Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition

A groundbreaking integrated approach to reading assessment that addresses each child's unique Learning Profile

Fifteen to twenty percent of our nation's children have reading difficulties. Educational evalua-tors must be able to use progress monitoring and diagnostic tools effectively to identify students who may be at risk, evaluate the effectiveness of school-wide reading programs, and suggest interventions that will improve reading skills. Written from a strengths-based perspective, Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition is the first book of its kind to present a research-based, integrated review of reading, cognition, and oral language testing and assessment.

Author Melissa Lee Farrall explores the theoretical underpinnings of reading, language, and literacy, explains the background of debates surrounding these topics, and provides detailed information and administration tips on the wide range of reading inventories and standardized tests that may be used in a reading psychoeducational assessment. With a focus on how to craft professional evaluation reports that illuminate a student's strengths―not just weaknesses―Reading Assessment enables school psychologists and diagnosticians, reading specialists, and special education professionals to conduct evaluations and develop effective interdisciplinary remedial recommendations and interventions.

Clear, engaging, and inviting, Reading Assessment features:

• Case examples and practice exercises

• Chapter-opening reviews of each theory

• Strengths, weaknesses, and potential problems of tests and their interpretations

• Chapter-ending review questions that foster skill development and critical thinking

• Comprehensive information on more than 50 different assessment tests

Reading Assessment is an invaluable resource that helps professionals gain the knowledge and skills to confidently interpret test results and prepare detailed and effective evaluation reports designed to meet each child's unique needs as a learner.

Melissa Lee Farrall, PhD, is an adjunct faculty member in the Language and Literacy Program at Simmons College in Boston, as well as an adjunct faculty member at Bay Path College in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. One of the founding members of The Reading Foundation, she presently works as a consultant with parents and school districts. She served for several years on the board of directors of the New Hampshire Branch of the International Dyslexia Association.