View Content #17732

by Julie Sykes, CASLS Director

Assessing reading presents a unique challenge for the classroom teacher. In order to gain insight beyond the decoding of words and structures, we need to ask learners to read for purposes that align with the text they are reading. This is not to reduce the importance of comprehension, but rather to move towards a more comprehensive understanding of reading.  Take, for example, reading apartment rental listings. One must be able to read the specific details of a series of rental listings and select possibilities, while also eliminating those that are not viable possibilities.  From a task-based perspective, an assessment task in this domain might ask learners to identify different apartments based on the descriptions they read, select an apartment and justify their choice, or make notes about the positive and negative attributes of each. The teacher is then able to determine how well the passage was interpreted based on the ability to use what was read.

As reading assessment tasks begin to mirror what is happening in the classroom, sample formats would ideally be drawn from the types of tasks in which learners engage during post-reading activities during classtime.  These tasks should always reflect the purpose of the initial reading.  For example, we read newspaper articles for information, novels for fun or intrigue, ads to buy or sell something, personal ads to find a date, and travel itineraries to know where to go. Thus, an assessment task focused on reading for details would ask the learners to engage with a text in which details were needed (e.g., ads, itineraries) and not a novel, which is generally read for holistic understanding.  Likewise, an assessment task related to a novel would require reflection and analysis. Regardless of the format chosen, reading assessment should always move beyond comprehension questions to include real world tasks related to reading.