DIAGNOSTIC PLACEMENT TEST

The I Am a Reader, I Am a Writer Assessment is designed to help you record kindergartners’ abilities
on a variety of specific literacy skills. It has four main purposes:
• to determine each child’s instructional needs.
• to diagnose children’s strengths and weaknesses.
• to provide a starting point from which you can measure a child’s
literacy growth.
• to provide ongoing support for instruction as children are learning to
read and write.

What Skills Do I Reading

Assess and How
• Part A: Concepts About Print/Book Handling assesses a child’s familiarity
Do I Assess Them?
and comfort with books, book parts, the written word, and the process of
reading.
• Part B: Story Retelling assesses a child’s understanding of story structure
and story elements, including sequence, setting, character, plot, and
problem/solution. This section can be used with any book the child has
recently read or heard read.
• Part C: Environmental Print assesses a child’s awareness of and familiarity
with symbols and print as they appear in the surrounding world.
• Part D: Oral Language/Picture Comprehension assesses a child’s ability to
create a story from a picture, note details, tell a story about it, and write
or dictate the story.

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Reading

Part A: How to Administer

Concepts About Select a book the child has read recently and show it to the child.
Print/Book
Do you remember this book?
Handling
Let’s read this book together. First let’s talk about the book.
Show the child the cover of the book. Read the title and the author’s
name together.
1. Can you point to the title of the book?
2. Where is the author’s name?
Hand the book to the child.
3. Where should we start reading? Please point to that place.
4. Show me where we should move next.
Read the story aloud slowly. Ask the child to point with a finger as you
read. Then pause in your reading to ask the following questions:
5. Can you point out the word I just read?
6. Where is the beginning of this word? How can you tell that it’s the beginning?
7. Where does this word end? How can you tell that it is the end? What do you
see between this word and the next word?

What to Look For

Does the child:
• identify the title of the book?
• identify the author’s name?
• identify the beginning of the text?
• know that text proceeds from left to right, top to bottom?
• point to words as they are read?
• point to the beginning of the word?
• point to the ending of the word?
• point to spaces between words?

✔ Use the I Am a Reader, I Am a Writer Assessment Checklist

on page 36 to record children’s responses.

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 Reading

Part B: How to Administer

Story Retelling
Remind the child of a story that he or she has just read or heard.
Can you retell the story to me in your own words?
Ask the child to begin retelling the story. Use the following prompts:
1. How does the story begin?
2. Where does the story take place?
3. Who are the people in the story?
4. What important things happen in the story?
• What happens first?
• What happens next?
• What happens at the end?
After the child has retold the story, ask him or her about it.
5. What do you think the story is mostly about?

What to Look For

Does the child:
• identify the beginning of the story?
• identify the setting of the story?
• identify characters in the story?
• recognize a sequence of events in the story?
• understand what the story is mostly about?

✔ Use the I Am a Reader, I Am a Writer Assessment Checklist on page 36 to

record children’s responses.

Kindergarten Assessment Handbook © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Reading

Part C: How to Administer

Environmental Print Give the child a copy of the blackline master “Environmental Print”
on page 22.
We are going to look at some pictures of signs.
Let’s talk about these signs.
Point to the STOP sign.
1. Have you seen this sign before?
• If Yes: Where have you seen the sign?
• If No: Where would you see the sign?
2. What do you think this sign says? What does it tell people?
3. When do you think people read the sign?
Point to the EXIT sign.
4. What does this sign say? What does it tell people?
5. Have you seen this sign before?
• If Yes: Where have you seen the sign?
• If No: Where would you see the sign?
6. When do you think people read the sign?
7. What other signs do you know?

What to Look For

Does the child:
• recognize the STOP sign?
• recognize the EXIT sign?
• understand the function of the signs?

✔ Use the I Am a Reader, I Am a Writer Assessment Checklist on page 36 to

record children’s responses.

Kindergarten Assessment Handbook © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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 Environmental Print
Part C:
Environmental Print

STOP

EXIT
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Reading

Part D: How to Administer

Oral Language/ Give the child a copy of the blackline master “Picture Comprehension”
Picture
on page 24.
Comprehension

Look at this picture. What story can you tell me about it?

When the child has told a story, ask him or her to write it down and then to
read it aloud. If the child does not want to write the story, ask him or her to
tell it to you again so that you can write it.

What to Look For

Does the child:
• create a story beginning?
• use picture details to tell the story?
• tell the story in sequence?
• tell the problem and solution in the story?
• create a story ending?
• write or dictate the story? (See Evaluating Writing Progress on pages
27–28.)

✔ Use the I Am a Reader, I Am a Writer Assessment Checklist on page 36 to

record children’s responses.

Kindergarten Assessment Handbook © Scholastic Teaching Resources

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 Picture Comprehension
Part D:
Oral Language/
Picture Comprehension

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 I am a Reader, I am a Writer
Assessment Checklist
Child’s Name ______________________________________________ Date _____________
Check Yes if the child is able to perform the skill. Check Making Progress if the child is still in the
process of understanding the skill but has not mastered it. Note comments based on your observa-
tions during the assessment activities.
READING
Part A: Concepts About Print/Book Handling Yes Making Progress Observations

1. Child identifies title of book.

2. Child identifies author’s name.

3. Child identifies beginning of text.

4. Child knows that text proceeds

from left to right, top to bottom.

5. Child points to words as they are read.

6. Child points to beginning and ending of word.

7. Child points to spaces between words.

Part B: Story Retelling Yes Making Progress Observations

1. Child identifies beginning of story.

2. Child identifies setting in story.

3. Child identifies characters in story.

4. Child recognizes sequence of events in story.

5. Child understands what story is mainly about.

Part C: Environmental Print Yes Making Progress Observations

1. Child recognizes STOP sign.

2. Child understands function of “Stop.”

3. Child recognizes EXIT sign.

4. Child understands function of “Exit.”

Part D: Oral Language/Picture Comprehension Yes Making Progress Observations

1. Child creates a story beginning.

2. Child uses picture details to tell story.

3. Child tells story in sequence.

4. Child creates a story ending.

5. Child writes or dictates story.*

*See Evaluating Writing Progress on pages 27–28.

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