In a similar vein, 64 percent of the respondents indicated that the primary purpose of initial assessment is to identify the student's strengths and weaknesses. Yet only 39 percent of the respondents reported that a tool's ability to assess strengths and weaknesses was an important factor in choosing an assessment tool. This set of findings leads one to hypothesize that educators who want assessment tools to inform instruction might be choosing inappropriate tools.

The data confirmed this hypothesis. A total of 294 respondents indicated that in their program, the primary purpose of initial assessment was to plan for instruction and/or identify a student's strengths or weaknesses. However, only 102 of these respondents actually choose and use assessment tools that are aptly suited for this purpose. In other words, only one in three educators are using tools capable of meeting their stated purpose: to inform instruction. In most cases, the respondents are using tools that are better suited for determining placement. For example, 22 of the 294 respondents (7 percent) relied solely on one commercial instrument-CAAT-for initial assessment. This standardized test is outdated and does not reflect current views of the reading process; consequently, it does not provide enough information to adequately inform the teaching and learning process.

The International Reading Association is also concerned about tests that define reading as a set of discrete skills, rather than a set of practices and processes, especially when these tests are used to inform instruction. The Delegates Assembly of the International Reading Association adopted the following resolution:

Reading assessment must reflect advances in the understanding of the reading process. As teachers of literacy we are concerned that instructional decisions are too often made from assessments which define reading as a sequence of discrete skills that students must master to become readers. Such assessments foster inappropriate instruction.
(p. 1)

As educators, we need to ensure that the assessment tools we use match the purpose for which they were intended.