How to Use Assessments in Reading and Spelling (Formal and Informal Guide)

Why do we assess students?
What should we actually be looking for?
And how often should we be doing it?

If assessments have ever felt overwhelming or like something separate from teaching, this will help you simplify.

What Assessments Are Really For

Many people think of assessments as tests. In structured literacy, assessing a student helps us tailor instruction rather than guessing.

Assessments are a way to understand:

• what a student knows
• what they’re still figuring out
• and what to teach next

What This Looks Like in Real Life

When I start with a new student, I almost always begin at the start of my scope and sequence, because gaps tend to show up quickly.

I’ve had students who could read passages but didn’t know that letters could make more than one sound. Once we slowed down and built that foundation, everything else moved faster.

I see this happen again and again. When I start with letter sounds and make sure the foundation is solid, students often have those “ah ha” moments. Then, when I introduce syllable types, their progress tends to move faster. In my experience, that sequence — letter sounds first, syllable types next — has the biggest impact on reading and spelling.

That doesn’t mean I skip assessments. In fact, they help confirm what I’m seeing and often show gaps sooner than expected.

What Do Assessments Help With?

When used well, assessments guide everything and make teaching more efficient.

They help:

• identify strengths and gaps
• adjust instruction
• monitor progress
• decide when to move on (or not)

Instead of wondering why something isn’t sticking, we can see it more clearly. When used well, assessments keep instruction targeted instead of reactive.

Want an In-depth Video of this article? Link: https://bit.ly/44EWtgt

What Are the Uses of Assessments?

Assessments can have many uses, listed below. They are the foundation on where to start and the monitor of how far we’ve come with a student. They help us see a snapshot in time and tell us where to go next.

Assessments have uses in many areas:

Identifying Specific Needs. Assessments help pinpoint a student’s strengths and weaknesses.

Guiding Instruction. Identifying specific areas of difficulty allows us to customize teaching strategies.

Monitoring Progress. Regular, ongoing assessments track a student’s progress over time.

Informing Intervention. Through early identification of difficulties, assessments help us intervene before things spiral. We can call this a “spiral review/assessment.”

Building Confidence. Students love to see their improvements. I like giving a checklist of skills students are learning and have them check off each skill as it’s mastered.

Evidence-Based Decision Making. Assessments give us measurements to go by, rather than us just saying the student improved. We can see improvement.

Collaboration and Communication. We can use the results to communicate with parents (or caregivers) and teachers at school about a student’s needs and progress in writing.

What Do Assessments Measure?

How often should a student be assessed?

The goal is to gather information without interrupting instruction. A consistent rhythm works best.

Here’s a general guideline on how often to conduct assessments:

Initial Assessment

Before Instruction Begins. Before instruction begins, use an assessment to establish a baseline. This helps identify strengths, gaps, and where to begin.

Ongoing Monitoring

Formative Assessments. Informal checks should happen regularly as part of teaching. These can be quick and built into lessons.

Progress Monitoring. More structured progress monitoring can happen every few weeks to track growth over time.

Summative Assessments

End-of-Term/Year Assessments. At the end of a term or teaching cycle, reassess using the same or similar measures to compare progress.

Responsive Assessment

As Needed: If a student plateaus, regresses, or struggles with a new concept, assess that specific area to guide your next steps.

Guidelines for Assessment Frequency

Adjust based on the student, and keep assessments efficient. They should support instruction, not take time away from it.

Types of Assessments (Informal)

Informal assessments are often built right into your teaching. They might look like:

• completing a worksheet
• reading a passage
• spelling words during dictation

You can revisit the same materials over time and look for growth.

Packets and structured materials can be especially useful here because they focus on specific skills and provide consistency.

Assessment Ideas:

Phonemic awareness. Ask students to break words into sounds or manipulate sounds.

Decoding. Use nonsense words or controlled word lists to see if they can apply patterns.

Sight word recognition. Use flashcards or lists to check automatic recognition.

Spelling. Dictate words and analyze errors to see what patterns are missing.

Reading. Have students read passages and discuss meaning to check comprehension.

Assessments Links

This section contains links to informal assessments.

Informal Assessments

• Informal Assessment #1: This assessment is from the Florida Department of Education. It’s a great tool to go through with students.
• Informal Assessment #2: Informal Phonological Awareness Assessment
• Informal Assessment #3: Quick Phonics Screener
• Informal Assessment #4: Primary Spelling Inventory and Elementary Spelling Inventory
• Informal Assessment #5 (auditory test): Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation

Formal Assessments

Formal Assessment #1: Gallistel-Ellis assessment. This one I can’t give away, but here is a link if you would like to explore further. https://amzn.to/3wh4Wt4

The Gallistel-Ellis Test of Coding Skills (GE Test) is an assessment tool used to evaluate coding skills in reading and spelling. Developed by cognitive psychologists Randy Gallistel and Ann Ellis, this test measures whether a student can give the sounds for various letters and units or clusters.

Key features of the GE Test:

• Comprehensive Measure: The GE Test covers all categories of phonic structures, including:
• Closed syllables with single consonants
• Blends and digraphs
• Silent-E words
• Soft C and G
• Vowel teams and vowel-r
• Suffixes and modifiers
• Multi-syllable and irregular words
• Non-Sense Syllables: Each test segment concludes with non-sense syllables, helping identify whether a student relies on sight memory or has truly “cracked the code.”
• Easy Administration: In less than 20 minutes, teachers can determine which skills have been mastered and what needs further instruction.
• Graphing System: A clear and easy-to-use graphing system helps teachers identify student strengths, weaknesses, and progress, which can be effectively communicated to parents.

Formal Assessments Continued

Orton-Gillingham educators use a variety of formal assessments besides the Gallistel-Ellis Test. Note: I have only used the Gallistel-Ellis test.

Here are formal assessments commonly used (other than the Gallistel Ellis):

• Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement (WJ IV): This comprehensive set of assessments covers a wide range of reading, writing, and mathematical skills. It includes subtests for letter-word identification, reading fluency, passage comprehension, spelling, and writing skills, which are particularly relevant for dyslexic learners.
• Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2): The CTOPP-2 assesses phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming. These areas are crucial for understanding a student’s reading abilities and potential difficulties with decoding.
• Gray Oral Reading Tests (GORT-5): The GORT-5 is a widely used tool for measuring oral reading fluency and comprehension. It assesses the rate, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension of oral reading, providing valuable insights into both the mechanical and interpretive aspects of reading.
• Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT-III): This test assesses academic achievement in reading, writing, and math. The reading components evaluate decoding, reading comprehension, and reading fluency, making it a useful tool for identifying specific reading issues.
• Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE-2): The TOWRE-2 is a norm-referenced, standardized test that measures an individual’s ability to pronounce printed words (Sight Word Efficiency) and phonemically decode nonsense words (Phonemic Decoding Efficiency) under timed conditions. It’s particularly useful for assessing reading fluency and decoding skills.

Final Word

Assessments enable educators to make informed decisions, track progress, and adjust teaching strategies, ultimately facilitating a path to learning that helps our students progress and thrive.