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 Early Childhood Education          Birth through Two
 
 

Early Reading Assessment of Kindergarten, First and Second Grade Even Start Children
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School districts in Texas are required by state law to assess the early reading achievement of children in kindergarten, first and second grades. The assessment instrument must evaluate phonological awareness, word reading, and oral reading accuracy and comprehension of text. The Commissioner of Education maintains a list of assessments from which districts may choose:

View the 2006-2007 Commissioner’s List of Early Reading Assessments(PDF)

The early reading assessment is administered at kindergarten, first, and second grades. School districts and charter schools are required to report the results of the reading instrument to the local board of education, the Commissioner of Education and to the student’s parent or guardian.

TEA has approved Even Start Early Childhood Indicator of Program Quality #5:

75% of the kindergarten, first and second grade children from Even Start families enrolled in the program at least four consecutive months of the current school year will meet or exceed the district’s reading standard on the district-selected assessment(s) for the grade in which they are enrolled.

Many school districts choose to use the Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) and the Tejas Lee for this assessment.

TPRI OnLine CatalogThe Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI)
The TPRI is an informal assessment developed to provide teachers with a means of determining where along the continuum of growth students are progressing as readers. Specific reading concepts are assessed in the inventory dependent on the grade level and the time of year the inventory is administered. This provides teachers with information about a child's book and print awareness, phonemic awareness, graphophonemic knowledge, oral reading ability, listening and reading comprehension.

  • If a child is "Still Developing" on the Screening, the Inventory is given in order to gain further information about each child's strengths and weaknesses.

  • Even if the child is "Developed" on the Screening, the Inventory is sometimes administered to gain additional information so teachers can plan the most appropriate reading instruction for each child.

Read more about the TPRI and purchase materials.

Tejas LEE OnLine CatalogThe Tejas Lee
The Texas Reading Initiative created "El Inventario de Lectura en Español de Tejas" (Tejas LEE) to provide an additional early Spanish reading instrument that schools may select. The Tejas LEE is based on scientific research concerning reading and was developed to provide an early Spanish reading instrument comparable to the Texas Primary Reading Inventory.

The intent of the Tejas LEE is to capture significant skills and steps in the development of Spanish reading and comprehension development that can be used to plan individual and/or group reading instruction for early intervention and prevention of reading problems.

If TPRI or Tejas LEE data reveals that a student needs intensive, targeted instruction in a specific area, placement in the school's accelerated reading instruction funded program is required. Parents will be notified of the student's particular needs and the plans to meet these needs. Read more about the Tejas LEE and purchase materials.

Using TPRI and Tejas Lee Data in Even Start
 Texas Even Start programs may wish to consider using TPRI and Tejas Lee results to structure lessons for home visits and parenting education. Home visitors and parent educators should consider working with classroom teachers, including Accelerated Reading teachers, for ways to reinforce classroom reading activities.