Skip To Main Content

Overview of Assessment Types

Assessment Types

As students progress from kindergarten through third grade, they should be steadily developing the skills they need to become grade level readers. While students are learning to read, educators and parents can monitor students to see if they are on track to become successful readers. Florida uses four types of assessments to monitor students’ progress in reading. 

Screening

The purpose of screening is to identify the probability of risk or success in reading achievement.

Progress Monitoring

The purpose of progress monitoring, also called interim or formative assessment, is to determine whether students are learning the skills taught and/or meeting benchmarks throughout the school year.

Diagnostic

The purpose of a diagnostic assessment is to identify a student’s strengths and weaknesses for students identified at-risk on a screening assessment.

Summative

The purpose of summative, or outcome, assessment is to evaluate students’ performance relative to a set of content standards generally administered at the end of the school year

Assessment Terms used in Reading

1. Foorman, B.R., Kershaw, S., & Petscher, Y. (2013). Evaluating the screening accuracy of the Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading (FAIR). (REL 2013–008). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.

2. Perie, M., Marion, S., Gong, B., & Wertzel, J. (2007). The role of interim  assessments in a comprehensive assessment system. The Aspen Institute.

Assessment Terms Used in Reading Infographic