Understanding and Using Reading Assessment, K-12

by Peter Afflerbach PhD

Overview

Well established as a teaching resource and course text, this guide to the "whats," "how-tos," and "whys" of reading assessment is now in a thoroughly revised fourth edition. Peter Afflerbach succinctly introduces major types of assessments, including formative and summative performance assessments, teacher questioning, and high-stakes testing. He provides an innovative framework (the CURRV model) for evaluating the suitability of assessments and combining them effectively to meet all students' needs. Emphasis is given to assessing core reading skills and strategies as well as noncognitive and social–emotional aspects of reading development. Helpful features include detailed examples of assessment done well, within-chapter "Enhance Your Understanding" questions and activities, and 25 reproducible and downloadable checklists and forms.

New to This Edition
*Explains assessment in a science-of-reading context.
*Increased focus on equity issues, plus updated theory and research throughout.
*Chapter on assessing early reading.
*Chapter on assessing digital and critical reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781462556137
Publisher:	Guilford Publications, Inc.
Publication date:	01/16/2025
Edition description:	4th ed.
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Peter Afflerbach, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research interests are individual differences in reading, factors influencing reading achievement, reading comprehension strategies, and reading assessment. Dr. Afflerbach has served on National Academy of Education and National Academy of Sciences committees related to literacy and literacy assessment. He is a member of the 2025 Reading Framework Development Committee of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and has served on other NAEP committees and on the board of directors of the Literacy Research Association. Dr. Afflerbach is an elected member of the Reading Hall of Fame and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. A founding editor of the journal Metacognition and Learning, he has published his work in numerous theoretical and practical journals and several books. Prior to his university career, Dr. Afflerbach served as a Chapter 1 remedial reading teacher, a middle school reading and writing teacher, and a high school English teacher. He is a proud graduate of New York City public schools.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Important Issues and Concepts in Reading Assessment
2. Assessing Early Reading 
3. Assessing Strategies and Skills: Tests and Reading Inventories
4. Teacher Questioning as Assessment
5. Performance Assessment
6. High-Stakes Reading Tests
7. Assessment and Accommodating English Learners and Special-Needs Students
8. Assessing “the Other”: Important Noncognitive Aspects of Reading
9. Formative and Summative Assessment
10. Promoting Self-Assessment to Help Students Build Reading Independence
11. Assessing Digital and Critical Reading 
Appendix
References 
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Afflerbach is without question one of the world’s leading authorities on reading assessment. I strongly and unreservedly recommend the fourth edition of this seminal text. Afflerbach goes beyond assessment in the well-recognized competencies of reading—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—to additional critical and often-neglected areas, such as metacognition, motivation, engagement, and self-assessment. If you are interested in taking a deeper dive into the complexities of reading assessment and gaining a fuller understanding of what it means to assess students’ reading, then you must have this book."—Timothy Rasinski, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Literacy Education, Kent State University

"Understanding and Using Reading Assessment has long been a staple text in my literacy coursework. The fourth edition includes timely, essential updates, with chapters addressing digital and critical reading and early reading assessment; a clear equity lens throughout; and a focus on how assessment relates to the science of reading. Afflerbach translates current research into pragmatic classroom approaches that lead to students developing as stronger readers."—Danielle V. Dennis, PhD, Dean, Feinstein College of Education, University of Rhode Island

"Afflerbach successfully achieves his goal of showing how assessment can be enlisted in ways to support teachers as they seek to engage diverse learners in rich literacy experiences. Beyond being discerning consumers of assessments, teachers can use various types of assessments in the service of enhancing their teaching as well as what and how students learn. Featuring illustrative examples, the book provides a comprehensive review of reading assessment that is both user friendly and evidence based."—Robert J. Tierney, PhD, Dean and Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Canada

"In this classic text, Afflerbach thoroughly and compellingly addresses the foundational assessment content underlying reading development, from large-scale, high-stakes testing to arguably the more consequential consideration for assessment—the day-to-day individual classroom and the unique learners within that classroom. Among the unique aspects of the fourth edition is Afflerbach's attention to assessment of critical reading across disciplines and formats, including in digital environments. The volume masterfully develops the assessment aspect of the accomplished teacher's repertoire."—Shane Templeton, PhD, Foundation Professor Emeritus of Literacy Studies, University of Nevada, Reno

From the Publisher