Assessment and Reading

Applegate, Turner and Applegate (2010) have identified the International Reading Association's "issued guidelines and cautions the use of high-stakes assessment in reading." They lament that these guidelines have been ignored as teachers and other stakeholders are more interested in accountability testing.

The authors further identified some qualities which literacy leaders should demonstrate. Some of these are:

• An awareness of the potential and limitations of accountability tests. Tests should be used to compare in order to encourage reflection and used as a developmental tool to improve literacy education.
• Literacy tests are valuable sources of information but are incomplete when used in isolation. Paper and pencil tests cannot be used to assess many crucial traits.
• Assessment should be conducted so that students' strengths should be highlighted. The focus of assessment should be to determine a needs analysis and to facilitate student growth and development.
• Assessment should be culturally applicable and cater to the needs of students from different ethnic, racial and linguistic backgrounds.