Types of Assessments: Set of Grade-By-Grade Charts

As students progress from kindergarten through third grade, they should be steadily developing
the skills they need to become proficient readers. Students need to learn and then master their
foundational skills (e.g., decoding individual words) while gradually developing the ability to
understand and critique increasingly complex texts.
The Common Core State Standards, which have been adopted (or adapted) by most states,
identify what students should know by the end of each grade (K-3) in order to become successful
readers. Below, you can find a set of grade-by-grade charts, based on the standards, that
provide a useful benchmark for the skills that, ideally, all of our students should master.
Types of assessments
To monitor student progress, schools and individual teachers conduct different types of
assessments with students in Grades K-3:
Screening assessments are given to all students at the start of the school year to determine
which students are at risk of struggling with reading. They are not used to diagnose specific skill
gaps; rather, they help to identify children who need diagnostic assessments, as well as children
who may require supplemental intervention. Screening assessments should be relatively fast and
efficient to administer. One type of useful screening assessment involves curriculum-based
measures (CBMs). Examples include DIBELS Next or Aimsweb.
Diagnostic assessments are used to assess specific skills or components of reading such as

phonemic awareness, phonics skills, and fluency. The results of diagnostic assessments inform
instruction and intervention. Diagnostic assessments can be formal standardized tests of
children’s component reading and language abilities or informal measures such as criterion-
referenced tests and informal reading inventories. Not all children need this kind of in-depth
reading assessment, which is most important for struggling and at-risk readers.
 Norm-referenced assessments are formal assessments, often used as diagnostic

tools. The score compares the student’s skills to a defined population used in standardizing the
test (i.e., how did this student perform on these tasks compared to other students in the same
grade or age range). Examples of these tests include the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of
Achievement and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test. Typically these kinds of tests should
not be administered more than once a year.
 Criterion-referenced assessments are both formal and informal assessments, and are

also used as diagnostic tools. The score compares the student’s skills to a defined set of skills
and a goal (criterion) for mastery. These assessments are administered before instruction and
after instruction to measure a student’s skill growth. An example of this type of test is the Core
Phonics Survey. Usually these kinds of tests can be administered more than once a year.
Outcome assessments, also called high stakes assessments, are given to all students in a
grade. They measure students’ skills against grade-level expectations. Outcome assessments are
used to make decisions about students, teachers, a school, or even an entire school system.
Progress monitoring assessments measure a student’s overall progress during the school

year or progress toward acquiring specific skills that have been taught. Examples of these kinds
of measures include curriculum-based measures (CBMs), criterion-referenced tests, and informal
measures such as reading inventories. These tests can be given more than once a year and,
depending on the assessment, sometimes quite frequently. For instance, many CBMs could be
given on a weekly basis if desired.
As the list above suggests, a single assessment can sometimes serve more than one purpose or
fit in more than one category. For example, a CBM such as DIBELS Next can be used as part of
universal screening at the beginning of the school year to help determine which children are at
risk in reading. It can also be re-administered later in the school year to help gauge a child’s
overall progress in reading.

Types of Assessments: Set of Grade-By-Grade Charts

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As students progress from kindergarten through third grade, they should be steadily developing

Diagnostic assessments are used to assess specific skills or components of reading such as

 Norm-referenced assessments are formal assessments, often used as diagnostic

 Criterion-referenced assessments are both formal and informal assessments, and are

Progress monitoring assessments measure a student’s overall progress during the school

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