Literacy Assessment Tools Strengths, Weaknesses,

¶ … Literacy Assessment Tools

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Use of the St. Paul School Informal Reading Inventory

The 2008 St. Paul School Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) is an example of a well-designed literacy tool. It is used to provide three distinct testing areas, each of which is tested in multiple ways. The IRI tool tests word identification skills, language comprehension, and silent reading comprehension. Word identification components of the test include exercises requiring learners to identify the right word among a choice of several, exercises requiring the identification of synonyms and antonyms, as well as tests of several other different aspects of word identification. Language comprehension components of the IRI tool include exercises requiring learners to distinguish subtle differences in word usage and idiomatic expression, exercises requiring learners to apply information presented in reading passages to substantive questions, as well as exercises requiring learners to deduce the most likely proper use of unfamiliar vocabulary based on their comprehension of sentence patterns and parts of speech.

The silent reading component of the IRI is particularly important because it corresponds to empirical literature (and anecdotal information) detailing the potential for very significant differences between out-loud reading comprehension and silent reading comprehension. By requiring the learners to read silently and then respond to subsequent questions on the reading material, this component of the tools provides a direct comparison and helps to reduce overestimates of learner reading comprehension level based on reading out loud.

The only identified weakness of the IRI assessment tool is its failure to compare reading comprehension to listening comprehension. That weakness could sometimes result in the failure to identify meaningful differences in the learner's ability to comprehend spoken and written material.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and Use of the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development Six-Trait Analytical Writing Assessment Tool

The ADEED Six-Trait Analytical Writing Assessment Tool provides a comprehensive literacy assessment tool used to assess learners' relative ability to express themselves in writing. In that respect, it seems like a very well-designed tool with no apparent inherent weaknesses. The tool includes six specific aspects of writing ability, each of which is obviously relevant to individual crucial writing skills. Because problems can arise in connection with these individual skills in combination or individually, this tool fulfills an essential need in relation to writing assessments. The principal value of the tool would likely be its facilitation of the most appropriate and beneficial type of remedial exercises corresponding to specific weaknesses in writing identified by the tool.