Unlocking Student Potential: The Power of Comprehensive Reading Evaluations for Students with Learning Disabilities

Unlock the power of comprehensive reading evaluations that assess all areas of reading for students with learning disabilities.
​Explore the components and benefits of these evaluations, including standardized and non-standardized assessments.
Gain valuable insights to inform targeted interventions and enhance reading proficiency.

Empower your students with learning disabilities to reach their full reading potential. Discover the transformative power of comprehensive reading evaluations that leave no stone unturned. Dive into a holistic approach that assesses all areas of reading, equipping you with the insights needed to unlock their reading success.

What is a Comprehensive Reading Evaluation?
A Comprehensive Reading Evaluation assesses skills in the 5 component parts of reading including but not limited to phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Additional areas related to literacy, including spelling, written expression, are assessed as needed for each individual student.

It tells us a student’s reading profile, allowing us to identify areas of strength and areas of lagging skills.  Such information can be used to decision instruction and intervention, if needed.

Why do we use a Comprehensive Reading Evaluation?
The purpose of a comprehensive reading evaluation is to present a functional assessment of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses that can inform decisions for appropriate instruction and effective interventions.

What is included in a Comprehensive Reading Evaluation?

The first step is to review the student’s educational record. 

​Review schooling history, assessment scores from curriculum-based measures and universal benchmark screenings, and any other pertinent information.

Next, complete a classroom observation.  Develop an understanding of the student’s classroom functioning.

Then, administer the assessments.

A Comprehensive Reading Evaluation should assess the following essential components areas of reading:
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• Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) - Processing Speed and Working Memory
• Phonological Awareness
• Phonemic Awareness
• Phonics
• Phonemic Decoding (non-word reading)
• Fluency
• Morphology
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension:  Reading and Listening
• Written Expression
• Spelling

A compilation of these assessments will create a thorough and complete reading profile of your student.  

The next step will be to analyze the results to create an understanding of of the students strengths and lagging skills, leading to the development of a comprehensive and targeted instructional and/or intervention plan.  The instruction and intervention should be grounded in the science of reading research and best match the student’s profile to build a procedure for efficient and successful progress.

What standardized assessments should be used in a Comprehensive Reading Evaluation?

First, please note that to administer a standardized assessment we need parental permission first.  Once we have that, we can administer the tests.

You should check with your district on its policies regarding standardized assessment of students.

Once you are apprised of your district’s policies, here are some suggested standardized assessments:

Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) - Processing Speed and Working Memory Assessments:
-Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Second Edition (CTOPP2), Ages 5-0 to 24-0, Assesses:   phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming

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Phonological Awareness Assessments:
-Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing, Second Edition (CTOPP2), Ages 5-0 to 24-0, Assesses:   phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming
-Gray Diagnostic Reading Tests, Second Edition (GDRT-2), Ages 6-0 to 13-11, Assesses:  Phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, letter word id, reading vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension (ages 8+)
-Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA-III), Ages 4-6 to 90+, Assesses:  Phonological awareness, associational fluency, naming facility
-Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS, Pre-K, 2004), Ages 3-0 to 5-0, Assesses:  Name writing, alphabet knowledge, and print and word awareness
-Pre-Reading Inventory of Phonological Awareness (PIPA, 2003), Ages 4-0 to 6-11, Assesses:   Rhyme awareness, syllable segmentation, alliteration awareness, sound isolation, sound segmentation, and letter-sound knowledge
-Test of Phonological Awareness (TOPA-2+, 2004), Ages 5-0 to 8-0, Assesses:   Recognize phonemes in spoken words and the relationships between letters and phonemes
-Test of Phonological Awareness in Spanish (TPAS, 2004), Ages 5-0 to 10-11, Assesses:  Rhyming, incomplete words, sound sequencing, and phoneme deletion
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Cognitive Abilities, Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:   Blending, auditory attention, incomplete words, auditory memory, phonemic awareness, rapid naming
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency

Phonics Assessments:
-Ekwall/Shanker Reading Inventory, 7th Edition, Ages any, Assesses:  Emergent literacy (pre-reading) skills, basic sight words, phonics skills, structural analysis skills, ability to use context clues, and reading interests
-Gray Diagnostic Reading Tests, Second Edition (GDRT-2), Ages 6-0 to 13-11, Assesses:  Phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, letter word id, reading vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension (ages 8+)
-Quick Phonics Screener (QPS), School Age, Assesses: phonics (decoding)
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency
-Word Identification and Spelling Test (WIST), Ages 7-0 to 18-11, Assesses:  letter word id, word attack skills, and spelling

Phonemic Decoding (non-word reading) Assessments:
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency

Fluency Assessments:
-Dynamic Indicators of Beginning Early Literacy Skills, 6th ed. (DIBELS), Grades 1 to 6,  Assesses: oral reading fluency
-Fluency Formula, Grades K to 8,  Assesses: oral reading fluency
-Gray Oral Reading Tests, 4th ed. (GORT-4), Ages 6-0 to 18-11,  Assesses: rate, accuracy, fluency, comprehension
-Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI), Grades K to 4,  Assesses: rate, accuracy, fluency, comprehension
-Reading Fluency Indicator, Grades K to 12,  Assesses: rate, accuracy, prosody, comprehension
-Test of Silent Reading Efficiency and Comprehension (TOSREC), Grades 1 to 12,  Assesses: silent reading efficiency (rate and accuracy)
-Test of Silent Word Reading Fluency (TOSWRF), Ages 6-6 to 17-11,  Assesses: accuracy and efficiency of recognizing printed words quickly
-Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE), Ages 6-0 to 24-0,  Assesses: accuracy and speed of reading words
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency

