Standardized reading assessments

The paper ” Standardized Reading Assessments ” is a perfect example of an annotated bibliography on education.
Beaver, J. M. (2006). Developmental reading assessment. (K-3 – 2nd Edition (DRA-2, K-3) ed.). Celebration Press.
The Developmental Reading Assessment (2nd edition) is intended to be administered to students between Kindergarten through the 3rd grade. It focuses on the student’s ability in decoding, cipher knowledge, and semantics. Reading comprehension, fluency, and accuracy are, also, highlighted. The “ Word Analysis” tasks were ideally intended for kindergartners and 1st graders and, also, for those students that read below proficiency in grades 1-3.
This particular program seems to be a bit obsolete in light of other programs that can provide assessment for a broader base of ages. It is, also, the most costly for the kit being offered. Today cost is a very important incentive, especially when there may be stronger, more detailed assessments, which are of lesser cost. However, as a research source, it is adequate. Cat/5-California achievement test. (2012).
The CAT/5, or California Achievement Test 5th Edition, is a nationally acknowledged standardized test that is applicable, not just for the grades K-6, but all the way up to the 12th grade. The test, as being provided by Piedmont Education Services site, carries a, moderately priced, assessment test available for home, public, or private use. The test is a complete “ battery” that is comparable and an extensive as other tests of its kind in providing, “…common scores such as Grade Equivalents, National Percentile Rankings, and Stanines for each subject.” (” Cat/5-California achievement test,” 2012)
This test seems to be very professionally presented and the site it was being offered through was very organized. However, I do have a tiny issue with assessments that are able to be taken at home on the computer, without testing supervision or parameters, There is no guarantee that the test taker is not receiving help from outside sources; therefore tainting the assessment results overall. Otherwise, I think, that the CAT/5 test may be the most convenient, particularly for those at home, but it does offer testimonials of past successes and appears to be exactly that.

Johns, J. L. (2008). Basic reading inventory. (10th ed.). Kendall/Hunt Publishing
Company.
Basic Reading Inventory, 10th edition, is an assessment test to determine reading placement for students from Pre-K through to the higher grades, although it was not specific. Its major focuses in testing include decoding, letter knowledge, phonology, and phoneme awareness. The overall goals of this particular assessment are to, “…help teachers identify each student’s independent, individual, and frustrated reading levels.” (Johns, 2008)
This testing seems very student-friendly because it acknowledges one of the key issues with competence and frustration. Children reach a certain frustration point and may give up and never move past it. This assessment will help to identify those points and help the student focus on and resolve those issues. Having the right placement will help any given student the opportunity to develop their reading at their own unique pace.

Renaissance learning-star reading enterprise. (2012).
STAR Reading assessment testing, as presented by the Renaissance Learning site, is a program of testing that claims to include the newest in-depth reports and skills-based testing items that are fast, easy to administer, and provide truly accurate results. The program offers assessments up to the 12th grade that includes Core Learning progressions and percentiles in student growth and improvement. “ STAR Reading delivers a wealth of valid, reliable, and actionable RTI (Response to Intervention) data.” (” Renaissance learning-star reading,” 2012)
This is a site that is very appealing. The material is clear, concise, and their success results are easily accessible. The initial testing is easy for children of all ages and pertains to the necessary areas to make assessments efficient. I, definitely, find this source to be a string resource for potential assessment testing.

Scholastic reading inventory. (2012).
The Scholastic Reading Program is defined as, “…research based, computer-adaptive reading assessment for students in grades K-12.”(” Scholastic reading inventory,” 2012) The assessment focuses on low-stakes assessment in order to make accurate placement and help forecast student achievement. It claims that it focuses, also, on outcomes and encourages educators to do the same. The reports of actionable data help guarantee that.
This site is easy to navigate and offers what appears to be using the newest, state of the art technology to gain their assessment. What I thought was very helpful, and not advertised clearly on other assessment sites, is that they offer these reports to parents and guardians in 6 different languages in order to keep the priority of outcomes active inside homes of all languages.