Universal early reading screener. Benchmark assessment. Interim. Curriculum-based assessment. Diagnostic. Formative. Summative. Progress monitoring assessment. Performance task.

Science tells us that learning to read requires a set of complex and interconnected processes. Assessing reading skill and reading instruction can often feel just as complex. Today’s districts and schools face a dizzying number of reading assessment options, each claiming to be evidence-based and critical for reading instruction. Selecting assessments that give students, families, teachers, school administrators, and system leaders the information that they need without overloading students with tests can be a daunting task. Making sense of the data can feel even more challenging.

We know a strong, evidence-based assessment strategy is key to ensuring every student gets the support they need to become a reader. So what is an evidence-based reading assessment strategy? And what do leaders need to know to build one?

Inside this Knowledge List, we’ve rounded up the resources that we use every day with leaders to help them understand the research about reading assessments and assessment strategy. These same readings informed our own evidence-based belief that a comprehensive assessment strategy should be designed to identify students at risk for reading difficulties and who might need additional support; monitor student progress toward grade-level standards; evaluate student learning and instructional practice; and respond to student needs.

Inside, you’ll find peer-reviewed research, articles by experts, and insights from classroom educators. While not all articles are peer-reviewed, they are all grounded in the evidence base that proves how children become skilled readers. The authors—many of whom are researchers themselves—cite studies that have contributed to the large body of evidence commonly referred to as “the science of reading.”