Which informal assessment is commonly used to monitor early literacy progress?

• A. End-of-year standardized test
• B. Running records or informally reading inventories to track accuracy, rate, and strategy use.
• C. Oral interviews about favorite books
• D. Multiple-choice comprehension quiz

Answer: (B)

Measuring early literacy progress relies on informal, ongoing checks that give a clear picture of how a child reads right now. Running records or informal reading inventories fit this need because they capture reading aloud, noting accuracy, rate (words read correctly per minute), and how the reader uses strategies or self-corrections as they attempt a text. This data is immediate and actionable, so you can tailor instruction—target decoding if errors show patterns, build fluency with practice, or push strategic approaches like self-correction or cross-checking.

End-of-year standardized tests are formal and infrequent, not designed to guide daily instruction. Oral interviews about favorite books don’t provide concrete indicators of decoding or fluency, and multiple-choice quizzes measure comprehension in isolation from real-time reading skills.