Dilemmas and Issues in Implementing Classroom-Based Assessments for Literacy

Researchers in this study invited third-grade teachers from an urban school district to collaborate in a classroom-based literacy assessment project. The study focused on a series of literacy workshops designed to implement a long-standing perspective on curriculum-instruction and assessment adapted to classroom-based assessment. Some of the early outcomes from observations and transcriptions of the workshops indicated that teachers struggled with a variety of issues including the task of embedding assessments, such as running records and written summaries, into teachers’ instructional programs. When the assessments showed teachers that some students were not reading beyond a rudimentary level, teachers wondered how to share this information with students and parents. Despite these challenges, one of the schools moved quickly to implement the assessments and use the information provided by the assessments.