Recent legislation such as No Child Left Behind and the Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) increasingly pressure teachers and schools to be accountable for instructional time in the form of improved test scores. As a result, students are given an increasing variety of assessments in a given school year in an attempt to measure academic…

Consists of a brief, annotated bibliography containing carefully-selected sources dealing with informal reading inventories. (JM)

Discusses the use of Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs) in evaluating reading performance. Notes that although the IRI provides an in-depth evaluation of reading behavior, it should be used in conjunction with other information to assess reading ability. (MM)

Supports the practice of requiring two readings of developmental reading lessons when using the Informal Reading Inventory to determine reading ability. (RB)

The Informal Reading Inventories included in this booklet are designed to determine the independent, instructional, and frustration levels of a student. An inventory may be used as a quick means of determining the reading levels for a new student, as a means of determining reading groups, and as a simple diagnostic tool for determining deficient…

Suggests some important ways in which commercial informal reading inventories (IRI) differ from one another, reviews a representative sample of those currently in use, and includes a chart outlining the variable characteristics of the sample IRIs. (JM)

This paper discusses several evaluative methods that are available for use in a reading program that is aimed at English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The contents include: "Evaluation," which discusses the role of evaluation in reading; "Teacher Observation," which looks at how the teacher can evaluate the reading progress of students…

Suggests using readability formulas, a skills inventory, an introspective report, and diagnostic approaches based on models of comprehension as informal evaluations of students' content reading ability. (MKM)

Contains part of the Keefe Inventory of Silent Reading, a silent informal reading inventory. Presents a case study of a student to whom it was administered, including analysis of this individual's reading ability and description of the specific strategies used with this individual on the basis of the results of the inventory. (RS)

A survey of past research reveals that intellectual capacity, particularly verbal proficiency, are important factors in reading performance. The purpose of this study was to determine if classroom teachers, through informal observation, can recognize indicators of intellectual ability. The Strang Informal Observation of Capacity Inventory and…

The Informal Reading Inventory and the Reading Miscue Inventory are compared as to purpose, origins, and methods of use. A tabular format, elaborated by an appended discussion, summarizes each inventory's purpose, materials, length, difficulty of selections, procedures in testing, types of behaviors evaluated, and resulting scores. (AA)

Guidelines for the selection and use of commercially prepared informal reading inventories (IRIs) with deaf students are offered. Modifications for deaf students pertain to: selection of the passage to begin testing, the criteria for oral and silent reading levels, and procedures for estimating students' readng potential levels. (SW)

This paper describes the Basic Reading Inventory, an individually administered informal reading test composed of a series of word lists and graded paragraphs which the child reads aloud to the teacher. Comprehension questions follow the reading of each paragraph. The contents include: "Preface"; "Description of the Basic Reading…

Notes that the goal of interactive assessment is to discover the conditions under which a student will succeed in reading, rather than simply describing a student's current status as a reader. Illustrates the differences between static and interactive assessment by presenting a case study of a seventh grade at-risk student. (RS)

Recent research has revealed that informal inventories of students' abilities can be useful in reading diagnosis. Teachers need to be aware of the occasions during the school day which permit informal observation or testing of skills related to reading. The purpose of this study was to determine if classroom teachers, through informal observation…