectives" (Gerry Shiel and Patrick Forde); "Assessment of Reading Attitudes: Validity Issues" (Mary M. Brittain and Clay V. Brittain); "'I Believe Learning Is Concentrating, Figuring Things Out, and Sometimes Having Fun': Revisiting the Reading Clinic" (Nancy B. Cothern); "Involving Graduate Students in Personal Literacy Evaluation through the Use of Portfolios" (Diane D. Allen); "Teachers as Learners: Experiencing Self-Evaluation, Portfolios, and Rubrics" (Michael P. Ford); "Authentic Assessment in a University Preservice Literacy Course" (Deborah R. Dillon and others); "A Model for Preparing Preservice and Inservice Teachers to Interpret and Utilize Portfolio Assessment" (Rebecca P. Harlin and Sally E. Lipa); "The Challenge of Change: The M.Ed. Portfolio" (Barbara Martin Palmer and others); "Literacy Portfolios: The Myth and the Reality" (Linda Irwin-DeVitis); "Pre and Post Course Literacy Self-Assessment: Its Positive Impact on Preservice Teachers" (Jane Brady Matanzo); "Rethinking the Role and Practice of Assessment in Teacher Education: Learning to Assess Authentically on Multiple Levels" (N. Suzanne Standerford); "Portfolio Assessment in Adult Education Programs" (Linda Thistlethwaite); "Assessing Developmental Learners' Perceptions of Reading and Writing and the Literacy Demands in College" (Maria Valeri-Gold); "The ALERT: One Answer to Literacy Screening" (Rita M. Bean and Others); and "Developing and Assessing Emergent Literacy through Children's Literature" (Nancy A. Anderson). (RS)

With this updated document, IRA and NCTE reaffirm their position that the primary purpose of assessment must be to improve teaching and learning for all students. Eleven core standards are presented and explained, and a helpful glossary makes this document suitable not only for educators but for parents, policymakers, school board members, and other stakeholders. Case studies of large-scale national tests and smaller scale classroom assessments (particularly in the context of RTI, or Response to Intervention) are used to highlight how assessments in use today do or do not meet the standards.

This clear, no-nonsense book guides current and future teachers through the concepts, tools, methods, and goals of classroom literacy assessment. The expert authors examine the roles of formative, summative, and benchmark assessments; demystify state and national tests and standards; and show how assessment can seamlessly inform instruction. Strategies for evaluating, choosing, and interpreting assessments are discussed, as are ways to communicate data to parents and administrators. User-friendly resources include boxed vignettes from teachers and researchers, practical assessment tips (and traps to avoid), and 12 reproducible planning forms and handouts. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Literacy Assessment and Instructional Strategies by Kathy B. Grant, Sandra E. Golden, and Nance S. Wilson prepares literacy educators to conduct reading and writing assessments and develop appropriate corrective literacy strategies for use with their grade K–5 students. Connecting Common Core Literacy Learning Standards to effective strategies and creative activities, the book includes authentic literacy assessments and formal evaluations to support reading teaching in the elementary classroom. Initial chapters discuss literacy assessment and evaluation, data-driven instruction, high-stakes testing, and instructional shifts in teaching reading. Subsequent chapters focus on the latest instructional and assessment shifts, including pre-assessing literacy knowledge bases, using informational texts for vocabulary development, and close reading of text. Written by reading practitioners and researchers, this book is a must-have for novices as well as for veteran classroom teachers who want to stay on top of changing literacy trends.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.