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“An essential reference for teachers, coaches, and teacher educators. The authors provide a comprehensive guide to assessment, including important contextual information as well as practical tasks and questions for assessment. The fifth edition features critical updates pertaining to the science of reading. The new chapter on morphology is a particularly valuable addition. Overall, the coherent, measured approach and balanced attention to younger and older readers makes this a go-to text for all of us who want to thoughtfully administer and interpret literacy assessments.”

—Dixie D. Massey, PhD, School of Education, Seattle Pacific University


“In its fifth edition, this book remains one of the most comprehensive and accessible resources for educators dedicated to improving student literacy outcomes. It offers updated research, practical tools, and clearly explained assessment strategies. The book provides essential context for understanding how and why we assess literacy. It guides readers through the core components of reading and clearly explains the purpose and process of assessing each area. By connecting assessment to instruction, the fifth edition empowers educators to make informed, evidence-based decisions that will foster measurable growth in students’ reading abilities.”

—Katie Pace Miles, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Advanced Certificate in Reading Science, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York


“A comprehensive, practical, ‘must-have’ resource. The fifth edition connects each assessment to the latest science-of-reading research. The first chapter alone should be required reading for all teacher prep candidates and should be used in district-wide trainings. The authors’ three-pathway cognitive model offers a reliable way to fully assess each student’s needs and includes valuable next-step advice. The authors have hit it out of the park with this easy-to-use, teacher-friendly fifth edition!”

—Wiley Blevins, EdD, educational researcher, writer, and consultant


“The fifth edition of this text has been updated with tons of valuable new content, including much more coverage of the science of reading, a new chapter on morphology, and reconsideration of the role of informal reading inventories in assessment. Especially worthwhile features of the book include its incorporation of the active view of reading along with the simple view in understanding reading difficulties, its discussion of older readers (grades 4–8), and its systematic steps for identifying specific difficulties in individual students. The many practical forms accompanying the text, such as an informal decoding survey, will be very helpful for teachers. The fifth edition is an excellent resource on formative assessment for planning reading instruction, particularly for general educators and reading specialists.”

—Louise Spear-Swerling, PhD, Department of Special Education (Emerita), Southern Connecticut State University

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Reading Assessment

2. General Concepts of Assessment

3. Emergent Literacy: Language Development and Phonological Awareness

4. Orthographic Knowledge: Phonics, Decoding, Encoding, and Word Recognition

5. Measuring Consolidation and Transfer: Analyzing the Reading of Connected Text

6. Fluency

7. Morphology

8. Vocabulary

9. Comprehension and Strategic Processing

10. Affective Factors

11. Assessing Reading in Grades 4–8: Guiding Concepts

12. Preparing a Diagnostic Reading Report

Appendix: Case Studies

References

Index

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About the Authors

Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl, EdD, is a literacy consultant and author who focuses on translating literacy research into practice. Formerly, she was Clinical Professor of Literacy at New York University (NYU), where she taught graduate courses and served as Director of both the Literacy Program and the NYU Literacy Clinic. Before entering academia, Dr. Stahl taught in public elementary and middle school classrooms for over 25 years. Dr. Stahl specializes in reading acquisition, comprehension instruction, reading intervention, and literacy assessment. She partners with educators as a consultant to support their efforts to improve reading achievement, especially for students with reading difficulties.

• All titles by Katherine A. Dougherty Stahl

Kevin Flanigan, PhD, is Professor in the Literacy Department at West Chester University (WCU) in Pennsylvania. He teaches literacy courses and serves as Graduate Coordinator of both the MEd in Literacy/Reading Specialist Program and the WCU Reading Center. A former middle-grades classroom teacher and reading specialist/coach, Dr. Flanigan researches and writes about developmental word knowledge and interventions for students with reading difficulties. To help educators put research into practice, he regularly works with teachers and schools to help improve their students’ reading achievement.

• All titles by Kevin Flanigan

Sarah M. Lupo, PhD, is Associate Professor of Literacy Education in the College of Education at James Madison University. She has worked in education since the early 2000s, including as an ESL teacher, English teacher, reading specialist, and literacy coach in Washington, D.C., Arizona, Virginia, and even Istanbul, Turkey. Dr. Lupo’s work strives to position all learners as capable and bringing cultural and linguistic assets to the reading experience, while putting theory into practice to find ways teachers can improve text learning in grades K–12.

• All titles by Sarah M. Lupo

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Audience

Classroom teachers working with children ages ages 5–13 (grades K–8); literacy coaches and specialists; teacher educators; advanced undergraduate- and graduate-level students.

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Course Use

Serves as a text in such courses as Reading Assessment, Reading Diagnosis and Instruction, Assessment of Reading Problems, and Reading Difficulties.

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Previous editions published by Guilford:

Fourth Edition, © 2020
ISBN: 9781462541577

Third Edition, © 2015
ISBN: 9781462521043

Second Edition, © 2009
ISBN: 9781606230350

First Edition, © 2003
ISBN: 9781572308671

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New to this edition:

• Explicitly connects assessment guidelines to the science of reading.
• New chapter on morphology and significantly revised chapters on orthography and assessment of holistic reading.
• Aligns with the NAEP 2026 reading framework and definitions.
• Fully updated research, additional instructional resources, and two new assessments—Text Analysis Tool and Reading Engagement Scale.