Understanding and Using Reading Assessment, K–12, 3rd Edition, Dec/2017

(ASCD book copublished with International Literacy Association, 2017)

Why do we assess reading? What do we assess when we assess reading? How, where, and when do we assess reading? Reading instruction and assessment expert Peter Afflerbach addresses these questions and much more in the 3rd edition of Understanding and Using Reading Assessment, K–12. Using the CURRV model to evaluate reading assessment methods—including reading inventories, teacher questioning, performance assessment, and high-stakes reading tests—Afflerbach considers the consequences and usefulness of each method, the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, and the reliability and validity of the assessments. In addition, he examines four important but often overlooked aspects of reading assessment:

1. Assessment accommodation for English-language learners and students with special needs
2. Assessment of noncognitive aspects of reading, such as motivation, engagement, self-concept, and self-efficacy
3. The use of formative and summative assessment
4. The importance of self-assessment in building reading independence

The book provides detailed case studies from all grade levels to illustrate reading assessment done well. It also includes 15 reproducible forms and checklists that teachers and administrators can use to optimize their reading assessment efforts. Students are expected to read increasingly complex texts and to complete increasingly complex reading-related tasks to demonstrate their growth as readers. This book offers teachers and administrators alike a clear path to helping students meet those expectations.            

New to the 3rd edition:

1. New chapter “Formative and Summative Assessment”
2. Three significantly revised chapters—Performance Assessment; Assessment Accommodation for English Learners and Students With Special Needs (“Accommodation and Reading Assessment” in 2nd edition); Assessing “the Other”: Important Noncognitive Aspects of Reading
3. Fifteen reproducible and downloadable forms and checklists

About The Author:

Peter Afflerbach is a Professor of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. He received his doctorate in reading from the University of Albany. His research interests include reading assessment, individual differences in reading, reading strategies, and the verbal reporting methodology. Afflerbach serves on the Standing Reading Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). He recently completed terms on the Literacy Research Panel of the International Literacy Association, and the National Academy of Education/NAEP Committee to investigate reading achievement-level descriptors. Afflerbach was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame is 2009 and is the editor of the Handbook of Individual Differences in Reading: Reader, Text, and Context (2016) and co-editor of the Handbook of Reading Research, 4th edition (2010) and 5th edition (in press).