Reading Assessment and Instructional Practices in Special Education

Abstract

This study analyzed the instructional reading methods and reading assessment practices employed by K-12 special education teachers. Eight hundred special education teachers from four Midwestern states were surveyed regarding the frequency of use and usefulness of standardized and informal reading assessment practices and the frequency with which they used various reading instructional techniques. Responses were analyzed to determine percent of teachers employing each technique and the mean rating of usefulness assigned to each. Analysis included examination of the relationships between grade levels and instructional settings and teachers' preferences for reading instructional and assessment practices. The survey found that reading assessment practices present in the literature are not commonly used by special education teachers.