Emergent Assessment: Checking the Skills Students Need to Become Conventional
The emergent assessment consists of three tools:
- Concepts About Print (Clay, 2000)
- Letter Identification Task (Clendon & Erickson, 2004)
- Three writing samples assessed using the Writing with All Tools Continuum (Farrall, 2022)
Overall Information
The emergent literacy assessment is completed with the student present. There are 2 versions of the instruction sheet – a direct access version for students who can point, and a partner assisted scanning version for a student who needs to respond to yes and no questions in order to participate in the assessment. The record form is attached to the instructions.
Downloads and Materials
Overall Resources
- Emergent Literacy Assessment Instructions – Direct Access; includes student record form
- Emergent Literacy Assessment Instructions – Direct Access; includes electronic fillable student record form
- Emergent Literacy Assessment Instructions – Partner Assisted Scanning; includes student record form
Letter Identification Task resources
- Letter Identification Task for direct access including whole hand point
- Letter Identification Task for eye gaze
- Letter Identification Task, high contrast white, 3 letters per page
- Letter Identification Task, high contrast yellow 3 letters per page
- Letter Identification Task, high contrast pink 3 letters per page
- Letter Identification Task, high contrast yellow 5 letters per page
- Letter Identification Task, horizontal, high contrast orange 3 letters per page
Concepts About Print resources
The Concepts About Print task requires a custom book written for the assessment. There are four commercial books available. Your school should purchase at least two of these to complete the task. I suggest No Shoes and Follow Me Moon are the best to purchase as the children in them are slightly more mature looking.
I’ve also written some alternative books for use with the assessment. I suggest that if you use these books you get them professionally printed as a photo book at a company like Snapfish or Big W Photos so they look like “proper” books.
There are two photo books aimed at teenagers who may prefer these to the original illustrated books.
There are also two high contrast books for students with vision impairment, and I have made these in different colours. If you require them in an additional colour, please email me.
- At the Beach high contrast book white
- At the Beach high contrast book yellow
- At the Beach high contrast book pink
- At the Beach high contrast book orange
- The Moon high contrast book white
- The Moon high contrast book yellow
- The Moon high contrast book pink
- The Moon high contrast book orange
Information about using the Writing with All Tools Continuum is on the Writing Assessment page.
Additional Assessment
Informal Concepts About Print Assessment is also available for ongoing assessment (once per term) of a student’s print concepts. This version is designed to be used with any book.