Listed below are the Eight Principles of Effective Literacy Assessment identified by the North Central Regional Educational

Laboratory. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li7lk5.htm Principle 1. Assessment should be an ongoing process. The Indiana Reading Assessments are given three times a year, with suggestions to re-test skills that are not yet developed. The accompanying Resource & Intervention Guide also provides additional assessments in the form of black line masters to be used intermittently as deemed necessary. Principle 2. Effective assessment is an integral part of instruction. The Indiana Reading Assessments were designed as instructional assessments; that is, they mimic instructional materials that students encounter in the classroom. Teachers are encouraged to present the assessments as part of normal instructional activity. Principle 3. Assessment must be authentic, reflecting 'real' reading and writing. The Comprehension section of the Indiana Reading Assessments includes texts similar to those that students would encounter in everyday life. The Story Comprehension Assessment includes an actual storybook that has been reproduced with the publishers permission. Principle 4. Assessment should be a collaborative, reflective process. The interview portion of the Story Comprehension Assessment allows the teacher to gather as much information as needed to reflect the students true comprehension. Teachers are encouraged to share assessment progress with students, parents, and administrators by reviewing students completed assessments and reports from the Reading Online Assessment Reports (ROAR) System with them. Principle 5. Effective assessment is multidimensional. The Indiana Reading Assessments assess a variety of skills by using a variety of tasks. A screening is included with the Indiana Kindergarten Assessment and additional tool checklists and assessments are included in assessment materials at all grade levels. In the training materials, teachers are encouraged to use other forms of assessment to gather information about their students. Principle 6. Assessment should be developmentally and culturally appropriate. In the training materials for the Indiana Reading Assessments, teachers are encouraged to stop testing any student who becomes unduly frustrated. When the teacher feels that the student is able to complete that task, it can then be administered. The Indiana Reading Assessments are

designed to be flexible assessments whose guidelines can be altered to accommodate any classroom schedule or population. Effort has been taken to incorporate a number of populations in the graphics and content of the assessment materials. Materials have also been developed to accommodate students with special needs.

Principle 7. Effective assessment identifies students' strengths. The Indiana Reading Assessments are designed to identify both the strengths and weaknesses of students within a classroom. Principle 8. Assessment must be based on what we know about how students learn to read and write. While the Indiana Reading Assessments are designed to assess students reading skills only (and not their writing skills), a writing task is included to allow students to represent their answers by writing and/or drawing. Across the multiple administrations, students have several opportunities to write their responses. Cooper, J.D. (1997). Literacy: Helping Children Construct Meaning (3rd ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.