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Informal Reading Inventory

Describe an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI). Briefly describe the process of administering an IRI. Explain the process of miscue analysis and how you might use the information from an IRI to meet the needs of a struggling reader.

Solution Preview

IRI's (informal reading inventory) are individually administered diagnostic assessments designed to evaluate a number of different aspects of students' reading performance.
Typically, IRI represent a prototypical model for informal assessment that uses a series of graded reading paragraphs to generate specific diagnostics information. The inventories generally consist of 50 - 200 word passages from outdated basal readers. IRI are developed systematically following a set construction pattern. They can be used to determine reading competence levels and to highlight specific skill deficiencies and trends. (Polloway, E., Miller, L., & Smith, T. 2004).

Informal assessments are not data driven but rather content and performance driven. For example, running records are informal assessments ...

Solution Summary

Many teachers have persistent trouble teaching reading skills despite adequate understanding and spending great time and effort trying to do so. The details involving IRIs are explicit and clear to understand and follow. The important facts behind the results are concepts worth knowing and widely recognized in every school district.