Reading Assessment: The Scores Are Just the Beginning; Melissa Farrall, Ph.D.

Melissa Farrall is the author of Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition, and the co-author of All About Tests & Assessments published by Wrightslaw. Melissa Farrall presently works as the program manager for evaluation at the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston,Vermont. She has also worked as an educational consultant for St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH. She taught the structure of language at Simmons College in Boston, MA, and at The Reading Institute in Williamstown, MA.

Dr. Farrall received her doctorate from Brown University in 1981 in the area of Slavic Linguistics. She received her Master's Degree from Rivier College in Learning Disabilities in 1994, and her certification as a Specialist in the Assessment of Intellectual Functioning in 1999. Dr. Farrall worked as a learning disability specialist in the public schools for several years. She has worked with the International Dyslexia Association at both the national and branch levels.

This presentation will focus on how comprehensive reading evaluations can be used to design instruction and make evidence-based decisions regarding program effectiveness. Participants will learn how to design a reading evaluation that has its roots in research and theory, as well as how to link recommendations to test performance. Together we will look deep inside formal and informal reading-related measures for data and observations that can help educators assess the appropriateness of particular reading programs, monitor progress, and fine tune instruction to achieve better results.

ALTA offers its members 2.0 hours for this video.