Morphology Assessments:
*Vocabulary specifically refers to the meaning of isolated words.  Morphology specifically refers to the meaning of word parts.
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency

Vocabulary Assessments:
*Vocabulary specifically refers to the meaning of isolated words.  Morphology specifically refers to the meaning of word parts.
-Gray Diagnostic Reading Tests, Second Edition (GDRT-2), Ages 6-0 to 13-11, Assesses:  Phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, letter word id, reading vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension (ages 8+)
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency

Comprehension (Reading and Listening) Assessments:
--Reading Comprehension Assessments:
-Gray Diagnostic Reading Tests, Second Edition (GDRT-2), Ages 6-0 to 13-11, Assesses:  Phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, letter word id, reading vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension (ages 8+)
-Test of Reading Comprehension, Fourth Edition, (TORC-4), Ages 7-0 to 17-11, Assesses:  reading comprehension
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency
--Listening Comprehension Assessments:
-Gray Diagnostic Reading Tests, Second Edition (GDRT-2), Ages 6-0 to 13-11, Assesses:  Phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, letter word id, reading vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension (ages 8+)
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling

Written Expression Assessments:
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  written expression
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  written expression
-Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA-III), Ages 4-6 to 90+, Assesses:  written expression
-Test of Written Language Fourth Edition (TOWL-4), Ages 9-0 to 17-11, Assesses:  written expression
-Test of Early Written Language | Third Edition (TEWL-3), Ages 4:0 – 10:11,  Assesses:  written expression

Spelling Assessments:
-Test of Orthographic Competence (TOC), three age-related forms (6-7 years, 8-12 years, and 13-17 years), Assesses:  letters, abbreviations, punctuation, and spelling
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Word Identification and Spelling Test (WIST), Ages 7-0 to 18-11, Assesses:  letter word id, word attack skills, and spelling
-Words Their Way Spelling Inventories, Primary, Elementary, and Upper Elementary Spelling Inventories, Primary, Elementary, and Upper Elementary Grades, Assesses:  Spelling (encoding)

Comprehensive Reading Assessments:
-Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA-III), Ages 4-6 to 90+, Assesses:  Phonological awareness, associational fluency, naming facility
-Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Fourth Edition (WIAT-IV), Ages 4-0 to 19-11, Assesses:  word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Achievement (WJ IV ACH), Ages 2-0 to 90+, Assesses:  phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack skills, fluency, reading comprehension (concrete and inferential), listening comprehension, and spelling
-Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests, Third Edition (WRMT-III), Ages 4:6 – 79:11, Assesses:  Letter identification, word Identification, phonological awareness, rapid automatic naming, word attack, listening comprehension, word comprehension, passage comprehension, and oral reading fluency

What alternative assessments can be used in a Comprehensive Reading Evaluation?

When you can’t obtain parental permission, we can still build a comprehensive reading profile of a student using non-standardized measures.

You should check with your district on its policies regarding non-standardized assessment of students.

​Once you are apprised of your district’s policies, here are some suggested non-standardized assessments:

Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) - Processing Speed and Working Memory Assessments:
-Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST)
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Phonological Awareness Assessments:
-Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST)

Phonemic Awareness Assessments:
-Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST)
-Phonemic-Awareness Skills Screening 

Phonics Assessments:
-Quick Phonics Screener
-CORE Phonics Survey

Phonemic Decoding (non-word reading) Assessments:
-DIBELS: Nonsense Word Fluency 

Fluency Assessments:
DIBELS: Letter Naming Fluency, Word Reading Fluency, or Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) 

Morphology Assessments:
-informal measures

Vocabulary Assessments:
-CORE Vocabulary 

Comprehension:  Reading and Listening  Assessments:
-DIBELS: Maze, Cloze Measures, or the CUBED NLM 

Written Expression Assessments:
-informal writing prompts

Spelling Assessments:
-Quick Spelling Screener
-Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory (ESI) 

You can get these assessments on my blog: [LINK]

How do you write a Comprehensive Reading Evaluation report?

The next step is to write the report.  The report analyzes the student’s reading abilities and suggests an educational plan that supports the student’s strengths and lagging skills for proficient reading.

You can learn how to write an achievement report on my blog: How to Write an Achievement Evaluation Report

As we conclude our exploration of comprehensive reading evaluations, it's clear that these assessments hold the key to unlocking the potential of students with learning disabilities. By assessing all areas of reading, from decoding and fluency to comprehension and vocabulary, we can tailor interventions and support that address their specific needs. Let's embrace the power of comprehensive evaluations and pave the way for a brighter reading future for every student. Together, we can make a lasting impact and ensure that no student is left behind in their reading journey.

Happy Teaching!
Miss Rae

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